You Remember That We Wanted Bronze Lights?

Well, over in the /r/flashlight subreddit we managed to get one built by Acebeam! 18650, 1100 lumens, 4000k temperature. Should be great.

Here's the spec page:
http://acebeam.com/ec35-bronze

I never thought I would actually see something like this, but... Well, call me surprised. All my sailor friends are going to be jealous.

Since it's a small run, it is only available from one supplier, BestLight. I wasn't aware of the company before their rep replied in my bronze light thread, but apparently they've done special lights before.
https://BestLight.io/products/acebeam-ec35-bronze

Why is it so ugly?

Looks like an heirloom light... one to pass down to future generations like an old watch or a ring.

I like how they state "overheat protection to keep the outside from getting hot". Never seen that one before. But for some that is a wanted feature. The casual light user may think their light getting hot means it is about to explode. lol.

I know I have... but that was a light that actually was about to explode due to using any old batteries with vastly different amounts of remaining fuel.

No, I dont remember wanting bronze lights, and I do not know where your thread about it is.

I did look at the light you linked, and it looks like Brass to me. They do say Pure Bronze, but Bronze is not "pure", it is an alloy. And it is not uncommon for flashlight manufacturers to confuse terms like brass, bronze, and even copper (olight makes a brass i3s they call copper, they also make a copper i3e that they call copper as well)

the difference between brass and bronze is what is being alloyed with the Copper.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze

fwiw, there are other Brass lights available atm, the Pineapple, the Surefire Titan Plus (coated with Nickel), the Olight i3s-Cu (it is not copper) has 2 versions: Raw Brass as well as Brass that is coated with Titanium PVD. Maratac also offers a Brass AAA, and Lumintop offers a Brass Worm.

Another link that explains some of the differences between brass and bronze
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?3596-Strength-brass-vs-bronze

Anyway, glad you found a light that interests you, thanks for the link

fwiw, bronze is a worse conductor than Brass, which is worse than copper
https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108/Electrical_Conductivity_of_Materials
"Brass is only 28% as conductive as copper. Some bronzes are as low as 7% as conductive as copper!"

more brass and bronze differences
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Brass_vs_Bronze

The color is right, but to add to the confusion, the manufacturer lists the finish as HA III anti-abrasive.

If it is not in fact HA Aluminum, the color is right for bronze, it isn't yellow enough for the typical 360 Brass.

jon_slider said:

A lot of stuff.

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The original thread was years ago, I'm not surprised that you don't remember (EDIT: Looks like it's from before your join date). The impetus for the light was memories of bronze sailboat hardware and the patina it developed when exposed to salty air.

We are aware of the differences between brass and bronze, actually. That was part of the discussion about the feasibility of the project. The conductivity issue in particular was of concern, but a little prying into the various bronze alloys out there revealed that not all suffer from that problem.

I have a brass light from Lumintop and while it's lovely it doesn't look the same as the bronze from my childhood, even when it has achieved a nice tarnish.

I think it's not in dispute that bronze isn't the ideal flashlight metal. This is merely an aesthetic option for those who don't necessarily need the absolute best solution all the time. I run NiMH most of the time, so that is definitely me.

dc38 said:

Why is it so ugly?

Click to expand...

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I don't think it looks very different from other modern lights.

I would've liked to see it with a mahogany or teak jacket around the barrel and a more Victorian or steampunk look, but one cannot have everything if one is not very rich! I bet some of the CPF light artists could make something breathtaking if they put their minds to it.

I like it.

Personally I aint into jewelry lights, but this one is an exception.
After the holidays I'll be looking at this thread in hopes there are some left.