Are There Any Flashlights That Can Flicker Like a Candle?

I went camping with my 2 young sons this weekend and we used my Fenix PD31 at low setting as a tent light for a few hrs before bed.

My youngest thought it would be cool (and I agree with him) if there was a "flicker" mode that replicated a candle flickering.

Not talking about Strobe at all.

I was going to get him one for Christmas if there is one available.

I would also like the light to have regular solid modes so it can be used as a flashlight..preferably at least 80 lumen on High

I haven't heard of any flashlight that does this but there are different brands of LED candles that have the flicker effect but they look like candles too.

Hi, I'm not too sure if this will help, but milkyspit has what he dubbed the milky candle. I'm not positive if it flickers though, but the name of the build seems to indicate it would.

I asked myself this same question the other day after I bought some of those cheap LED candles at the local pharmacy. They are part of a 3-piece set, sitting in a tray that comes with small rocks. It's a coffee table piece that provides nice ambience, but they have absolutely no useful light at all. I turned off all the lights in the house, and held one of the LED candles up to the wall. I couldn't even see the glow of the LED reflect off the wall until the LED was directly pointed about an inch from the wall. Even in pitch black darkness, the light was so faint, I'd judge it was putting out less than .1 lumen. That's right, less than 1/10th of 1 lumen. The .28 lumen low of my Zebralight H51Fc blows it away. Maybe the coin cell batteries were already low when I bought them, because the candles have died after about 4 nights worth of use.

So I think it would be very cool to have a gentle flickering mode on a flashlight. Something like 2 lumens, very warm tint, random slow flickering pulse, with a diffuser over the bezel. Running on a single CR123, you could probably light a room at night with a light like this for weeks! Or put it in the center of the dining table for some ambience during dinner. It would make the perfect tent light for camping.

I like this idea!

I imagine the circuitry would have to be rather complex since it would have to turn the LED on and off for varying durations randomly while also randomly adjusting the output to make it appear natural, otherwise it would just be like a random strobe with the same intensity. I wonder if it would be easier to use an incandescent.

Lobstradomus said:

I imagine the circuitry would have to be rather complex since it would have to turn the LED on and off for varying durations randomly while also randomly adjusting the output to make it appear natural, otherwise it would just be like a random strobe with the same intensity. I wonder if it would be easier to use an incandescent.

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Well how do they do it with these cheap LED candles?

that's usually a bad thing. ;-)

Well I saw the Mag Light Mini at Wal Mart today and the package says you can remove the head to expose the bulb and then tail stand the light inside the head to mimic a candle. Apparently you can do this with both the Mag Incan and LED.

It does not, however, flicker.

Slap in a pair of almost-drained AAs and it will.

Edit (added):
I'm thinking about how the 'infinitely variable' magnetic lights work- maybe you could do something similar with the magnetic sensor except make it _really_ sensitive so that it will adjust the brightness frequently to mimic a flicker. (Or you could use really bad caps)

JohnnyLunar said:

Well how do they do it with these cheap LED candles?

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I'm guessing it is a more simple circuit since it uses really cheap and really weak LED's where varying the output isn't a consideration. The ones I have seen give off no useful light at all unlike an actual candle.

I don't know about flashlights.

But I just saw the best LED flame implementation last week in the Mall at Brookstone.

It's a candle with an LED and a little flickering flame.

The "flame" is floating and responds to the air current around it.

Wave your hand around and the flame will flutter accordingly.

It's very bright and really convincing in person.





http://www.brookstone.com/flickering-flame-led-wax-candle-light?bkeid=compare|mercent|googlebaseads|search&mr:trackingCode=26108F01-28E5-E011-B18D-001B21A69EB0&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&gclid=CNv0m4SB4qwCFS4DQAodFw2Tng


http://www.flamelesscandles.net/

If the OP (or anyone else, for that matter) is genuinely interested in artificial candles, and not flashlights that look like candles, please see this thread here.

With respect to the Brookstone candle, I have but two comments:

1) I have found 90% of the products they sell to be cheaply made, and available for much less under labeling elsewhere.

2) The ability to simulate movement in the wind is something I had not seen before, and am intrigued.

Since this thread is nominally about flashlights imitating candles, I will quietly retreat. However, I will ask about that wind candle by Brookstone in the other thread since it is, in fact, a proper artificial candle and not a flashlight.