Spec me an LED Torch

hey i got an inforce 6vx for some airsofting and general torching duties would rather just have rechargeable cells than keep buying new ones.

Am i best off keeping that for the airsoft and picking up a cheap AA battery torch to keep in the bike tool kit with some eneloops?

Hey Tefal, sorry for not getting back to you on this, I didn't see your reply until now!

Your Inforce 6VX should apparently run just fine on 2x 16340 Li-ion cells, so a pair of these http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/batteries/aw-rcr123a.html combined with a suitable charger (like this one; http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/batteries/nitecore-intellicharge-i2.html) should serve you well.

The runtime on high should be about 75 minutes or so :)

Just bought the d80, are special batteries required or are normal aa's going to work fine? I get aas for free....

Hi mate, the D80 uses "18650" batteries - these are a single 3.7v Li-Ion rechargeable cell that's ~18mm in diameter and ~65mm long (hence the name). There are a wide variety on the market, and the Keepower/AW/Nitecore/Eagletac ones that you see here should all work great.

The charger I recommend to Tefal above is also what you'll want to charge them up :D
 
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oh i also got some AAA eneloops for my wireless headphones they work a treat :p


what would the self discharge be on those 16340 ? could istick a pair (well wraped up) under the seat of the bike an hapilly forget about them till i need them for a year or so?


And one final question dunno if LED is best for this the single florescent tube in the garage is appalling for working on the bike, any good flood light options i can use?
 
The charge current on the i4 is a little high, but there's a trick that you can do to lower it;

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Nitecore%20Intellicharger%20i4%20UK.html said:
This brings me around to the trick that can be used when charging small LiIon batteries: Simply put a NiMH battery in the other slot, it does not really matter if it is full or empty (A old worn out NiMH is perfect).
I.e. to charge a small LiIon in slot #1, put a NiMH in slot 3.
I.e. to charge a small LiIon in slot #2, put a NiMH in slot 4.

Eneloops are stellar aren't they? I think they're one of the most important advances in battery technology in a long time.

The Self Discharge of Li-Ion cells is very low, as they don't really "self discharge", the charge that the cells lose when stored is actually the cells losing absolute capacity. Li-Ion cells lose capacity when; Left fully charged for prolonged periods (1 month+), left fully discharged (12 hours+), prolonged high temperatures (40C+) and lastly, being over-charged (~3% per 0.1v! :o). As you can see, they're temperamental buggers!
For Long-term storage, Li-Ion cells should be "Storaged", which involves charging/discharging them to a resting voltage of between 3.7 to 3.75 volts (or a charge capacity of ~30%). Fancy chargers have this functionality built in.

For the "under the seat" situation that you describe, regular CR123A lithium primary (non-rechargeable) cells are ideal as they're insensitive to temperature change and have a ten-year shelf-life.

As for your work-light, I believe that the LED floodlights actually work pretty well, one of the 30W ones should make an excellent task-light, especially if colour temperature and accuracy isn't important :)
That said, when I'm doing mechanical stuff for prolonged periods of time, nothing really beats a good old incandescent halogen floodlight :D
 
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Very welcome buddy! It always seems to be the way that the batteries and chargers are more expensive than the lights themselves, especially when you're just starting off in the "hobby".
The reasoning is that the worst thing a cheap torch can do is break, but cheap batteries and chargers can have significantly more spectacular failures ;)

Also, the good batteries and chargers tend to outlive the torches they go inside! I have a pair of AW 2900mAh 18650s that I've had since 2012, still working fine, long after the monster-torch I bought them for died :D
 
Any of you guys ever buy the cheap stuff from eBay?

99% of the listings would seem to me to be totally false advertising. They have single Cree LED headlamps and claim 2000 lumens output.

The XML T6 LEDs are only rated at best for 1000 lumens, under ideal conditions, at max current/wattage. In a headlamp running off a couple AA batteries you're getting nowhere near 2k lumens.

They claim ratings of 5000+ lumens for cheap £10 torches. As much as I'd like to get something cheap, I can't believe any of these claims are true.
 
LuckySun D80 arrived today.

How can something that looks and feels so well built be so cheap?!

It's also very bright, easily matches my SolarForce and the hotspot is brighter and more focused. The spread isn't as wide as the Ultrafire C8 but the flood is brighter and the light itself a cm or two shorter in length.

There is no hint of yellow in the hotspot or flood and the hint of blue tinge from the AR coating gives a nice premium look.

Only thing that is a little negative is that the emitter won't remember the last used setting. I guess you can only expect so much at this price :p

As for the modes, can anyone confirm their one? Mine goes HIGH > MED > Moonlight > STROBE > HIGH > SOS then back to HIGH again?
 
Same as mine mrk.

Cool so not just me then, was getting a bit confused as to why the high mode was randomly thrown in there on rotation :p

Also notice it makes a slight whining noise on all but moonlight mode? Doesn't matter what battery is used, aim the light at your ears and you will hear it if you have good hearing :o

Edit*
Ah it's not HIGH thrown in, it's Turbo:

High, Med, Low, Strobe, Turbo, SOS

And going by a review:

Please also note this Turbo does not step down, so if you like to burn em hard, have at it.

:eek:
 
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Is the ultrafire stuff on eBay any good compared to the previous one linked on amazon ?

Seems to be a large difference in lumens but little in price making me think false advertising,I don't have any 1865(?) or the charger for them so am rather reliant on aa or aaa.

I trawled the last 40 or so pages and came to the conclusion that even though my budget is £30 the Ultrafire 800 Lumens Zoomable Cree Xm-l T6 may be best as it has the zooming lens which i think would be helpful during late night treks.

Any other advice :) ?
 
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