Streamlight Sidewinder question on 50,000 Lifetime??

Hi

I own a Streamlight Sidewinder like from the below link, and I like it.
http://streamlight.com/en-us/product/product.html?pid=168

But, I have a question on where it states it has a 50,000 Hour Lifetime.
What does this mean?
Does this mean that after around 50,000 Hours of usage, the LED bulb will just burn out?
Can someone please shed some light on this?

I don't use it all day long every day, but still, I would not like the idea or fact that after a limited period of time, the LED will just burn out.

If I understand correctly, Surefire lights do not even state the Lifetime hours of their lights.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Does this mean that after around 50,000 Hours of usage, the LED bulb will just burn out?
Can someone please shed some light on this?

I don't use it all day long every day, but still, I would not like the idea or fact that after a limited period of time, the LED will just burn out.[/FONT]

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I hope not, because if you left it on all day every day, for six years, that'd be it!

So does it really mean that after 50,000 hours of usage, the LED will just burn out?
I keep it stored. And only use it for emergencies and for camping trips.

Do all LED lights (even with Surefire) have "Hour Lifetime" periods?
Or is it only on the C4 LED type bulbs?
Because whenever I go look at a light on Surefire's webpage, I don't see Hour Lifetimes listed.

Them ratings are if, led if not over heated continuously or over driven if I'm not mistaken.
So don't use light in a volcano for extended periods or use it just on high output without shutting it off every couple years and it should outlast us all, maybe not in performance but in lifetime of light it should.

So does Surefire lights have these Hour Lifetimes rated for their lights as well or does it only mean for the C4 LEDs like the Sidewinder?

I think most of the OEM lights are all rated.
Modded lights where they are created to blow away OEM lights, not so much.

itsonlyme said:

Hi I own a Streamlight Sidewinder like from the below link, and I like it. http://streamlight.com/en-us/product/product.html?pid=168 But, I have a question on where it states it has a 50,000 Hour Lifetime. What does this mean? Does this mean that after around 50,000 Hours of usage, the LED bulb will just burn out? Can someone please shed some light on this? I don't use it all day long every day, but still, I would not like the idea or fact that after a limited period of time, the LED will just burn out. If I understand correctly, Surefire lights do not even state the Lifetime hours of their lights.

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Generally when a company is quoting something like x hours, they are referring to mean time before failure. What it means is that on average they expect the LED to last on average 50k hours so long as it is not mistreated (kept running too hot, used in averse environments, beaten up, etc). But as always your mileage will vary, They can't guarantee that there wasn't a manufacturing defect or other problem. Its not a situation where it is going to run those X hours and just stop working, its an average life expectancy of the item. I would personally submit that, assuming you didn't get a blem, the light will last more then long enough for whatever use you have in mind. And by the time it does die there will be something a heck of a lot better available. Just look at what has happened over the last 5-10 years of LED development.

Thanks for the explanation on this.
So how come on Surefire's webpage when I view their LED lights, Surefire does not include the X-Hours Lifetime?
So is it just the Streamlight C4 LED lights that have certain amounts of X-Hours for them?

Generally, I don't use the light at all, EXCEPT for emergencies (like a power outage at night). That's all.

I'm guessing, because they've a lifetime warranty.
If it burns out, they fix it.☺

If it's an LED within spec, you'll likely not even own the light when the LED shows even the slightest bit of diminishing brightness... The potential for it to burn out is near negligible but not impossible. To put it in perspective, thats 5.7 years of continuos light...... There are many other components that would have a higher likelihood of failure than the LED over the course of 5.7 years...

Also 1 year warranty on the sidewinder. Thats all models, I emailed them about that and it was explained that military specific gear goes through exceptionally ruff conditions even thought it was purpose built. In other words, it would likely be way more expensive ( think SF....it be $325) with a lifetime warranty and no one would buy it because of the price. Put anything through the military for a few years and it will definitely need to be fixed at some point...

That said, I wouldn't let the unusual warranty be a deal breaker. If need be you can always ask about repairs outside of warranty... if you need it. I bet it would be free of charge or pennies to fix it. It looks well built and I haven't heard any complaints, it's likely built better then some brands with a "lifetime" warranty...

Also, the "C4" means absolutely nothing. Just advertising. Other companies do the same thing in different ways....

Feel free to PM me with any questions off topic on SL.... I have a few of them now and know them well.

Cree do accelerated testing on their LEDs in the lab and extrapolate those results to determine a rating for the LEDs in normal use.

Under normal operating conditions, the average Cree LED is expected to still achieve 70% of its original output after 50000 hours of continuous operation.

Of course, variations in the manufacturing process mean that some LEDs will fail to reach that standard, whilst other LEDs will exceed it. Unless you're very unlucky, however, you can generally expect a properly driven and cooled Cree LED to last a very long time. In addition, it's most likely to slowly become dimmer over time, rather than suddenly failing completely, so you're unlikely to be left in the dark by an LED failure.

That seems to be borne out anecdotally from my reading here on CPF. Most light failures appear to be a result of people dropping them, mechanical failure from wear and tear (this particularly applies to switches), water ingress from failed seals, or corrosion from leaking batteries.

Having said all that, if you can't afford to be without light in an emergency, you should always have a primary light and a backup light. In some situations, you may even want more than one backup.

Direct quote from the Cree LED Lighting FAQ:

What does "Lifetime 50,000 hours" mean?

Useful life has been defined as the number of hours an LED device can operate until it emits only a certain percentage of its original lumen output. For general illumination applications, vision research suggests that 70 percent of original lumen output is the level where end users begin to notice a drop in light levels. This metric is indicated as L70. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) published LM-80-08, IES Approved Method for Measuring Lumen Maintenance of LED Light Sources. Cree tested our LED lamps for long-term lumen maintenance consistent with LM-80 methods to demonstrate L70 life after more than 6,000 hours of testing and got the number 50,000 hours under normal operating conditions. Also the performance of all of our products is verified by accredited independent 3rd party laboratories. Please note, any initial condition or parameter change will affect the useful life of LEDs in different ways.

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Technical documents:

Cree® XLamp® LED Long-Term Lumen Maintenance
Cree® LED Components IES LM-80-2008 Testing Results

Lots of other stuff here:

http://www.cree.com/xlamp_app_notes/

50,000 hours divided by a hour a day is 136 years..

Your grandkids may have to invoke the streamlight 'if anything wears out' warranty.

Some manufacturers use 100,000 hour rated emmitters, then users throw in cheap unprotected cells and drain 'em too low...or start 'em too high....and said emitter lasts oh...3-4 hours?

My buddy had one of those $6- 1000 lumen numbers and 4 for $10- 2200 mah recharheable batteries in a 6p.
Lasted 14 minutes.lol.

Take care of it and use the correct voltage batteries and it should last at least as long as you do.