How often to replace surefire bulbs?

How often do your surefire incan bulbs last before they need replacement? I've got a C3.

a fresh pair of batteries should last an hour under normal operating conditions. I use my flashlights sporadically (all Surefires) and i replace batteries in each one maybe once every 2 months.

Surefire rates its light assemblies for 25 hours runtime. But just replace it when you notice tint/output change!

I bought 10 of us at work SF E2e's. Five were purchased almost three years ago, five more about two and a half years ago.

During that time we've replaced two lamps, both times the same user, both times because he dropped the light.

Personally I've replaced two Surfire lamps over a 15 year period. One was a 6P (p60) that was 2 years old, that I had just sold. Within days it's new owner said it went out so I don't know what he did (or didn't do).

The second was a from an brand new M6 that litteraly blew up inside the head after less than 10 minutes runtime. Surefire replaced the head and sent three replacement lamps for free.

Double_A said:

. . .from an brand new M6 that literally blew up inside the head after less than 10 minutes runtime. Surefire replaced the head and sent three replacement lamps for free.

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Hopefully the assemblers over at the SureFire plant didn't touch the LA with bare hands leaving an oily residue on the glass now did they?—Probably not! Just a thought. . .

Grox said:

Surefire rates its light assemblies for 25 hours runtime.

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This is my understanding too...but the question is really not that simple. Environmental and useage patterns such as cell temperature, shock & vibration, tactial flashing vs. steady burn, and how often batteries are replaced, all have a huge impact on bulb life.

In the room lighting incandescent lamp business, the "average" rated life is often the time at which 50% of the lamps have failed. Would we be happy if SF told us P60 lamp life was 25 hours, and half of the the bulbs failed before that? I don't think so. I would expect SF to use at least a 90% confidence level, taking into account the way that their lights are typically used in emergency services.

I regularly have peace officers and EMTs say they only replace (P60) bulbs every 2 years, unless they drop their lights while the lights are on. And, they say they replace batteries (on the city's budget) AT LEAST once a week.

I had the same lamp in my 6P original for 7 years. OTOH, I have had three M series lamp assemblies die in less than an hour (running on SF specified batteries) this year. This does not include Hotwire mistakes and failures, which is a differrent subject.

If one is a pest control (termite) inspector and carries a spare lamp in the truck, I bet you can get 50 hours out of your P60, easy. I tell cops to replace their P60s every 6 months or 25 sets of batteries which ever comes first. The lamp cost works out to be about a dollar a week.

I have a good stereo microscope, and each lamp tells a story. I should show a local Sgt (who is a Surefire certified instructor) what his 2 year old P60 filament looks like...