Lights and battery life

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

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

Tom Keats said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

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.

Tom Keats said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

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/

In article <[email hidden]>,

Matt O'Toole said:

Quoted message said:

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

Matt O'Toole said:

Tom Keats said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

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/

Tom Keats said:

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 - [email hidden]
"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

Ken M said:

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.

Matt O'Toole said:

Ken M said:

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/

Ken M said:

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.

Ken M said:

Matt O'Toole wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

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.

They can be hard on batteries, sometimes so hard that alkalines won't
work. Rechargeables are always better, unless they're bad ones. Try some
better ones -- 2000-2500mah, and brand name like Panasonic, Varta, Sanyo,
etc. The ones labeled "rapid" pack the most punch.

Matt O.

SMS said:

Ken M said:

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.

Yes.

Quoted message said:

OTOH, some eat NiMH batteries rapidly,

Howso? NiMH have greater capacity and much greater current capacity than
alkalines. Either way they should last longer, unless there's something
wrong with them. Read the spec sheets.

Quoted message said:

and the
self-discharge of NiMH makes them a poor choice for digital cameras that
are used only occasionally

Just put them back in the charger.

Quoted message said:

(use AA Lithium batteries in this case).

Why? They're really expensive, and unnecessary.

Quoted message said:

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.

It's a moot point if they don't fit in your device.

Matt O.

SMS said:

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

Your web page contains several inaccuracies.

Matt O.

"Ken M" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
So a question: How many hours do you

Quoted message said:

get from a set / charge of batteries?

It depends what the lights are. Ordinary bulbs or LEDs.

Cheers, helen s

Matt O'Toole said:

SMS said:

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

Your web page contains several inaccuracies.

Matt O.

Tell me what they are and I'll correct them.

Matt O'Toole said:

It's a moot point if they don't fit in your device.

Yes, the time to consider the various trade-offs of battery types is
before you buy the device.

After years of fiddling with all kinds of lighting systems, I settled on the
Cateye Opticube, which uses 4 AA batteries. It emits a blue light - 5 small
beams worth, that's of marginal value to see by, but is good for being seen.
According to its directions, it keeps 90% of its power for 30 hours and
lasts almost 100 in all. My commute involves a lot of after dark riding in
the winter. I try to change the batteries once a month in Nov Dec and Jan

"Ken M" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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/

Ron Wallenfang said:

After years of fiddling with all kinds of lighting systems, I settled on the
Cateye Opticube, which uses 4 AA batteries. It emits a blue light - 5 small
beams worth, that's of marginal value to see by, but is good for being seen.
According to its directions, it keeps 90% of its power for 30 hours and
lasts almost 100 in all. My commute involves a lot of after dark riding in
the winter. I try to change the batteries once a month in Nov Dec and Jan

Now that you mentioned it that is exactly the same lights I have! You
are right about being seen, but not seeing well, it could produce a
better light for vision purposes.

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/

Ron Wallenfang said:

After years of fiddling with all kinds of lighting systems, I settled on the
Cateye Opticube, which uses 4 AA batteries. It emits a blue light - 5 small
beams worth, that's of marginal value to see by, but is good for being seen.

Alas, that's the problem of all the inexpensive LED headlights, good for
being seen, marginal for seeing.

SMS said:

Ron Wallenfang said:

After years of fiddling with all kinds of lighting systems, I settled
on the Cateye Opticube, which uses 4 AA batteries. It emits a blue
light - 5 small beams worth, that's of marginal value to see by, but
is good for being seen.

Alas, that's the problem of all the inexpensive LED headlights, good for
being seen, marginal for seeing.

I was thinking of adding a second light perhaps that would light the way
better. BOTOH the red led blinky that came with the set is bright and
the cars certainly do SEE ME.

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/