I have 300lum torch, plus an Ultrafire WF-501b (about 600l) and I have just ordered a SkyRay 3xT6 3800lum unit. All use 18650 batteries, and I like them. I think I have the top end in brightness covered. The problem I am finding with these torches is two-fold - they get too hot, and the batteries do not last very long. And by 'not long', I mean 15 or 20 minutes of intermittent use.
I have been using these units around the house. I was up in the ceiling space the other day when my freshly charged Ultrafire died on me. VERY inconvenient.
So what I am looking for now is a reliable torch that is fairly bright (100lum or so, I guess), but with a pretty good battery life. I want something that will last me all day pottering around the house on my DIY jobs, working on the car, etc.
Is the Ultrafire UF-H2B (AA/14500) it runs for days on it's low setting, has a magnetic base (great for working on the car), and comes with a headband so it can be used as a headlamp.........only downside is the price ($32.90).
I agree that the UF-H2B (or rather, the 18650 version, the UF-H3) seems a very good torch. I am trying to find the same thing in a cheaper brand though. I noted we have a special buy on this forum, but not for the 18650 version.
Get something like the Uniquefire L2 from DX with a XP-G using a single 18650 and use it on medium rather than high and it will last a long time. This applies to most any light...just have a decent battery in it and don't use it on high.
Ha! May be a great light but why not use *24 aaa or *192 of those little dot batteries ?
To me 8 batteries is too many .
Definitely not an expert but the first torch I just bought is the Saik Sa-9 with a CREE Q 5 and it is a Zoom type which lasts 3 hours steady on a cheap Ultrafire 18650 on high setting, no overheating with wild guess 150 to 200 Lumens, (rated at up to 400 *FCL- Fake Chinese Lumens) and throws a pretty long focused beam or floods really well and tailstands to light up a small room like a small lamp.
Available on Ebay $6 to $12 or so. Better than I thought and cool little light.
*FCL= Fake Chinese Lumens a new designation for Lumens created specifically for Budget Light Forum for converting Chinese claimed Lumens to actual Lumens.
1 Lumen = 1.7403 FCL approximately, and may vary from one light to another
...something like a good Solarforce host and the 3-mode XM-L drop-in from Manafont.
I bought a Uniquefire L2 from DX with a XP-G some time ago. The host is OK but the drop-in output faded very badly and one day it just died never to emit light again. I may just have been unlucky, but if I was in a situation where I needed a dependable light I'd think twice about taking the Uniquefire L2 with the stock drop-in. The answer, of course, is to carry four torches at all times.
I've just been re-reading the OP because I had the same thoughts as you, Dr.J. But when I re-read the OP I was confused. It doesn't add up.
OK the 3*T6 may have a short runtime but his 300lm should already do over 2 hours even on high and his 600lm should also do well over an hour on high. He seems to be suggesting that he's only getting 15 to 20 minutes from a full charge of an 18650. That makes no sense especially in the 300lm light. And a fresh fully charged cell seemed to die very quickly while he was in his ceiling space !!!
I wonder what the origins of his cells are? Low Capacity fakes? Faulty charger cutting off early?
Tell me, Kneighbour, what cells do you use and where did they come from? Also what charger do you have and what voltage are the cells reading when they come off of it? The fact is that you should be getting much longer runtimes than you are, especially if you use then on medium or low.
There's some bad batches of Ultrafire batteries out there. I bought a Trustfire Tr-3t6 3 X XML torch, battery and charger combo. Both the red Ultrafire 3000mah cells that came with it only had capacities of a couple of hundred mah from a full charge. A second blue batch were not much better. Of course runtimes were only a fraction of what they should have been.
I had better results with Trustfire flame 2400mah cells. Then I bought some Sanyo 2600mah cells and they left the others for dead. The 3t6 will run for hours on medium and low modes on good cells.