Newbie with some questions

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

I’m new to the confusing world of torches/flashlights and after a bit of searching on youtube I have bought the Astrolux EA01S XHP50.2 and have a few questions.

1) I see that it is compatible with 18650, 21700 and 26650 batteries. I understand that the higher the number the larger the capacity but what does this mean in the real world, do you get longer run time, brighter light or both? What make/model would people recommend

2) I see that it is USB-C charging, can I charge it straight from my Macbook wall charger which is also USB-C or will this be too powerful and risk damaging the battery and/or torch? If so can anyone recommend a charger please?

3) Lastly the youtube videos I watched showed that on Turbo mode it only lasts a brief time and after 2 mins drops to a very low 180 lumens but what I can’t find out is how long it lasts at each of the different levels such as level 6 (approx 3300 lumens) and level 7 (approx 5890 lumens), does anyone know where I can find this info please as I can’t find a website for Astrolux?

Any help would be much appreciated.

2

Welcome to BLF snerkler.
1) Lithium cell have many properties such as: size, capacity, discharge current and more.
Capacity, measured in Ah (Ampere*hour) says for how long the cell can provide current. For example fully charged 3Ah (or 3000 mAh) cell can provide 3A for 1 hour or 6A for 30 min or 1.5A for 2 hours and so on....
Discharge current, measured in A and mistimes described using C parameter is the maximum current the cell is able to provide (some cells may have higher peak current) so cell with Discharge current of 3A (or 1C) will only be able to provide (about 1000 lumens) for 11000 lumens you will need a high discharge cell with discharge current of about 30A.

TLDR: Capacity is how long, current is how bright.

2) The light will only draw the amount of current it needs but it is defiantly an overkill you can buy a simple USBC wall charger for few USD.

3) It depends on temperature protection. in bright mods the light gets very hot and need to step to lower mod in order to prevent thermal damage.
take in consideration that 3300 lm is about 10A and 5890lm is about 20A so 5Ah battery will last 30 min on 3000lm and 15 min on 6000lm even without thermal protection....

3

Thanks very much, I appreciate your reply. OK, so it’s a bit confusing regarding the batteries so for clarity, if I want to run the torch at its maximum 11000 lumens I need a battery with a discharge of 30A. If I bought a 5Ah battery that means that at 30A (11000 lumens) it would hypothetically last 10 mins (5Ahr/30A = 0.166666/hr ie 10 mins)?

Is 3300 lumens quite bright then, 30 min run time doesn’t sound a lot and I’ve have to charge it back up after every use? I currently have one of these and it claims to have 2500 lumens, although I’m very skeptical about that as a friend has an Exposure Diablo bike light that is ‘only’ 1800 lumens and that’s much brighter than mine. although now I”m thinking about it I’ve only ever run it on AAA’s

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KJ5G52H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4

Oh, one other thing. Whilst I’ve been looking at batteries on Amazon etc most mention the capacity but very few mention the discharge current. They do however mention the voltage, is there a relationship between the voltage and discharge current so I can look at that instead?

5

Have a pleasant time at this friendly forum, snerkler!

6

Hi Snerkler, nice to see a fellow countryman on here! Firstly, that torch you linked to on Amazon is garbage, no other way to put it I’m afraid. If they’ve said that it’s 2500 lumens then that’s a flat out lie. Running on 3 aaa’s I’d be surprised if it’s hitting 300-400 lumens. The astrolux you’ve bought will be much much brighter! With regards to batteries, there’s a couple of places I use. I’ve learnt that when it comes to batteries, it’s worth getting them from a reliable source! Try 18650.co.uk, or ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk - both very good. There’s even a code for ecolux on here if you search for it. Buy a reputable brand and you can search for a review of the particular model to find out the discharge curves at each given amp draw. Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, molicel, keeppower, something like that :slight_smile:

7

Thanks, I appreciate the advice and I’ll take a look at those sites :+1:

8

Thanks

9

Would this be suitable, it’s the “flat top” bit I’m unsure about?

10

Good enough.

11

Thanks, that’s the best I can find in the UK. I can’t find any that have more mAh that are also 30A discharge.

12

These have slightly more capacity with higher discharge. I’ve got several and they’ve been very good so far.

13

Strangely I’ve just been reading an ‘argument’ in the YouTube comments regarding this batteries vs the Samsung 40t. The OP claims the Samsung test brighter and the other guy says the molicel are brighter :wink:

14

The 40t was going to be my other suggestion. I have both. To be honest, they’re equally good and you absolutely wouldn’t be able to tell a difference in brightness with the naked eye.

15

Cool, thanks.

16

:+1:

17

Why is it when looking into these batteries there’s loads of warnings of how they’re not safe for vaping and can explode? What makes them dangerous for e-cigs but not torches etc?

18

What makes you think it is not dangerous for torches ???

JK, Lithium cells are relatively safe but need to be handled with some cautions: don't short circuit, don't over charge/discharge etc.

Charging is usually the stage when fires happen. A good charger with low current and thermal protection is safer.
Don't leave the cells in the charger without monitoring it once in a while, touch the cell and check it is not too hot, especially whit new cells.

19

Thanks. In answer to your question it’s just that the only warnings are for e-cigs which can make you think that they’re only an issue for them :+1: