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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
I saw in the _Costco Connection_ that Costco.com is selling 360 lumen
Cree LED flashlights (3 C cells) for 2 for $80. "http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11474620&whse=BC&topnav=&brows e=&lang=en-US&s=1" These flashlights also have a strobe mode. 3C barrels are a little long, but not unbearably so, and they can be used with the TwoFish Cyclopblock (but not the Lockblock) or a homemade C cell holder such as: "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_0303.JPG" "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/barbracketcree_small.jpg" You can buy rechargeable NiMH C cells pretty cheaply these days. |
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#2
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
SMS wrote:
I saw in the _Costco Connection_ that Costco.com is selling 360 lumen Cree LED flashlights (3 C cells) for 2 for $80. "http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11474620&whse=BC&top..." That looks like a decent form factor for zip-tying to a front rack rail. You can buy rechargeable NiMH C cells pretty cheaply these days. You can also use adapter sleeves that fatten up a AA cell enough to pass for a C. http://www.amazon.com/C-sized-Adapte.../dp/B000855034 |
#3
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
Chalo wrote:
SMS wrote: I saw in the _Costco Connection_ that Costco.com is selling 360 lumen Cree LED flashlights (3 C cells) for 2 for $80. "http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11474620&whse=BC&top..." That looks like a decent form factor for zip-tying to a front rack rail. You can buy rechargeable NiMH C cells pretty cheaply these days. You can also use adapter sleeves that fatten up a AA cell enough to pass for a C. Costco sells those adapter sleeves as well..... |
#4
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
SMS wrote:
I saw in the _Costco Connection_ that Costco.com is selling 360 lumen Cree LED flashlights (3 C cells) for 2 for $80. "http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11474620&whse=BC&topnav=&brows e=&lang=en-US&s=1" These flashlights also have a strobe mode. 3C barrels are a little long, but not unbearably so, and they can be used with the TwoFish Cyclopblock (but not the Lockblock) or a homemade C cell holder such as: "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_0303.JPG" "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/barbracketcree_small.jpg" You can buy rechargeable NiMH C cells pretty cheaply these days. Something doesn't add up. The spec claims 10 hr run time on full. Assuming 6 W-hr per C cell, that's 18 W-hr for 3, or 1.8 W for 10 hr. At 360 lm, that's 200 lm/W. Cree's absolute best LED (now only being sampled) is 132 lm/W. My guess is that they're running 3, 3 W LEDs, crude (if any) regulation, so that the wattage drops off by a factor of at least 2 over the battery discharge. Assuming a low bin chip, like the P4, at 80 lm/W, driving each at 1.5W would give an initial 4.5 W for 360 lm. Realistically, 3 C cells would last ~4 hr. The "96 hr" dim mode would have about 12 lm total, useless for biking. 360 lm is pretty damn bright, equivalent to a 20W halogen. Half of that is more than adequate for a bike light. 3 C cell form factor is pretty clunky, even old school halogen lights weren't that heavy. I think a 2 AA light, (6 W-hr) driving a high bin single 3W LED (100 lm/W) for an actual 2-3 hr run time @ 200 lm with real regulation, is a better fit for a bike. It's also less than half the price, and you can buy in lots of 1. None of these flashlights are designed to be bike lights, so beam pattern, water tightness and vibration resistance may or may not be adequate out of the box. My assumption is a 3 LED head will have a "floodier" beam, probably not ideal. |
#5
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
Peter Cole wrote:
Something doesn't add up. The spec claims 10 hr run time on full. Assuming 6 W-hr per C cell, that's 18 W-hr for 3, or 1.8 W for 10 hr. At 360 lm, that's 200 lm/W. Cree's absolute best LED (now only being sampled) is 132 lm/W. You're right. A similar flashlight from the same manufacturer that uses 4 C cells is rated at 3 hours full brightness, so two hours would be more likely. Interesting the wording "fully charged" apparently implying that they're expecting you to use NiMH batteries. MAybe it's worth a try since Costco lets you return costco.com stuff to any store. |
#6
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
On Jun 12, 4:45*am, Chalo wrote:
SMS wrote: I saw in the _Costco Connection_ that Costco.com is selling 360 lumen Cree LED flashlights (3 C cells) for 2 for $80. "http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11474620&whse=BC&top..." That looks like a decent form factor for zip-tying to a front rack rail. You can buy rechargeable NiMH C cells pretty cheaply these days. You can also use adapter sleeves that fatten up a AA cell enough to pass for a C. http://www.amazon.com/C-sized-Adapte.../dp/B000855034 a chunk of inner tube will serve you better than zip-ties. |
#7
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
I bought a Task Force a year or so ago and am quite disappointed as it
flickers so much. Even not on the bike it is only on half of the time. I have stuffed tin foil against the battery contacts. It will flicker bright and dim or on and off. Not very useful on my bike. Jiggling or slapping it seems to change the light; that is if it is bright that might make it dim or if it is dim or off that will make it brighter. Anyone else with this problem? Does the Costco one act the same way? Ted. |
#8
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
Ted wrote:
I bought a Task Force a year or so ago and am quite disappointed as it flickers so much. Even not on the bike it is only on half of the time. I have stuffed tin foil against the battery contacts. It will flicker bright and dim or on and off. Not very useful on my bike. Jiggling or slapping it seems to change the light; that is if it is bright that might make it dim or if it is dim or off that will make it brighter. Anyone else with this problem? Does the Costco one act the same way? Ted. That's always a possible flaw in using a flashlight for a bike light -- they may not handle the vibration well. It's worse with the new "multi-mode" ones because when the current is interrupted, rather than just flicker, they switch modes. I have one that does that, but only with a particular set of batteries, so I haven't bothered to mess with it. I think part of the problem is different battery chemistries and/or makes aren't quite the same dimensionally, causing some to have too loose a fit. It could be some other contact, or even the switch. I'm not sure aluminum always has a reliable contact resistance. |
#9
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
Ted wrote:
I bought a Task Force a year or so ago and am quite disappointed as it flickers so much. Even not on the bike it is only on half of the time. I have stuffed tin foil against the battery contacts. It will flicker bright and dim or on and off. Not very useful on my bike. Jiggling or slapping it seems to change the light; that is if it is bright that might make it dim or if it is dim or off that will make it brighter. Anyone else with this problem? Does the Costco one act the same way? I have two of the Task Force (Loew's) and they have this problem a bit even without using them as bike lights. It occurs rarely and is only a slight nuisance in normal flashlight use using alkaline batteries. I can see where it would be a big pain on a bike light, which is why I decided not to use them as such. Perhaps it was you who alerted me to this possibility via a newsgroup post some months ago. |
#10
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Costco outshining the Lowe's Task Force Cree LED flashlight?
ZBicyclist wrote:
Ted wrote: I bought a Task Force a year or so ago and am quite disappointed as it flickers so much. Even not on the bike it is only on half of the time. I have stuffed tin foil against the battery contacts. It will flicker bright and dim or on and off. Not very useful on my bike. Jiggling or slapping it seems to change the light; that is if it is bright that might make it dim or if it is dim or off that will make it brighter. Anyone else with this problem? Does the Costco one act the same way? I have two of the Task Force (Loew's) and they have this problem a bit even without using them as bike lights. It occurs rarely and is only a slight nuisance in normal flashlight use using alkaline batteries. I can see where it would be a big pain on a bike light, which is why I decided not to use them as such. I have four of them, and these problems are easy to solve. First, they made the barrel a bit too large diameter to accommodate off-spec C cells. So using a sheet of paper rolled around the batteries will stop any rattling. Second, unlike a Duracell alkaline battery, where the there is a large surface area for the + contact which includes the button and the surrounding area, the NiMH cells have only the actual button as a contact. If you don't modify the spring contact in the flashlight, at the + end, the contact will be intermittent or non-existent. I cut the end off of a steel hollow wall anchor, leaving a couple of millimeters of the shaft, and inserted that into the spring contact. Don't use a penny or a washer, as you need for the contact to stay in place in the center of the spring. |
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