# Dorcy 45 lumen 1x AAA Comparison Review



## UnknownVT (Feb 20, 2008)

Interesting lights I got recently -
Dorcy 45 lumens 1xAA and 1xAAA 






This is the 1x AAA version -
41-4252 45 Lumens 1 Watt - LED Focusing Flashlight With 1 AAA Battery





Size -





Heads -





The most interesting aspect for me is that the light has lens adjustable focus.

First let's compare it with the now classic Dorcy 1AAA (gen4 Spot) -

vs. Dorcy 1AAA both on NiMH -







it's pretty obvious that even with wider coverage the 45 lumen Dorcy 1x AAA is noticably brighter.

Because the head can be focussed - we can sort of compare apples-to-apples by adjusting the spot on the 45 lumen version to approx the same size as the Dorcy 1AAA gen4 -







focussed this way the 45 lumen Dorcy is obviously several times brighter.

But is it really 45 lumens?
That figure is probably only the bulb output - 
but how much lower is it out the front?

vs. Fenix L0D-Q4  on Turbo (75 lumens) both on NiMH -







pretty obviously not as bright as the L0D-Q4 on Turbo - but not bad.....

However if one focusses the light for the tightest spot - this is what we can get compared to the L0D-Q4 on Turbo -




that's impressive - but remember that is a very tight spot with not much, if any, usable side spill

vs. Inova X1 Spot - White on NiMH







The original Inova X1 has a kind of unique quality of having a very narrow spot - mine is a late model possibly with the Nichia CS - it does quite well because of that narrow spot.

... to be continued......


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## mayo (Feb 20, 2008)

Great review. Got one ordered, free shipping. Great..


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## fresnorich (Feb 20, 2008)

I saw them in the local Orchard Supply Hardware store here. I think they were around $20.


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## TooManyGizmos (Feb 20, 2008)

:ironic:

Can these be bought on-line somewhere ?


Rather than making multiple expensive trips to all the local Wal*Mart & hardware type stores in the local area ..... trying to find them ?

When ya want an individual item like this ...... it's nearly impossible to find one IN- STock !

I'm low on GAS ...............

.


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## TooManyGizmos (Feb 20, 2008)

UnknownVT ,

From reading the rear of the package , in your "OP" (opening post).... it says " End cap switch" .........

Can you please confirm that it has a clickie switch / or does that mean the tail cap acts as a "Twist switch" ?

it is not clear - I am in state of confusion !!
.


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## TooManyGizmos (Feb 21, 2008)

If this Dorcy "AAA" light does have a clickie switch at the end of it .....

It will be the FirsT AAA with a clickie that I am aware of.

Is that not correct ??????


Many on here have been wanting such an animal. 

Who can direct me to a clickie "AAA" .... ??

.


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## kramer5150 (Feb 21, 2008)

Nice review... thanks!! I like the only Dorcy light I have, its a very good value IMHO.

can you please compare the dorcy lights with that nuwai river rock 2AA?

thanks


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## gunga (Feb 21, 2008)

TooManyGizmos said:


> If this Dorcy "AAA" light does have a clickie switch at the end of it .....
> 
> It will be the FirsT AAA with a clickie that I am aware of.
> 
> ...


 

Clicky AAA:


Streamlight Microstream
Lumapower Avenger (wait a bit on this one till they sort out the new switches).


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## Inferno (Feb 21, 2008)

The Streamlight AAA comes with a clickie... as for this light, well, I'm sure it is; I have the 2AA version and it has a reverse clickie on the back.


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## UnknownVT (Feb 21, 2008)

TooManyGizmos said:


> :ironic:
> Can these be bought on-line somewhere ?
> I'm low on GAS ................


 
yes.....

Should have clicked on the link I gave in the opening post -
41-4252 45 Lumens 1 Watt - LED Focusing Flashlight With 1 AAA Battery

you again? 


TooManyGizmos said:


> If this Dorcy "AAA" light does have a clickie switch at the end of it .....
> It will be the FirsT AAA with a clickie that I am aware of.
> Who can direct me to a clickie "AAA" .... ??


 
Are you _in LUCK_! 
not only does this Dorcy 45 lumen 1AAA have a clicky - 
it's a *Forward*/tactical type clicky.

Should have clicked on the link at the start of my opening post _-_
Dorcy 45 lumens 1xAA and 1xAAA


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## UnknownVT (Feb 21, 2008)

UnknownVT said:


> ... to be continued......


 
Can the Dorcy 45 lumen 1AAA be focussed as tight as the Inova X1 Spot - White to do an apples-to-apples comparison?




maybe not quite as tight, nor is the light as even in the spot - but the Dorcy sure is brighter.



kramer5150 said:


> can you please compare the dorcy lights with that nuwai river rock 2AA?


 
vs. River Rock 1.5w 2AA 







River Rock 2AA looked brighter - but its Spot is smaller more concentrated - 
how does it compare if the Dorcy is focussed to about the same sized spot?




close but I think maybe the RR 2AA is still a bit brighter - 
however the impressive thing is the Dorcy can be focussed and it's using only a single AAA!

Now the possible _BAD_ news -

About 3/4 way through my comparison beamshots the Dorcy 45 lumen 1AAA would not turn back on - 
I had already experienced what I thought was an intermittent tail-switch on the AA version - 
surely this couldn't be happening on the AAA version too?

Nope it wasn't - it was simply the battery was depleted.

Now this was a bit of a shock - since I only put in a "full" eneloop AAA yesterday when I got the light - obviously I played around with the light trying it out - and these comparison beams shots don't take that long, and I even turn off the light between shots to conserve battery - so I really didn't expect the battery to be "flat" - but it was.

Double checking I took the current draw at the tail -

freshly charged eneloop - 1.44V o-c = *2.25A*!!!
used eneloop - 1.282V o-c = 2.05A
Energizer Alkaline 1.484V o-c = 1.68A

Holy-moly these are high current draws about *2 Amps!*
This means the power sucked out at the battery is about ~*3watts*
This is a lot of power to drive a 1watt LED - so either the LED or the circuit - or combination is really _*IN*_efficient.

My _GUESS_timate of runtime is going to be in the region of only about 20 minutes on eneloops (800mAh NiMH).


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## TooManyGizmos (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks to all for the other AAA clickie recomendations - but actually I was asking about other Single battery AAA lights w/clikie

And Vincent ,

No , I didn't see that info you spoke of ........
Because it was in an entirely different thread , not this one.
Quote:
Should have clicked on the link at the start of my opening post _-_
Dorcy 45 lumens 1xAA and 1xAAA

Is it a nice feeling switch / not too stiff ?
You made a nice find on this.... thanks for telling us.
Thanks for all your reviews , Vincent.


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## gunga (Feb 21, 2008)

The 2 I mentioned are both 1 AAA clickies...


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## Monocrom (Feb 21, 2008)

I was excited.... until you mentioned the runtime is only about 20 minutes.

I have lights with only 20 minute runtimes. Lights like my Surefire M6!

Wow! Only 20 minutes for a 1AAA light? 

I have a soft spot for Dorcy. Mainly because they put their lights in common B&M stores, thus making them some of the best lights that many non-flashaholics will ever own. But damn, 20 minutes?? :shakehead


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## UnknownVT (Feb 21, 2008)

TooManyGizmos said:


> No , I didn't see that info you spoke of ........
> Because it was in an entirely different thread , not this one.
> Quote:
> Should have clicked on the link at the start of my opening post _-_
> ...


 
Ha-ha! - you still won't click on that link?

My impression of the clicky feel is in there


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## TooManyGizmos (Feb 21, 2008)

..

O.K. / I got it




.


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## Robocop (Feb 21, 2008)

Very nice review and we appreciate the hard work.....thanks again.

It looks like this Dorcy will have very good mod potential and if that circuit pulls that much maybe a good 3 watt luxeon would do very nicely. It would interesting to see the circuit so some of our tech guys can tell us what type parts are used. Have you tried to take the light apart yet? I am curious to see if it is hard to reach the internals as if it is easy I may buy a few just to mod .


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## UnknownVT (Feb 21, 2008)

Monocrom said:


> I was excited.... until you mentioned the runtime is only about 20 minutes.
> But damn, 20 minutes?? :shakehead


 
OK caveat - it is only my _GUESS_timate - 

NiMH (eneloop AAA 800mAh) - draws over 2Amps so that's 800/2000 hrs at 100% efficiency = 0.4 hrs = 24 mins.

Alkaline (Energizer AAA 1250mAh but this rating is at low currents ~C/20) -
draws 1.7A - the straight calculation gives 1250/1680hrs = 0.744hrs - 
but most know the capacity is much, much lower for higher current drains - and we are talking about 1.34x capacity - so it would not surprise me if the runtime is half the calculation, which brings us back to about 20mins or less..... (more knowledgeable people please advise?)


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## UnknownVT (Feb 21, 2008)

UnknownVT said:


> OK caveat - it is only my _GUESS_timate -
> NiMH (eneloop AAA 800mAh) - draws over 2Amps so that's 800/2000 hrs at 100% efficiency = 0.4 hrs = 24 mins.


 
My crude runtimes with a camera - 
start with freshly charged eneloop AAA 800mAh - 
compare with reference - Dorcy 45 lumen AA with Kodak Pre-Charged 2100mAh AA also freshly charged, but only turned on for the comparison beamshots. 
A shot taken about every 4-5 mins (used a timer - and camera set to imprint date/time)

Start 00 mins ....................................................................... ~ 05mins








~ 10 mins ........................................................................... ~ 14mins








~ 19 mins ............................................................................ ~ 24mins








~ 29mins





I used auto exposure with a -1 stop underexposure compensation - 
one could argue the use of fixed exposure - 
but since there is a reference light in the pic of essentially constant/same brightness for comparison - I thought the auto exposure would give the dimming light a better chance of actually being seen.

As it is, one can see by ~ 24 mins it was definitely dimmer, and at ~29 mins the beam didn't even show on the comparison despite the auto exposure - although there was still some dim light in real-life. I didn't show the shot taken at ~33mins but the AAA light hardly showed even in real-life and I stopped the runtime test.

So the runtime to 50% on a freshly charged eneloop 800mAh AAA is probably in the region of 19-24 mins - at least from this crude test - 
and around 33 mins to close to no light......


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## Gunner12 (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks for the review.

I wonder what would happen if you modded it with a Cree XR-E Q5...


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## parnass (Feb 21, 2008)

A runtime of less than 30 minutes is a deal killer for me. Thanks for your fine work, UnknownVT. I enjoy your reports.


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## Monocrom (Feb 22, 2008)

Thanks for doing the runtime testing and posting the pics. :thumbsup:


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## Lynx_Arc (Feb 22, 2008)

oh if it only was reflector instead of optics.... $16 with free shipping is a good price.


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## UnknownVT (Feb 22, 2008)

Lynx_Arc said:


> oh if it only was reflector instead of optics.... $16 with free shipping is a good price.


 
Hmmm.... the adjustable focus optics was the feature that I liked the most, and exactly ther reason why I got this light (the forward clicky was a real bonus).

CPF seems to have this thing about optics "Spot" lights - 
this Dorcy 45 lumen AAA light at approx 4ft in front gives about ~3ft sideways, ~4ft diameter extending forwards - this is quite a good area of light - especially considering the light is very even in the circle - which makes things look almost "Hi-Def".

The lens can be focussed to a pretty tight spot for more distant viewing - when most of us (whether we like it or not) are using basically the hotspot only - this light tightly focussed rivals a L0D-Q4 on Turbo (that's a rated 75 lumens light).

Anyway as always YMMV.


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## UnknownVT (Feb 22, 2008)

Robocop said:


> It looks like this Dorcy will have very good mod potential and if that circuit pulls that much maybe a good 3 watt luxeon would do very nicely. It would interesting to see the circuit so some of our tech guys can tell us what type parts are used. Have you tried to take the light apart yet? I am curious to see if it is hard to reach the internals as if it is easy I may buy a few just to mod .


 
Can't quite bring myself to take the light apart yet - 
the LED/circuit assembly looks as if it's crimped in place - 
here's a shot of the LED assembly -





That's supposed to be a Nichia LED - has a soft dome and looks kind of "frosted", 
what looks like cut-outs and tabs each side of the LED - is actually a circuit board - mounted in a similar way as the board is implemented on the classic Dorcy 1AAA - 
since it's in the body tube I can't see or photograph it unless I take it apart - for now I can't see an easy way without prying the crimp/hold apart which may destroy the mounting.


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## Ty_Bower (Feb 22, 2008)

It's nearly as big as a Fenix L1. That would be a tough sell on me.

Give the price and fuel source, it needs to be competitive with the Streamlight Microstream (1xAAA). I'm not certain I see that here.


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## Illum (Feb 22, 2008)

I'm surprised it doesn't have a reflector


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## UnknownVT (Feb 23, 2008)

Standardized Stairway shots -







the eyes in real-life see a lot more than the shots show - there is plenty of light at the widest angle setting - and the quality in terms of eveness is really good - things seem to look "Hi-Def" compared to almost any reflectored light. 

At the other end, the light can be focussed to a pretty tight spot which is great for more distant viewing when most of us are using only the hotspot anyway.

Overall as a light this is very, very good especially the adjustable focussing optics -

BUT for me the killer is the runtime of only about 20 minutes.

I reported this to Dorcy - whose engineers said to get that sort of brightness they needed to drive it with 2Amps - 
well we're back to the bad old - brightness, cost, runtime combination -
pick any 2 out of three........
I was hoping we were beyond that by now......


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## Gunner12 (Feb 23, 2008)

The problem is the LED they are using. Tell them if they use the current gen LEDs, the could do with a much lower drive current(1.5 hours runtime shouldn't be a problem).


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## UnknownVT (Feb 23, 2008)

Gunner12 said:


> The problem is the LED they are using. Tell them if they use the current gen LEDs, the could do with a much lower drive current(1.5 hours runtime shouldn't be a problem).


 
This is right - however to do the focussing with lens they have to use the Nichia - I think it's because the dome is more like the 5mm shape which puts most of its light forwards (like a lens). They said they tried LumiLEDs like Luxeons and they could not focus with a lens........


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## Gunner12 (Feb 23, 2008)

That does sound like a small problem. Also it seems like the emitting surface of the Nichia is pretty smooth so you won't get the waffle pattern of the current gen LED dies.

IMO the extra output would make up for the lack of output.

But what do I know about business and engineering a light.


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## jufam44 (Feb 24, 2008)

They had these at target today (here in Alameda, CA) and got a chance to play with one in package. It's a neat little light, but a little too light in my hands (i like heftier lights) Anyone else have weight issues with it?


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## Robocop (Feb 24, 2008)

Sounds like this is a very hot little circuit and while knowing nothing about the electronics I am curious if the draw is due to the type emitter used or the circuit itself. In other words how would this circuit perform if a nice 3 watt emitter such as maybe a TWOK was swapped. I have always enjoyed the Dorcy products as they are always easy and fun mod hosts.....we all remember that great little AAA circuit on the old 5mm single AAA lights.

Maybe this version could be changed to use a nice 3 watt and reflector set up by some of our modders. It does not look as if it would be a hard swap and a thin heat sink could easily be made for the added room in the bezel.


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## mayo (Mar 2, 2008)

Got my Dorcy 45 lumen AAA in today. I am very impressed. Did the usual bounce test in small bathroom. It is just a hair brighter that my LOD CE on medium with nimh. Foward clicky is just the right pressure. Not a huge range of focus but the beam gets a little square on the tight end. It throws as well as the LOD CE on high with nimh, just with no spill. Tint is not too bad, just a hair on the purple side to me. I like the finish and feel. Seems very well made to me. I use the LOD CE between my lips quite a bit, although larger this one does not seems any heavier. The AA clickies are a little too heavy for my mouth. I like the size of it in my hand better than the LOD CE. Haven't run it down yet but the 20 minute runtime stated earlier is the only problem I see. Can't wait for someone to start modding these. This is just a real winner for me. Thanks UnknownVT for sharing this.

Forgot a few things. Kinda tail stands at a slight angle, could be fixed. And does candle mode. Cheers


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## mayo (Mar 3, 2008)

Had time to do a runtime test on mine and it is the same as UnknownVT. 20 minutes is all you get. Bummer


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## umberto (Mar 4, 2008)

what would be the runtime with the AA light?


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## UnknownVT (Mar 4, 2008)

umberto said:


> what would be the runtime with the AA light?


 
The AA light also drew about 2Amps - so on eneloops this would be about 1 hour.

However there is a slight wrinkle - there is a relatively high threshold voltage below which the light will _NOT_ switch on - 

That's probably the reason why I thought there was something wrong with the AA's tail switch see Post #*11* - 
I now have two samples of the AA light - and the voltage thresholds were about 1.3V and 1.27V - 
these are just way too high for rechargeable NiMH usage -since the "nominal" voltage for most NiMH is supposed to be 1.2V!!! - 
I'm lucky they worked at all!

The AAA version isn't quite as bad its threshold voltage was about ~ 1.18V - that's still too high for NiMH, and a bit too high even for alkalines, which are supposed to go down to as low as 1.1V before depletion.

_IMPORTANT NOTE: these threshold voltage meaurements were on the used batteries just after I removed them from the flashlights - ie: the open-circuit voltages, and NOT the actual operating voltages of the batteries in the flashlights._

Both the AAA and AA versions can drain a battery down low - eg: the AA drained an old RayOVac 1600mAh NiMH down to 0.9V with a "flash amp" = ~0.03A - that is really depleting the battery.... 
_BUT_ the problem is if I had switched the light off any time during the drain test - _the light would not have switched back on_, if the battery had dropped below the relatively high threshold voltage.

The real quandary is - with such high current drains and short runtimes - these lights really ought to be used with rechargeable batteries - 
but the high voltage thresholds means the lights will not turn on if the voltage drops below those relatively high threshold levels - 
meaning the lights will not work even when there is _still plenty of charge left in the batteries_. 

So for reliablity they should be used with alkaline - better yet 1.5V lithium cells - which do maintain their voltage levels - 
but now we're talking about an expensive battery in a "budget" priced flashlight.

I still very much like these lights -
and will continue to run them on eneloops (rechargeable NiMH) - 
but this is for home usage, where I have plenty of batteries and eneloops charged up - 
for outings I would strongly suggest carrying at least one recently fully charged spare.


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## mayo (Mar 5, 2008)

Mine also has the high voltage threshold. Thought something was wrong at first. Somehow I still like this light.


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## UnknownVT (Mar 5, 2008)

mayo said:


> Mine also has the high voltage threshold. Thought something was wrong at first. Somehow I still like this light.


 
Yes, it's funny isn't it how we can still like something that "on paper" or even the majority may consider a deal breaker.

The optical lens focussing ability and the very even light are the aspects that make it for me in these flashlights - for now they are unique.

I have been told by Dorcy that the runtimes are more reasonable using either 2x AA (41-4255) or even 3x AAA (41-4285)

If I recall correctly 41-4285 3x AAA model at WalMart claims 15 hours runtime on the packaging - this sounds much better - if this is correct, then the light is drawing only between 50-80 mA - which seems a bit too low?

Anyway I'll try to get hold of a 41-4285 (3x AAA) or 41-4255 (2x AA) to try out......


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## parnass (Mar 5, 2008)

UnknownVT said:


> ...
> I have been told by Dorcy that the runtimes are more reasonable using either 2x AA (41-4255) or even 3x AAA (41-4285)
> ...
> Anyway I'll try to get hold of a 41-4285 (3x AAA) or 41-4255 (2x AA) to try out......



The local Sears store has the Dorcy 2AA model in the tool/hardware department displayed with other flashlights. I did not see the 1AA or 1AAA light there.


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## mayo (Mar 6, 2008)

Can't figure out why this thread doesn't show up under new posts. Weird.


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## Robocop (Mar 6, 2008)

If this circuit was used to power a TWOK luxeon would it be better able to handle a Li/Ion to maybe get around the lower voltage problem? I have still been able to find this light locally however I am always on the look out for cheap hosts for mods.


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## jayb79 (Apr 1, 2008)

15% off all orders at Dorcydirect until the end of april with free shipping.
http://www.dorcydirect.com/c-45-close-outs.aspx


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## L.E.D. (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks a lot for this review, I have been eyeing those Dorcy focusing lights for a LONG long time as I pass the light section at Sears, and upon seeing this, am definitely going to pick one up next time. I'd like to get the 2AA as well though and do some tests on it. The beam looks to be extremely smooth in both spot AND flood!! 2 amps seems a bit much, but if it truly beats an LOD's medium in overall output as stated above, that's a slight bit of saving grace. Forward clicky is a major surprise, pretty awesome.


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## parnass (Apr 9, 2008)

L.E.D. said:


> Thanks a lot for this review, I have been eyeing those Dorcy focusing lights for a LONG long time as I pass the light section at Sears, and upon seeing this, am definitely going to pick one up next time. ....



Did you see that you can buy Dorcy lights direct with free shipping? LINK to DorcyDirect.com.

Dorcydirect was offering a 10% off coupon code during April, but I do not see it mentioned on their web site any longer.


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## Brigadier (Apr 9, 2008)

UnknownVT said:


> This is right - however to do the focussing with lens they have to use the Nichia - I think it's because the dome is more like the 5mm shape which puts most of its light forwards (like a lens). They said they tried LumiLEDs like Luxeons and they could not focus with a lens........


 
Very interesting. Their website says they use Luxeons.


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## UnknownVT (Apr 9, 2008)

Brigadier said:


> Very interesting. Their website says they use Luxeons.


 
You know, you're right, it does now say that on both their web pages -

At Dorcy.com it's in the category of 1watt Luxeon.
Products > Lighting Products > *LED 1 Watt Luxeon* > 41-4252 

and at DorcyDirect -
41-4252 45 Lumens 1 Watt - LED Focusing Flashlight With 1 AAA Battery
it now says: "_Luxeon 1 Watt LEDs from Lumileds offer state of the art performance_."

But please look at the photo of the actual LED in Post #*25* - 
that does not look like any Luxeon I know of - 
and although you have to take my word for it, when I spoke to Dorcy's Marketing VP on the flashlight, he told me about the focussing limitation/ability with Nichia LEDs ......


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## Brigadier (Apr 10, 2008)

UnknownVT said:


> You know, you're right, it does now say that on both their web pages -
> 
> At Dorcy.com it's in the category of 1watt Luxeon.
> Products > Lighting Products > *LED 1 Watt Luxeon* > 41-4252
> ...


 
False advertising?:scowl:


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