I’d like to see higher powered AA lights. I have a TK41, and like it, but wish I could use my many duraloops in a brighter, longer throwing light for the countryside. The battery compartment of the TK41 evidently runs half the cells in parallel, for 4.8-6v. If they were run in series the same 8 batteries could provide 9.6-12v (depending on whether they were NiMH or primaries), which is getting into 3x18650 territory. Does anyone know if this has been done, or why it wouldn’t make sense? (I’m guessing short run times, but I often use my TK41 on one of the lower modes, only going full power when I’m trying to spot something, so a shorter run time on full power would be OK.)
Runtime.
Danger - you push alkaleaks that hard - bad things can happen. Mostly involving damage to the light, not the person holding it.
Current capability - alkaleaks just can’t provide it.
And if it will take AA’s people will use the cheapest garbage on the market. And they will fail.
Badly sometimes.
So nobody in the West is going to sell something that will expose them to product liability suits. It could easily be done but the target market will put the crappiest AA’s available in it - and will sue when they fail badly.
I’d not sell anything in a place with product liability laws where they are just now in the US/EU.
the EA4 and EA8 fit the bill, but this is one example of the consequences of something discussed in another thread, you can’t count on people to use NiMH in such a light
You got it. More than I did.
Agreed 100% And add as many zeros as you like!
i dont use nihm in my lights lately. now its lithium primaries, but im not sure which one has the advantage (performance, not price or rechargeablity)
ea4 is great ,and im sure the ea8 is. but never ever use alkaline in them. good way to ruin a nice light
When it comes to performance, both lithium primaries and NiMH AA batteries have their advantages and disadvantages. Lithium primaries produce a slightly higher terminal voltage and actually store more energy than NiMH. But NiMH batteries can produce MUCH more current than lithium primaries. And, although terminal voltage is lower, it’s more constant during discharge.
If you’re running a high power light, NiMH is DEFINITELY the better of the two. Although runtime is potentially higher with lithium primaries, you can draw LOTS more current from NiMH. For instance, the datasheet for L91 primaries lists a maximum constant discharge current of 3A and a maximum pulse discharge current of 5A. But an Eneloop AA can do up to 10A (going by the 5C limit for NiMH, and I’m sure people have pushed them harder for short periods of time). Not to mention that, even at 3A, you’re going to burn through an L91 in about an hour. And the cost can add up quickly!
TK41 has one XML emitter right? The operating voltage of an XML never exceeds 4 volts, so 4.8-6 volts is already more than you need for a single XML.
You would only need higher voltage if you run multiple emitters in series.
I think the TK41 is one the brightest and longest throwing off-the-shelf single XML flashlights available regardless of battery chemistry. Multi emitter lights will give you more brightness but not more throw. And there are specialized throwers out there, but they aren’t necessarily brighter. If you want something brighter AND longer throwing, you’ll either need to get a Li-ion powered light that uses an SST-90 or one of those new SBT emitters or you’ll need to get an HID.
I don’t need that much more. I was just thinking of the kind of output you can get from a TN31 or similar (1300L; ~800 meters throw). The TK41 is about 800L and 400m throw. The TN31/Supbeam K40, etc. run on three 3.6v 18650 cells, so about 11v. They are single emitter lights.
If you want Nimh power, the TK41 is probably the best available off-the-shelf right now. There’s also the Nitecore EA8, but its performance is about the same.
The TN31’s advertised lumens is the theoretical max output at the emitter, not the actual OTF output. Real OTF output is probably about 80% of what they claim. The TN31 throws a lot better than a TK41 mostly because the reflector is bigger and the beam is much tighter, but total output isn’t going to be that much better.
You mention voltage again. Are you saying that 4.8-6v isn’t enough to drive an XML to its max?
Eagletac has the new sx25a6 & gx25a3 which can run on AA. Not throwers like the tk41, but very nice lights.
Good point!
maybe a tk41 or a ea8 ,sx25a6 with a bigger head like a tn31 and xml2 u2 can be done.
if you want more throw than an xm-l, I’d be looking for something with a hard driven xp-g2 in a big reflector, like 2.5 –3 amps to the emitter and a 60mm+ reflector, it wont have any more lumens than a good t6 but it’ll destroy it in throw.
not that I’ve built something like that or anything……