Fenix PD40R "Time in Turbo" Data?

uglydog

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Jul 24, 2015
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The PD40R appears to be a pretty incredible torch, especially with its 3000 lumen turbo,internal charging & size.

Do any recent purchasers have demonstrated PD40R data regarding it's ability (while quickly stepping up power though the lumen power range) to consistently achieve the 3000 L turbo from a fully charged battery status ?.....and given it achieves turbo, how many approximate seconds does it stay in turbo with the supplied battery before auto-defaulting to the 1000 lumen setting ? And as the battery voltage decays a bit more from fully charged though still well within "green" battery status, is the 3000 L turbo consistently achievable when stepping up through the lumen power range ?...and assuming it achieves turbo, for how many approximate seconds does it stay in turbo before auto-defaulting to the 1000 lumen setting ?

Its also important to realize the importance of cooling down that big LED before any repeditive testing like being asked about above.

And apologies for my level of detail though hope I was clear in my questions which I consider especially important to this potentially fine torch.:green:


Thanks

Ug
 

ToddM

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Mar 11, 2001
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It should be interesting, personally it seems to me flashlights are getting into the trend that digital cameras were in for awhile. They knew all anyone looked at was the megapixels # so they increased that spec even at the cost of actual image quality. It took a few years before consumers figured out more megapixels wasn't always better.

I see a lot of new lights as the same making a huge lumen max mode that only lasts for a few minutes at best, then drops down to where most lights are. Take the PD40R, 3000 lumens.....for 10-12 minutes. That's cute, but in most real world use a light that only lasts 10 minutes on high isn't worth much. It's high mode is only 1000 lumens for 2 hours. There's no shortage of lights that will do 1000 lumens for 2 hours with a 26650 for way less $, and a whole host of 18650 lights that will do 1000 lumens for over an hour in a smaller cheaper package. So you end up paying a lot of money for a light that's only advantage is it's very bright for a few minutes before it's no better than lights costing half as much for the rest of it's battery life. I'd much rather see a turbo mode that was say 2000 lumens but was good for 30-45 minutes.
 

18650

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It should be interesting, personally it seems to me flashlights are getting into the trend that digital cameras were in for awhile. They knew all anyone looked at was the megapixels # so they increased that spec even at the cost of actual image quality. It took a few years before consumers figured out more megapixels wasn't always better. I see a lot of new lights as the same making a huge lumen max mode that only lasts for a few minutes at best, then drops down to where most lights are. Take the PD40R, 3000 lumens.....for 10-12 minutes. That's cute, but in most real world use a light that only lasts 10 minutes on high isn't worth much. It's high mode is only 1000 lumens for 2 hours. There's no shortage of lights that will do 1000 lumens for 2 hours with a 26650 for way less $, and a whole host of 18650 lights that will do 1000 lumens for over an hour in a smaller cheaper package. So you end up paying a lot of money for a light that's only advantage is it's very bright for a few minutes before it's no better than lights costing half as much for the rest of it's battery life. I'd much rather see a turbo mode that was say 2000 lumens but was good for 30-45 minutes.
If it was capable of 2000 steady state lumens it would have it already. Turbo mode doesn't take away anything.
 

scs

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Feb 9, 2015
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1,803
It should be interesting, personally it seems to me flashlights are getting into the trend that digital cameras were in for awhile. They knew all anyone looked at was the megapixels # so they increased that spec even at the cost of actual image quality. It took a few years before consumers figured out more megapixels wasn't always better.

I see a lot of new lights as the same making a huge lumen max mode that only lasts for a few minutes at best, then drops down to where most lights are. Take the PD40R, 3000 lumens.....for 10-12 minutes. That's cute, but in most real world use a light that only lasts 10 minutes on high isn't worth much. It's high mode is only 1000 lumens for 2 hours. There's no shortage of lights that will do 1000 lumens for 2 hours with a 26650 for way less $, and a whole host of 18650 lights that will do 1000 lumens for over an hour in a smaller cheaper package. So you end up paying a lot of money for a light that's only advantage is it's very bright for a few minutes before it's no better than lights costing half as much for the rest of it's battery life. I'd much rather see a turbo mode that was say 2000 lumens but was good for 30-45 minutes.

Agreed, but which single 18650 lights you know can put out 1000 lumens for over an hour?
 

scs

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 9, 2015
Messages
1,803
The PD40R appears to be a pretty incredible torch, especially with its 3000 lumen turbo,internal charging & size.

Do any recent purchasers have demonstrated PD40R data regarding it's ability (while quickly stepping up power though the lumen power range) to consistently achieve the 3000 L turbo from a fully charged battery status ?.....and given it achieves turbo, how many approximate seconds does it stay in turbo with the supplied battery before auto-defaulting to the 1000 lumen setting ? And as the battery voltage decays a bit more from fully charged though still well within "green" battery status, is the 3000 L turbo consistently achievable when stepping up through the lumen power range ?...and assuming it achieves turbo, for how many approximate seconds does it stay in turbo before auto-defaulting to the 1000 lumen setting ?

Its also important to realize the importance of cooling down that big LED before any repeditive testing like being asked about above.

And apologies for my level of detail though hope I was clear in my questions which I consider especially important to this potentially fine torch.:green:


Thanks

Ug

Try this: http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/threads/review-fenix-pd40r.52685/
 

Bugdozer

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Nov 1, 2016
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I purchased one for mostly entertainment purposes and I used the 20% discount.

Things I like:
* Very bright on Turbo.
* Very floody, huge, even coverage.
* USB charging.
* Sealed USB plug, doesn't need the cap in place to be water resistant.
* Good size, feels good in the hand.

Things I don't like:
* Turbo is only good for 10 minutes (accumulative, never left it in Turbo more than 60 seconds, too hot), or so, then the light will only go into High, Turbo is no longer available until you charge it up.
* Gets hot quick in Turbo, real quick.
* No option to go directly to Low or Turbo. To get back to Low, you have to cycle through all the modes.
* Buttons feel cheep and plastic and are hard to find in the dark.
* Huge plastic Fenix button on the lanyard.

Overall, an ok light with very wide coverage. For walks and taking my dogs out at night, it works well but I don't think I would purchase it again as the 3000 lumem is not overly useful due to the very short run time in Turbo.
 
Last edited:

ToddM

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NV
Well if you believe spec runtime numbers:

Fenix TK20R, 1000 lumens, 1.5 hours
Fenix TK15, 1000 lumens, 2 hours
Fenix TK32, 1000 lumens, 1hr 50 min
Fenix RC11, 1000 lumens, 1hr 20 min

That's just new releases from just one company. Granted they are turbo numbers, so at some point they may step down due to heat. Though perhaps not, unlike the PD40R they don't list a Turbo step down combined time.

I guess my point simply really was, what good is a huge lumen mode, that as Bugdozer reports gets too hot after only 60 seconds then becomes a 1500/1000 lumen light. It's cute but again, I'd gladly take a Turbo mode that was 2000 lumens for a longer steady runtime instead of a much higher lumen mode that won't run for more than a minute. That of course is bad marketing to the uneducated, because they will be swayed by the huge lumen # on the spec sheet. It's also misleading that the turbo time is listed as cumulative, if it is indeed stepping down around a minute.
 

Bugdozer

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I've contacted Fenix Lighting regarding returns as this light is a bit of a bust. Turbo is mostly worthless with only about 60 seconds use and after a few repeated uses, the battery it too depleted to support it any longer. The additional battery I purchased it use with it, ARB-L4-4800, must not be an IMR cell as it only supports turbo for about a second and then never will go back into turbo. The ARB-L26-4500P battery that came with the light is not available by itself. The KeepPower 26650 IMR batteries are about 3mm too short and I don't feel like sticking magnets to the rear to make them work. So, nope.....
 

uglydog

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Jul 24, 2015
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Here's some findings after having this light for 3 weeks with a lot of experimentation.

The internal charging of the PD40R charges the come-with-light ARB-L26-4500P battery to a (several trials) full charge value of 4.17 V compared to the Fenix low end charger ARE-X1 which charges the exact same (out of the same light) battery to 4.23 V. Significantly longer turbo time can be had with this out-of-light charger as well as better success in regaining turbo after an initial charge long turbo run.

Interestingly and after some initial battery drain due prior turbo events on the same charge, turbo can sometimes be re-initiated if the end cap is turned ~45-90 deg to de-energize the light with subsequent closure. Leaving the light in turbo upon shut off also makes turbo re-initiation easier. This however may not be a safe process if you leave the light in your backpack due the potential of an accidental on with the inherent heat created in turbo as well mentioned in this thread by Bugdozer.

The claim of 12 minutes cumulative turbo per charge is rather easy to challenge. It would be fair to evaluate other 3000 L light manufacturers that use the same single LED /battery combo. This could be a fair discussion.

The 3000 lumen blast is a visciously bright experience. It could start exciting arm pain sensors after only 8-10 seconds. :)

Fenix could have marketed the turbo mode on this light as a non-locking "burst" mode with modifications and perhaps some would have been more positive about this light.

Lastly, the 1000 L burn times have not been evaluated after a couple long post turbo events though this brightness level is pretty much always obtainable at least until the battery is significantly depleted. A positive.

Perhaps this light can be questioned in this way.....is it better to have a 18650 series battery in a 1000 L turbo light (with associated run times) like the PD35 TAC..... or is it better to go with the higher 3000 lumen capacity LED as in the PD40R and have (more ?) 1000 L run time with the cool option of a compact 3000 L hammer ?

Ug
 

Bugdozer

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Los Angeles
I noticed today that both FenixLighting and Fenix-Store have dropped the PD40R from their PD lineup.
 
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