Inretech w/NiMH: Brightness, runtimes?

haertig

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2002
Messages
96
I think I'm finally ready to get a Luxeon based light, and I'm leaning towards the Inretech. It looks like lithiums are the way to go from what I've read, but are a little expensive. How are the 1800mAh NiMH's with this adapter? Also, is this a MiniMag only adapter, or will it fit in a Brinkman Legend AA?

Thanks
 

FalconFX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
3,297
Location
Davis, CA
Because this light's direct drive, you'll want lithiums in this. NiMHs, even fresh off the charger for me, creates a pea green light. Of course, this is probably the product of the LS itself and not of the battery usage, so YMMV. The Inretech is similar to the Reactor in that the higher voltage/current you feed it, the brighter and whiter it is...
 

Darkaway

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Messages
242
Location
Valencia, Calif.
My Inretech AA luxeon adaptor works great with 2 NiMH batteries. It runs pretty bright for 3 hrs or so before it begins to dim. I use it to light up the trail during my morning run to work. I am considering using it for EDC. Only one caveat here....it's red.
 

highlandsun

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Messages
607
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Yah, the red ones have a lower Vf so they work fine with two NiMH cells. My white LS barely lights up with two NiMH direct drive. On the other hand, it's blinding-bright with two LiIon AAs (parallel) direct-drive. Even with a 1ohm series resistor it pulls 700mA; 5ohm drops it down to only 200mA. I didn't have anything in between, but putting two of the 5ohms in parallel got me 2.6ohm and 350mA out of a single LiIon with an open circuit voltage of 4.05V.

I'm only playing with bare Luxeon Stars at the moment. Been waiting a month for my Inretech order to arrive....
 

FalconFX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
3,297
Location
Davis, CA
highlandsun, you're runnin' your Inretech off of 7.5-8.0V??? Ain't that a little too high of a Vf for a 1W wLS?
 

FalconFX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
3,297
Location
Davis, CA
Ahh... I've got a couple of Sony 18650S Li-Ions coming in, and will be using them to power up my BB500 and quite possibly putting a 1W-LS in a CMG Infinity body...
 

INRETECH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
1,318
Location
HILLSBORO, OR
The 2AA adapter is not designed to work with NiMh (except maybe for the Red/Or or Red)

Note: We just got a new shipment of Whites and they are VERY bright and WONDERFULL color (No "puke green")
 

BuddTX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2001
Messages
2,521
Location
Houston, TX
Originally posted by INRETECH:
Note: We just got a new shipment of Whites and they are VERY bright and WONDERFULL color (No "puke green")
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That would make them the best value in a Luxeon Star! 20 $!
 

haertig

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2002
Messages
96
Thanks for all the info everyone. So it looks like rechargeabes are not a good idea with a direct drive like the Inretech, but are OK with something like a BadBoy or MadMax. I'm still leaning towards the Inretech because of it's longer runtime.

Has anyone compared the Inretech to a Streamlight 4AA Propolymer LED? I have the Streamlight and it's brightness is more than adequate for my uses. I'm assuming the Inretech will be quite a bit dimmer, but smaller in size. Can anyone give me a gut feel on brightness for Inretech/alkaline vs. Streamlight and Inretech/lithium vs. Streamlight? Just so I know what to expect.

Mike - are these newer whiter Inretechs white on alkalines, or do they require lithiums to run white? Will the Inretech fit into a Brinkman Legend AA or is it MiniMag only?

Thanks again everyone.
 

radellaf

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 10, 2002
Messages
1,087
Location
Raleigh, NC
If they're as white as the LEDcorp Epieon I just got...I want one. I'm due a replacement white in the mail sometime soon so maybe it'll be one of 'em.

I will get a Madmax or BB sometime, but, for the cost of using lithiums, the Inretech is just a "cleaner" mod. No need for a tailswitch, primarily. Well, that and I have an Arc LS. But, it has a blue/magenta tinge. Much as I like that, I'm very much looking forward to a few more bright pure white Luxeon lights. I'm hoping the one in my Epieon is a good sign and we'll get more like that from now on. (ever hopeful, I know).
 

INRETECH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
1,318
Location
HILLSBORO, OR
Question was

Mike - are these newer whiter Inretechs white on alkalines, or do they require lithiums to run white? Will the Inretech fit into a Brinkman Legend AA or is it MiniMag only?

Answer

These newer white LEDs that we got in our last batch run WONDERFULLY on AAs; they are the best that we have ever seen

I can't answer the question about the Brinkman, I don't have one; so I would say no - but AA-MAGs are available for under $10 anywhere - check TARGET
 

haertig

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2002
Messages
96
Thanks. I already bought a new MiniMag at Target ($8.84 here near Denver) - not that I really need ANOTHER one. I was just wondering on the Brinkman thing. I've heard those are good AA lights too - but I've never tried one.
 

highlandsun

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Messages
607
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Originally posted by FalconFX:
highlandsun, you're runnin' your Inretech off of 7.5-8.0V??? Ain't that a little too high of a Vf for a 1W wLS?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Look again, I said I'm running off two AA LiIons in *parallel*. 1260mAh @ 3.6V, over 4 hours of full-brightness runtime for a 1W white LS. By the way, in a separate test I ran one of the AAs by itself all the way down to 3.0V. When I recharged it, the Maha charger said it had pumped 850mAh of juice into the cell. These things are great...

Also, as I said before, I'm using a plain Luxeon Star - my Inretech order still hasn't arrived.
 
Top