Decent cheap LED torches?

[Java Jive]

[John Williamson]

If they get popular enough, and enough people complain, then battery sellers will start selling packs of 3, probably at the same price you pay for a 4-pack now. They only sell them in packs of 4 now because people want either 2 or 4 for most applications.

At least things have stopped using 5 C cells, like the very elderly Philips cassette recorder I own.

[John Rumm]

>>> Yup - I just picked a UK seller in case you wanted it quickly... ;-) >>

No, one single AA per torch...

Battery life is not as good as those with multiple batteries, but I guess that is not surprising.

[Chris J Dixon]

>>>>> Yup - I just picked a UK seller in case you wanted it quickly... ;-) >>>

I was confused by the description:

Which seemed a little unusual - I don't know why one would use the 14500.

Chris

[Adam Aglionby]

AA @ 1.5V or 14500 rechargeable li-ion @ 3.6V , drive electronics wide range input but with higher voltage in can drive more current out, brighter output.

Cheers Adam

[Onetap]

I got an aluminium one in Sports Direct a few months back for =A31.99.

One of the (12?) LEDs didn't work, but it was very handy and bright. So handy one of the kids 'borrowed' it and I haven't seen it since. The batteries cost more than the torch.

[newshound]

Me too

Can you recommend a charger for 14500s? I'm much happier with NiMH AAs since I bought a smart charger which does the cells individually

[John Rumm]

I would guess in this case you get the same light and longer run times... (since the AA does not have the voltage to drive a white LED on its own, I am guessing there is some form of charge pump circuit in there)

[polygonum]

Which seems to be a cause of severe OCD here:

[Mark]

It does, i have one of these

watt it's not, but still very bright it's a single "cree type" led.

-

[Adam Aglionby]

Think with li-on its more smart batteries than smart chargers, lot of onboard protection on the cells, but still very wary of carrying unbranded li-oion cells in my pocket...

Cheers Adam

[Windmill]

This is maybe not as powerful as you wish, but CPC have a 5 LED torch with a screw-on base which also acts as a fairly reliable switch.

The ones I have are unusual in that they need only one AA cell (the electronics steps the voltage up, obviously, because white LEDs need

3V.). Most of CPC's LED torches need 3 AA cells.

Although supposedly for use with alkaline, it works for me with a low self-discharge NiMh cell.

They were on sale today for 1.20 but are usually several times that. I suspect that the wrong picture on the carton causes some problems; it shows the cell going into the case tit first, but in fact it has to be fitted the other way round, unlike an ordinary torch. Might even damage the electronics if wrongly inserted.

[Windmill]

Carrying a 4 AH D cell in the same pocket as keys and change could also be a mistake!

[Clive Page]

On 30/01/2013 11:15, John Rumm wrote: re

Battery life is not as good as those with multiple batteries, but I

But those cited all appear to be designed for 14500 battery, which is

3.6v Li-ion. Presumably if you use a standard AA cell (alkaline or NiMH) the brightness is a lot less.

[John Rumm]

>>>>>> Battery life is not as good as those with multiple batteries, but I

I use a AA in mine and its more than adequate... (better than all my multiple LED torches etc)

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

The first LED headtorch I had was like that (and the second) - terrible shit, never staying where they were put and always wanting to drop down ( the Draper blue one was the worst, far too heavy).

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

I'm on there as a battery harvester for now.

[Clive Page]

I just wanted to thank all the contributors to this thread. And to report that I was near a Lidl yesterday so I called in to buy their 3W Cree flashlight for £7.99 which had been recommended earlier. Unfortunately, when I got it home and unpacked it, it didn't work.

Not being keen to go back to Lidl again, I tried to find out what was wrong: it turned out to be the batteries (supplied) didn't quite contact the metal strips at each end of the 3-AAA cell battery holder. After more minutes of prising them up with a small screwdriver, I managed to bend the metal at each end enough so the contacts now contact. The torch is much brighter than anything I've had before, and the focus ring does seem a useful touch. It will be interesting to see how long the batteries last.

But for something made in Germany, I was surprised by the poor quality, since it obviously had a design fault. So - maybe a good buy, but don't count on it working.

[alan]

Made in Germany or made for Lidl, Germany?

[Clive Page]

Both. Instruction leaflet (in many languages) has the maker as OWIM GmbH & Co. KB, of D-74167 Neckarsulm. So it doesn't appear to be made in China, but since beefburgers can be made of horse, who knows?