Which flashlight can run the most sustained lumens?

[Agro]

lux-rc FB1? Active cooling makes me suspect it may be no. 1

[The_Driver1 (The_Driver)]

Any regulated HID will surely work nicely!

[Richie086]

Off the top of my head, I’d say either the Trustfire TR-S700 or the Trustfire TR-J20. Love them both and can be used on HIGH mode as much as required.

[Box]

@Richie086

Off the top of my head, I’d say either the Trustfire TR-S700 or the Trustfire TR-J20. Love them both and can be use on HIGH mode as much as required.

J20. Only light I can use in summer on high without overheating :heart_eyes:

[Richie086]

@Box

@Richie086

Off the top of my head, I’d say either the Trustfire TR-S700 or the Trustfire TR-J20. Love them both and can be use on HIGH mode as much as required.

J20. Only light I can use in summer on high without overheating :heart_eyes:

[Enderman]

@ven

But we are on a Flashlight forum, I am simply saying larger lights handle heat better (generally speaking) than smaller ones at same ouput levels. More mass/size/ heat fins to soak up heat then dissipate. Which I have found enough to sustain fairly high output levels for decent amounts of time.

Tk75 and K60 do not handle heat as well as a larger light like the rc40 at similar outputs.

Flashlights, spotlights, searchlights, we talk about all of them here.
OP didn’t specify just tube flashlights or EDC or anything like that.

You don’t seem to understand that there are lights with different designs that aren’t your typical “battery tube with big head” and actually have better heat dissipation, higher output, higher price, etc.

[tatasal]

Oh well, the op’s main beef is “what light can sustain the turbo or its highest level without stepping down and will only notch down due to battery depletion”.

How it can do it is not the issue and perhaps deserves another thread.

[ven]

I fully understand thank you enderman…

[KawiBoy1428]

The Trustfire T90-2 second from the left, and the Stock Lumintop SD75 third from the left on top.

[djozz]

The Q8 can’t do 4000 lumen continuously, it has not enough surface area for that. I have half an hour tonight and will try 3000 lumen, from cold start, and measure how hot it gets.

Edit:
I did a wee test at 3000 lumen (on GA cells), at 12 minutes the head temperature of the Q8 is 63 degrees Celsius, so still far from dangerous but too hot to hold.

May do a proper test later. My guess is that the sustainable output (=can hold the flashlight at room temperature with no active airflow?) is less than 2000 lumen.

[Enderman]

The Olight X6 is 5k lumens, the PH50 is 4-5k lumens as well, the WiseLED Xtruder ST is 10k lumens, The XeRay LX70 does 7500lm, and there are probably a few more HID lights I’m missing.

[SteveMidwest]

@KawiBoy1428

The Trustfire T90-2 second from the left, and the Stock Lumintop SD75 third from the left on top.

Thanks for for sharing those KawiBoy1428.

Isn’t the Trustfire T90-2 a 2500-ish lumen light? (not nearly 4000lm )

The Lumintop SD75 is a very good light, and has some of the better heat dissipation fins, but has been tested by a few people, as only putting OTF lumen numbers of about 3150lm. Then even if it was a 4000lm OTF flashlight, its run time chart looks like a ski slope.

[SteveMidwest]

@Enderman

Olight X6 maybe?

Has better cooling than all the regular “tube” flashlights, pretty sure it can keep the 5k lumens until the battery is out with no heat issues.

Thank you Enderman.

Do you happen to know where we can go to see some reviews of any of these lights, that may also incorporate run time and lumen tests? I am having a hard time finding much of anything.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

I should try my 14,000 lumen TR-J20 with it’s very large additional heat sink. Sure, it’ll heat up some at full power but should run very well at half power or so.

It’s using 4 of the 9V variant MT-G2 powered by 3 6000mAh 32650’s. There is about a 1/4” thick slab of 6061 between the stock emitter shelf and the 4 20mm MCPCB’s, with a head filling additional heat sink underneath the stock shelf.

Should probably also run my DBC-05 with it’s triple XHP-50.2 set-up and the large copper midsection. It might fare well at half levels as well, which would be in the 6,000 lumen range. The copper pill started out as a 3.17 pound bar of Tellurium Copper.

Not factory lights, I know, but the additional mass is well beyond what might be called normal, will check tomorrow and see how this fares in practice…

[SteveMidwest]

@tatasal

@SteveMidwest

@tatasal

@SteveMidwest

@tatasal

My old Fenix TK70, running on 4 x D nimh cells can do its rated 2,200 Turbo mode until it drops down to High if the batteries slowly depletes.

Thanks for the info on the K60, I also have one but still in its box since it came out, never tested, but nice to know it can do the same thing

Thank you tatasal, and keep looking. Yes, the K60 is one heck of a light. There has got to be one out there somewhere, maybe, that is a bit better though. Right? :sunglasses:

I don’t know if this other XHP70 beast can qualify in this search, no time to test though: Niwalker BK-FA02s

A good entry tatasal. daninho reviewed that light here on Sun, 11/06/2016 - 19:25.
Finding that only 4310lm could be gotten out of it on its highest mode, with the good keeppower 3400 batteries that were put in it. Then as you can see here > Review Niwalker Vostro BK-FA02S
The chart shows a steady decline, due to thermal regulation.

To win this, a flat line will be necessary. :sunglasses:

It could have been tested starting out in its second highest output level, for more runtime, but that would have only been level 4, at 1900lm. So really, in order to win this. We’ll have to find a flashlight that has a mode of around 4100-5000lm. To beat this K60.

Oh, nice find of the review. Now I am more informed.

Well, in that case I find a gradual decline much better than the nowadays almost universal marketing hype of so much lumens only to step down so steeply. :person_facepalming:

That does make for a very good flashlight, in many cases tatasal! :sunglasses:

[SteveMidwest]

@ven

Mass of course is key, the x65 has it in abundance……………but the xhp35 HI’s do not help! These i find run hot, or hotter than equivalent outputs with different LED’s with lower voltage.
The x65 can run around 5000lm till the 8 cells say no more………….gets toasty though compared to the rc40 at similar levels.

A very good entry ven! Have you seen anyone review testing this, or showing any charts by chance?

[scs]

How about setting the comparison metric to lumen-hours per mAh for a range of output?

[Box]

Dale I wish I had your skills to make my J20 like that. Very impressive as usual mate.

[SteveMidwest]

@Enderman

@SteveMidwest

In my mind, when adding that additional mass of 226 grams of aluminum, I was also adding it as a battery tube or container. That container also has a surface area. In this case, that surface area is an additional 220 sq/cm. So along with the mass, in my figuring, comes the additional surface area. Thus, additional cooling.

Not only is the battery tube very far away from the heat source (the LEDs) and therefore reducing the effectiveness of the surface area, but the cross-sectional area of the battery tube is very little, causing bad heat conductivity, AND 220sq/cm is nothing compared to the 1000+ from 10 heat fins 100mm in diameter.
And yes, the X6 has more than 10 heat fins.

@ven

Mass of course is key

No, no it is not.
Mass does literally nothing for heat dissipation, it just stores heat.
Surface area is what matters.
Adding mass just makes it heat up slower, over time it will still reach a high temperature.

If you care about long continuous runtime at a lower temperature, then surface area, metal heat conductivity (copper is best), and airflow speed/temperature is what matters.

Now with that, I have to disagree with your conclusion Enderman, You are of course correct though, when you state that “tube very far away”, and with “cross-sectional area of the battery tube is very little”, and also with your “causing bad heat conductivity” statement.

But, it is in addition. As an example here. The 220sq/cm is in addition, to lets say the 1000+. So lets say that is 20%. Of course its location is not prime real estate, near the emitter shelf. But additional none the less.

I have seen far too may thermal imaging tests of flashlights, to not know that the battery tube goes a long ways towards drawing heat away from the head.

Fenix TK35 Flashlight - FLIR Thermal Analysis

We also have many other examples of how this works, but lets keep this thread on target. :+1:

[SteveMidwest]

@DB Custom

I should try my 14,000 lumen TR-J20 with it’s very large additional heat sink. Sure, it’ll heat up some at full power but should run very well at half power or so.

It’s using 4 of the 9V variant MT-G2 powered by 3 6000mAh 32650’s. There is about a 1/4” thick slab of 6061 between the stock emitter shelf and the 4 20mm MCPCB’s, with a head filling additional heat sink underneath the stock shelf.

Should probably also run my DBC-05 with it’s triple XHP-50.2 set-up and the large copper midsection. It might fare well at half levels as well, which would be in the 6,000 lumen range. The copper pill started out as a 3.17 pound bar of Tellurium Copper.

Not factory lights, I know, but the additional mass is well beyond what might be called normal, will check tomorrow and see how this fares in practice…

Great choices DB Custom! I would love to hear what you find out.

Someone else here mentioned the Acebeam X65, which is a pretty big, heat dissipating flashlight, with a 6000lm level. It’s going to be close, but that one just may do it?

I have an Acebeam X45, with a 4000lm level, that will keep that pace for about 1.4 hours. So we could throw that onto the list as well. But I have not been able to find anyone who has documented its OTF lumens. I suppose it is pretty close to 4000lm, when on that level.