Welch Allyn 01318 Bulb Vs. KPR112 Bargain Bulb

I went out to see if I could capture some shots of just how impressive the WA01318 bulb on 4.5SF123s is. The reference is the RadioShack KPR112 on 3SF123s. In both cases, the WA01318 is on top. First photo, the back of my garage from about 45'. Same exposure for both subshots. Second photo, the front of my garage, about 25', same exposure. The digipics are from the video mode of my digicamcorder so they aren't the greatest. The hotspot looks positively incendiary in the photos but that is an artifact of the exposure setting. The spots were bright, but details and artifacts were discernible by eye.

You can see the two-lobe shape of the WA bulb hotspot. This is due mostly to the size of the filament. To its credit, the KPR112 has a very small filament that images a rounder spot.

The pictures don't tell the whole story. This bulb on 4.5 lithiums (4x123 + 1AA) throws a meaty, very bright beam and the secondary spill is easily brighter than my Lamba Illuminator AdPro. The color is yellowish of course, but it easily puts down my V3U-bin 5W Mag 2D.





Wilkey

Restored 12/21/06

Wilkey,

I'm glad you posted these pictures. Although I have the light in hand, and have enjoyed the beast first-hand, it's always neat to see it posted here.

I wish I had a camera to take a photo of how it looks on a house at the end of the block. When I shine it down there, it illuminates the whole house. It's almost embarrassing -- as if the neighbors are seeing me bragging about a new toy. And, of course, I would never do that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Paul

Wilkey! My 1318 driven by 4.5 through a 1940 exits through Acrylite...

You REALLY must try some!!!

I GOTTA get some pics up!

Veeery impressive. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

How does the 01318 compare to the 01160 bulb? I've got an 01160 in my MagCharger, and it's almost scary. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

I remember someone saying the 01160 in MagCharger pumped out roughly 500 lumens, but I don't recall how that bulb compared to an 01318. With bulbs this powerful, it's almost like clash of the titans... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

PBJoe,
What can I say...post some pics!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif You have been on me for weeks about the acrylite and you know what? I'm gonna have to buy a lens to try out. I really didn't need it in the big kahuna because I was using a Carley orange peel reflector but I might drop one in one of my two 5x123 WA01318 torches. Eye-freakin bright! These are the only torches that almost make it painful to look at the hotspot on a white wall.

Scott,
I don't know how the WA01160 would compare because I don't have one. The 1160 is rated at 327 lumens but that's at 5V. The rerating formulas are very unreliable at 1V of overdrive. One could extrapolate to 500+ lumens but that's bulb lumens. Correlational work by PaulW leads me to believe that, at least with WA bulbs, the torch lumens is actually about 60-65% of the bulb lumens. If this is true, then the 1160 would be putting out 325 lumens in torch. This is right in the range of the 4.5X 1318 which came in around 350 lumens. Note that the 1318 is rated at 534 bulb lumens. The 817 bulb lumen WA01185 has turned out over 500 torch lumens in correlation comparisons.

Clash of the titans. I like that /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Wilkey

Thanks for the info, Wilkey. I can tell you that MC with WA01160 bulb is the only light I've got short of a headlight-on-a-stick that keeps up with my MR-X. To be honest, it's maybe 30% brighter than MR-X to my eyes.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

That MC runs VERY HOT, though! One time my stepfather placed it head-down on the wooden cellar stairs, and the wood started SMOKING. As in that hickory smoke aroma you get from a good campfire! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Thank God I found it in time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

So even though you guys no doubt know what you're doing, BE CAREFUL WITH THESE LIGHTS.

Incidentally, the 60W bulbs I use in my HOUSE LIGHTS are rated at 870 lumens, so these "superlights" are getting pretty serious! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

But the 60W bulbs don't have very good throw, heh heh... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Smoking! Excellent /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, these lights put out enormous heat. Actually more energy as heat than as light. So be careful boys and girls /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Headlight on a stick? I like that.

BTW, if you get a 01318 ( I think you meant 01160 is in your MC) I'd like to hear how the two compare.

Wilkey

Ok Wilkey, some beamshots are in General Flashlight (where as I think about it, they are gonna end up moved here anway!).

They should give you SOME idea!

Wilkey, I did indeed mean 01160. Oops. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

(Just edited the previous post to say WA01160. Thanks for the proofreading!)

Did I read that you're arranging some sort of group buy from Welch Allyn to meet their $100 minimum? You might as well pick up a couple 01160 bulbs for yourself; they're only a couple dollars each, right? I guarantee you'll have some good fun with them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I could be persuaded to buy a couple 01318 if you go through with that order. Just let me know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

With respect to the 01160 bulb, there's some info in the CPF threads over here and over here.

Milky,

Info on the group buy is here.

Paul

Thanks Paul! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

That's very impressive!

Of course something cool like that will attract questions:

What is the highest wattage/bulb that the plastic m@g reflector can handle for one battery change? KPR112/5 cell whitestar?

Since the KPR112 is overdriven, I'm assuming that the WA bulb is overdriven also. Given this or any other WA bulb combinations, what would be the best voltage to set them if a LVR is included in the setup?

I'm thinking 3 x 123's (2C body) with a LVR and KPR112 or 8 NiMh AA's (2D body) with a LVR and some bulb.

-YC

MilkyScott,

No prob /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I was thinking about the 01111 overdriven in a 6AA config but that might be pushing my NIMHs to the wall and slightly over. I don't have a MC but I would get the 01160 if I did. Jtivat tells that the 01160 outperforms even the new MC bulb.

YC,

Great musings. Unfortunately I have to leave circuit-based questions to the electrical pros. As to the reflector longevity, IIRC, 10+ minutes running at 12 watts or more will cause bubbling. I think that was stated in the huge "285 Lumen Mag 2C" thread. 12 watts is pretty modest as far as WA bulbs go. I run the 01185 at just a hair over 30 watts.

I run all my bulbs at least slightly overdriven. The advantages are two-fold, higher brightness and higher color temperature. The downside is of course reduced bulb life. You can run the WA bulbs at spec and still outperform most other comparable bulb out there.

If you're talking about voltage regulators, I'd be interested to hear what is possible at these power consumptions. If what Illuminated did with his bike mod is an indication of the possibilities, I'm very interested.

Wilkey

Yclo,

It's hard to give a "best" voltage for driving a bulb. The trade-off between brightness and bulb life is a personal one. I personally opt for brightness and like to run bulbs about 5 percent (in voltage) below their maximum. Determining the max can be costly (a lot of flashes).

In terms of rated voltage, it's a more difficult issue, because there seems to be more margin between rated and flashed for some bulbs (the KPRs and Mags) than others (Carley and WA). There is some discussion of voltage for the WA 01185 here.

Paul

[ QUOTE ]
milkyspit said:
Thanks for the info, Wilkey. I can tell you that MC with WA01160 bulb is the only light I've got short of a headlight-on-a-stick that keeps up with my MR-X. To be honest, it's maybe 30% brighter than MR-X to my eyes.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

That MC runs VERY HOT, though! One time my stepfather placed it head-down on the wooden cellar stairs, and the wood started SMOKING. As in that hickory smoke aroma you get from a good campfire! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Thank God I found it in time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

So even though you guys no doubt know what you're doing, BE CAREFUL WITH THESE LIGHTS.

Incidentally, the 60W bulbs I use in my HOUSE LIGHTS are rated at 870 lumens, so these "superlights" are getting pretty serious! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

But the 60W bulbs don't have very good throw, heh heh... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Is the WA01160 the only change you made to the MC? Is it still running on the stock rechargable cells? What's the expetected runtime in this configuration?

Nascar, yes, the WA01160 bulb was the only change to my stock MagCharger. It runs fine on the stock rechargeables, though some replace 'em with a stack of those "robot wars" 1/2-D NiCd. I've never run the light totally dead, but my guess is that it would provide about 40 minutes of light. It really is very impressive, brightness-wise.

If you want additional info, you might want to PM Phaserburn. I got him hooked on the MagCharger/WA01160 combo, then he conducted a bunch of his own tests vs. a Tigerlight... and ended up selling the Tigerlight! He's another happy camper.

It was this flashlight reflected off the ceiling which inspired my wife's comment that our "power failure" lighting would be brighter than our normal house lights! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

And she's not even a flashaholic. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

milkyspit, for run time you could use 1/2 D NiMH's, shrink wrap them or leave them as is. Runtime could be 1 hour plus, plus.

Bill

Bullzeye, that sounds like a great option. But would they charge okay using the stock charging cradle?

I have not done this, but I have been checking battery suppliers. I have found sub-C NiMH's rated at 3 amps. I would consider them for my Stingers, and upgraded SL 15X to 20X. I believe built in chargers could handle this type of amperage. I hear that charging 9Amp D's in an SL35X does not work. I think that X2 capacity is the problem there.

Bill