Tesco 3w cree

majormantra

fossyant wrote:

Anyone still having issues with the diameter of the Tesco AA - i.e. only taking certain rechargeables.

I've had an AA for a few months now, but it only takes 1700...won't take my 2500 batteries.

Thinking of using the c Cell one with AA-C cell adapters (got these spare)

No, but my cells are ~2100. I have Eneloops, Infiniums and Hybrios (all the slow-self-discharge kind) and they all fit fine.

Matthew

Giggsmaster

fossyant wrote:

Anyone still having issues with the diameter of the Tesco AA - i.e. only taking certain rechargeables.

I've had an AA for a few months now, but it only takes 1700...won't take my 2500 batteries.

Thinking of using the c Cell one with AA-C cell adapters (got these spare)

I use Energiser AA 2450mAh and they fit perfect.

BoardinBob

Tesco's relegated to the back of a drawer.

My 700 lumen Airbike SL2 light arrived today :twisted:

Legless

I got two of those, one for me and one for the GF, bloody great lights the Airbikes. I still use a torch on my head though and the set up is brilliant!

riggsy81

for the money the tesco AA torches are a good buy... IMO not near enough to use them by themselves but on the helmet and as a spare they do the job...

mark_oakden

fossyant wrote:

Anyone still having issues with the diameter of the Tesco AA - i.e. only taking certain rechargeables.

I've had an AA for a few months now, but it only takes 1700...won't take my 2500 batteries.

Thinking of using the c Cell one with AA-C cell adapters (got these spare)

I have 2450 Energisers, Vapextech 2900s and GP 2700s.

The 2450s and 2700s fit my Tesco Crees fine. the 2900s don't quite go in (but I tend to use the 2700s and 2900s in my Hope 1 LED anyway, otherwise I'd take a round file to the inside of the tesco torch).

moggy82

The one i got about 3 weeks ago fits all my batteries. Even my vapex's which are by far the thickest.

Johnnycash

Just bought 2 of the 3w ones from my local store £7.98 each Happy Days

mdr75

Hey guys..
I have just modified my 3w c-cell Cree torch and just wanted a bit of info from some people in "the know" please?
I have done a cut and shut on the barrel of the torch so that i can use it as a head torch which is all fine.
I have some 1.2v Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries from a cordless drill lying around and wondered if i could actualy run the light at 3.6v(3xc-celll@1.2v) rather than the just the 3v (2xc-cell@1.5v) it comes with?
I know the light actualy works brighter at this voltage as i'v tried it for a few seconds but wondered how long i could run the light at the higher voltage before it blew the led.. if indeed it would blow the led..
Someone has actualy claimed to have read the Cree spec sheet for the led and it says it's fine to run it at 3.6v as he has done but i just wanted a second opinion..
Any advice is gratefully appreciated.
I should add that i'v shortened the barrel of the torch and then wired in a seperate battery pack to carry in my camelback or rear jersey pocket..
Thanks for reading..
Michael

supersonic

You need to identify the emitter and check the spec.

Is the battery a nominal 1.2v? When fully charged does it push out more?

mdr75

Thanks for your reply...
I have no idea about the led spec.. just that it's a Tesco 3w led torch that takes 2 x 1.5v c-cell batteries..
As for the nominal info and does it push out more then i'm afraid that's a bit over my head.. the rechargeable batteries came out of a 12v cordless drill battery pack and there was 10 of them each 1.2v.. i do not have a voltmeter thingy so i cant check when they're fully charged..
Sorry i couldnt provide more info... i'm a whizz at diy stuff but when it comes to electronics then i'm an amateur...
Thanks..
Michael

dav1

has anyone tried these to mount their torch?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/360-Bicycle-Bike- ... 240%3A1318

decided that my DIY mount isn't ideal for switching between bikes.

Also how are you guys helmet mounting your torches? just pichked up another one but not too keen on sip tying it really.

peteroughton169

i got 2 of the tesco torches from newton aycliffe store for 7.83! happy days and happier nights!guna do a few nite rides in the near future

cougie

Easy enough to loop a hairband/livestrong band/o-ring/stout elastic band or two through a vent in your helmet and secure it that way - works wonders.

Surf-Matt

Found out how poor the battery life is on these last night!
Less than two hours.

Managed to cut the "skin" off my rechargeable AAs though and they now fit fine. Makes it a bit less expensive!

Considering something a bit better now...

Fine VFM but compromised in many ways.

moggy82

mdr75 wrote:

could actualy run the light at 3.6v(3xc-celll@1.2v) rather than the just the 3v (2xc-cell@1.5v) it comes with?
Michael

Runs fine at 3.6v, i run mine for a few mins at 4.8 volts for a bit but found it got really hot. Someone found the info somewhere and said the emitter would run off a 18650 which is 3.7v so you'll be fine!

I modded mine just to see if it worked ok, then put it back to a torch!

cougie

Matt - you can get the Fenix torches and they will give you 5 hours on full beam thats a bit brighter than the Tesco. Only snag is that they are over 5 times the cost of the Tesco....

How long do you ride for ? I have a 2 and a half hour ride thats mainly off road.

I have a Fenix on my helmet as a spot. Another on the bars for the road and the P7 on the bars for the offroad bits.

The helmet light is lit all the time and easily lasts the course. I swap the P7 after the half way point on the trails, and the other bar Fenix is only used on the road - no point when the P7 is lit cos it blows it away.

I reckon one Fenix and One P7 is a great combo and would prob come in under £80 - plus then you have two great torches when you arent night riding.

cougie

Matt - you can get the Fenix torches and they will give you 5 hours on full beam thats a bit brighter than the Tesco. Only snag is that they are over 5 times the cost of the Tesco....

How long do you ride for ? I have a 2 and a half hour ride thats mainly off road.

I have a Fenix on my helmet as a spot. Another on the bars for the road and the P7 on the bars for the offroad bits.

The helmet light is lit all the time and easily lasts the course. I swap the P7 after the half way point on the trails, and the other bar Fenix is only used on the road - no point when the P7 is lit cos it blows it away.

I reckon one Fenix and One P7 is a great combo and would prob come in under £80 - plus then you have two great torches when you arent night riding.

Surf-Matt

Got a link to the P7 and/or Fenix? I had a search but couldn't find one.

Tried the dealextreme site but it wasn't loading.

I usually ride for an hour and a half or more but changing batteries in every ride is a pain. Especially when the torch only takes non rechargeables! Now sorted that bit (rechargeables not fitting) and guess I can take spares. Will see how the next ride goes.

My main light is a Hope 1 which i'm very happy with - but I find a helmet mounted spot very useful/essential in anything technical.

Northwind

Fenix makes very little sense now, tbh. Well made but not especially bright, they were a great cheap option but the P7s are just a great option, that happens to also be cheap.

This is the P7 most people have been using, there's loads out there though.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12325

I've got 2, and that's all the light you need nd outclasses most bike-specific lights. Battery life is fairly short, just over an hour on full blast but the batteries are small and light so you can easily carry a couple of spares (they take one battery each).

cougie

Ah - I saw dealextreme was down the other day - when it comes back up :

Links are on here : http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/mountain_bi ... w_led.html

As to the Fenix - try the photonshop.co.uk - I use the Fenix LD20 Q5 on AAs but if you are thinking of getting a P7 - then I'd go for the TK11 and keep the batteries the same ?

I was ridiculously happy with my Fenix - until I got the P7 - it just floods the area with light - but the Fenix is a great spotlight.

cougie

Yeah - I'd agree with you NW on the P7 - but I like having the helmet light that will last thru any long night ride I do without the faff of taking the helmet off to change batteries. I think the Fenix/P7 is the ideal cheapish combo. I find I dont need the helmet light to be massively bright either.

Dealextreme may sell a Fenix-esque torch too - but I've no experience with them.

Surf-Matt

So are both light enough to be helmet mounted?
Even the Tesco torch is on the heavy side.

cougie

Fenix LD20 is a lot lot lighter than the Tesco torch. I think the TK11 is lighter still cos its shorter - info should be on the website to be honest.

I reckon even the P7 is lighter than the Tesco one - I think that must have a lead casing or something ?!

amyabcd

I've got 2 of these (taking the AAs) please can someone point me at the right kind of rechargeable for the job? Reading through the thread it looks like I want a high number of mah and self discharging? Sorry to I don't understand the difference when looking as there seems to be Ni Mh etc.

What do people recommend.

Many Thanks
Amy

Surf-Matt

Amya - you need high mAh batteries if you use it often, but "hybrid" (very low discharge rate) if you don't use it a lot. High mAh batteries last longer but discharge more quickly.

I have had to cut the plastic coatings off rechargeables to make them fit.

neil²

cougie wrote:

Matt - you can get the Fenix torches and they will give you 5 hours on full beam thats a bit brighter than the Tesco. Only snag is that they are over 5 times the cost of the Tesco....

5 hours on full? How do you manage that? Mine fade after a couple of hours with a pair of 2800s.

mdr75

moggy82 wrote:

mdr75 wrote:

could actualy run the light at 3.6v(3xc-celll@1.2v) rather than the just the 3v (2xc-cell@1.5v) it comes with?
Michael

Runs fine at 3.6v, i run mine for a few mins at 4.8 volts for a bit but found it got really hot. Someone found the info somewhere and said the emitter would run off a 18650 which is 3.7v so you'll be fine!

I modded mine just to see if it worked ok, then put it back to a torch!

Moggy...
Thanks very much for that....
I ran it at 3.6v lastnight for an hour or so on ur night ride and it was spot on..Literally a bit too much spot on..
It was actualy bright than my cateye tripleshots but only as a spot beam if that makes sense?.
I need to diffuse the light somehow to widen the beam and i'll have the perfect set up..

cougie

neil² wrote:

cougie wrote:

Matt - you can get the Fenix torches and they will give you 5 hours on full beam thats a bit brighter than the Tesco. Only snag is that they are over 5 times the cost of the Tesco....

5 hours on full? How do you manage that? Mine fade after a couple of hours with a pair of 2800s.

Is that on turbo mode ? I happily use the high beam as a helmet light for 3 hours or so and its been ok. Havent quite tested it for 5 hours yet - but the website reckons so.
Personally its my legs that are giving out before the battery....

Murr X

neil² wrote:

cougie wrote:

Matt - you can get the Fenix torches and they will give you 5 hours on full beam thats a bit brighter than the Tesco. Only snag is that they are over 5 times the cost of the Tesco....

5 hours on full? How do you manage that? Mine fade after a couple of hours with a pair of 2800s.

He doesn't mean it. 2 hours at best on turbo with good batteries.

See here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... p?t=214890 for superb runtime graphs and a good general round up of 2xAA lights.

The TK11 is a good bit heavier and more substantial than the LD20 - I have both.

Remember that Lithium-Ion cells are potentially dangerous. ALWAYS buy good quality PROTECTED cells for safetys sake (even then there is no guarantee they won't explode).

See this thread posted just yesterday http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... p?t=220890.
This is not an uncommon occurance with Lithium-Ions it happens with protected cells occasionally too and you can imagine the carnage if this happened to an 18650 in a metal flashlight.... Think grenade.

Heres a decent read on safety http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... p?t=106242

Take note that the batteries protection circuit is more likely to be damaged with the jarring and bumps of MTBing than with regular use.

Seriously as I said they are potentially dangerous and not for people that don't know to use them properly, if you insist on using them then please be responsible.

Adios.