ProPoly Luxeon + Lithium AA?

Will the Streamlight Propolymer Luxeon function with lithium AA batteries or will it fry the LED?

spoonrobot said:

Will the Streamlight Propolymer Luxeon function with lithium AA batteries or will it fry the LED?

Click to expand...

I've been running both of mine them without issues so far. I've been thru (2) sets on each to date.

TIN,

Are you using E2s or Battery Station's? The latter have really high voltages. Mine have been up around 1.9V

-LT

Lunal_Tic said:

TIN,

Are you using E2s or Battery Station's? The latter have really high voltages. Mine have been up around 1.9V

-LT

Click to expand...

Good point. I'm using Energizer E2 cells. I don't mind being a bit balls-zee using the E2's, but the BS brand have too much voltage for me to trust. Besides, the E2's are slightly lighter in weight than the BS brand.

Thanks TIN,

Didn't know they were heavier just hotter.

-LT

I just received two Propoly Lux's and must say it is an "AWESOME Light". It has become my favorite!

However, I did contact StreamLight to inquire about the same thing and was told NOT to use Lithiums in this light. Alkalines are the recommended power source.

Granted, even though you may not of had any issuses up till now with dropping lithiums in the light, you will "VOID THE WARRANTY" if it does eventually blow.

Nevertheless, keep us posted. Hey if it doesn't blow, I would love to drop lithiums in mine as well, especially during the cold months.

Cold weather performance aside, lithiums kind of defeat the excellent regulation setup of this light. It runs FLAT for around 3.5 hours on alks. Even nimh cells would be questionable unless lots and lots of use is expected. Remembering that alks are only around 25% of the price of lithiums (at the very best), you get 14 hours of regulated performance vs probably not a whole lot more with lithiums. Even a 20% increase wouldn't make it worthwhile. The alks just aren't being hit hard enough to justify the expense by rewarding you with extra performance.

If you don't get a brighter, more constant output or longer running light, why use lithiums? BTW, I do use lithiums in many of my lights, but in this case, alks are what seems to be best for this design. Just my humble opinion, such as it is.

Phaserburn said:

Cold weather performance aside, lithiums kind of defeat the excellent regulation setup of this light. It runs FLAT for around 3.5 hours on alks. Even nimh cells would be questionable unless lots and lots of use is expected. Remembering that alks are only around 25% of the price of lithiums (at the very best), you get 14 hours of regulated performance vs probably not a whole lot more with lithiums. Even a 20% increase wouldn't make it worthwhile. The alks just aren't being hit hard enough to justify the expense by rewarding you with extra performance.

If you don't get a brighter, more constant output or longer running light, why use lithiums? BTW, I do use lithiums in many of my lights, but in this case, alks are what seems to be best for this design. Just my humble opinion, such as it is.

Click to expand...

The light, loaded with (4) lithiums weighs a heck of allot lighter than when loaded with alkaline. To some, that may be enough of an advantage.

Regulation is regulation, Lithium or not. The only real question is whether the higher initial voltage of the lithium primaries will harm the converter and/or increase the current going to the LED. So far we haven't seen any evidence of either of these (other than SL's "CYA" response).

Lithiums are a real benefit for anyone (like me) that keeps this light for emergency use and doesn't want to either ruin the light when the alkalines eventually leak or don't want to have to worry about alkalines slowly self-discharging in the hot glove box or trunk of a car.

After my first PT 40 cracked and was ruined by over-discharged and leaking alkalines I swore I'd never use them again for car and/or emergency lights.

Jon

My PP Luxeon will also be living in my car; and I've been planning to stuff it with NiMH cells when it finally arrives. Energizer 2500 mAh cells, to be specific.

However, all this talk about leaking cells has made me wonder if this is the correct choice. Are NiMH cells prone to leakage when subjected to the temperature abuse inside of a vehicle? I'm not worried about the self-discharge problem since I plan to rotate freshly charged cells through the light on a regular schedule. Also, I'll just have to live with the weight penalty since I intend for this to be one of my "cheap" lights. There are good reasons for using lithium AAs, but it doesn't fit my agenda for this particular light.

What about cold weather performance with NiMH when compared to alkalines?

I use NiMH in my SL Jr Lux. No issues with too much heat, leaking etc. I put them in there over alkalines because they worked better in cold weather. So that answers your question.'

Is the PP luxeon regulated or just resistored? I take it the first...?

IsaacHayes said:

Is the PP luxeon regulated or just resistored? I take it the first...?

Click to expand...

Definitely fully regulated. According to the runtime plot on flashlightreviews.com the output is very flat for 3.5 hours.

By the way, thanks for answering my question. It's good to know that NiMH cells will perform well in the cold.

While I have more flashlights than I can possibly use, I did break down and buy a SL ProPoly Lux. I have to say it's an amazing light for the money. Great tint emittor; really, really nice beam with good throw, and some decent spill.

Streamlight has really made a great flashlight; the relatively low price is more than a little amazing, given the quality and features.

The light seems reasonably abuse resistant, as well. I was thinking of putting it in my car, with lithiums, since I don't care if it gets beat up.

I've metered some BS lithiums, and the batch I got were all very close to 1.75 volts, with a few at 1.8 on my cheap DMM.

I have some L-91's. I haven't metered any of them for awhile, but IIRC, they were around 1.72. I'll check through what I have on hand, and put in 4 of the lowest voltage ones I can find. With winter coming on, I don't want to put any alkaline powered lights in my car.

I'd tend to think in cold weather the lithiums would be much less likely to fry the emittor, as well. :thinking: I'm not so sure about having lithiums in it during the summer, though. Starting out with the SL at 80 or 85 degrees with lithiums may be pushing my luck a bit. But then, the light is cheap enough that I wouldn't be too upset; I'd just hate to have it die on me when I really needed it!