Just buy a FourSevens Atom A0 and enjoy the TRUE moonlight run time.
AAA cell Voltage Range 1.0V to 1.5V
Low: 0.24 lumens for 120 hours
High: 25 lumens for 1.5 hour
Discount Coupon: CPF12
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I own it but never done runtime test on lowest mode. Most people only test runtime on turbo and high (and sometimes medium) mode only. And I have never seen people do runtime testing of a light on its lowest mode as it would take too much time.
But I can tell that JET-I MK is currently one of the best budget AA light.
Im not sure .24 lumens, is bright enough to light up our storm shelter enough. I think I would need 1- 3 lumens…or bare minimum of .5 lumens with light diffuser attached.
Atom AO is a mule that can light the entire ceiling - no need for a diffuser - AND it has a magnetic base.
Maybe it’s like the Astolux A01…
It starts at moon mode, which is so low, it’s almost useless.
Well if you ever do try 18650, a convoy C8 with XPL-hi and a new biscotti driver yields 3.4lm at 5.4mA tailcap current so you would have about 3lm for close to a month non-stop.
An xml2 equipped s2+ with the same driver I would guess to have somewhat similar numbers.
And, as of the time of this posting, 107 Convoy S2+ are available for the BARGAIN basement price of $10.59 at Gearbest.
If I didn’t just buy several EagleEye X6R’s I would be buying these.
You will need to invest in some 18650 batteries and a charger that can handle them, but they should provide a much wider use case in your shelter plans.
Try it. Remember it takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.
If one isn’t enough, buy two. But I think you’ll be surprised.
You can aways add a few 5mm LEDs on motion sensors to fill in corners:
The Atoms are wicked, my AAF is nearly the same output as my SWM D40A (0.7 vs 0.8 lms), and will do 200+ hrs (9ma Eneloop tailcap current draw) - I cannot believe they only spec 45 hrs. The 150ish lumen-hours/AA is the best efficiency I’ve ever seen for sub-lumen output, but this driver does lack voltage regulation (i.e., output changes depending upon V, and the light is rated to 4.2V). I bought a bunch for$18 when the reflectored version (“F”) went on clearance earlier in the year, but I think the current AA mules are way out of the OPs price range.
The A0 mules tend to be a bit dim for me too. Although I agree you can wait for deep dark adaptation, I find I’m always blowing my deep night vision with something (eg, smartphone surfing at lowest output), so I tend to prefer the “brighter” moonlights, and with a little more hotspot focus/lux.
Do you have a link to an independent output/tailcap current test of this light? I’m curious since that’s more than twice as efficient as I’ve ever seen for ~3 lms (eg, typically >11ma for a li-ion in my AA/14500 ZLs, Olights, Quarks)
Sure… I share a similar interest in low lumens, long runtimes, the 1xAA(14500) format, and have a bit of pet peeve with grossly exaggerated manufacturer specs, and sadly, your sample at nearly half claim isn’t too bad! (Although most exaggerations short change on lumens since that’s much harder to verify.)
Did anyone ever actually test the 3L mode for run time with an Alkaline battery? Xtar does not really say which chemistry they used for run time and which they used for Lumen output…. so the user is kind of left to assume they use whichever yields the best result for each.
Well 28 hours isnt even near half of the claimed 80 hours . I had bought several of these, and am trading 1 for another flashlight that supposedly is great at low lumens, long runtime. The MANKER A01
Im trading the XTAR, with another forum member . Maybe they will test with a alkaline. I switched over to all eneloops and dont have any other chemistries in AA/AAA format.
Im gonna guess, on a new alkaline, the XTAR may get 60 hours at 3 lumens. That would be more then 2x my runtime on a 2000 mah eneloop.
lisa3070, I just got back from putting your Manker A01 in the mail. Expected delivery is Saturday, I’ll PM you the tracking number. I will certainly test the XTAR with an Alkaline, a Lithium, and I will rerun your test with one of my new Eneloops. (Just for consistency, not ’cause I don’t believe you.) I feel like I’m getting the better deal, because the XTAR appears to be 14500 capable as well, so I can use my spare purple eFest from my X5. So I’ll test it with that as well.
I played around with the Manker A01 a little before packing it up - I even found a box with the spare o-ring and split ring. Moonlight is pretty low. However, if you let your eyes dark adjust, you can easily maneuver around a small room with it doing a ceiling bounce.
Hmm, now then, how do I go about testing run times…
Arduino with a light sensitive resister maybe
Thanks……I will get yours in the mail on thursday. Im interested to see what runtime you get on your 2000 Mah ENELOOP AT 3 LUMENS.
I will ship in a bubble mailer, and also put bubble wrap over the head of the flashlight for xtra protection.
I did buy several of these , and may be interested in doing another trade with another member , if you have a single AA/AAA light that has long runtimes on moonlight mode . These XTARS, are very nice lights…with 4 modes of brightness and a clicky tailcap. Unfortunately I only bought them because I wanted a moonlight mode that would run for 3 or more days on a eneloop battery…and this XTAR doesnt seem to accomplish that.
And don’t forget, also
I think you’re getting somewhat confused attention because people miss responding to one or more of your list of requirements.
How big is the storm shelter? Are the walls and ceiling painted white?
And, again, are you willing to wait the 20 minutes or so — maybe twice that — for dark adaptation?
Remember any brief use of a brighter light (including a screen) will make the room appear much, much darker until dark adaptation is reestablished, under your moonlight source.
Are you willing to use a 2- or 3- or 4-cell light?
If you get one of the fairly common emergency lanterns and use rechargeable C or D cells, it might take care of the problem, although not in the precise way you want.
Here for example: https://www.dorcy.com/950-lumen-area-lantern
(40 percent off with code CYBER right now, and they frequently offer big discount codes — and have very good support online)
The storm shelter is made out of 8 ft wide x 15ft long galvanized drainage pipe . The inside is silver / galvanized, so it has good light reflection. I dont need the whole shelter bright , but enough to see to adjust a radio, walk , etc. The 3 lumens put out by this XTAR was plenty bright enough . I think 1- 1.5 lumens would work great also. Some moonlight modes are 0.24 lumens and that may be a bit low.
Hi lisa3070
I lately run eneloop AA ~1800 mAh in ~25$ flashlight ~109 h in low mode (cant say lumens, but low mode= ~2m can read books back on bookshelf and ~5m see what on picture (A4 drawing) on wall)
If interested, then here: JAXMAN E3 Nichia 219B
> galvanized
It looks silvery but really doesn’t reflect much light, you can look this up.
https://www.google.com/search?q=albedo+galvanized
Can you paint the inside bright or flat white?
Even paint a couple of square feet and compare.
Impressive runtimes ! But I did want to try and stay in the $10 price range since I would purchase several of them .
Agreed…a flat white paint would be more reflective and I could buy a inexpensive off brand 1 gallon of paint .