seamore
  • seamore
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie Topic Starter
16 years ago
Does anyone know the light output in lumins (or is it lumens) of the good old Tesco 'AA' torch.
I have been looking at ads for other torches which vary from single figure to hundreds of lumens so it would be good to get an idea of what the others output compared to the much used Tesco... πŸ™‚
A broken leg is nature's way of saying watch your step!
PeteHall
16 years ago
I can't give you an exact figure for your torch, but to give you a rough idea:

2x AA mini-maglite (bulb): 15 lumen
2x AA mini-maglite (LED): 30 lumen
petzl DUO 14 LED 4x AA: 67 lumen
The distance between stupidity and genius is measured only by success.
Knocker
16 years ago
I would say wihout a doubt over 100 lumens. I had a Cree Q5 on max power earlier and the Tesco C was outshining it, so that has to be in the region of 200lumens
Roy Morton
16 years ago
Also worth remembering as a guide, is that the good ol' Oldham is a mere 49 lumens and possibly 50 with a good battery, reflector and a strong tail wind. ::)
"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"
simonrl
  • simonrl
  • 51% (Neutral)
  • Administration
16 years ago
Would be very interesting to know just how much these Tesco torches do output; reflector and optics being just as important in this as emitter type πŸ˜‰
my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by
Edd
  • Edd
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
16 years ago
i believe they are an R2 or Q5 in them with good optics as they do kick out a damn good light :)

or you could go for a nice 6 x Q5 unit off ebay πŸ˜ƒ
'I started reading it with full intention to read it all and then got bored and went and got beer instead!'
royfellows
16 years ago
"Knocker" wrote:

I would say wihout a doubt over 100 lumens. I had a Cree Q5 on max power earlier and the Tesco C was outshining it, so that has to be in the region of 200lumens



Sorry, this does not sound right.
I have 2 of the Tesco torches and neither outsine my little worklamp which is running a Q5 at about 650 mA.
What driver are you using and at what voltage?
My avatar is a poor likeness.
Knocker
16 years ago
The Q5 was pulling 750mA at the time, but that was before it melted down
Vanoord
16 years ago
I would be surprised if the Tesco AA clears 100 lumens to be honest - the test I did against a Fenix L2D (also a Cree Q5 and 2 AA batteries) and this was the result:

πŸ”—Personal-Album-2-Image-109[linkphoto]Personal-Album-2-Image-109[/linkphoto][/link]

The Fenix, incidentally, kicks out 180 lumens and I reckon that's going to be close to the maximum that the emitter will produce from those batteries.

Fenix are also very good at getting a lot of usable light out of a given emitter: it's all very well stating output as raw lumens, but that tends to be what the emitter is producing rather than what the torch is actually throwing out - you have to factor in reflector design as well.

In rather simple terms, you tends to get what you pays for! While the Tesco Q5 torches are very impressive compared to a filament bulb torch like a Maglite, they're not quite so good compared to something like a Fenix etc.

Hello again darkness, my old friend...
Knocker
16 years ago
Look back at my post, I was referring to the C Cell not the AA
Vanoord
16 years ago
"Knocker" wrote:

Look back at my post, I was referring to the C Cell not the AA



Indeed you did! :)

All the same, given that the maximum that anyone seems to be able to achieve (in production) from a good quality Q5 is 225/230 lumens (it's actually 227.5, but Fenix quote it at 225 and Trustfire at 230), I'd be surprised if the Tesco C can get anything north of around 150 lumens.

How many cells does the C cell Tesco torch use?

Both the Fenix and Trustfire which achieve 225/230 lumens use two CR123A cells, which are 3v each, whereas with a pair of 1.5v AAs the most I've seen a Q5 achieve is around 180 lumens.

I'm not an expert - does the available input voltage being higher permit a greater output?


Hello again darkness, my old friend...
Barney
  • Barney
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
16 years ago
Slightly off topic - appologies ...

If i use 650ma rechargables in my fenix (as opposed to those blue cr123's) will this reduce the light output? It does appear so, very slightly.
Vanoord
16 years ago
"Barney" wrote:

Slightly off topic - appologies ...

If i use 650ma rechargables in my fenix (as opposed to those blue cr123's) will this reduce the light output? It does appear so, very slightly.



I think it will reduce the output a bit - you should be able to get hold of branded Energizer batteries on eBay for perhaps Β£1 each - if you need some, I've got a small pile of the them at work :)



πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚
Hello again darkness, my old friend...
Knocker
16 years ago
As I said somewhere in the region of 200
royfellows
16 years ago
I owe you an apology as well Mr Knocker, I saw "AA" in original post and missed the "C" in yours!
My Tesco torches are the small AA size.
My avatar is a poor likeness.
Knocker
16 years ago
No apology required, I muddied the waters in the first place!
PeteHall
16 years ago
"Vanoord" wrote:



Both the Fenix and Trustfire which achieve 225/230 lumens use two CR123A cells, which are 3v each, whereas with a pair of 1.5v AAs the most I've seen a Q5 achieve is around 180 lumens.




What's the battery life like with the Fenix/ tesco lights?

I have 150 and 600 lumen LED conversions for a 4D Maglite,
I get 20+ hours from the 150 lumen, but less than 2 hours from the 600 lumen one.

Do you actually get a decent battery life from 2 x AA's with a high powered LED?
The distance between stupidity and genius is measured only by success.

Disclaimer: Mine exploring can be quite dangerous, but then again it can be alright, it all depends on the weather. Please read the proper disclaimer.
© 2005 to 2023 AditNow.co.uk

Dedicated to the memory of Freda Lowe, who believed this was worth saving...