Xeno E03 (1xAA, 1x14500) - XP-G R5 Neutral White - Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS +

[degarb]

I have been reading this thread with avid interest on my cell phone while navigating city taffic. Perhaps i missed a few things when the light turned green and while evading the police. So, what is the lux drop from xpg to xml version? And what is lumen gain? And how would this work as a cap light, velcrod on the duck bill? Runtimes the same? Where is beat place to buy the xpg version? Why didnt they go s2 xpg to keep throw?

 

[Biovent]

My e03 doesn't work anymore with regular aa's. I dropped it with while it was on with a 14500. 14500 still works but aa's don't. Opened everything up and it looks fine. Don't know what it is, but it's not as tough as it feels.

 

[kreisler]

i am really getting in XENO products. The company's name is Zhongwin Technology Development Co., Ltd (or short: Zhongwin) and according to their webpage they are in the LED business as OEM and ODM company since 1998. From what i can tell, our XENO E03 V2 was formerly called "FARKA E09 V2" (see old XENO channel or CPF review) and Zhongwin seems to be phasing out the Farka trademark in favor of the XENO brand.

I've ordered Neutral White (XM-L; not XP-G) too. AFAIK the Neutral White exists in XM-L T5 (first production batches) and in XM-L T6 (latest production batches) so mine should be the NeutralWhite T6. In addition, the flashlight head should read "Xeno E03 V3" instead of "V2". Getting the CoolWhite in T6 is standard fare, i will let you know about the NeutralWhite in T6 (special order) once i got it. I'll take beamshots if ..

Now onto the specs (Specs are quoted for CoolWhite XM-L T6 option from the E03 V3 XM-L manual); [selfbuilt's results for NeutralWhite option]

[Duracell Alkaline]:

Low: ? mA, ? lumens, ? hrs+ [not tested]
Medium: ? mA, ? lumens, ? hrs+ [3h49min to 50%] *brightness perfectly constant*
High: ? mA, ? lumens, ? hrs+ [40min to 50%] *brightness steeply sloping*

Ni-mh cell Sanyo Eneloop 2600mAh [Sanyo Eneloop 2000mAh]:

Low: 20mA, 20 lumens, 20hrs [not tested; 33.5hrs]
Medium: 150mA, 45 lumens, 4hrs [4h42min to 50%] *brightness perfectly constant*
High: 350mA, 120 lumens, 1hr [54min to 50%] *brightness almost constant*

14500 Li-ion 800mAh [AW Protected 750mAh]:

Low: 300mA, 80 lumens, 2.5hrs [2h33min to 50%] *brightness sloping*
Medium: 1000mA, 280 lumens 45min [43min to 50%] *brightness sloping*
High: 1500mA, 430 lumens, 20min [not tested, heat issues feared!]

In the above quote the recommended and most efficient modes in bold depending on your cell type also determine the usage of the light. Here a summary of guidelines:

+ If you all have is Alkaline, then Alkaline perform accetable in Medium and Low Mode. Keep in mind that they are less efficient: Alkaline runtime is less than Eneloop!
+ While Sanyo Eneloop perform acceptable in High Mode, never use Alkaline in High Mode.
+ If you need constant light for a long time, then use Sanyo Eneloop in Medium Mode.
+ If you need bright light for a short time (e.g. to show off :naughty: in front of non-flashaholics), then use 14500 cells in High Mode. No matter what or which Mode you use: with 14500 cells, brightness will decrease a bit over time because the electronic regulation isnt at its best here (compared with the perfect regulation in Spark and ZebraLight flashlights).
+ The efficiency and brightness regulation in the Low Modes of Alkaline vs. Sanyo Eneloop has not been tested, selfbuilt.

 

[J888www]

.........and Zhongwin seems to be phasing out the Farka trademark in favor of the XENO brand.

I'm not surprised, the original name sound darn rude.

......because the electronic regulation isnt at its best here (compared with the perfect regulation in Spark and ZebraLight flashlights).

I hope the current version v3 is have comparable regulations to the other said flashlights. It also seems Zhongwin is not heeding the consumer's demand for more accessories ie:- Clips, Pouches.....

 

[jasonck08]

1998. From what i can tell, our XENO E03 V2 was formerly called "FARKA E09 V2" (see old XENO channel or CPF review) and Zhongwin seems to be phasing out the Farka trademark in favor of the XENO brand.

The Farka E09 is a completely different light (although it may look similar). I have several of these and there are several main differences:

1) Use if a TIR Optic instead of a reflector
2) Support for only AA (14500 would fry the driver)
3) Only a single mode
4) Brass ring around the optic vs SS
5) XR-E LED instead of XP-G / XM-L

You are correct though that Xeno doesn't seem to be using the "FARKA" name lately....

 

[Ian2381]

I Just received my third XENo E03 but now I bought an R5 Version, Bought the V2 but received a V3. Whats the difference between the two in terms of driver or is it just aesthetics?

Here's my heat treated E03

 

[jondotcom]

I Just received my third XENo E03 but now I bought an R5 Version, Bought the V2 but received a V3. Whats the difference between the two in terms of driver or is it just aesthetics?

Here's my heat treated E03

Where did you find that color?

V2->V3 seems to be purely aesthetic. The V3 has a different bezel (look at post1 in this thread), finer knurling, and a larger-bore 14mm tail cap). I wanted a V2 for the knurling but cannot find them, and both orders I've placed for V2 were filled with V3s (different sellers).

 

[Swedpat]

Today I received the 4Sevens Single-Bay Smart Charger with 4x AW's R14500 750mAh batteries. This is my very first experience with 14500 cells. I measured with ceiling bounce test, the cell fresh out from the charger in the EO3 XM-L Warm:
Compared to AA: no more very low mode, the lowest mode is close to the highest with alkalines. The mid mode gives similar lux value as Malkoff M61. The highest mode initial brightness close to Malkoff M91W! It drops a bit after some minute use, and I am surprised the light in my hand will not be warmer than it actually becomes(I expected hot after a minute or so).
Even if I have no integrated sphere for exact measuring it's no doubt that the initial brightness with freshly charged cell at the highest mode will be in the region of close to ~400lm and ~250lm at the mid mode. I know the runtime will suffer compared to using AA, but this is still definitely very nice!

I like the options with a flashlight like Xeno E03. Alkaline, NiMh or Lithium AA cell. Or 14500 Li-Ion. Several possibilities for different purposes. Apart from the two E03 warm, a blue and a red I already have, I will soon order the same colors in neutral tint.

 

[degarb]

What was 4sevens cost of all? The china source that someone posted didn't seem to understand english. I would lean to tacticalhid.info as a source, thinking they are USA based (faster and better service). ..............................................................................................................................I have held off buying because the stated runtime of aa is 1 hour at 100 ish lumens and 2 hours with 14500. If I could get 2 hours with aa (2500 milliamp hour) and 100 lumens on 1 AA I would buy. There is 3 watt hours at least in 1 AA rechargeable, and you have led with 150 lumen per watt range: I would think something close to 2 or 3 hours at 110 lumens could be done. Now , the 14500's only have 1amp hour or only slightly more energy dense than the AA (oddly enough). I am guessing driver might be more efficient with 14500.Also holding off, because I haven't read any post concrete lux readings of the xpg r5 v. the xml with the 110 lumen setting. Only impressions....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................So, to sum it up, reasons I am holding off: 14500's don't appear very energy dense with only 1000 milliamps; I would need to buy charger and cells to an get efficient light (not interested in under 100 lumens or under 2 hours runtime, would be happy with 4 hours at 100+ lumens from single cell tiny light); not sure if I would be happy with lux of xml; finally, I doubt if many months would go by before I didn't drop (outside in the dark) and loose one or both my 14500's (dropping one would ruin ability to pair charge).

 

[varuscelli]

Where did you find that color?

If you're talking about the red version, I've seen the red, blue and black at Tactical HID (with, I think, three different LED versions available for each one). I think that's U.S., but I have no idea if that's where Ian2381 got his.

 

[selfbuilt]

There is 3 watt hours at least in 1 AA rechargeable, and you have led with 150 lumen per watt range: I would think something close to 2 or 3 hours at 110 lumens could be done.

It's more complicated than just theoretical watt hours of batteries and emitters - and heavily dependent on the circuit. The most efficient circuit I've ever seen is the Zebralight SC51 (XP-G R5), and it can only get about 1.5 hours at ~135 lumens on 1x2000mAh Eneloop NiMH. But that light is heavily optimized for NiMH, and doesn't support Li-ion. The ~1 hour on Eneloop that the Xeno E03 gets on Hi (~120 lumens on XP-G and ~145 lumens on XM-L) is quite decent, and consistent with other good quality lights with multi-power circuit support.

Now , the 14500's only have 1amp hour or only slightly more energy dense than the AA (oddly enough).

I wouldn't say that. As my runtime graphs show, the Xeno E03 runs for ~2.5 hours or longer on 14500 on Lo (~105 lumens on the XP-G verison, ~115 lumens on the XM-L version). Although the output is bit lower than Hi with NiMH, that is more than two and the half times the runtime.

Also holding off, because I haven't read any post concrete lux readings of the xpg r5 v. the xml with the 110 lumen setting. Only impressions.

As a general rule, output in lumens correlates fairly linearly with lux @1m. So, you could estimate from my lux and output readings on Med/Hi what to expect on Lo on 14500. That would tell you to expect ~1000 lux @1m at the ~105 lumens Lo mode on the XP-G R5 version, and ~650 lux @1m at the ~115 lumens Lo mode of the XM-L T6 version.

In any case, you don't have to rely on that. There are actual direct measurements of the Hi mode on NiMH given in the summary tables in my review. As you will see there, I have directly measured 1275 lux @1m on the ~130 initial lumens Hi mode of the XP-G R5, and 865 lux @1m on the ~150 initial lumens of the XM-L T6.

As expected, the XP-G R5 version will always have a bit more throw than the XM-L T6 version at comparable output levels.

 

[vaizki]

I've just received Xeno E03s, GITD button and ring in the bezel. However the light seems to flicker very often after I've changed the mode, both with Eneloops and Alkaline. I've broken only one of them out so far because I intended the others as gifts, but what's up with the flicker.. Don't have 14500s for testing.

 

[pblanch]

I get a little bit of the flicker occasionally (not in the beginning though). I think its the switch as a little movement of the cap seems to fix it (until the next time it happens). Not so alarming at the moment but wouldnt count on it as my only EDC decause of that. I have asked around as an alternative cap and no seems to have any reliable alternatives. I did hear about one guy who disassemble it gave it a good WC40 clean and that fixed it. Haven't tried that one myself but could have also just tightened things up a bit when cleaning anyway.

 

[kreisler]

So where do i get those GITD rings for the body??
There is space for 2 such "GITD o-rings" on the body!!! i want!!

 

[varuscelli]

So where do i get those GITD rings for the body??
There is space for 2 such "GITD o-rings" on the body!!! i want!!

There are probably quite a few vendors who carry them, but I know for sure that Lighthound has them in something like 10 different sizes from 1/4 inch to 1 inch. You can go to lighthound.com and click on the GITD link in the left-hand sidebar for a bunch of different GITD goodies, including all those o-rings.

 

[kreisler]

oh great, thanks! nice selection they have, very helpful :huh:.

i found a 20-pack with diameter 20mm. This should be fitting exactly since the outer diameter is 21.8mm. and afaik the "20mm" refer to the outer diameter of the rings.

And here some scans of mine *FYI*:
, ,

 

[kreisler]

I will update this little post with time.

14500 Li-ion 800mAh [AW Protected 750mAh]:

Low: 300mA, 80 lumens, 2.5hrs [2h33min to 50%] *brightness sloping*

test runs done with 2 cells of Protected flamed TrustFire 3.7V 1x 14500 LiIon 900mAh, freshly charged with UltraFire WF-188. no perceivable sloping brightness:

runtime test, cell1: 3h24min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test, cell2: TBA

i also plan run tests in High-mode :devil:

 

[amraspalantir]

hi. is it safe to use imr 14500 cell in this light? worried that i might fry the led with a imr batt. thanks

 

[varuscelli]

hi. is it safe to use imr 14500 cell in this light? worried that i might fry the led with a imr batt. thanks

Well...that's the way it's advertised...and as the title of this thread says, 1x14650...so I think the answer is yes.

 

[surprise!]

hi. is it safe to use imr 14500 cell in this light? worried that i might fry the led with a imr batt. thanks

Actually safer than ICR ("Li-Ion") - the 1500mA draw is already the maximum for a 750mAh ICR cell.
IMRs on the other hand can deliver much more power (AW 14500: 8C -> 4800mA), and the E03 doesn't draw more than the 1500mA on IMR.