# When You Want Long Runtime...



## My3kidsfather (Jan 26, 2009)

I have always chose the brightest light over all others until now. runtime is becoming important and I was wondering what you use for long battery time. I'm talking 40 hours or more. When you want long time in an edc, what do you reach for?


----------



## carbine15 (Jan 26, 2009)

If I'm going out for a long time I'm bringing 3-4 lights with me with spare batteries. The only time I'd need a long 10+ hour run time is in a power outage at night (it happens) in which case I have many many options. If I turned each of my lights on until it died and then turned the next one on and so on I'd have light for a good 6 months (with batteries) just in case the sun doesn't come up for half a year. 

My go-to long run time light is my Fulton Anglehead 2D with the SMJLED pr2 module.


----------



## kramer5150 (Jan 26, 2009)

2-D mag with a nite-ize LED PR style base. I dont know if it lasts 40 hours, but its gotta be close.


----------



## cree_buyer (Jan 26, 2009)

kramer5150 said:


> 2-D mag with a nite-ize LED PR style base. I dont know if it lasts 40 hours, but its gotta be close.



affirmative +1

see this thread - post #44 shows a 3D m_glite doing 90+ hours, very well regulated on alkalines...


----------



## FlashInThePan (Jan 26, 2009)

There are a number of multi-stage lights that will give you phenomenally long runtimes on low. According to Chevrofreak's runtime graphs, a Fenix P3D will run for more than 3 days on its lowest setting (~5 lumens). McGizmo's McLux III PD will go for ~30 hours on low. A Novatac or RaLight can run for a week or more. All of them are relatively small lights; all except for the P3D use a single CR123. Nitecore's EX10 or D10 could fit the bill (in a AA form factor, even). There are actually a pretty large number of lights that would fit the bill; it's a great time to be a flashaholic!

For what it's worth, the McLux III PD would be my first choice because of its robust and simple design (though it's definitely an expensive piece of equipment). Fenix lights are great flashlights and would run a close second; the P3D (or its smaller brother the P2D) would probably be my second choice. That said, you really can't go wrong with any of these lights. They're all well made and should serve you well!

Happy hunting, and let us know what you choose!

- FITP


----------



## kramer5150 (Jan 26, 2009)

cree_buyer said:


> affirmative +1
> 
> see this thread - post #44 shows a 3D m_glite doing 90+ hours, very well regulated on alkalines...



Its a great setup for emergency power outages... I think marduke (and possibly a couple others) recommended it some time ago.


----------



## metlarules (Jan 26, 2009)

The only long runtime EDC light that I have is my Olight T-10. It specs at 6 lumens for 50 hours on its lowest setting. Around the house or when I;m car camping I use my Magled 4d. It's suppose to run for 43:20 hours till 50% output. That is at about 40 to 50 lumens.


----------



## cree_buyer (Jan 26, 2009)

My3KidsDad! said:


> ... I'm talking 40 hours or more. When you want long time in an edc, what do you reach for?



see the same thread - post #16 shows a SF E2L doing 63 hours of regulated runtime on low, the author's favorite EDC.

I use a SL Sidewinder for 100+ hours of constant-current regulated run time on 2AA's, don't EDC it though...


----------



## angelofwar (Jan 26, 2009)

kramer5150 said:


> 2-D mag with a nite-ize LED PR style base. I dont know if it lasts 40 hours, but its gotta be close.


 
This is what I have as well...for "runtime/power-outages"


----------



## rolling (Jan 26, 2009)

NightCore NDI set to the lowest level. 60h on a 14500.


----------



## Alan_P (Jan 26, 2009)

The Jetbeams will run over 40 hours on the lowest level. I would assume that most lights that have a low low will do the same.


----------



## Flying Turtle (Jan 26, 2009)

I've always appreciated a light that offers reasonable brightness plus a long runtime low level. The Photon Proton Pro gives both, a white Cree that ramps from high to low plus a small red LED that ramps from low to high. Runs on 1AA. If you like using a CR123 battery the LiteFlux LF3XT is my latest favorite. Any level from very low to 120 lumens is there at your programmable choice of priority. Both these lights also have flashing and SOS modes if you want them, but you are never forced to cycle through these modes if not necessary. Both lights will easily reach 40 hours on low levels. The Pro can be had for around $50, the LF3XT for about $60.

Geoff

Edit: One more choice from my personal experience is the rechargeable Photon Rex. Days of runtime on low and a high, but short run, of maybe around 20-30 lumens. All levels in between plus blinkie modes. Around $20.


----------



## RobertM (Jan 26, 2009)

For me, I grab my SureFire E1B in power outage situations. It's 5 lumen low runs for 37 hours and I can switch to the high with a click if I suddenly need a bunch of light. My fiancée will usually use our NiteCore EX10 with its 3 lumen low that runs for 65 hours. Although, she usually uses the EX10 just a bit above the lowest during power outages.

-Robert


----------



## My3kidsfather (Jan 26, 2009)

I had a chuckle over Carbine15's 3-4 lights.. that is me too. I am not familiar with some of the lights you guys have mentioned like the Fulton anglehead, modified 2-d mag with nite-ize led, McLux III PD. I have seen Olights before, and I have two (ok, three) SF's that run great. A NightCore NDI is new to me too. Jetbeams are well thought of. Photon Proton Pro's are new to me too. I will look them all up. I have a P3D and it is a good light that needs a lifetime warranty to be great.

I have a 2-C maglight on my nightstand just in case we need to brain somebody sometime. But carry it as an edc? I got a E2DL for that need..

You have forced me to think it thru some more.. I want a edc running on one battery either single (r)cr123a or a AA or 14500. I like low modes, it's just that I will usually click up to the higher modes and endup killing the battery too soon. So it's gotta be a single mode.


----------



## Bomo (Jan 26, 2009)

A Fenix PD20 is spec'd to run 35 hours at it's lowest setting on a single CR123. Plus I always have access to 2 more fairly fresh batteries safely stowed in an Inova X5.


----------



## CARNAL1 (Jan 26, 2009)

In a power outage situation I could use any number of my single cell lights. My EDC Fenix P2D Q5 is rated at 30 hours on low. My SF E1B is rated at 37 hours on low. My SF E1L is rated at 48 hours on low. But, the longest running light I have, would have to be my 
Pak-Lite Super which is rated at 1200 hours on low with an Ultralife 9V battery. Even at half of that rating 600 hours would be the clear winner. It is great to have so many choices. 

H.D.T. = Happy Dark Trails


----------



## Flying Turtle (Jan 26, 2009)

My LF3XT is set up to come on at a very low level. I click on, then click off. No other levels will be seen, unless I do more clicking. It can also be set up to have just one mode available, at whatever level you want. Technically, a high is just a press away, but you could almost call it a one mode light with proper programming, and no ramping required.

Geoff


----------



## brighterisbetter (Jan 26, 2009)

FlashInThePan said:


> For what it's worth, the McLux III PD would be my first choice because of its robust and simple design (though it's definitely an expensive piece of equipment).


+1

Even on an RCR123 with probably only 550mAh, at 20mA on low you're still over 25 hours runtime. :thumbsup:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/157532


----------



## Oddjob (Jan 26, 2009)

brighterisbetter said:


> +1
> 
> Even on an RCR123 with probably only 550mAh, at 20mA on low you're still over 25 hours runtime. :thumbsup:
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/157532


 
Unforutunately he'll probably have a hard time getting a PD of any variety and even if one is available it'll cost in the neighbourhood of $300 give or take for an aluminum one and around $500 for a Ti one.


----------



## bretti_kivi (Jan 26, 2009)

one of the reasons I want another lantern is so I can leave this one; it's running 20mA or so with 4 x 2700mah batteries... I make that around 300 hours or so. I think that's "enough".
When I mod one, it will be with a D2Flex so that there's also only a max of 700ma and normally a lot less than that.

My own lights? I'm thinking a P7 with aspheric for throw and a quad / quin Q5 for runtime on low, especially if I put a switch in to disable a second shark. The Mag 2AAs will be for fun and running K2s at 350-700-1A  - that should be able to do very long runtimes of 10s of hours on low and that's what's important for me. Bright when you need it, most of the time reasonable and run time as a result.

Bret


----------



## Norm (Jan 26, 2009)

*CMG infinity will run 40 hours on one AA
Norm
*


----------



## Penguin (Jan 26, 2009)

I recently aquired two safelights off the BST. They have an interesting function, the LEDs are given a very slight bit of current while the light is 'off,' it's used to locate the light in a dark room. Although the output is minimal, it's still a very usable amount of light when your eyes are dark adapted. I believe the stated runtime in this 'off mode' is ~2 years on an Alkaline 9V.


----------



## Sgt. LED (Jan 26, 2009)

I have 2 old Pal lights that are like that. Being older as they are the amount of juice to the led's is higher than current models for glow mode. As such I put in GS led's and they are putting off nearly 2 lumens for 11 months on a standard 9V. 
I use them as nightlights. :twothumbs Not too shabby.


----------



## Lee1959 (Jan 26, 2009)

Inova X5 white, Inova X5 red, Minimag AAA and AA with SMJLEDs all give me plenty of runtime. The Minimags are about 35 hours if memory serves me. If I want real runtime it is the Lightwave 3000.


----------



## AMD64Blondie (Jan 26, 2009)

Lightwave 4000 for me. I once went 3 months (not constantly on,though) without changing batteries on 1 set of Duracell D batteries.Quite useful,especially during power outages...which happen far too often in Oregon.


----------



## JWP_EE (Jan 26, 2009)

The Eternalight will run about 2500 hours on low with 3 AA cells.


----------



## angelofwar (Jan 26, 2009)

Oh, I forgot the E2L's 100 hour low runtime...with an F04 diffuser, in truly "dark" enviroments, this is plenty of light to see with.


----------



## divine (Jan 26, 2009)

I just grab my AW 4xCR123 belt holster, it will make practically any light last a long time.

4 CR123's plus the one that's already in my C2H plus the one that's already in my Twisty... I should be good for a couple months.


----------



## Illum (Jan 26, 2009)

angelofwar said:


> Oh, I forgot the E2L's 100 hour low runtime...with an F04 diffuser, in truly "dark" enviroments, this is plenty of light to see with.



be sure to check out bigwaffles runtimes on that, post 15 + 16
on high it runs for 7 hours and 30 minutes before going out of regulation
on low it stands at 63.5 hours before going *blip* 

Heres _my personal recommendations_
two *Surefire e2es with KX2* single stage heads (~9hours each)
one *Pak-lite original* [with low function] (runs about 2 days in a row before I could tell the difference on low, about 34 hours to 50% on high as tested by quickbeam
one *Muyshondt Aeon* (~1.5 hours high, about ~1.5 days on low)

no spares needed :twothumbs

What your seeing would be my daily EDC...oh yeah, one of those E2Ls gets swapped out for an *Surefire Aviator*, on LEDs alone... Bigwaffles tested the LEDs to 50% at 15.5hrs:thumbsup:

When the going gets tough, you can forget field swapping batteries...especially in the rain


----------



## Hooked on Fenix (Jan 26, 2009)

Fenix P3D Q5 on low. It gets 3+ days at 5 lumens. This is about the bare minimum I will hike with on a dark night with night adapted eyes. Any less is useless to me for trail hiking. Six 12 hour nights straight is good enough for an extended power outage. With a handful of spare batteries, I would still have light for a month. My L2D Q5 will be twice as bright on low and last nearly 60 hours on alkaline batteries. It would also be great if I need long runtimes.


----------



## KeyGrip (Jan 27, 2009)

When I want long runtime I get some tape and attach my single stage E2L, Peak Pacific, and Inova X5 to my Elektrolumens-modded 3D Mag. Backup is the U2A and a Zebralight on my head.

{Edit} After reading this post it sounds like I'm joking. Minus the taping four lights together part, this is pretty much what I did the last time a sudden brushfire knocked out the power and I was on standby to help a friend's family evacuate about a hundred horses. I only planned on using one or two of the lights, the rest were there to hand out to the less prepared.


----------



## angelofwar (Jan 27, 2009)

Illum_the_nation said:


> be sure to check out bigwaffles runtimes on that, post 15 + 16
> on high it runs for 7 hours and 30 minutes before going out of regulation
> on low it stands at 63.5 hours before going *blip*


 
Nice chart! Thanks for the link...I might have to start EDCing this with my L1!


----------



## My3kidsfather (Jan 27, 2009)

You guys and possibly girls are really inventive. Just look at all the solutions to the need for long run. So from your comments we could draw the conclusion that flashlights with good low-mode runtime is the solution. Fenix's low modes are mentioned, as is SureFire's E2L on low among other lights I am unfamiliar with.

thanks for the help.


----------



## Sub_Umbra (Jan 27, 2009)

Wayne at EL probably still has some empty bodies left over from the last run of Blaster Jrs. He will assemble them with a SSC P4 and a Micro-Puck and they will not only safely suck the last out of a D cell that won't power anything else but it will give off very useful light for up to a week (continous) off one new Alky D cell.

He made two of them for us after Katrina and we used them to great effect in a two week outage we had after we took delivery of them. It's very nice to have a light that you may just turn on and light the whole bathroom (or other area) in ceiling bounce mode *for a week at a time.*


----------



## 325addict (Jan 27, 2009)

If you really want to EDC a light, then I can imagine you don't want to carry around heavy stuff like a 2D Mag... but, equipped with a simple 2,7V / 0,15A bulb this one would last for about 100 hours I guess. This one would be handy to have at home when the power goes down....

My EDC would be a Fenix P3D Q5 in the lowest setting, this will give you a very useful 12 Lumens for 65 hours. After these 65 hours, you'll need two fresh CR123's to have another 65 hours....

For a combination "long runtime" and "EDC" all incan lights will be useless. Either, they will have a short runtime (in this case the size is good for an EDC) or they are way too bulky to carry around (but then, they will have a longer runtime, but more than 10 hours you won't find with an unmodded light I'm afraid.... a standard bulb in a 2D Mag will draw the batteries in 9 to 10 hours).
A SureFire E1E is a perfect incan light for EDC... but will only have a runtime of 90 minutes from its single CR123.... 

So, _always_ look for a LED-light in this particular case. Although I'm a huge fan of incan lights, I cannot advise them for an EDC with a long runtime....


Timmo.


----------



## HoopleHead (Jan 27, 2009)

I am a big fan of low output options with long runtimes on primary batteries. My top picks are:

Fenix E01 (20 hrs AAA)
Muyshondt Mako (60 hrs AAA)
NiteCore Defender Infinity (120 hrs AA)
McGizmo Ti-PD-S Mizer (45 hrs CR123A)
Muyshondt Nautilus (75 hrs CR123A)
Pak-Lite Super (900-1200 hrs 9V)
Milky Hoople (340+ hrs CR123A)
Milky's with the Acorn Miser option


----------



## Badbeams3 (Jan 27, 2009)

My D10 works well as a nightlight and runs pretty long. Guess a lot of this question is...am I doing anything during this time...just need to avoid the cat...D10 works. 

Or do I need to make my way down a unknown trial. L2D on low might be a better pick.


----------



## Cydonia (Jan 27, 2009)

kramer5150 said:


> 2-D mag with a nite-ize LED PR style base. I dont know if it lasts 40 hours, but its gotta be close.



The Nite Ize PR base 10mm LED draws about 190ma from 2 cell lights.
The same drop in draws about 50ma from 3 cell lights *and* it is nearly twice as bright.
Which would last longer? *The 3 cell light*. 
So make sure to use Nite ize 10mm in a 3 or more cell light for max run time.

My Favorite long run time light is an old Inova X1 (gen 1.0 revision 1.2) with LED upgraded to Nichia DS. Draws about 80ma when running.
Ceiling bounce lights a whole room at low level.


----------



## Illum (Jan 27, 2009)

HoopleHead said:


> Fenix E01 (20 hrs AAA)






490 minutes before going out of regulation on alkalines, which equates to approx 8 hours 10 minutes followed by a long tail

Runtime done by this_is_nascar




HoopleHead said:


> Pak-Lite Super (900-1200 hrs 9V)



take notice that the runtimes are advertised hours, not actual hours recorded.

I'm always suspicious about pak-lites runtimes, for one thing an alkaline 9V has maybe 900mah, getting 900 hours out of it you'll be pulling 1ma and share it between two LEDs...It would be more meaningful to know where does it hit 50%

Can you tell that I don't believe in advertised runtimes?


----------



## Sub_Umbra (Jan 27, 2009)

HoopleHead said:


> ...Pak-Lite Super (900-1200 hrs 9V)...





Illum_the_nation said:


> take notice that the runtimes are advertised hours, not actual hours recorded.
> 
> I'm always suspicious about pak-lites runtimes, for one thing an alkaline 9V has maybe 900mah, getting 900 hours out of it you'll be pulling 1ma and share it between two LEDs...It would be more meaningful to know where does it hit 50%


First of all, it should be mentioned that the numbers that HoopleHead quotes are from *9v lithiums*. Pak-Lites will only(?) get ~600 hrs on low with Alkys. Mrs Umbra and I use these lights all the time and they are superb.

On the Pak-Lite site they used to have a great letter from a guy in South America whose power went out frequently (a very common problem in many SA locales). He noted that he changed his smoke alarm batteries out every six months and then fed the *used* 9vs to his Pak-Lite, which he used during frequent power outages. He estimated that he got *~125 hours* of light *from each* of these *used* batteries in his Pak-Lite.

My own experience mirrors his. I've never bought a new cell for any of our Pak-Lites. We use used smoke alarm batteries and 9v batteries that
have already powered body mics on stage and are too weak to be trusted again in that application. Both of these classes of batteries will power Pak-Lites for soooo long that I'll never use up the 9v batteries that others would have thrown away without thinking. If you're throwing away 9v batteries after using them in smoke alarms, clock radios, answering machines *or anything else* that makes you buy those *creepy* batteries that you hate, buy a Pak-Lite and find out just how much more you can get out of them _for what you've already spent._

We've just started using ZTS battery testers in the last few months. Eventually I got around to testing old, used 9v batteries with them. What a waste of time! 9v batteries that won't even register 20% on a ZTS will still power a Pak-Lite for a long time!

In my experience the Pak-Lite will draw Coppertops down to the point where *the AAAA cells inside will blow out the bottom* of about 30% of them. "Oh yeah, that one's done, Honey."

I know that this anecdote does nothing to *quantify* Pak-Lite's runtime claims but I'm another who has actually used the Pak-Lite *in extremus* and I will also recommend them to others for emergency use. In the *real world* they rock.


----------



## Illum (Jan 27, 2009)

Sub_Umbra said:


> First of all, it should be mentioned that the numbers that HoopleHead quotes are from *9v lithiums*. Pak-Lites will only(?) get ~600 hrs on low with Alkys. Mrs Umbra and I use these lights all the time and they are superb.



ahh, that might be it. 
I didn't invest any in supers...only one original and over a dozen basics from lighthound. They can convert people faster than fauxtons. Interesting to note that everyone has at least one smoke alarm in the house, but not many people's houses I've been to that doesn't have "battery that smoke alarm doesn't like" . Quite a few remain in a drawer/desk/cabinet/cupboard that I can demonstrate by clicking on pak-lite and beam it around. I only have one basic left and that one I had to repair it cuz one of the contact head fell off, with a little solder all is well, except that the girl who abandoned it now wants it back


----------



## A/V Dude (Jan 27, 2009)

My EternaLight Derringer is suppose to get 450 hours off 3 AAA.:nana::laughing:
http://techass.com/el/derngr/index.php


----------



## Sub_Umbra (Jan 27, 2009)

Ah, the BASIC. I never even considered the BASIC in my previous posts. They were all about the ORIGINAL and the SUPER.

I wouldn't recommend the BASIC model for emergency use for two reasons:

1) Much higher output levels (of course at the cost of *greatly reduced runtimes*).

2) Lower quality parts.

The folks at Pak-Lite very wisely (imo) kept the LOW level of the SUPER exactly the same as the LOW level of the ORIGINAL. It's the best of both worlds for us. Low Light Culture folks (like us) get basically the same runtimes with the SUPER as we had with the ORIGINAL -- but we still have a much brighter HIGH available *when we really need it.*


----------



## Juggernaut (Jan 27, 2009)

Proton Pro 540 hours max low on red 4x spare batteries = 2700 hours or 8 hours a night for 337 nights of run time or 11 mouths, lets hop I won’t get stuck in an elevator for that long!


----------



## Illum (Jan 27, 2009)

Sub_Umbra said:


> Ah, the BASIC. I never even considered the BASIC in my previous posts. They were all about the ORIGINAL and the SUPER.



yeah...but when your buying lights to *give away* in the *hope *of converting people $10 versus $18 versus $21 (basic->original->super) makes alot of difference. 

I had an original...but I didn't buy it, lighthound ran out of basics once and upgraded me to the original, then I gave it to someone...I'm not sure who, but someone really special apart from the basics:duh2:

I don't rely on paks for emergency lighting, I have many other choices I can choose from. Pal-lites might be a considerable option


----------



## Sub_Umbra (Jan 27, 2009)

I've only given away ORIGINALS to techies (and others) -- and they worship me -- *like a god.* Ya gets what ya pays for...

I *do* want to convert them. I go for *quality* because I can't afford *quantity.* It works. Nothing converts like *quality.* I would never consider giving a BASIC. It would reflect poorly on myself.

I have friends of mine *who are not techies* that I have given PLs to who tell others that they could not live without them. What more could one want in a gift?


----------



## Illum (Jan 27, 2009)

A couple went back to Taiwan...where theres not even a concept of pak-lites, they loved it.


----------



## Big_Ed (Jan 27, 2009)

I love Pak-Lites. I have a standard version and a super version, both with glow tops. They glow all night long, making it really easy to find when I make midnight bathroom runs.

My other long runtime lights I really like are Eternalight Ergo 3 (just a really cool light in general), and (2) 4-D cell Mags, one with 20 LED conversion, the other with 32 LED conversion (5mm LEDs). I ran one of those for over 3 weeks straight without turning it off, and could still read with it after that time.

I have high hopes for my newer Surefires to be marathon runners in addition to sprinters. Especially my E1L, E1B, E2L and E2DL. They all should have good runtimes in low mode.

I bet one of those Nite-Ize LED conversion bulbs that run on 1-6 cells would have really good runtime in a 4-6 cell Mag


----------



## KiwiMark (Jan 28, 2009)

Long run time? Not really an issue to me!

My Jet-IIIM has a claimed run time on minimum of 200 hours from a 18650, I have 4 x AW 18650 cells, this means that my Jet-IIIM can run for up to 800 hours, that is more than a month non-stop!
My Jet-I Pro is my EDC - they claim 50 hours run time on minimum from a 14500, I have 4 of those too.
My Olight Titanium Infinitum doesn't go as low as the Jetbeams, but I also have 4 cells for that and on low it should run for *quick internet search* about 50 hours on one cell.

I have other torches that can run for hours on a very bright high - I don't even have to think about what to do if my batteries go flat, I can just grab another light and use that. My EDC lights (Jet-I, Infinitum and L0D) alone would handle 40+ hours using a mixture of minimum and higher levels as required.


----------



## CPFMan (Jan 28, 2009)

AMD64Blondie said:


> Lightwave 4000 for me. I once went 3 months (not constantly on,though) without changing batteries on 1 set of Duracell D batteries.Quite useful,especially during power outages...which happen far too often in Oregon.



+ 1 

"Lightwave 4000. Big, heavy, not that bright but massive runtime. "

# Waterproof
# Shockproof
# Can stay on continuously for one month before needing new batteries
# Lowest cost per hour of any flashlight in the world

http://www.homenetworksinc.com/proddetail.asp?cat=35&prod=LHF-001


----------



## Illum (Jan 28, 2009)

unfortunately lightwave is now considered as a discontinued light


----------



## fisk-king (May 10, 2010)

HoopleHead said:


> I am a big fan of low output options with long runtimes on primary batteries. My top picks are:
> 
> Fenix E01 (20 hrs AAA)
> Muyshondt Mako (60 hrs AAA)
> ...




Is that a typo for the nitecore defender infinity? 120hrs on a single(?) AA is impressive. I have a Mako on the keychain (60hrs on low is nice ) and just received today an Arc AA but i believe it's runtime is only half of the E01, is that a correct assumption?


----------



## Kestrel (May 10, 2010)

Great thread bump - a classic topic.

None of my relatively-stock lights will go for extremely long periods - the longest runtimes would be by utilizing my three McC2S Z41 tailcaps. (If anyone can make a guess of a usable runtime from an M60 / AW 2600 mAH / 120 ohm McC2S, please let me know - the output is ~5 lumens.) I'll bet that my M60*LL* with this setup could acquit itself admirably in the runtime department. 

I have something even more unusual for ultra-marathon runtimes, however: A SF P60 / 5mm LED ‘battery vampire’ 1xCR123 light that takes ~25 mA (unregulated) from a single CR123 cell, and can also run off of 2xAA in my three-cell SF's (C3 & G3), obtaining ~3 lumens in either case. I have not been able to deplete my first 'used' CR123 over the past 6 months of only occasional usage, and I have a stash of ~25 used cells (I save my new CR123's for my high-performance lights). Probably ~100 hours of runtime from each pair of my four Energizer L91 lithiums I have in ultimate reserve.


Kestrel said:


> The 5mm LED is seated to reference off the plastic bulb riser in the SF P60 module, without further elevation modifications. The beam quality from the textured P60 reflector is excellent, and the tint is slightly warmer than most of my other LED lights.


 
What I like is the flexibility of this ultra-low output P60 drop-in, it can go into a number of different lights - my modest collection of P60-type SFs *&* my two P60 'C'-cell FiveMegas - maybe ~10 days of continuous runtime from my FiveMega 2xC w/ LSD NiMH's before a battery change. I hope that Sub_Umbra (my runtime hero) would approve.


----------



## Ragiska (May 10, 2010)

fisk-king said:


> Is that a typo for the nitecore defender infinity? 120hrs on a single(?) AA is impressive. I have a Mako on the keychain (60hrs on low is nice )



the photon proton pro is 230hrs (white) and >500hrs on red, the quark 1xaa is ~240hrs


----------



## fisk-king (May 10, 2010)

Though not considered a flashlight ( I guess), the Milky candle would be a very good addition to ones cache in the event of power outages and such. I still plan to one day to a runtime test on the one I have stored at my mother's home. I imagine one could get *plenty* of useful hours from that piece if needed in an emergency.


----------



## fisk-king (May 10, 2010)

Ragiska said:


> the photon proton pro is 230hrs (white) and >500hrs on red, the quark 1xaa is ~240hrs



I wonder what the runtime would be on the Quark's "eclipse" mode?


----------



## jcw122 (May 10, 2010)

I don't think citing long runtimes matters unless you specify two things...and that's how many lumens at that runtime, and whether those lumens are OTF or ATE.

You could have a runtime of 30 days like my Quark on a certain mode, but if it's only a few lumens and more are needed, then that doesn't do you so much good.


----------



## angelofwar (May 10, 2010)

Kestrel said:


> Great thread bump - a classic topic.
> 
> I have something even more unusual for ultra-marathon runtimes, however: A SF P60 / 5mm LED ‘battery vampire’ 1xCR123 light that takes ~25 mA (unregulated) from a single CR123 cell, and can also run off of 2xAA in my three-cell SF's (C3 & G3), obtaining ~3 lumens in either case. I have not been able to deplete my first 'used' CR123 over the past 6 months of only occasional usage, and I have a stash of ~25 used cells (I save my new CR123's for my high-performance lights). Probably ~100 hours of runtime from each pair of my four Energizer L91 lithiums I have in ultimate reserve.
> 
> ...


 
Ha-Ha! The Battery Vampire strikes again! I have about 30-40 low juice cells stored just for this, and the "Vampire" can be built in about 5 minutes once you've built your first. I have the LA's pre-built and standing by in my spares bin for just this. My last build was a UV Vampire...the first UV P60 Drop-in???


----------



## Kestrel (May 11, 2010)

jcw122 said:


> I don't think citing long runtimes matters unless you specify two things...and that's how many lumens at that runtime, and whether those lumens are OTF or ATE. You could have a runtime of 30 days like my Quark on a certain mode, but if it's only a few lumens and more are needed, then that doesn't do you so much good.


 
I think the relevant question here is, Is this 'low' low enough for at least some of your specific uses? If so, what runtime do you get?

From the OP's post #1: 


My3KidsDad! said:


> I have always chose the brightest light over all others until now. runtime is becoming important and I was wondering what you use for long battery time. *I'm talking 40 hours or more. When you want long time in an edc, what do you reach for*?


(Emphasis added - it appears that the OP is treating very low outputs as a given here.)

So for many of our EDC-sized lights that we are discussing here, once we're talking about 40+ hours of runtime, we are often getting down to the 5-10 lumen level, which in a dark house or outside on a dark night, is more than adequate illumination without ruining our nighttime vision. :shrug:


Edit: In fact, I'd wager that nearly all of us here actually use our lights in various differing situations, and to extend that further, we have found 'lows' that work for us as individuals. Whether you can get by with 2 lumens or need a retina-searing 10 lumens, I think that the OP has a very good question, which is: "What runtimes do you get from *your* 'lows'?"


----------



## paulr (May 11, 2010)

Type "luce de notte" into the search form...


----------



## vali (May 11, 2010)

How may hours can you get from a quark with 18650 body?


----------



## Jash (May 11, 2010)

I've got one long runtime light that delivers 60 lumens for 190 hours to 50% or 180 lumens for 24 hours to 50%. It's not exactly pocketable, but it's the light I reach for when the power goes out.


----------



## KiwiMark (May 11, 2010)

In a situation where I needed some light, but needed to have it work for a long time - I have 3 good options.

My best bet would be my Jetbeam Jet-IIIM - the low is REALLY low and it would run damn near forever on one 18650 (approx 200hours). I EDC a Nightcore D-10 and it also has a very low low - somewhere near what my Jet-IIIM offers.

In response to fisk-king's question about the Nitecore Defender Infinity - quite possibly it could run for 120 hours - that sounds like a best case, probably on a Lithium primary cell. It does seem like a pretty long run time for a AA cell, but if we are talking about Lithium and down to a completely exhausted cell the sure, it is possible.

As far as the output goes - I have used my Jet-IIIM, Jet-I, Jet-I EX & Nitecore D-10 all on their lowest output and found it to be useful in each case. The very low output is good for dark adjusted eyes where a bright light will hurt - the light provided is enough to see by, but not enough to destroy your night vision or hurt your eyes. The beam wont throw very far, but it is enough to see and avoid obstacles when you need to use the toilet in the middle of the night while camping (for example).


----------



## etc (May 11, 2010)

Gerber Infinity is still a good choice, especially for 10 FRNs.

mag 4D with that Nite-Ize is another one, inside.

Slightly brighter and more appealing:

2AA Minimag SNMJLED conversion. 

Malkoff M60LL on 3xAA will generate an insane runtime, 90 hours. Runs from 40 lumens gradually diminishing to 5 lumens.

Malkof M60LL on 1x18650 runs for 20 hours and there is nothing "low" about it. 

Malkoff M60LL on 2x123 runs for 18 hours.

The really cool thing about M60LL on 3xAA is that you can stick L91s in it and get more lumens but reduced runtime.


----------



## kramer5150 (May 11, 2010)

etc said:


> Malkof M60LL on 1x18650 runs for 20 hours and there is nothing "low" about it.



x2... this is a really nice general-purpose setup. Its around 50L IIRC. You can also lego a 1x18650 extension, and run it regulated off 2x18650.


----------



## Federal LG (May 11, 2010)

My3KidsDad! said:


> I have always chose the brightest light over all others until now. runtime is becoming important and I was wondering what you use for long battery time. I'm talking 40 hours or more. When you want long time in an edc, what do you reach for?



Last week I bought a *Surefire E1L Outdoorsman*.

I´m amazed with it´s power! In high mode it´s very bright, more than I even thought, and low mode is just the same as my E1B´s low mode.

Surefire claims it has several hours of runtime (if I remember correctly, it´s 8.5 hours on high and 48 hours on low mode!) Amazing for a 1xCR123 light!

I just picked it because I think my E1B runtime in high mode is too short...

:thumbsup:


----------



## Matteblack (May 11, 2010)

+1 on the McLux. Then you can carry your extra battery in ........another McLux PD!


----------



## nbp (May 11, 2010)

How long does a Ra clicky run at .07 lms? Like suppose I'm stuck in a collapsed mine, and it's pitch black, and that amount of light is perfectly adequate. How long do I get? It's gotta be days and days. Anyone know?

Otherwise my Milky L4 goes quite a while on low, and forever on the super-low, like .23 lm or so. I should do a runtime test on that one.

CMG Infinity Ultra G also has a super long runtime. I think I'm going to do a runtime test on an Eneloop with this guy and see what I get. I'll report what I find. Someone else posted 40 hours, and I'm curious if that's true.

EDIT: Sorry, I have the CMG Ultra G. Just to clarify. Not that it changed much anyways.


----------



## paulr (May 12, 2010)

If you mean the current Gerber Infinity Ultra, that's still a rather old-tech light. I'd thought it was more like 24h. The LRI Proton Pro was measured at 230h in ultra-dim mode (maybe 0.1 lm) and 540+h (not sure if that was an observed runtime or just extrapolation) with the red led at dimmest. I'm not sure what kind of batteries those tests were done with though.


----------



## MWClint (May 12, 2010)

Peak First Responder FR1000A. It's a 2x18650 light with an adjustable knob that gets the Seoul P7 to ~ 1 lumen. 10mah draw on the batts. 

i have a few interchangable bodies for the Peak FR, and beleive it or not, it will draw down to 2 mah on 2xAA batteries... super awesome emergency low light.


----------



## gcbryan (May 12, 2010)

I think most any light today has amazing numbers as long as they have a decent low setting.

I have a Proton Pro which is around .2 lumen I guess and a P60 host using (1) 18650 3 mode with low of 3 lumens and a ITP A3 (AAA) 3 mode with a low of 1.5 lumens and a programmable Akoray K-109 3 mode (CR123) with a low in the 5 lumen range I guess.

The P60 host is a XP-G so on high it 300 lumens (approx) and yet on low could go 100 hours or so (10 days). That's quite a range and yet it's nothing spectacular today. Actually, no one's light is going to be that much more spectacular than anyone elses as long as they actually have a low, low. The laws are physics are the same for everyone.


----------



## etc (May 12, 2010)

paulr said:


> If you mean the current Gerber Infinity Ultra, that's still a rather old-tech light. I'd thought it was more like 24h. The LRI Proton Pro was measured at 230h in ultra-dim mode (maybe 0.1 lm) and 540+h (not sure if that was an observed runtime or just extrapolation) with the red led at dimmest. I'm not sure what kind of batteries those tests were done with though.



So? I would have no use for 0.1L for any amount of hours. You get a nice 5-7L with Infinity, the minimum I would find useful.

Actually I have never ever been in a position where I could use more runtime. I have been in a position where I could use more lumens. 

I EDC spares so runtime is not an issue.

At home I have so many cells I could probably withstand an ongoing outage for about a year. Or more. At the rate I am using them, I have about 10-20 years of them, they will probably go bad first.

I find medium brightness lites useful for that task. Like Malkoff M60LL or the MiniMag mod. Anything in the 20-40 lumen range.

In the winter, when it's cold and dark and windy, these sub 1 lumen lights are very dim and very depressing. Fire up a Malkoff and feel good about things.


----------



## John_Galt (May 12, 2010)

etc said:


> So? I would have no use for 0.1L for any amount of hours. You get a nice 5-7L with Infinity, the minimum I would find useful.
> 
> Actually I have never ever been in a position where I could use more runtime. I have been in a position where I could use more lumens.
> 
> ...


 

I would agree. IMO, it's nice to be able to light up a room for a long while. Thus, longer runtimes on a higher output are a necessity for me.


Between alkaline, Ni-MH and Li AA's on hnad, I probably could run my LD20 at the medium (47 lumens) setting for about 2.5 months, at 12 hours/night.


----------



## Swedpat (May 12, 2010)

I tried Terralux Ministar1 LED-dropin in my Maglite 2D with alkalines. It ran over a week until dead. A tip for those who have a Maglite C/D, or any incan light with standard bulb.

Regards, Patric


----------



## Batou00159 (May 12, 2010)

Zebralight h60 gave me 22 days on a 2200mah aw on min
:wave:
and my nightcore d20 r2 gave me 98 hours on 2 gp 2600 mah on min:wave:


----------



## paulr (May 12, 2010)

etc said:


> So? I would have no use for 0.1L for any amount of hours. You get a nice 5-7L with Infinity, the minimum I would find useful.





John_Galt said:


> I would agree. IMO, it's nice to be able to light up a room for a long while. Thus, longer runtimes on a higher output are a necessity for me.


 
I think you guys are either both overestimating lumens or have unusual requirements. I have several of the original Infinities and they are about 1 lumen when the battery is fresh, maybe 0.3 lumens towards the end of the runtime. Similarly with the current Infinity Ultra, maybe 5 lm with a new battery but in the 1 lm range by the end of the 40 hours (see the runtime plot here). As mentioned in other threads, human night vision evolved so people could move around by moonlight without bumping things; a full moon on a clear night is 0.27 lux according to wikipedia, or about 0.025 lumens per square foot. So lighting a 100 sq foot room to full moon levels takes 2.5 lumens. I used to do this all the time with a 3 lumen Arc AAA bounced off the ceiling, and it's plenty of light for sitting around chatting with people or that sort of thing. 

Here is another experiment you can try. Sit in a dark closet for about 1 minute (count to 100) to get used to the dark, then turn on your Gerber IU while blocking the bezel with your finger so no light gets out. Then carefully uncover about 1/10th of the bezel to let a small corner of the spill beam escape. That is 0.1 lumen tops, but it should be enough to easily light up your immediate surroundings. Of course if you wait 15 minutes instead of 1 minute you'll have closer to night vision.

The latest leds are amazingly bright and efficient compared to older stuff, but as some wise person just said on another thread, the woods aren't getting any darker. People here are addicted to lumens. The most popular flashlight of all time, the 2AA Minimag, is about 5 lumens for most of its runtime, and is probably selling more units each month even today, than the Gerber IU has sold in its whole production history. People have been using them outdoors for decades. Admittedly its focusable beam lets it do things a Gerber IU can't, but the typical #222 penlight beam is more like the Gerber. Another light once popular around here with backpackers, the 9 volt Pak-lite, has a low mode that runs 1200 hours with a 9v lithium battery or 600 hours on an alkaline. That's two 5mm leds driven at about 1 mA, maybe 0.3 lumens total with leds of the era when it was first made, perhaps 0.6 lumens with today's leds. Pak-lites are pretty overpriced IMO but it's easy to make something like them using an old 9v battery clip and a couple of 5mm leds and a current-limiting resistor. Something to consider for those of you really chasing runtime.


----------



## nbp (May 13, 2010)

I did kind of a gritty runtime test on my CMG IUG. Ran it on an Eneloop. Only got around 10 hours off of it (don't know exactly, didn't see when it went dead, oops).

That seemed kind of short. I was expecting a lot longer. What do you guys think?


----------



## paulr (May 13, 2010)

10h on an eneloop really doesn't sound like enough. I'd say try again. Maybe the eneloop wasn't fully charged.


----------



## PoliceScannerMan (May 13, 2010)

Wow great thread. As I matured as a flashaholic, runtime has become just as important if not more than lumens. 

+1 on the Eternalights, mine has had the same L91's in it since I bought it over 4 years ago.


----------



## LEDninja (May 13, 2010)

10 years ago LEDcorp made the Turtlelite. Dorcy sells it as the 4AA 1LED Floating Lantern or the Cool Blue. Dorcy claims 200 hour runtime. I figure 100 hours of reasonable brightness. When I upgraded my Radio Shack branded version I put the original bulb (ARCmania modified Nichia BS in a PR2 case) in a Dorcy 4D area lantern. I figure 600 hours or 25 days continuous runtime using 12,000 mAH for a D cell battery.

Now if I put that bulb in a 6V lantern with the great big rectangular battery .....
(anyone know how many mAH the 6V lantern battery has? Can not figure out the runtime without that info. The Nichia BS is rated 20 mA and the bulb is not overdriven like the early Arc AAA)


----------



## John_Galt (May 13, 2010)

paulr said:


> I think you guys are either both overestimating lumens or have unusual requirements. I have several of the original Infinities and they are about 1 lumen when the battery is fresh, maybe 0.3 lumens towards the end of the runtime. Similarly with the current Infinity Ultra, maybe 5 lm with a new battery but in the 1 lm range by the end of the 40 hours (see the runtime plot here). As mentioned in other threads, human night vision evolved so people could move around by moonlight without bumping things; a full moon on a clear night is 0.27 lux according to wikipedia, or about 0.025 lumens per square foot. So lighting a 100 sq foot room to full moon levels takes 2.5 lumens. I used to do this all the time with a 3 lumen Arc AAA bounced off the ceiling, and it's plenty of light for sitting around chatting with people or that sort of thing.
> 
> Here is another experiment you can try. Sit in a dark closet for about 1 minute (count to 100) to get used to the dark, then turn on your Gerber IU while blocking the bezel with your finger so no light gets out. Then carefully uncover about 1/10th of the bezel to let a small corner of the spill beam escape. That is 0.1 lumen tops, but it should be enough to easily light up your immediate surroundings. Of course if you wait 15 minutes instead of 1 minute you'll have closer to night vision.
> 
> The latest leds are amazingly bright and efficient compared to older stuff, but as some wise person just said on another thread, the woods aren't getting any darker. People here are addicted to lumens. The most popular flashlight of all time, the 2AA Minimag, is about 5 lumens for most of its runtime, and is probably selling more units each month even today, than the Gerber IU has sold in its whole production history. People have been using them outdoors for decades. Admittedly its focusable beam lets it do things a Gerber IU can't, but the typical #222 penlight beam is more like the Gerber. Another light once popular around here with backpackers, the 9 volt Pak-lite, has a low mode that runs 1200 hours with a 9v lithium battery or 600 hours on an alkaline. That's two 5mm leds driven at about 1 mA, maybe 0.3 lumens total with leds of the era when it was first made, perhaps 0.6 lumens with today's leds. Pak-lites are pretty overpriced IMO but it's easy to make something like them using an old 9v battery clip and a couple of 5mm leds and a current-limiting resistor. Something to consider for those of you really chasing runtime.


 

You can try to explain that to a non-flasholoic, but they'll still just say brighter...
So while I'm fine with ultra-lows long-term, my parents/sister, etc. aren't. Therefore I'll plan to maintain enough batteries on hand to have several weeks/months of runtime for a higher output. If there was a true emergency situation where power, etc. was going t be out for a long time, I'm sre they would understand the need for lower outpus, but for everything else, they'll demand more light.


----------



## Foxfyre (May 13, 2010)

Muyshondt Nautilus Ti or Aeon on low.

Also get a pretty fantastic runtime on my old reliable HDS Basic 42 XR GT on its lowest setting.


----------



## nbp (May 14, 2010)

paulr said:


> 10h on an eneloop really doesn't sound like enough. I'd say try again. Maybe the eneloop wasn't fully charged.



Nope. Same result from a fresh-off-the-charger Eneloop too. I think I had it in my mind that the CMG was direct drive and that it would just drain the battery down to nothing, with real dim output at the end but take forever to get there. I guess not. This thing goes and then just konks out, not more than 11 hours. Bummer.


----------



## paulr (May 14, 2010)

John_Galt said:


> You can try to explain that to a non-flasholoic, but they'll still just say brighter...
> So while I'm fine with ultra-lows long-term, my parents/sister, etc. aren't.



Have you asked them? Last time I was in a blackout with my mom and sister (it lasted about 2 days, and my brother was there too), the first thing they did was light a candle, the kind in a glass jar, a non-flashaholic solution if there ever was one, and they found it completely satisfactory. A "standard" candle is theoretically 12.5 lumens, the glass jar kind is maybe half as bright if that, and then half or so of the light ends up getting lost, so you're down to 3 lumens or so. I found that my 3 lumen Arc AAA bounced off the ceiling was plenty bright enough to make sitting in and walking around the room comfortable, basically equivalent to candlelight. I had a bunch of other lights but the Arc was really the only light needed.

It also occurred to me at that time that if the blackout had persisted for more than a week without new supplies coming into the city, people would have run out of food and there would have been riots, making the whole flashlight and battery issue pretty meaningless by comparison. While, if supplies were coming in, it should be possible to get batteries that way.

You might look at some of Sub_Umbra's old threads about how he and his wife stayed in their home in NOLA for 6 weeks after Hurricane Katrina with no power. Their battery usage turned out to be quite modest. Also keep in mind that they had decided put for their own reasons while authorities were trying to get everyone in the area to evacuate. In other words they weren't really stuck in the blackout, they could have left anytime they wanted, and went to quite a bit of trouble to evade detection because they didn't want to be forced to leave. Sub_Umbra's favorite light during that 6 weeks IIRC was a CMG Infinity with a blue-green led, probably around 1 lumen.


----------



## Light Sabre (May 14, 2010)

LEDninja said:


> Now if I put that bulb in a 6V lantern with the great big rectangular battery .....
> (anyone know how many mAH the 6V lantern battery has? Can not figure out the runtime without that info. The Nichia BS is rated 20 mA and the bulb is not overdriven like the early Arc AAA)


 
How many mAh in a 6V lantern battery is going to depend on whether it has D or F cells in it. Yes some companies cheat you by using 4 plain ol' D cells connected in series in theirs while other companies use 4 F cells which are bigger (longer). You can't tell from looking on the outside whether it has D or F cells in them. I can't find any information at the moment, but the lantern batteries with the F cells in them are going to have a higher mAh rating.


----------



## paulr (May 14, 2010)

nbp said:


> Nope. Same result from a fresh-off-the-charger Eneloop too. I think I had it in my mind that the CMG was direct drive and that it would just drain the battery down to nothing, with real dim output at the end but take forever to get there. I guess not. This thing goes and then just konks out, not more than 11 hours. Bummer.



Hmm, try it with an alkaline, you may get a much longer period of diminishing brightness.


----------



## Light Sabre (May 15, 2010)

nbp said:


> Nope. Same result from a fresh-off-the-charger Eneloop too. I think I had it in my mind that the CMG was direct drive and that it would just drain the battery down to nothing, with real dim output at the end but take forever to get there. I guess not. This thing goes and then just konks out, not more than 11 hours. Bummer.


 
With all the flashlight/battery testing that I have done, the really really long runttimes only seem to happen with alkaline batteries. NMH and Lithium usually come up short. On a couple os tests I ran in the last week, on a 6 LED 3 AAA $1 flashlight (Black Friday 10 pack for $10 at Home Depot), it ran for 51 1/4 hours on Rayovac alkalines while only 4 hours on Duraloops. I prefer long runtime over brightness so I test my lights so that I know which ones to depend on when the SHTF. I do have some brighter lights. Today I just bought the Stanley 5W spotlight. Now I have to go out and field test it. 

My GIU ran 14.1 hrs on lithiums before it died completely, 9+ hours on a 1022 mAh NMH, and 33 1/4++ hours on alkalines and would still be putting out light for a very long time after that if I hadn't stopped the test. I already knew what the GIU's runtime history was. I was just testing different types of batteries in it to see which one(s) gave me the longest runtime. Then factor in whether I want a 15 yr self life with no leaking batteries. A battery I can charge over and over again. Or one that lasts a very very long time, but has a bad rap of leaking. I do silly things like this to keep my mind occupied.


----------



## BigHonu (May 15, 2010)

PoliceScannerMan said:


> Wow great thread. As I matured as a flashaholic, runtime has become just as important if not more than lumens.
> 
> +1 on the Eternalights, mine has had the same L91's in it since I bought it over 4 years ago.



Cool! I have the same L91's in my Eternalight since '03 or so, though I have used the light maybe 3 times total since '04.


----------



## Light Sabre (May 15, 2010)

BigHonu said:


> Cool! I have the same L91's in my Eternalight since '03 or so, though I have used the light maybe 3 times total since '04.


 
It's gonna last an eternity at that rate. :nana:


----------



## paulr (May 15, 2010)

Hmm I thought I responded to this but maybe didn't save. The simplest way to stop an alkaline from leaking in your GIU is to store the battery outside the flashlight. The long runtime with alkalines is because the GIU is not very regulated, and alkaline battery voltage drops as the cell gets used up. When that happens, the light gets dimmer and the power consumption decreases, resulting in more runtime. NiMH and lithium cells have a flatter discharge curve, so they run the light at full brightness until they are drained.

I have some Dorcy 1aaa lights from woot that were about $3 each. The circuit board pops out fairly easily and it should be simple to wire one up to a D cell for extremely long runtime. I think the GIU board pops out pretty easily too, but I haven't tried it. Another possibility is to mod the GIU board (replace a resistor) to run it at lower power for more runtime. Simpler still though is to use a multi-cell unregulated light if you're ok with the very long lasting, very dim results.


----------



## Light Sabre (May 15, 2010)

paulr said:


> Hmm I thought I responded to this but maybe didn't save. The simplest way to stop an alkaline from leaking in your GIU is to store the battery outside the flashlight. The long runtime with alkalines is because the GIU is not very regulated, and alkaline battery voltage drops as the cell gets used up. When that happens, the light gets dimmer and the power consumption decreases, resulting in more runtime. NiMH and lithium cells have a flatter discharge curve, so they run the light at full brightness until they are drained.


 
I keep a Duraloop in my GIU and alkalines separately. It's just nice to know how long a flashlight runs on different types of batteries, so in an emergency you can make the best choice for brightness and/or runtime.


----------



## swxb12 (May 15, 2010)

My Zebralight SC50w has a low-low that can put out light for weeks, but yet it cannot power up on a depleted alkaline that my CMG Infinity has no trouble with. IMO long runtime is great, but not if it only works in a controlled scenario (in my case, the Zebralight would have had to be left on hours before and never turned off, I'm assuming).

I just received a Fenix E01 in the mail. Got a AAA buffet set up for it :thumbsup:


----------



## PoliceScannerMan (May 15, 2010)

BigHonu said:


> Cool! I have the same L91's in my Eternalight since '03 or so, though I have used the light maybe 3 times total since '04.



I have used mine alot. I keep it in my vehicle, it is the ultimate car light. The magnet allows you to stick it to the vehicles body to change a tire, and to alert oncoming traffic. Not to mention the dazzle mode is perfect for that too.


----------



## nbp (May 15, 2010)

Ok, I have the CMG running on an alkie now. I will post my results when it dies. Eneloops were around 10 hours, so we'll see what happens with the coppertop.

EDIT: Runtime test finished and we get about 9.5 hours on the alkaline til death. It would seem that this thing is regulated to 9-10 hours, and that's about it. I'm curious about lithiums. I doubt it would be different, but maybe I'll pick one up just for kicks.


----------



## KiwiMark (May 16, 2010)

One option for you guys to consider is a charger capable of running from a 12V DC source. I have a couple of hobby chargers that run from 12V which is usually a computer PSU - but they could be powered from a car battery and charge up pretty much any batteries at any charging current desired.

If you end up in a WTSHTF situation and have no power, but do have access to a vehicle with a good 12V battery then this is a good option.


----------



## fizzwinkus (May 16, 2010)

i was just thinking about this, something with longer runtimes than the glo-toobs i use now. all i could come up with was the novatac locator flash. and yes, i'm actually kind of serious about this...


----------



## kaj (May 16, 2010)

The Streamlight Propolymer lights with the seven LED's have long run times. I have the 4AA model with 7 leds and I use it for when the power goes out because of the long run time.


----------



## etc (Jul 21, 2010)

About that Nite-Ize 10mm super dim "bulb". You can put it in a 4D Mag but use 5xC cells. Less runtime but gain flexibility, as I have more C cells than D. You don't have to make any changes for that to happen. The TC fits just fine, the spring is fine and you don't even need a tube all that much as they don't seem to rattle.

The other valuable thing I realized that a floody reflector is perfect for 10mm Nite-Ize. It's still throwy but has zero artifacts. Much nicer beam.


----------



## ryaxnb (Aug 24, 2010)

Light Sabre said:


> How many mAh in a 6V lantern battery is going to depend on whether it has D or F cells in it. Yes some companies cheat you by using 4 plain ol' D cells connected in series in theirs while other companies use 4 F cells which are bigger (longer). You can't tell from looking on the outside whether it has D or F cells in them. I can't find any information at the moment, but the lantern batteries with the F cells in them are going to have a higher mAh rating.


AFAIK, the One True Lantern Battery is the Energizer 6 Volt. and the Energizer "Big" Double 6 Volt (twice as wide). the Duracell 6 Volts use D cells and most other 6 volts are "heavy duty" (read: puny duty) or even general purpose (super puny duty).
The energizer 6 volt, appropiately, costs the most.
The mAh ratings, without further ado (estimates!)
Duracell 6 Volt: 12000mah (same as a D cell alkaline)
Eveready or other Heavy Duty 6 Volt: 10500mah (not much worse than the Duracell alkaline :thumbsdow)
And the Energizer 6 Volt: 22000mah and double wide 6 volt: 50000mah (thats 50amp-hours, folks... in other words, itll power a 3V 1A LED for approximately 100hours in theory.)
If runtime is all that matters, get a double-wide 6 volt (NOT 12volt double-wide) or single-wide 6 Volt and power with Energizer Alkaline 4-F 6 volt lantern batteries. :twothumbs


----------



## MorePower (Aug 24, 2010)

ryaxnb said:


> AFAIK, the One True Lantern Battery is the Energizer 6 Volt. and the Energizer "Big" Double 6 Volt (twice as wide). the Duracell 6 Volts use D cells and most other 6 volts are "heavy duty" (read: puny duty) or even general purpose (super puny duty).
> The energizer 6 volt, appropiately, costs the most.
> The mAh ratings, without further ado (estimates!)
> Duracell 6 Volt: 12000mah (same as a D cell alkaline)
> ...



Rayovac sells F-cell 6V lantern batteries as well as D-cell 6V lantern batteries. The F-cell type is denoted as an 808, while the D-cell is an 806. The 808 costs more, and is noticeably heavier than the 806 (or any other D-cell based lantern battery).


----------



## flashy bazook (Aug 24, 2010)

kaj said:


> The Streamlight Propolymer lights with the seven LED's have long run times. I have the 4AA model with 7 leds and I use it for when the power goes out because of the long run time.



327 hours according to the manufacturer, for the 3xC model.

I have one for that reason, and also maintain some Accupower rechargeables in the C format to keep it running (mainly during power outages, since it is a pretty sickly light beam otherwise).

Of course, it is not an EDC light by any stretch of the imagination, which is what this thread started off with.

I agree that most modern 1x either AA or 123A LED flashlights with a low output level can produce long runtimes (several tens of hours, depending on the lumens and the efficiency of the electronic controllers).

I maintain a 2nd generation (I think) Surefire L1 with a Red LED because it has something 90 hours runtime on low, and 15-20 hours on high (numbers here may not be very exact! It may be more like 40-60 hours on low, depending on which generation of L1 we are talking about). This is a very nice EDC 1x123A format, by the way, a classic shape that fits great in the hand.

Fenix generally has some of the most efficient controllers, and that's shown by the excellent performance of either of its 2x123A or 2xAA lights (I guess they are more efficient than the 1x lights for some reason). This would be the P3D and the L2D (or whatever they are called today). Again, one has to decide whether the 2x form factor is acceptable for an EDC.

I loved the idea of running the Malkoff M60LL in a 3xAA format! I hope the 40 hour runtime there is correct? (but note - this will include non-regulated declining lumen outputs I think, most likely the large majority of time will be non-regulated). Still, very useful for power outages and other emergencies, even though 3xAA will be even less EDC'able than the 2xAA formfactor.

I am now running the M60LL with a 1x18650, which gives pretty long runtimes, but if this 3xAAA idea works I can reuse the 1x18650 battery tube, probably with a M60L or equivalent, getting the higher lumen output of the M60L but with a more decent runtime, especially when compared with running it with 2xRCR123A's which is what i currently do.


----------



## BRO (Aug 25, 2010)

cree_buyer said:


> see the same thread - post #16 shows a SF E2L doing 63 hours of regulated runtime on low, the author's favorite EDC.
> 
> I use a SL Sidewinder for 100+ hours of constant-current regulated run time on 2AA's, don't EDC it though...



Thanks for sharing, that light would be a good emergency house light for me.


----------



## etc (Aug 25, 2010)

flashy bazook said:


> I loved the idea of running the Malkoff M60LL in a 3xAA format! I hope the 40 hour runtime there is correct? (but note - this will include non-regulated declining lumen outputs I think, most likely the large majority of time will be non-regulated). Still, very useful for power outages and other emergencies, even though 3xAA will be even less EDC'able than the 2xAA formfactor.
> 
> I am now running the M60LL with a 1x18650, which gives pretty long runtimes, but if this 3xAAA idea works I can reuse the 1x18650 battery tube, probably with a M60L or equivalent, getting the higher lumen output of the M60L but with a more decent runtime, especially when compared with running it with 2xRCR123A's which is what i currently do.



Nope, not 40 hours, but more like documented 90 hours. The 40-hour figure is applicable to the 2xAA format. 
I ran M60LL for a long time in 3xAA format but just recently switched to the 2xAA format, namely Surefire 9P. Reason is, I find the CR123A compatibility more important, I can either run 123s or AAs which is really neat. You get 13 hours with the former and 40 hours with the latter. 
Plus 3xAA is just a little too big. No way to EDC it. Just about falls out from all pockets or half of it sticks out. Need some special holster for it and even then it bumps into things.
Outside the scope of this thread, but this is where superiority of 123s clearly comes into play, where you can see that 3x123 is possible to EDC but 3xAA is not.
So with this 3xAA FiveMega I have, I plan to stick M61LL in it and see what difference that makes.

In any case, M**LL in 1x18650 is another excellent choice for extended, I hear 20 hours is the runtime and the lumens are pretty decent. Would very much prefer that over some tiny AA lite like Gerber Infinity.


----------



## etc (Aug 25, 2010)

The right answer to the question of "When you want a really long runtime"..... get Solar power, a battery bank, a computer to control it all... I hear should cost you 15-20K to set it up but you can be completely off the grid. Think of it as a permanent outage. If you screw up, it gets dark fast. No power and it's not coming back. Isn't that exciting.

That would be my dream house. Not a single incan, but LEDs throughout the premises. 

Solar backed up by a generator. Maybe 2 gennies, one on gas, the other one on propane. 

Flashlights are just toys that facilitate you to get to your equipment and start it properly, or in case you have to debug it. Then the toys are useful. But never the primary line of defense. Think about it, what would you do with just a torch? In a power outage you have no heat, no AC, no dishwasher, no fridge, no computer, no TV, no nothing. Just about all you can do is read something (something like how normal people live)

You need AC in the summer and heat in the winter. I had a power outage last winter and was freezing my bottom off. This summer too. Ran genny and had lights but no AC. My lites showed the terrible condition but did little to help it. My power company is terrible. Have a worse than average downtime than national. They need to bury the lines but it's cheaper for them to fix it every time a storm comes in and blows trees down. I won't rely on the grid in the future. Not reliable enough and worse, just too expensive.


----------



## flashy bazook (Aug 28, 2010)

etc said:


> Nope, not 40 hours, but more like documented 90 hours. The 40-hour figure is applicable to the 2xAA format.
> I ran M60LL for a long time in 3xAA format but just recently switched to the 2xAA format, namely Surefire 9P. Reason is, I find the CR123A compatibility more important, I can either run 123s or AAs which is really neat. You get 13 hours with the former and 40 hours with the latter.
> Plus 3xAA is just a little too big. No way to EDC it. Just about falls out from all pockets or half of it sticks out. Need some special holster for it and even then it bumps into things.
> Outside the scope of this thread, but this is where superiority of 123s clearly comes into play, where you can see that 3x123 is possible to EDC but 3xAA is not.
> ...



Wow - 90 hours!! Absolutely amazing.

Based in the discussion here I just switched around my collection of battery tubes and Malkoff drop-ins.

I moved the M60LL from the 1x18650, where I had it before with very nice results, to the 3xAA. It is just fine on brightness, quite similar to the 1x18650 output as far as my eye can tell.

That freed the 1x18650 tube, and I put in my M30 in it. In a way this is quite optimal for the M30, which has big throw and output in this setup and max runtime.

I also use the M31L in a 2xAA format, which should give between 2-3 hours of runtime (? not sure about this). So perfect for outdoors use.

I should mention that I was using the M60LL mainly indoors, so was not really needing it to be EDC'able. (In fact I normally also have a diffuser on it). For outdoors, I can instead use the M31L with 2xAA when 120-140 lumens is enough.

For bigger outdoors throw, and a more EDC'able format I'll just use the M30. I also have a 3P and a 4.5P format, so if runtime is sufficient for my outdoors use I can use a 1x123 primary or rechargeable, or a 1x18500 (which is a great EDC format, btw) with the M30.

Finally, the idea of the 9P format is also intriguing. I have that, too, but like to use it with the M60 in a 2x18500 format. I get the big throw and lumen output with plenty of runtime that way.

I have it in all black (quite sleek, actually, including a crenelated black steel bezel), and it is my light to carry in those "I heard a bump in the night" situations, and similar situations. It can be used outdoors or indoors quite nicely.

PS - I forgot to mention one more change, to put in an M60L into a straight 6P format with 2x123A primaries. This then has 4.5 hours of full output runtime (as I understand it), and more with declining output. If you get it in a plastic (nitrolon/G2) body, it is quite a lightweight light, and very nice for outdoors use especially, where 140 lumens or so is especially useable. It has a big throw aspect with plenty of spill.


----------



## flashy bazook (Aug 28, 2010)

etc said:


> The right answer to the question of "When you want a really long runtime"..... get Solar power, a battery bank, a computer to control it all... I hear should cost you 15-20K to set it up but you can be completely off the grid. Think of it as a permanent outage. If you screw up, it gets dark fast. No power and it's not coming back. Isn't that exciting.
> 
> That would be my dream house. Not a single incan, but LEDs throughout the premises.
> 
> ...



A lot of interesting and thought provoking ideas here *etc*, thanks!

A few points that occur to me:

I have two friends who are into solar power. One has spent quite a bit of time looking whether it makes sense in terms of dollars. Unfortunately, it is still not very economical to go to solar. So, if you do it, know you are spending extra bucks for peace of mind and independence. For some, this could definitely be worth it. For others, it might not (especially if they live in areas where getting access to solar power may be difficult, e.g., in apartments, in areas with heavy tree canopy, in areas with frequent cloud cover,...).

The other friend is actually doing research with exotic materials to improve the efficiency of solar panels. Sounds exciting, but it might take a long time for the research to bear fruit and for production to catch up and bring those super efficient solar panels to mass use.

Now, I don't know whether you have access to natural gas where you live. If you do, you at least don't have problems with heat in a power outage situation, since you can run your heating system on natural gas.

Also, you can have hot water during a power outage. Suddenly, the situation is much more bearable.

You could even put your fridge on natural gas, in which case the main problem with a power outage becomes the lack of A/C during summer time (since your flashlights, far from being toys, are quite sufficient to deal with the lack of main line electricity lights).

And for that, just go to a local library or book store or mall or to the beach/mountain/lake...during the hottest part of the day, and you can survive quite nicely through a power outage.

Main problem then would be the availability of food, drink, and gas for your car, should the whole area be affected.

PS - you can use your time in the library/bookstore to run your laptop and check your email and other internet necessities. This will also recharge your laptop so you can have a few hours of it at home (thought without internet access).


----------



## GarageBoy (Aug 28, 2010)

Forget solar, go nuclear!

When I want long run time, out comes my SMJLED inside my Energizer 2AA light, with a shallow reflector. Tosses out a nice WIIIDE spill for a looong time


----------



## etc (Aug 28, 2010)

flashy bazook said:


> A lot of interesting and thought provoking ideas here *etc*, thanks!
> 
> A few points that occur to me:
> 
> ...



You are right, solar is not that economical right now. Maybe in a few years?

I think it only makes sense now if you buy land cheap and so remote that it would cost a lot to run electric to it. Being off the grid is cool.

The last outage this summer caused a grid-lock. Impossible to get anywhere, library included. Get a lot of food and basic supplies, like gas for the generator.

Having said that, I never liked really dim lites with some crazy runtime. To me, they are just tools to get you going in the areas you really need to. For me, the min is probably 30-40 lumens and anything below that is just too depressingly low. I am somewhat OK with 80 lumens and for real happiness I need 140 lumens.


----------



## rgc (Aug 28, 2010)

Interesting stuff here. As I have been away from the flashlight scene for quite some time everything has changed. That said the one light I am never without if it be camping, traveling or in my go bag is my Surefire L1. Not exactly sure which generation it is but it is a red LED with 1.1 lumes for 90 hours and 22 lumes for 4 hours. With its optic these are very useful lumes to me be it in a dark house with no electricity or on a trail with no moon light the Surefire 1.1 lumes is more then enough to guide my steps. Plus I am always amazed at how it will throw the 22 lumes to light up the trail ahead. 

I think a new E2l might be my next light as 3 lumes for 100 hours sounds rather appealing and the 60 lumes for 11 hours was silly talk just a few years ago. 

rgc


----------



## etc (Aug 28, 2010)

flashy bazook said:


> Wow - 90 hours!! Absolutely amazing.
> 
> Based in the discussion here I just switched around my collection of battery tubes and Malkoff drop-ins.
> 
> ...


----------



## StarHalo (Aug 29, 2010)

flashy bazook said:


> 327 hours according to the manufacturer, for the 3xC model.



The Streamlight Propolymer 3C has been tested here; it manages right around 40 hours runtime total. Never go by the manufacturer claim.



etc said:


> Would very much prefer that over some tiny AA lite like Gerber Infinity.



The 3" Quark MiniAA manages just under four hours (before dimming) on its 90 lumen high mode, which I have personally verified during a power outage. ~9 hours at the 25 lumen medium and 2+ days at the 2 lumen low, plus it's available in cool, neutral, or warm emitters, for $39. An awesome little blackout light :thumbsup:


----------



## angelofwar (Aug 29, 2010)

rgc said:


> Interesting stuff here. As I have been away from the flashlight scene for quite some time everything has changed. That said the one light I am never without if it be camping, traveling or in my go bag is my Surefire L1. Not exactly sure which generation it is but it is a red LED with 1.1 lumes for 90 hours and 22 lumes for 4 hours. With its optic these are very useful lumes to me be it in a dark house with no electricity or on a trail with no moon light the Surefire 1.1 lumes is more then enough to guide my steps. Plus I am always amazed at how it will throw the 22 lumes to light up the trail ahead.
> 
> I think a new E2l might be my next light as 3 lumes for 100 hours sounds rather appealing and the 60 lumes for 11 hours was silly talk just a few years ago.
> 
> rgc


 
Yeppers! After getting my 5th Gen L1, that is a very nice 1.1 Lumens...and with the 90 hour runtime .... I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to have a red one...And I'd probably be looking for one right now if I didn't just grb an A2L-RD off the MP. Also, if you like the older L1's for their runtimes, the E2L won't dissappoint! One of my favorites for sure....don't use it alot, simply for the fact that I want it to be ready when somethnig does happen.


----------



## jacktheclipper (Aug 29, 2010)

Anyone know the runtime on a 2AA minimag with one of those old three Nichia led dropins . And which would run longer , alkalines or lithium primaries ?


----------



## Kestrel (Aug 29, 2010)

Just messing around with my FiveMega 2xC with my homebuilt 5mm LED / P60 drop-in after re-reading this 'runtime' thread, I figure that the runtime of my setup here is on the order of ~240 hours @ ~5-10 lumens (comparable in output to my ARC-AAA) with two Alkaline C's. Two NiMH C's don't provide enough voltage to run the 5mm LED with any output to speak of but I could probably run 3x NiMH C's with this drop-in in my FM *3*xC body if I really wanted the increased output. :shrug:










And of course, there's always the SF T1A - SureFire specs the runtime @ 1 lumen to be ~70 hours IIRC. Has anyone actually measured how 'low' it can do, I've only read of the comparison 'less than 0.08 lumens'? I could test the runtime at its lowest sustainable level, but I wouldn't want to be without it as an EDC for the month or so that a run might take. :ironic:











rgc said:


> [...] the one light I am never without if it be camping, traveling or in my go bag is my Surefire L1. Not exactly sure which generation it is but it is a red LED with 1.1 lumes for 90 hours and 22 lumes for 4 hours. With its optic these are very useful lumes to me be it in a dark house with no electricity or on a trail with no moon light the Surefire 1.1 lumes is more then enough to guide my steps. Plus I am always amazed at how it will throw the 22 lumes to light up the trail ahead.


SureFire really had something good with the low in those L1's. In a few years I'll probably send in my Gen5 SF L1 into Milky for a major remodel and update. At the same time the tailcap will get re-resistored to retain that ~2 lumen low, but the runtime on low with 1x17670 (that longer body can be modified to take it) will be, as they say, 'adequate'.


----------



## rgc (Aug 29, 2010)

angelofwar said:


> Yeppers! After getting my 5th Gen L1, that is a very nice 1.1 Lumens...and with the 90 hour runtime .... I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to have a red one...



I have started looking for other old L1 Surefire lights as I want one in white and who knows, maybe green too. For me it is just a perfect size and usable light. That said, the last one I saw come up on ebay was going for almost the price of an E1L and that was a little out of my price range for it. 

rgc


----------



## Burgess (Aug 29, 2010)

StarHalo said:


> The 3" Quark MiniAA manages just under four hours (before dimming) on its 90 lumen high mode,
> which I have personally verified during a power outage.
> ~9 hours at the 25 lumen medium and 2+ days at the 2 lumen low . . . .


 

Hello StarHalo --

What battery type was used for these results ?

Thank you.


----------



## StarHalo (Aug 29, 2010)

Burgess said:


> Hello StarHalo --
> 
> What battery type was used for these results ?



Energizer Lithium, which has the added bonus of being a light battery in a very light flashlight, feels almost like the battery tube is empty.


----------



## flashy bazook (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks for the corrected specs on the 2nd gen Surefire L1 with the red LED! So the 90 hours on low (1.1 lumens) I remembered was correct, but the high (22 lumens, which indeed is quite useful) goes on for 4 hours. So a pretty good long runtime light even after all these years.

On a 4.5P format -- I guess I made this name up. There is the 3P (1x123A), and the 6p (2x123A) format, and these names are well known. The 4.5P (as I named it) takes the 18500, and in length is about half way between the 3P and the 6P. So why not 4.5P?

On the runtime of the 3xC multi-LED pro-poly: I haven't tested the runtime, and obviously 40 hours is a lot less than 327 hours as the manufacturer claimed. Maybe there is a bit of light after 40 hours but it is not very bright? (this is an issue with direct drive light measurements...).

In any case, I've used it since it is my only light that can take the C batteries that I have, and I have enough NiMH C's to run it twice over; so even 80 hours is pretty useful, that's like 2 weeks of 5 hours per night, and it can make visible/navigable a whole corridor somewhere...I am not saying anyone should run out and buy one, but since I have it and its batteries, I keep it going. It's also in a pretty tough plastic body, probably you could throw it in some case somewhere together with other tools and take it out when needed.

On subjective enjoyment of lumens, I agree with *etc* that 120-140 is nicer than 80 (maybe our eyes are similar?). Still, you can get used to using 80 lumens quite nicely. I do so like to have the 120-140 lumen light nearby though. That's the problem I had with the HDS (now RA) lights when they first came out, it is only quite recently that they started being able to dish out 140-170 lumens.


----------



## etc (Sep 2, 2010)

Another idea:
If you jump on the Malkoff M31 bandwagon but don't want anything to do with AA cells or CR123A cells or 18650's, another great alternative is that FiveMega 2xC body. You can load it with plain Alkaline cells or NiMH C cells and enjoy either great lumens via M31 or I would think really good runtime with M31LL, once such a device becomes available.
Malkoff M31** is optimized for 3V or 2 Alkaline cells.


----------



## OceanView (Sep 2, 2010)

Cydonia said:


> The Nite Ize PR base 10mm LED draws about 190ma from 2 cell lights...about 50ma from 3 cell lights *and* it is nearly twice as bright.
> Which would last longer? *The 3 cell light*.


I got one of these 10mm Nite Ize drop ins a while ago and tried them in a few plastic 2D lights I had around, but was always dissatisfied with the beam. I finally remembered that I had one of those plastic Fulton 3D lights (straight, not an anglehead 2D) which apparently are fairly common as military/government issue.

Anyway, it has a very shallow, not-so-shiny reflector and now the beam is just what a I wanted--floody and relatively smooth, for mostly around-the-house use, like during a power outage. This setup has virtually no throw to speak of. Any light with a deeper reflector was producing horrible artifacts or a beam that was too tight and intense for indoor use.

I think I've found my general purpose household light now. The kind you throw in the kitchen drawer for when the power goes out. Drawing just 50ma, that sucker will last a long, long time. If I need more throw or output, well...I certaily have lights to fill that role, too. lovecpf


----------



## etc (Sep 2, 2010)

I did the same thing with with a 3D mag. I think the rated runtime is about 100 hours.


----------



## Fulgeo (Sep 2, 2010)

My longest running mods take the form of a 3D Mag with a 3 mode AMC7135 based driver. I use 3 D AccuEvolution 10,000 mAh LSD NiMH cells to power the mods. I have made 4 of these to date and they work well. Here are the runtime specs. 140 mA on low mode. This gives you about 50 lumens with a 70+ hour runtime. 1000 mA on medium. This gives you about 300 lumens with a 10+ hour runtime. 2800 mA on high mode. This gives you about 700 lumens with a 3.5+ hour runtime.

Happy mods!


----------



## angelofwar (Sep 3, 2010)

The 10MM Nite-Ize drop-in will run for a couple of weeks :candle:. A few guys tried doing runtime tests on it one time, but gave up after the first couple of days. :twothumbs


----------



## etc (Sep 3, 2010)

angelofwar said:


> The 10MM Nite-Ize drop-in will run for a couple of weeks




I thought there was a test done by BigWaffles and it indicated about 90-100 hours. pretty good but not really as good as I hoped. 100 hours = 4 days. I don't think its a few weeks. Do you have a link where it ran for weeks? Unless it drops into the way sub 1-lumen moonlight level.

I put a floody reflector in it and it made it much nicer.


----------



## copperfox (Sep 3, 2010)

etc said:


> I thought there was a test done by BigWaffles and it indicated about 90-100 hours. pretty good but not really as good as I hoped. 100 hours = 4 days. I don't think its a few weeks. Do you have a link where it ran for weeks? Unless it drops into the way sub 1-lumen moonlight level.
> 
> I put a floody reflector in it and it made it much nicer.



You're right, it did run for 90+ hours (IIRC that was a 3D mag). So on 4D it will run a little longer, on 2D it will run a little less. 

I don't like runtime given in days because I can't think of anyone who uses a flashlight for days on-end. Usually you just use it between dusk and going to sleep. So if you ran the nite-ize 10mm PR dropin in a 3D mag for 6.24 hours per night, it really would last two weeks.


----------



## f22shift (Sep 3, 2010)

freeplay kito(crank flashlight).


go on forever or til my arms fall off. whichever comes first.

or 

how about a fully mirrored room filled with a hundred solar powered flashlights. you'll look like george hamilton in a week.


----------



## angelofwar (Sep 3, 2010)

etc said:


> I thought there was a test done by BigWaffles and it indicated about 90-100 hours. pretty good but not really as good as I hoped. 100 hours = 4 days. I don't think its a few weeks. Do you have a link where it ran for weeks? Unless it drops into the way sub 1-lumen moonlight level.
> 
> I put a floody reflector in it and it made it much nicer.


 
Yeah, I read the one BW did, but I think there was another I read 2 years back thinking, where he basically gave up on it, and stated it in the thread, but it may have been where it hit the "bottom" and he figured it would run at that lowest of low's (although useable) for who knows how long...1 lumen ain't much, but when all the batteries are gone and it's pitch black in a basement or attic...

I wonder if you soldered a resistor to the bottom or inside of it, if you could double the runtime at half the lumen out-put???


----------



## angelofwar (Sep 3, 2010)

copperfox said:


> *I don't like runtime given in days because I can't think of anyone who uses a flashlight for days* on-end. Usually you just use it between dusk and going to sleep. So if you ran the nite-ize 10mm PR dropin in a 3D mag for 6.24 hours per night, it really would last two weeks.


 
Ditto...unless it's hard to get an accurate reading, I can plan how long to use my light each night (ration it if batteries are low and the whole city is gone and everythnig locked up or already stolen), and secure myself by saying "If I limit it's use to 4 hours a day, it will last me approx. 4 weeks", etc.


----------



## etc (Sep 3, 2010)

anybody in the path of the hurricane going up the east coast now? Might get to test some of these theories.


----------



## Vesper (Sep 3, 2010)

etc said:


> I put a floody reflector in it and it made it much nicer.



Where does one get good alternate reflectors for mags these days BTW?


----------



## etc (Sep 6, 2010)

I don't recall exactly but it may have been lighthound. One of the major vendors here, anyway.


----------



## KenAnderson (Sep 6, 2010)

My Novatac 120P on low (.08 lumens) runs approximately 750 hours on a single CR123. If I spend 30 minutes in very low light (moon), the .08 setting appears bright enough to navigate well.

My TNC light also uses a CR123 or RCR123 and runs for 6000 hours on it's lowest level and 600 on the second to lowest. Yes, 6000 hours. At 8 hours per night, that's two years of run off a single battery. I have 100 lithium batteries in storage, rotating in new ones as I draw from the supply. I guess I'm all set for the next 200 years or so.


----------



## etc (Sep 7, 2010)

kramer5150 said:


> x2... this is a really nice general-purpose setup. Its around 50L IIRC. You can also lego a 1x18650 extension, and run it regulated off 2x18650.




Yeah, I do both. M60LL is a surprisingly versatile module that plays well with any configuration. 
I have a large supply of unprotected 18650 cells, I am confident M60LL and 18650s can get me through any power outage. Just that lite alone can generate 1000+ hours of runtime with 18650s I pulled from laptop battery packs.
When that's over, I can go to primaries, which I have hundreds of...
When primaries are gone, I can go to Lihium AAs.
When that is gone, I can use Alkalines.
When Alks are gone, I can use Carbon Zinc heavy duty. 

Plus the tint is very nice and the lumens are not a joke. Really a step up above something like Infinity. Mine is blue and dim (of course).
I don't think I can deal with less than 40 lumens in the primary EDC lite. So for me, this is as good as it gets.


----------



## etc (Sep 7, 2010)

About the old MiniMag with SMJLED module, I hear the runtime was supposed to be close to 40 hours?

How does it compare to the "Low" runtime in the new Minimag with Rebel and Multi-modes? I think the high is probably 50 lumens. If the runtime is about the same, it's nice, since you can also use the high mode.


----------

