It's back on! Scout24 has added a challenger! 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge

[nfetterly]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Yes, but will it blend?

okay I am reading this BC (before coffee), "will it blend", I thought about the light mixing until I finally got it. This is a great thread. Subscribed.

 

[Phlogiston]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Don't forget the DIY EMP test: 60 seconds in the microwave at full power.

http://youtu.be/n6y3T1hwnrQ

This procedure is also very good for testing flashlights with a hidden Fire-On-A-Stick mode.

On a more serious note, I'm very impressed that the Sunwayman light still works after falling open inside a rock tumbler!

 

[more_vampires]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Glorious! Permanently bookmarked!

 

[run4jc]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Don't forget the DIY EMP test: 60 seconds in the microwave at full power.

http://youtu.be/n6y3T1hwnrQ

This procedure is also very good for testing flashlights with a hidden Fire-On-A-Stick mode.

On a more serious note, I'm very impressed that the Sunwayman light still works after falling open inside a rock tumbler!

Thanks - the microwave test is awesome, but I'm gonna pass on that one! Well, we have updates. The Rock Tumbler Torture Test is over. Would you want to spend 20 hours constantly bumping into 1 inch triangular ceramic media? Along with 3 other flashlights?




The Sunwayman didn't make it. I think perhaps the ease with which the head turns - great in daily use - allowed the head to come off too easily in the tumbler and alas, something important was ground away. But I seriously doubt that the lights would encounter anything even close to this! And it did survive the first time the head came off....

Here's a video of the unveiling!



Here are a number of photos after the 'clean up.' (A more thorough clean up will happen shortly in the dishwasher... :devil

The battery that fell out of the Sunwayman..





Here's the Sunwayman - multiple views







Here's the Klarus - more and more impressed with this little light.



Good view of the 'reflector' - talk about the 'treatment!'



The Fenix - continues to be the "cockroach of flashlights"









And the Nitecore T0 - I suppose you can say that the stainless head has been thoroughly stone washed!!









And finally, the gang. Do you suppose they feel a sense of camaraderie? Do you suppose they miss their brother, the Sunwayman? After all, they've been through a lot together!





Bwahahahahahaha!! On to the dishwasher! Then the freezer! Then the oven! Then the brick wall tests! Who will survive?! (Can you tell that I'm having just a bit too much fun with this?)

 

[nbp]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

These videos are great Dan! The lowly 5mm lights seem to still fill a real position in our collections; indestructible backups for disaster and survival preparedness!

 

[Mr Floppy]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Interesting (to me, at least) that the Klarus starts out about 40% brighter than the new Fenix - 18 lumen versus 13, yet still runs longer

You can get the same effect with a coil based joule thief. I have made joule thieves that last longer than the E01. In fact, I have the board for a mag solitaire drop-in and that is a coil based joule thief which lasts longer than the E01. The difference is that it doesn't have that long flat regulation that you get with the E01 but once it drops under 1V, there is a long long tail until the battery hits about 0.3V.

 

[run4jc]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

^Thanks Mr. Floppy! I have several joule thieves around the house but none in the form you speak of. I had an E01 take a battery down to .297V - it's awesome when they can extract that much juice from the ubiquitous AAA.

Time for an update. The 3 "surviving" lights have been shackled together for the remaining tests. After a good scrub in soapy water they look pretty good...



But into the dishwasher for even more of a scrub



They survived a full cycle with no problem - in fact, they emerged even cleaner



So now it's time for them to hang out with Ben and Jerry overnight - or maybe even longer. Maybe until I get home from work tomorrow. I puffed air into the bezel to blow out any remaining drops of water from the dishwasher...but clearly all three of them (and the now defunct Sunwayman) have potted electronics.



So we'll catch up tomorrow evening after they emerge from the freezer and spend some time warming up in the oven . The weather is gonna be lousy here tomorrow so the brick wall test (the final test) will probably have to wait until Tuesday.

Thanks, all, for your interest and your comments! lovecpf

EDIT - after about an hour in the freezer, the Nitecore is not putting out any light...the Klarus is dimmed significantly....and the Fenix is as bright as it was when it went into the freezer. Maybe the Nitecore and Klarus will recover when they 'thaw', but I know that the Fenix survived a night in the snow in sub-freezing temps with Scout24 up in New York. Hmmm. The 'cockroach of flashlights' is surging here in the home stretch.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

This is painful to watch.I think I hear my Arc AAA whimpering from inside my backpack,"Don't hurt me..."

 

[ForrestChump]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

I want the Klarus to win, I like an underdog.

 

[gunga]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Great tests! Btw, the Sunwayman is not potted. I modded one before.


Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums

 

[run4jc]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

I want the Klarus to win, I like an underdog.

Great tests! Btw, the Sunwayman is not potted. I modded one before.
Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums

Gunga - thanks for the info. I may dissect the little guy and see if I can perform an 'autopsy' of sorts...

ForrestChump - at least in the freezer test you are getting your wish. The Klarus is the only one that is still lit after 10.5 hours in the freezer. At 12 hours they'll come out and assume room temperature while I am at work. When I get home, IF they are all producing light again I'll give 'em the "hot car in summer" test and put them in the oven for a few hours at 200-225.

 

[Toohotruk]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

I LOVE torture tests!!! :naughty:

Thanks for biting the bullet on these poor lights.

 

[run4jc]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Freezer test over. After 12 hours the Klarus was the only light still lit while in the freezer - took them out and they were showing (by the time I got around to measuring ) around 25 degrees Fahrenheit.



Then after about 5 minutes, the Fenix 'woke up...'



The after about another minute, the Nitecore 'woke up', too



Checked voltages -

The Nitecore was clearly shut down most of the night - battery showing 1.315V
Fenix shut down for a while - battery at .9
Klarus stayed on the entire time - battery at .84

When I get home from work I'll check the batteries again (assuming all the lights are on) and put them in a 200 degree oven for an hour. Then it's off to the brick wall test - and that'll be it. I've spent FAR too much time with this little experiment, but it sure has been fun.

 

[subwoofer]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Excellent results.

The way I read that, the Klarus driver will function on a lower cell voltage than the rest. While in the freezer the cells voltage must have dropped enough for the other two to shut down, yet the Klarus kept going.

I'd be interested to see if after a E01 runtime test, can that cell be put into the Klarus, and still give light?

 

[scout24]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Crazy that they're still going! :bow: Thanks for keeping us updated, Dan.

 

[TEEJ]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

LOL

NICE!

Looking forward to the rest of your torture testing!

 

[kj2]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Still going, wauw!

 

[more_vampires]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Advantage: Klarus.

 

[run4jc]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Well they went into the toaster oven at 200 degrees about 15 minutes ago. So far, so good

 

[subwoofer]

Re: 5MM LED AAA Light Challenge - Sunwayman, Nitecore, Klarus and Fenix duke it out

Well they went into the toaster oven at 200 degrees about 15 minutes ago. So far, so good

When I saw that in my email updates I thought you had them at 200 Celsius!! OK, hot enough though.