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Lights and battery life



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 16th 06, 02:46 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

I bought an inexpensive set of Cateye lights some months ago for a tour,
and while I didn't use them much on tour, I have used them a fair amount
on my commute. I figure I have used them for AT LEAST 3 hours total. And
that is probably on the low side. So a question: How many hours do you
get from a set / charge of batteries? The lights I have use 4AA
batteries in the headlight and two AAA batteries in the rear red blinky
light, which I always use in the always on mode, no blink. I don't know
the model numbers off the top of my head although I guess I could look
them up. I bought them from Nashbar and think I paid about $20 U.S. give
or take a buck or two.

Ken
P.S. And I am still on my first set of Duracells.
--
You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're
having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

Homepage: http://kcm-home.tripod.com/



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  #2  
Old January 16th 06, 03:57 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

In article ,
Ken M writes:

So a question: How many hours do you
get from a set / charge of batteries? The lights I have use 4AA
batteries in the headlight and two AAA batteries in the rear red blinky
light, which I always use in the always on mode, no blink. I don't know
the model numbers off the top of my head although I guess I could look
them up.


Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight
battery powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So
as a general rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get
an approximation of /useful/ battery life. It's easy to be
fooled -- the lights may appear bright at first when turned
on, and then they'll dim with continued use.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
  #3  
Old January 16th 06, 05:50 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 06:57:49 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:

In article ,
Ken M writes:

So a question: How many hours do you
get from a set / charge of batteries? The lights I have use 4AA
batteries in the headlight and two AAA batteries in the rear red blinky
light, which I always use in the always on mode, no blink. I don't know
the model numbers off the top of my head although I guess I could look
them up.


Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight battery
powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So as a general
rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get an approximation of
/useful/ battery life. It's easy to be fooled -- the lights may appear
bright at first when turned on, and then they'll dim with continued use.


Use rechargeables (NiMH). Not only will you save money over time
and stop creating unnecessary toxic waste, your lights will not dim as
they do with disposables. The discharge curve (volts/time) with
rechargeables is a lot flatter.

Matt O.

  #4  
Old January 16th 06, 05:54 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
Ken M writes:


So a question: How many hours do you
get from a set / charge of batteries? The lights I have use 4AA
batteries in the headlight and two AAA batteries in the rear red blinky
light, which I always use in the always on mode, no blink. I don't know
the model numbers off the top of my head although I guess I could look
them up.



Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight
battery powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So
as a general rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get
an approximation of /useful/ battery life. It's easy to be
fooled -- the lights may appear bright at first when turned
on, and then they'll dim with continued use.


Well I thought of that too, but the last night commute I did I didn't
really notice any difference in the intensity of the lights between the
start and the end of my short 15 minute commute. However perhaps because
I am looking at the beam the whole 15 minutes the change is so subtle
that I wouldn't notice it. Now I think I remember reading somewhere that
these lights average about 2.5 hours. So if this is true I am doing
better than average.

Ken
--
You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're
having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

Homepage: http://kcm-home.tripod.com/



  #5  
Old January 16th 06, 06:34 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

In article ,
Matt O'Toole writes:

Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight battery
powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So as a general
rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get an approximation of
/useful/ battery life. It's easy to be fooled -- the lights may appear
bright at first when turned on, and then they'll dim with continued use.


Use rechargeables (NiMH). Not only will you save money over time
and stop creating unnecessary toxic waste, your lights will not dim as
they do with disposables. The discharge curve (volts/time) with
rechargeables is a lot flatter.


I think that's a very good suggestion.

If going the rechargeable route it could also be
tactical to seek out front and rear lights that
use the same sized cells.

Mountain Equipment Co-op will take spent cells
off customers' hands, for ecology respecting
disposal. Perhaps there are other sources that
do the same.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
  #6  
Old January 16th 06, 10:19 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

Matt O'Toole wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 06:57:49 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:


In article ,
Ken M writes:


So a question: How many hours do you
get from a set / charge of batteries? The lights I have use 4AA
batteries in the headlight and two AAA batteries in the rear red blinky
light, which I always use in the always on mode, no blink. I don't know
the model numbers off the top of my head although I guess I could look
them up.


Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight battery
powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So as a general
rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get an approximation of
/useful/ battery life. It's easy to be fooled -- the lights may appear
bright at first when turned on, and then they'll dim with continued use.



Use rechargeables (NiMH). Not only will you save money over time
and stop creating unnecessary toxic waste, your lights will not dim as
they do with disposables. The discharge curve (volts/time) with
rechargeables is a lot flatter.

Matt O.

I have used rechargeable in other devices and have not been very happy
with the lifespan of them. For instance, I used them in my digital
camera and they went flat after about 10 or 15 pictures. Perhaps it is
the camera. But on the other hand Duracells last far longer 30 or more
pictures in the same camera.

Ken
--
You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're
having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

Homepage: http://kcm-home.tripod.com/



  #7  
Old January 16th 06, 10:30 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

Tom Keats wrote:

Complicating the answer to that question is that flashlight
battery powered lights gradually become dimmer with use. So
as a general rule-of-thumb I halve the mfgrs' ratings to get
an approximation of /useful/ battery life. It's easy to be
fooled -- the lights may appear bright at first when turned
on, and then they'll dim with continued use.


And they dim even worse if it's particularly cold out. You
take the bike out into the cold, turn on the lights and they're
nice and bright. Five minutes later you look at them and can
barely see them at all. :-/

This is yet another reason I really like my dynamo light.
When it's dark and *cold* out I still get the same light, unlike
my rechargables with which my runtime definitely went down in the cold.

--
Dane Buson -
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one
fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss
all the other possible gods, you will understand why I
dismiss yours." - Stephen F Roberts
  #8  
Old January 17th 06, 01:22 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:19:32 -0500, Ken M wrote:

I have used rechargeable in other devices and have not been very happy
with the lifespan of them. For instance, I used them in my digital camera
and they went flat after about 10 or 15 pictures. Perhaps it is the
camera. But on the other hand Duracells last far longer 30 or more
pictures in the same camera.


Then either your rechargeables were sub-par, or something else was wrong.

Sometimes rechargeables take a few cycles to work up to full capacity.
Did you give them a chance?

Matt O.

  #9  
Old January 17th 06, 02:23 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Default Lights and battery life

Matt O'Toole wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:19:32 -0500, Ken M wrote:


I have used rechargeable in other devices and have not been very happy
with the lifespan of them. For instance, I used them in my digital camera
and they went flat after about 10 or 15 pictures. Perhaps it is the
camera. But on the other hand Duracells last far longer 30 or more
pictures in the same camera.



Then either your rechargeables were sub-par, or something else was wrong.

Sometimes rechargeables take a few cycles to work up to full capacity.
Did you give them a chance?

Matt O.

Yeah I cycled them at least 10 times or maybe even more. But I think I
heard somewhere that digital cameras eat batteries. Perhaps that was the
problem.

Ken
--
You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're
having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

Homepage: http://kcm-home.tripod.com/



  #10  
Old January 17th 06, 05:51 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
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Posts: n/a
Default Lights and battery life

Ken M wrote:

Yeah I cycled them at least 10 times or maybe even more. But I think I
heard somewhere that digital cameras eat batteries. Perhaps that was the
problem.


Some digital cameras can only take 10-15 shots on Alkalines, due to the
periodic high current draw. OTOH, some eat NiMH batteries rapidly, and
the self-discharge of NiMH makes them a poor choice for digital cameras
that are used only occasionally (use AA Lithium batteries in this case).

Of course the best choice is rechargable Lithium-Ion, both for cameras
and bicycle lights. Unfortunately, only the very high-end bicycle lights
have Li-Ion batteries, while in digital cameras, AA batteries are used
mainly on the lower end cameras, with Li-Ion on the mid-range to high-end.

See "http://batterydata.com/" for information about the trade-offs of
various battery types.
 




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