I’d like to report that my newly arrived Tool Aluminum 219b from Banggood has the efficient driver. Flat output of ~70 lumens at least for the first ten minutes it’s been running.
edit: well, this is interesting, did another run with a fan and now it is acting like my inefficient Tool Ti…
maukka
thank you for all the testing you do
I have been tempted by the Nichia Tool in Aluminum as it was on sale recently, but, none of the Copper Tools I have bought from Banggood nor Gearbest, have been efficient, so I have stopped buying them. And I have gifted all my Copper Tools so am tempted to buy another.
Since Im interested in the efficiency and flat regulation, I had hoped the driver in the Maratac w Nichia, which IS efficient, would appear in the Brass Tool. Unfortunately early reports from people who received the production model from Massdrop, indicate the Brass Tool is not efficient either.
so, I just bought another Maratac Copper AAA w Nichia and NoPWM as a backup. I have been carrying one since March, and it is my favorite off the shelf AAA w nichia atm.
I always look forward to your test results, thank you for all the time you take to share your tests. Imo your tests of CRI are unique, no other reviewer offers the info you do.
My new brass tool drops to about half output in 34 minutes and falls quickly from there. So, inefficient drivers in this light. Battery was down to .91 volts and would not turn the light on at that point.
What an interesting driver. Better when I let it heat up without a fan. Goes bonkers when it cools down. Verified all of the runtimes twice with a different Eneloop Pro.
yeow!
note to self, don’t use a fan… LOL
thank you for the detailed chart
Yea, it’s like a thermostat. Whenever it is cooled, it starts wasting energy to heat itself up. First time I’ve seen this sort of behavior. Efficiency without a fan is not that bad, since the Copper Tool does 53 lumen hours.
your copper tool is not a typical example, most of the ones Ive seen tested act more like this
imo, only the Worm w Nichia and Copper Maratac w Nichia, are consistently efficient
I can’t make any sense of the differences in drivers in the Lumintop lineup over time
Awesome deal. Doesn’t look like your referral link worked for me though. I know my Tool Ti 219 is one of my favorite lights. It’ll be interesting to compare it to the Cu version.
Also, interesting tests on the driver efficiency. I had no idea- might bump my worms up in my EDC rotation a little (though this L08 is working out very well so far).