Author Topic: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco  (Read 21243 times)

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #25 on: 20 June, 2008, 10:40:50 pm »
I just got home with one of the 2AA ones, a quick test shows that it is brighter than the Blackburn X3 (3W Luxeon) I paid £100 for about 18 months ago. Which is pretty cool but also annoying because I wish I hadn't bothered buying the Blackburn!

My Tesco also had the 3W C ones, and some big 4W ones that take D batteries. Thanks to fixer for posting that they were near the lightbulbs, I'd have been hunting around Tesco for ages otherwise!

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #26 on: 22 June, 2008, 01:08:04 am »
Since I was in Stockton today, I dropped by Tesco and bought one of these, since they had sold out of the twin packs:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-8191.aspx

It compares favourably with my Dinotte 200L AA:  not as bright and the light spread isn't as good, but for a tenth of the price, I shan't quibble.

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #27 on: 22 June, 2008, 10:24:56 am »
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-8191.aspx

Just out of interest, does the panel know what the battery life is for one of these 2 AA torches?
Garry Broad

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #28 on: 22 June, 2008, 07:26:50 pm »
I think about 2 1/2 hours is what David Martin said - which is why I converted mine to dymano.  ::-)
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #29 on: 22 June, 2008, 09:23:28 pm »
I lost mine within 48 hours of buying it :( I was using it to help guide me round the unridable sections of the Mountain Mayhem course early this morning, then put it in my jersey pocket where it stealthily bounced out and is probably buried forever in the Mayhem mud!

It was such a bargain though that I don't really mind that much and I'll be off to Tesco tomorrow to get a new one!

Chris N

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #30 on: 22 June, 2008, 09:26:44 pm »
I got one - very impressed, it's almost as bright as my Solidlight.  Bought a Lockblock to strap it to my bars as a backup light.

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #31 on: 22 June, 2008, 09:48:11 pm »
I think about 2 1/2 hours is what David Martin said - which is why I converted mine to dymano.  ::-)

I've just got a couple of these that I've converted to bike lights *, and confirm that 2 x 2700 rechargeable AA's last about 2 hours 40 minutes powering one of these, before they became quite dim.

I've tried them on a Shimano dynamo, but there's an definite flicker.  What cheap & cheerful solution can you suggest to smooth out the voltage peaks?



* pictures and details to follow once I've recharged the camera.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #32 on: 22 June, 2008, 10:29:41 pm »
I've got mine via a bridge rectifier - a 2A one because thats what the shop had, The pins fit into the plug for the dynamo and the wires are soldered to the ouput. You have to insulate the lamp from the bike if you do this. You could put a smoothing capacitor across the LED, but I like the low speed flicker - it gives extra WTF-idness. Th light looks almost constant by the time you get above 10MPH anyway. I run mine on one of SJSC shimano-alike dynohubs.
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #33 on: 23 June, 2008, 09:31:31 pm »
OK - here's the pictures of my bodged tesco 3W Cree lights, as advertised here.  In the Luton store they cost £10 each.

You can unscrew the very top to look at the LED, a section futher down, and also the base to insert the batteries, which also houses the switch in the end.

What I did was to saw through the barrel, at the end of the thinnest bit, leaving the rest to be thrown away:-



It's very thick aluminium, so it took about 5 minutes with a little hacksaw.

I then took the screw capped end and held it against the bulb stub, and simply taped it together with electrical tape (very high tech).  I drilled through the switch to make a hole to put the wires through, and soldered them onto the battery contacts.



The top was then screwed back on, and I found I had a U shaped plastic holder which was bolted onto an old Cateye handlebar mount, and the torch fitted neatly into that.  I converted the second torch the same way, and wired them into a simple switch.





It's wired to a block of 12 x AA rechargeables in my seat pack which gives 6 hours of mega bright light. 

This was all done in a rush on Friday afternoon for the FNRttC, so I could have done it a lot neater if I'd taken my time.  However, someone asked if they were a £200 set of lights, to which I was proud to confirm they were in fact £20.  :thumbsup:



Edit - the Smart 1W below the handlebars is angled to show up the road immediately in front of me, whilst I have the Tesco lights pointing further up.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

rr

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #34 on: 24 June, 2008, 03:43:13 pm »
OK will this idea work? Get two, wire them in series with a switch, run them off the 6V SLA battery that came with my smart halogens, get about twice the battery life. Optionally cut down the touch.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #35 on: 24 June, 2008, 05:17:05 pm »
I got one - very impressed, it's almost as bright as my Solidlight.  Bought a Lockblock to strap it to my bars as a backup light.
Those brackets look fantastic - it's just a shame they cost 70% what a torch does.
Where are you folks getting your rubber straps / o-rings / whatever?
(My Dinotte came with a perfect one, and a spare, but I could do with a slightly differrent size.)
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #36 on: 24 June, 2008, 08:21:29 pm »
OK will this idea work? Get two, wire them in series with a switch, run them off the 6V SLA battery that came with my smart halogens, get about twice the battery life. Optionally cut down the touch.

Yes, I tried them wired in series and it works fine.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #37 on: 24 June, 2008, 09:29:26 pm »
Just went to the Tesco in Kennington, but it's not very big, and didn't have them  >:( The Brixton one probably won't either...

Tis a shame as I wanted something a bit brighter for the FNRttC, there were some very dark bits on Friday and I wasn't fast enough to keep up with people with the good lights  :-[

JT

  • Howay the lads!
    • CTC Peterborough
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #38 on: 24 June, 2008, 09:39:23 pm »
Just went to the Tesco in Kennington, but it's not very big, and didn't have them  >:( The Brixton one probably won't either...

Tis a shame as I wanted something a bit brighter for the FNRttC, there were some very dark bits on Friday and I wasn't fast enough to keep up with people with the good lights  :-[

I can get you one and bring it along on Saturday if you like?
a great mind thinks alike

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #39 on: 24 June, 2008, 09:47:51 pm »
I'm glad I posted that now, I was only whinging and didn't expect such offers...

Thanks JT, nutkin has just offered to grab one for me and bring it along at the weekend, so I've accepted, hopefully they will still have them in her neck of the woods.

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #40 on: 24 June, 2008, 09:57:44 pm »
I got one - very impressed, it's almost as bright as my Solidlight.  Bought a Lockblock to strap it to my bars as a backup light.
Those brackets look fantastic - it's just a shame they cost 70% what a torch does.
Where are you folks getting your rubber straps / o-rings / whatever?
(My Dinotte came with a perfect one, and a spare, but I could do with a slightly differrent size.)

I got a pack of O-rings for a few quid from Ebay - probably about 100 or maybe more, all sizes from a few mm to 40 or 45mm diameter. Very handy.

Regular Ebay seller so should come up in a search, let me know if not.

The lockblocks as above are excellent, very handy - secure and take up little bar space, adaptable to a wide range of bars and torche sizes.

Ebay is also good for all sorts of velcro straps... and the Zefal strap / block combo as seen on Bike+ are handy too.

JT

  • Howay the lads!
    • CTC Peterborough
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #41 on: 24 June, 2008, 10:14:15 pm »
I'm glad I posted that now, I was only whinging and didn't expect such offers...

Thanks JT, nutkin has just offered to grab one for me and bring it along at the weekend, so I've accepted, hopefully they will still have them in her neck of the woods.

OK, no problem. Get in touch if Nutkin's Tesco are out of them.
a great mind thinks alike

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #42 on: 24 June, 2008, 10:19:05 pm »
I have one of the Tesco torches that I never use if anyone wants one.

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #43 on: 25 June, 2008, 01:14:26 am »
Those brackets look fantastic - it's just a shame they cost 70% what a torch does.
Where are you folks getting your rubber straps / o-rings / whatever?
(My Dinotte came with a perfect one, and a spare, but I could do with a slightly differrent size.)

I used bits cut from old inner tubes - a couple of inches from a narrow 700c tube to cover the torch - to stop the knurlled bits from grinding on the handlebars. And a 1" wide 'rubber band' from a mtb tube to hold it on. Apparently a Livestrong band will do the job as well.
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

bobajobrob

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #44 on: 25 June, 2008, 07:32:56 pm »
Found three of the Cree torches in Tesco in Gloucester (Brockworth) today, so I bought 2 of them :P I'm planning to use them on my commuter. 2.5 hours should give me a week's worth of commuting on 4 AA batteries and at 6w should be more powerful than my 1w Smart LED (as on Adam's bike). Brightness is not as good as a Fenix L2D (it's somewhere between the second and third modes) but still pretty good. Two of them used together make a good light. Have ordered some of the lockblock brackets.

Here's a pic next to my Fenix.



bobajobrob

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #45 on: 29 June, 2008, 02:49:35 pm »
One of my torches has given up the ghost already. When I switch it on it lights up for a nanosecond then goes off. If I leave it on then it gets quite warm. I have lost the receipt, silly me.

Edit: you'll be relieved to hear I have bought a replacement. It was the last one in my local Tesco so apologies for that.

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #46 on: 30 June, 2008, 07:42:17 pm »
One of my torches has given up the ghost already. When I switch it on it lights up for a nanosecond then goes off. If I leave it on then it gets quite warm. I have lost the receipt, silly me.

You don't need a receipt to return faulty goods - and if your torch is the same as mine, it will say "Tesco" on it.  Even the pettiest supermarket undermanager would find it difficult to argue with that.

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #47 on: 05 July, 2008, 03:47:01 pm »
I've got mine via a bridge rectifier - a 2A one because thats what the shop had, The pins fit into the plug for the dynamo and the wires are soldered to the ouput. You have to insulate the lamp from the bike if you do this. You could put a smoothing capacitor across the LED, but I like the low speed flicker - it gives extra WTF-idness. Th light looks almost constant by the time you get above 10MPH anyway. I run mine on one of SJSC shimano-alike dynohubs.

Mmm, now I'm officially confused.  I've got hold of a bridge rectifier (W005 type) and after connecting my multimeter to the output, instead of a voltage ranging from +6v to -6v or so from the dynamo on its own, it's now showing a positive voltage increasing with speed.  That's fine in theory, but spinning the wheel by hand, I'm getting up to around 16v showing.  I guess I'll have to make another trip to Maplins to get a zener diode.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #48 on: 05 July, 2008, 03:59:16 pm »
Yeah. the dymano will produce voltages higher than the 6V. With a bridge rectifier and no current flowing, I guess the p.d. gets higher becuse current can not flow back past the rectifier.

The luxeon can cope with higher voltages. In the torch it's running on 3V, but they run just as well with a 12V lead acid battery.
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Luxeon 3W LED Torches in Tesco
« Reply #49 on: 10 July, 2008, 10:08:59 pm »
I'm all set now.  I've got the dynamo plugged into a neat little regulator (steady Greg), giving me a constant & smooth 6.4v, almost down to slow walking pace, and that's then wired to 2 of the Tesco lights in series.

Nice & bright.  :thumbsup:



Edit:

When used as a torch, after a while the body gets a bit warm.   With the cooling effect of the air when on a bike, they don't get warm at all.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein