# Differences of Incandescent Bulbs



## ericjohn (Feb 10, 2012)

OK different bulbs have different brightness levels, different thermal temparatures, different fill gasses, different lifespans and different battery efficency.

My question is how do you figure out which one(s) is the best at the various aformentioned qualities.

AND How do you figure out which one is the best for the applications where anyone of these qualities are desired

For example, take the 2D designed bulb:
PR6 Vacuum/Argon
PR2 Vacuun/Argon
KPR102 Krypton
XPR102 Xenon
HPR52 Halogen

Someone help.


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## angelofwar (Feb 10, 2012)

Xenon is probably the best...halogen behind that. Desired??? You want the brightest, go for xenon. Xenon has the best qualities, but isn't used as much, due to the higher cost of the gas itself. There's really not much of a way to answer your question...except by what was offered here...


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## ericjohn (Feb 10, 2012)

i am not to concerned about brightness as i am trying to be prepared for emergency. what i do want is to have a bulb that lasts long and is battery efficient. I just want a light that would light up my immediate area at night or in a dark room, shed, barn whatever...which bulb is most battery efficient and which bulb has the longest burn time.

whatever that bulb is i am going to stock up on (the 2D and 3D) sizes and also as many industrial alkaline d's as possible.

also with 6V lanterns (908 battery) which bulb would be better in battery life and burn time; pr13 or pr15.

i appreciate the help.


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## angelofwar (Feb 10, 2012)

Well...what light do you have? First off, I would find a LED drop-in for it...that way you don't have to worry about efficiency. Second, I wouldn't stock up TOO much on the cells. While it's great to "be prepared", alkaline batteries aren't the best cell to stock up on due to leakage and short shelf life. Let me know what you have as far as lights, and I'll see what I can come up with for you to help you out.

But, to answer your question...Incans are not efficient...period...the draw (battery consumption) doesn't really change based off the gas in the bulb. You could "regulate" an incan by increasing resistance, there-by reducing consumption, but incan bulbs will die faster running below wattage.

(if your in to "Emergency Prepardeness", also check out my Pelican Survival Tin link in my sig...and go from there :0))


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## jh333233 (Feb 11, 2012)

angelofwar said:


> Xenon is probably the best...halogen behind that. Desired??? You want the brightest, go for xenon. Xenon has the best qualities, but isn't used as much, due to the higher cost of the gas itself. There's really not much of a way to answer your question...except by what was offered here...



Xenon-halogen hybrid has the longest life-cycle by using halogen-cycle
Xenon is so inert that preventing oxidation of filament
And this formula is what the SF use


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## ico (Feb 11, 2012)

For battery efficiency, LED is the way to go.

There are LED drop ins you can that fits the 2D,3D cell flashlights by maglite(if that's what you own.

Look at surefire, The 6P original incan model has a runtime of 60 minutes at 60 lumens. The 6P LED has a runtime of 120 minutes at 120 lumens, if they had a light that has the same output of 60lumens, using the config of 2 CR123 batteries, the runtine would be >10 hours I guess. So LED has a better battery efficiency since you can get longer runtimes with the same lumen rating against incans


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## jh333233 (Feb 11, 2012)

Maybe the OP prefers a perfect 100-CRI beam or situation where LED isnt useful


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## ericjohn (Feb 11, 2012)

I have a few LED flashlights. What I DO NOT like about them is that they are non repairable and they are not EMP proof. Whereas an incandescent running on PR bulbs is generally easy to repair and PR bulbs are readily available that one can by them in bulk. As for the lights I own I have several that are just on the shelf. However, the ones that I use on a regular basis are: Eveready 1251, Bright Star 2224, Bright Star 2217 (I have a natural gas pipeline running under my house), Bright Star 2618, Mini Maglite incandescent, 2 C Cell Maglite, and a Pelican MityLite 1960 (my only EDC LED). In my backpack I carry my Pelican 1960, Mini Maglite incandescent and my Bright Star 2618. I plan to buy a 3D Maglite incandescent in the near future, and I am also restoring a Bright Star 1618 from the 50's or 60's. I thought the industrial alkalines had a shelf life of 7 years (and I have some Rayovac alkalines that are at least 12 years old, still working.) As you can see most of my flashlights that I use either run on 2D or 3D...My question is for long bulb life (which is my top priority) and for decent battery life (my other concern) should I use PR, KPR, XPR or HPR.

any help appreciated and thanks in advance


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## jh333233 (Feb 11, 2012)

ericjohn said:


> I have a few LED flashlights. What I DO NOT like about them is that they are *non repairable* and they are not EMP proof. Whereas an incandescent running on PR bulbs is *generally easy to repair and PR bulbs are readily available that one can by them in bulk.* As for the lights I own I have several that are just on the shelf. However, the ones that I use on a regular basis are: Eveready 1251, Bright Star 2224, Bright Star 2217 (I have a natural gas pipeline running under my house), Bright Star 2618, Mini Maglite incandescent, 2 C Cell Maglite, and a Pelican MityLite 1960 (my only EDC LED). In my backpack I carry my Pelican 1960, Mini Maglite incandescent and my Bright Star 2618. I plan to buy a 3D Maglite incandescent in the near future, and I am also restoring a Bright Star 1618 from the 50's or 60's. I thought *the industrial alkalines had a shelf life of 7 years* (and I have some Rayovac alkalines that are at least 12 years old, still working.) As you can see most of my flashlights that I use either run on 2D or 3D...My question is for *long bulb life (which is my top priority) and for decent battery life (my other concern)* should I use PR, KPR, XPR or HPR.
> 
> any help appreciated and thanks in advance



They are repairable, de-solder and re-solder
Or dropin-light like surefure, can be replaced with whole emitter unit
Dropin can be bought in bulk and it is more shock-resistant

Under dry condition and 25 degree celsius, Cree claims LED can be stored forever(mostly preferred in their moisture barrier bag)

Its true that incan bulb lasts forever if they arent used or exhausted the bulb life
But i prefer lithium battery for emergency backup as they last longer than alkalines

$.02 over


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## ericjohn (Feb 11, 2012)

I cannot afford surefire right now, nor do I have a steady enough hand or calm enough nerves to start with soldering irons. I'd rather keep it simple, but I learned something new: I did not realize you could replace the LED module in a Sure Fire, the only problem is, what if that specific model is discontinued; thats the other reason that keeps me from buying surefire. Also, some LED flashlights are sealed in and you cannot get to the broken circuitry, without ruining the light itself. I'd rather stick with a standard PR based flashlight which is easily repairable and the lamp is replaceable.


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## HotWire (Feb 11, 2012)

Light is important. I have a bunch of them of all types. Spare batteries and a solar charger are also useful. Alkaline batteries tend to leak. If you choose alkaline as a power source you should replace them from time to time. The real problem is a source of water and food. Be sure to have MREs or dehydrated camping food along with bottled water. That stuff should be cycled from time to time as well. LED lights are quite reliable, but you should have more than one!


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## ZMZ67 (Feb 13, 2012)

IIRC the krypton bulbs for Maglite offer longer runtime than the xenon bulbs but I prefer the output of the xenon bulbs.Any incan bulb is going to offer a relatively short runtime so I am with the others in recommending at least some LEDs.Nite-Ize has a couple of inexpensive LED drop-ins for the Mini-mag and there is a brighter one fromTerraLUX (TLE-5EX) that is moderately priced.TerraLUX also has the TLE-6EX/TLE-6EXB for C and D cell Maglites that are LED replacements in the moderate price range.For low cost I like the Dorcy LED replacement bulb,they are PR base and have the added advantage of dual-polarity (a rarity with LED bulbs) so you can use them with 6 volt lanterns and other (-) polarity lights.The Dorcy bulbs list for $9 on the Dorcy Direct site but there is usually a discount available and they run frequent sales.The same bulb is available at SEARS under the Craftsman brand name.
Even though I have some high quality lights I am a fan of PR base incans for the same reasons as you.I use the LED replacement bulbs mentioned in many of those lights usually running off of lithium AAs (There are adapters for C and D cell lights).If you are using alkaline batteries check them often as they are prone to leaks.The main disadvantage of the LED replacement bulbs is the cool white output.Incans still offer the best color rendition and contrast especially outdoors IMHO.


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## angelofwar (Feb 13, 2012)

Well, based on your current conundrum OP, I would go along with ZMZ767, and add this; Have the bulk of your Incan models loaded with LED Drop-Ins (the Nite-Ize 10mm has a particularly long run-time), for "small emergencies", but have the incan bulbs for said lights readily available. If an EMP strike does occur and kills the LED's, swap out to incan bulbs, since the rest of the light should be good. An EMP over the U.S. is pretty low on the "SHTF" richter scale. I'd be more worried about tornadoes/earthquakes, or bug-in scenarios, like unruly crowds. And yes, as hot wire mentioned, before you take too muc hstock into lights, I'd make sure I had my other basics covered first...water/food/fire/shelter...among other "things". Or, build a small faraday cage (even something like 24" x 24") to keep all your sensitive electronics in. If we are exposed to a sun based EMP, I'm sure we'd have a decent warning, as there are various sites that monitor this stuff. As for a nuclear EMP, we'd have 15 minutes or so (that is if the governement would want to warn us or not...I'm guessing the induced panic may be more of a problem than the nukes, depending on the number launched).


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