The listed spec, by the company, on amazon, state
nimh/alkalaine
Lithium is not mentioned….therefore, if you are correct they are using lithium, then they are being deceptive by not mentioning it.
How can you not admit this ?
If lithium is the only way to achieve 80 hours runtime, then I think the company should mention it. I say this, for several reasons…like
lithium costs more…lithium takes a special charger instead of a normal nimh/nicd charger….lithium can be more dangerous…etc
There is another thing to consider, which is how much charge is lost while sitting on the shelf. I use NiMH rechargeable batteries in many things. I recently bought a (16?) pack of eneloops and recycled some old Energizer’s.
HOWEVER, all of my devices that are strewn about the house for emergency use, have Energizer Lithium primary cells installed. In many cases I have also fashioned insulators out of old business cards that prevents each device from accidental turn on or any standby drain.
I have not run any tests to determine max run time for any of my emergency devices. I do have spare Lithium primaries and multiple methods of charging batteries from virtually any power source. I’m confident that I could easily go months without requiring new cells to generate light. But then I don’t live in a cave where I need a light on 24 hours a day either.
For a fair test, buy a new alkaline battery.
Just one.
old alkalines are prone to leak, because the chemistry actually erodes the metal shell as the voltage runs down.
If it’s in your closet, it’s not apt to be fresh.
No offense to your clothes, just talking about the alkaline cell.
The eneloop , I used for this test…was fully charged at a slow rate…capacity read 2019 Mahs….it was then put right in the light, and turned on moonlight mode for testing. This eneloop, did not sit on a shelf for days or weeks, where it would lose capacity. I did this test, because I actually thought it would be incredible, if the XTAR got anywhere close to the 80 hour runtime as claimed.
you dont u8nderstand that testing conditions are not specified
and the battery type to use is as well Lithium primary but as it is not common they did not write that in the description so people dont put 3.7V batteries inside
Agreed.
I checked, and dont have any new alkalines.
then again, even if it gets 80 hours on alkalines , it still isnt what I needed.
I would guess,. on a new duracell , this light may get 65 hours runtime . If it got 80 , I would be shocked.
they specifiy
NIMH/ALKALINE batteries…in the specs.
lithium is not mentioned at all
no matter how you try to spin it, this is deceptive on the companies part.
If you bought a car, and they told you it gets 60 miles to a gallon ….but then you got it home, to find out you only get that MPG by using jet fuel…and if you use normal gas, you only get 20 MPG….and you werent told this by the manufacturer…would you feel deceived ?
For moon light or low low light, your best bet would be a alkaline. The Engergizer L91s have not performed well at lower levels. Edit, well for the money
How many light you plan on having on at once ?
Have you ever used a light camping?
Sounds like you just want a light left on in each room?
Be reasonable. Expect to be lied to.
If this surprises you (and, in fact, if you believe the advertised gas mileage on cars), there is much to learn.
Look for a CMG Infinity AA
Compare the reported runtimes from the various reviews to (2nd page of results) what Gerber claims.
It won’t last as long as the manic pixie fantasy flashlight claims, but then, nothing will.
It will last a long time, and it will slowly get dimmer as the voltage drops.
One key point on low level light —- don’t turn it on and off, just leave it on. Just starting up the driver electronics will consume more of the remaining battery power than you save by using it intermittently in moonlight mode, according to Gransee of Arc Flashlight years ago.
PS, since your stated need is for a light that will last several days —
— do you mean 24 hour days, like in a storm shelter? Or will you have daylight every day?
— do you mean only when you’re in the room, and awake, or 24 hours per day?
If you look for emergency lights you’ll find a variety that may do what you need.
Try www.dorcydirect.com and consider their motion sensor battery lights and emergency lights.
Or some of these: emergency light "several days" - Google Search
Appreciate the replies.
If this XTAR would have gotten 60% of its rated runtime of 80 hours, with my eneloops, I woulda been happy. Only getting 28 hours out of a rated 80 hours, is quite a difference. I was expecting to get around 55-60 hours runtime , so I am dissapointed , but its no big monetary loss.
Ill probably just wait till a good sale comes for what I need or new technology comes out in 2017 to get the longer runtimes on moonlight mode using eneloops.
I did not want to have to buy all new batteries . I like the eneloops and their performance overall. I still think the XTAR suffers from severely over rated specs and this is to be expected for a $7.00 light.
[quote=hank]
PS, since your stated need is for a light that will last several days —
— do you mean 24 hour days, like in a storm shelter? Or will you have daylight every day?
— /quote]
Yes….this would be for a storm shelter type deal or power grid down for several days
Thats why im so dissapointed with the 28 hour runtime from XTAR.
I liked the idea of having a simple , inexpensive LED flashlight that runs on a single eneloop AA/AAA , for 2 days or more, on moonlight mode, using a light diffuser.
Well… theres really only one way to find out. Just get an alkaline cell and try it out. Not all alkaline batteries are created equal too. Some are longer running than others for low drain applications. It would be presumptuous to just assume a product doesn’t meet Akaline spec without actually testing.
The other aspect you are neglecting is the discharge characteristics of Alkaline versus nimh. Alkalines at very low current gradually deplete their output. So at these low currents its not always cut and dry. Oh also, eneloops may not be actually 2000mah. My understanding is they gradually lose capacity, especially when they are repeatedly deep discharged way down. So there can be a lot of variables.
Anyways… For whatever reason, ultra low candle modes (fraction of a lumen) are almost always not featured on budget-affordable lights.
The thrunite T10 has a .2 Lumen ultra low mode from a 1.2V battery (presumably an eneloop pro). This might get you to 80 hours and with a 240 hour spec I would fully expect it to.
I just got a TH20 headlamp. Its spec reads, With AA 2450mAh (eneloop pro I would assume) = 14 day run time at its .3 Lumen firefly mode. This headlamp has replaced my $$$ Zebralight and I am very impressed with its overall quality for the $ spent. I would expect similar levels of quality from the T10.
Anyways… Good Luck!!! At ~$8 I still think you got a GREAT light for the money.
I will also say, this XTAR at 3 lumens moonlight mode, with a light diffuser , gave off enough light to keep my bedroom nicely illumniated…and my bedroom measures 16 ft x 16 ft…
I really think a moonlight mode of only 1.5 lumens, would work nicely, for my needs, as long as it ran for min 48 hours on eneloops and was budget priced. I would order several of them .
The t10 thrunite…rates 40 hour runtime at 13 lumens , using a nimh - 1.2 volt battery. I would guess that is accurate specs.
My XTAR only gets 28 hours at 3 lumens with 1.2 volt eneloop battery……so we can see the difference in quality/ runtimes .
Practice some weekend, I was out power for 7 days. Used several AA lights. Didn’t need to charge or change a cell. I used eneloops and some rayovac rechargables.
The XPG-R5 in that Xtar is also a few years old (IIRC). So from a Lumens / watt efficiency standpoint, its not going to match up well against the newer XPL used on those thrunite lights. I will try and get some tailcap current draw measurements later today from the TH20... just to see on paper what kind of run times I "should" be getting from a 2000 mah eneloop.
Well I own a sunnwayman D50A …and I think on moonlight mode, it will go for 7 days .
The technology will soon be here, where long runtime moonlight modes using eneloops, are for sale around $10 each.
1 –3 lumens would be sufficient for my applications.
Does anyone have a long runtime moonlight mode LED light that uses 1 AA/AAA and they want to trade for 1 of my XTARS ?
I dont care about hi lumen output or different modes. Im looking for a small led light, that puts out 1-3 lumens for at least 48 hours or more on a eneloop 2000 mah battery. I would be putting a light diffuser on the head of it.
The point I was trying to make was that unless you have a better crystal ball than I do, when you suddenly discover that you need these emergency lights, Murphys law states that most of your eneloops will be drained and waiting to charge. Energizer Advanced Lithium cells are claiming a 12 year shelf life. So they should be in better shape then those eneloops.
PS - don’t be surprised if the shelf life is substantially less than 12 years!
PPS - advertising is worse than politics when it comes to honesty, sorry to break the news.