power sipping AA or AAA?

Hi all,

any thoughts on a super efficient AA led torch, likely 2 AA

I mean at usable lumens, most will last 100 's hours low down on firefly, but something in the walk about 50-100 lumen range

something that lasts, and lasts, and lasts

thanks,
pp

power sipping AA?

Not sure where you are located but I have always been a fan of Streamlight. They have the ProPolymer series which is basically 2xAA light. There are a bunch of their older model with Luxeon led BUT they have a new model with that they call C4. The newer generation Cree are way more efficient. They have them on their site but I did not see any for sale yet. Ill check and see if someone has them in stock yet.

power sipping AA?

Looks like Brightguy has them about $20 plus shipping. So again this is the C4 newer led.
They are tough and put out 65 lumens which is plenty for most tasks.

Re: power sipping AA?

prnguinpoo said:

any thoughts on a super efficient AA led torch, likely 2 AA

I mean at usable lumens, most will last 100 's hours low down on firefly, but something in the walk about 50-100 lumen range

Click to expand...

I think you'll find that most modern lights of good quality (something in the $50+ range) with an XML2 emitter will give similar efficiency in that lumen range. You'll get something around 125 lumens per watt of efficiency, out-the-front. Any of the major brands recommended here will give you that. Stay away from no-name brands, or major brands found in hardware stores. Fenix, 4sevens, Sunwayman, Armytek, Zebralight, etc., are all good. (Though Zebralight doesn't have a 2xAA version.)

So, you can get pretty much any light from those brands. Most will have a medium or high mode that will serve you well. Instead, concentrate on quality batteries with reasonably high capacity. I recommend getting Eneloop Pro NiMH rechargeables. That will give you about 2450mAh of capacity, which will run a 2xAA light for about 7 hours at 100 lumens, or 15 hours at 50 lumens. Energizer lithium primary batteries (disposable) may give you a bit more run-time, but they'll be costly to use on a regular basis.

In summary, find a light from any of the major brands with an output mode you want, then get some Eneloop Pros to run it. Alternatively, you could go with a 18650 lithium-ion based light for additional run time.

Re: power sipping AA?

WalkIntoTheLight said:

...you can get pretty much any light from those brands. Most will have a medium or high mode that will serve you well. Instead, concentrate on quality batteries with reasonably high capacity. I recommend getting Eneloop Pro NiMH rechargeables. That will give you about 2450mAh of capacity, which will run a 2xAA light for about 7 hours at 100 lumens, or 15 hours at 50 lumens. Energizer lithium primary batteries (disposable) may give you a bit more run-time, but they'll be costly to use on a regular basis.

In summary, find a light from any of the major brands with an output mode you want, then get some Eneloop Pros to run it...

Click to expand...

+1

For example, the Fenix LD22 is rated for 50 lumens for over 14 hours, and 3 lumens for 150.

Re: power sipping AA?

Another general point:
If you want a decent-quality light that will last forever and drain your AA's dry, then DO NOT use alkali batteries in it.

They will burst, leak, and corrode, and then your nice new light is a mess. That's just how alkalis--many of them--react when you drain them fully.
Use Eneloops only (or the Duracell equivalent).

On the other hand, when I want to drain some alkali batteries dry, I use vampire circuits with no battery tube, that leave the battery uncovered. If it leaks, it doesn't hurt anything very valuable.

Re: power sipping AA?

FOUND IT!

Latest Fenix E01: 27 lumens at 27 hours.... Perfect. aaa but outlasts most aa 's.

re batteries, use eneloop for day to day and keep energizer lithium as backups in glow in the dark aaa battery holder

Re: power sipping AA?

prnguinpoo said:

Latest Fenix E01: 27 lumens at 27 hours.... Perfect. aaa but outlasts most aa 's.

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Where did you see this? The latest one was 13 lumens. Unless you mean an E05?

Re: power sipping AA?

Like Mr. Floppy, I am a bit puzzled. Fenix rates the E01 at 13 lumens for 16:30 hours.

The Fenix LD02 gets 25 lumens for 4:15 hours on a AAA.

The brand-new ZL SC5 is rated at 20 lumens for 16 hours on an AA cell (not a AAA). And ZL drivers are very efficient.

I think 27 lumens x 27 hours on a AAA sounds a little too good to be true.

Re: power sipping AA?

lampeDépêche said:

Like Mr. Floppy, I am a bit puzzled. Fenix rates the E01 at 13 lumens for 16:30 hours.

The Fenix LD02 gets 25 lumens for 4:15 hours on a AAA.

The brand-new ZL SC5 is rated at 20 lumens for 16 hours on an AA cell (not a AAA). And ZL drivers are very efficient.

I think 27 lumens x 27 hours on a AAA sounds a little too good to be true.

Click to expand...

Yeah your right... dont know where I read it but went back to double check and saw figures no where near what I stated.

Could've been an illusion, misprint, different website (or torch)....

What ever, sorry about that!

NEW QUESTION:
Any body know a single mode long run time torch?

Ie Fenix E01 is in the lead with 13 lumens @ 16hours

Re: power sipping AA?

prnguinpoo said:

Any body know a single mode long run time torch?

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Get a programmable light, and program it to have just one mode. For example, I can program my 2xAA Quark to have just a single mode that comes on in moonlight. It will last about a month. Or use the 1xAA body tube, if you want a single AA light. Same thing, but will run about half as long.