Nuwai Q3 brightness

How bright is your nuwai Q3? I look at the beamshots i see on here, and mine is nothing that compares. Mine is way dimmer. As well, i compared it with a e1e, 15 lumens. And i know although its not a very fair comparison, my Q3 got wasted.
Just wondering if everyone else who has a Q3 experiences the same thing i am. Or maybe i just have a faulty light?

All in all, my Q3 is just as bright as a Surefire U2 on its second lowest setting, possibly even its lowest setting.

Yes, after I opened mine up to check the bin (TX1K) and put it back together, it was really dim, and only drawing about 65 ma, compared to ~650 ma when it was healthy. Turned out that the pass transistor was shorted.

A replacement transistor is on the way, and should be here today. While waiting, I have relieved the sharp edges on the aluminum ring and the star (where the leads pass through). The insulation on the leads was seriously grooved, and is suspect in the failure of the pass transistor.

jsmn4vu,
how to open the light ? mine working well, just curious the bin on my light

Details and link in this thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=818140&Forum=All_Forums&Words=%2Bopen%20%2BQ3&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=818140&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post818140

I didn't boil mine; just put in a bag and held it head down in recently boiling water for a couple of minutes.

So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

So, how about some quality ratings?? I mean it's nice to have a bright light, and one you can drive a truck over, but what if it *fails* in 6 mos just sitting there?? It's like my Ford: When it's not in the shop, wow it runs great, but I never know when something is going to want to get fixed again!

So... what lights really hold up, like Surefire, Inova??

My Q-III is plenty bright using the supplied CR123A battery and even brighter when using an R123 rechargeable battery.

Short story: I live out in the sticks and have a 400-foot, very dark driveway. When I walked to the mailbox the other night, I had both my Q-III and my Surefire L4 with me. As I walked through the darkness, I marveled at the quantity and quality of light produced by the L4. It wasn't until I was back inside the house that I realized I had inadvertently been using the Q-III instead of the L4!

Of course, in a side-by-side comparison, the L4 out-shines the Q-III, but I've got to admit the Q-III running on an R123 battery is pretty darned bright.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

I'll vouch for Inova, I've beat the living crud out of my X5T and smacked it against the bottom of the pool a bajillion times and it's still going strong. Surefire is pretty hardy, but the cost factor keeps me from smacking mine up. My SuperSabrelite has been through more than a handful of fires and it's been to 135' under the sea and it's still ticking too.

My guess from my own experience so far is that if anything on the QIII breaks, it'll be the pocket clip. It seems to be the "Weakest Link", if you will.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

I replace stock circuit with nextgen 500 and stock luxIII with TX0J. It is very bright. But it suck more power from battery.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

The Q3 is relatively new but lots of people here have bought them and this is the first story I remember about a reliability problem with one. That's a pretty good record so far.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

Mine's comparable to my other LuxIII's... almost as bright as my twok bin.
I'd probably send that back to the vendor for replacement.
I can't wait to get my sorted QIII from 3rdshift.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

That's cool because I was thinking of buying one although everybody seems to be out of stock at the moment /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

[ QUOTE ]
zoltar said:
So, how about some quality ratings?? I mean it's nice to have a bright light, and one you can drive a truck over, but what if it *fails* in 6 mos just sitting there??

[/ QUOTE ]

Just to clarify -- you shouldn't interpret my post to imply low quality. I'd attribute the "failure" of my light to user error (although the design does make that error a little easier than it perhaps should be -- another good reason for the head to be locked down during manufacture).

Replaced the transistor within the last hour, and the light is dazzling again.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

Hey Mopheus, do you own one of those large screen monitors? Your screen must be HUGE... my monitor is over a foot wide and it seems yours is like 2 feet...
sorry for the off-topic-ness

[ QUOTE ]
Exit32 said:
My Q-III is plenty bright using the supplied CR123A battery and even brighter when using an R123 rechargeable battery.

Short story: I live out in the sticks and have a 400-foot, very dark driveway. When I walked to the mailbox the other night, I had both my Q-III and my Surefire L4 with me. As I walked through the darkness, I marveled at the quantity and quality of light produced by the L4. It wasn't until I was back inside the house that I realized I had inadvertently been using the Q-III instead of the L4!

Of course, in a side-by-side comparison, the L4 out-shines the Q-III, but I've got to admit the Q-III running on an R123 battery is pretty darned bright.

[/ QUOTE ]


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif mine would never be bright enough to compare with a surefire!!!

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

[ QUOTE ]
Mags_despiser said:
Hey Mopheus, do you own one of those large screen monitors? Your screen must be HUGE... my monitor is over a foot wide and it seems yours is like 2 feet...
sorry for the off-topic-ness

[/ QUOTE ]

noo...mine is a laptop monitor...y do you ask?

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

[ QUOTE ]
zoltar said:
That's cool because I was thinking of buying one although everybody seems to be out of stock at the moment /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

surefireparts on ebay has a few left in stock...he is the best guy to deal with. If you have any problems at all with it, he'll fix it for you. Just like this brightness problem, he is sending me a new light.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

There are still some for sale on the b/s/t forum.

I think the GIII has very good brightness considering its size and battery power. I don't doubt that it could be improved but as a practical matter a stock one would probably do anything that one with all the improvements you could make would do.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

[ QUOTE ]
Starshiptrupr said:
Mine's comparable to my other LuxIII's... almost as bright as my twok bin.
I'd probably send that back to the vendor for replacement.
I can't wait to get my sorted QIII from 3rdshift.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Check your mailbox.
Somebody else in Tenn. got his today.
I shipped them out on Thursday.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

Got my Qlll from 3rdshift. Nice WHITE tint, as it should be being pre-selected.

It's as bright as my Gerber LX 3.0, though I think I got an under achiever there, in the lottery.

A nice light, glad I bought it. Small as can be, the clickie is positive, nice workmanship.

I do think the Lux lll hype is overrated, as my SL 3AA Tasklight one wattt/Pelican one watt/SL Jr. one watt Lux, are every bit as bright.

The tail end is my SL TL-2 LED in brightness.

I think in one year, this light will be in the $ 30 range, or less. Much the better for us.

This is a FUN hobby, have enjoyed it a lot.

Re: So the Nuwai Q3 is not so hot after all??

[ QUOTE ]
3rd_shift said:
Check your mailbox.
Somebody else in Tenn. got his today.
I shipped them out on Thursday.

[/ QUOTE ]
Great! Thanks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
JohnK said:
I do think the Lux lll hype is overrated, as my SL 3AA Tasklight one wattt/Pelican one watt/SL Jr. one watt Lux, are every bit as bright.


[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I was surprised by the throw of my SL 3AA. That was my first Luxeon/reflector combination. I like carrying the QIII a lot better though. No problems although it hasn't been broken in yet.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/oops.gif (Looking for the "I dropped my flashlight" graemlin)