Mass,size , metals used etc. All helps take heat away. When I hold an rc40 it has more mass, it can run longer than a light with less mass/size at similar outputs. Yes mass matters to me , larger the light with more heat sink works better than one with less mass/heat sinking.
Maybe if all you use are the typical normal-shaped flashlights that would apply.
But no, depending on how you shape the metal you can have something with the same amount of mass and 100x the surface area.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…