Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

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loafer
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by loafer »

a club mate told me of these http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flood-to-t ... -aaa-26800 had them a month now great lights and very bright +cheap.. :D ..had to wait 2 weeks but at the price cant really moan

larry
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by [XAP]Bob »

mercurykev wrote:
Ribblehead wrote:"automatic SOS flashing function"

What does that mean? Is it programmed to flash SOS in Morse code??!!


My Fenix torch has a mode where it flashes SOS in Morse code, so this is possible.

Ironically the international distress signal is now not SOS, it's six short blasts/flashes) repeated every minute. Or was last time I checked...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by [XAP]Bob »

loafer wrote:a club mate told me of these http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flood-to-t ... -aaa-26800 had them a month now great lights and very bright +cheap.. :D ..had to wait 2 weeks but at the price cant really moan

larry

Looks identical
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
irc
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by irc »

[XAP]Bob wrote:
loafer wrote:a club mate told me of these http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flood-to-t ... -aaa-26800 had them a month now great lights and very bright +cheap.. :D ..had to wait 2 weeks but at the price cant really moan

larry

Looks identical


The Aldi torch states it takes AAs the Dealextreme AAAs. So not identical unless either is misdescribed.

For a claimed 5W AAs might be better for battery life.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by thirdcrank »

I'm something of a torch collector. When I first began work in Leeds, huge areas of the city's slums were being cleared and demolished so there were countless streets boarded-up and awaiting demolition which could not go ahead till every house in a block was vacated. Those old back-to-back houses had lead plumbing and as quickly as they were boarded-up, the lead thieves were in there. A decent torch was vital, even in daylight, because apart from anything else, the floorboards were often taken up to board-up the doors and windows. I was once dearching a derelict butcher's shop and the torch picked out the burglar with a meat hook in his hand.

The typical torch on sale was about as useless as its contemporary in the bike shop, so I think most PC's would have been aware of cyclists' problems, even if they were not cyclists themselves. We got 6d (2.5p) a month torch allowance, paid tax free. :roll: I settled on a compact Ever Ready that took an SP8 battery.

Although my house searching days are long-gone, I still appreciate a decent torch. Following recommendations on here, I bought a Tesco Cree torch a couple of years ago (£8-00?) That is the best small torch I have ever used. That's rated 1W so if this one is genuinely 5W it should be in paintstripping territory. I plan to be down there tomorrow when they open up.

Historical note on flashing torches: I don't think I'm betraying any official secrets by saying that in 1967, the Student Lesson Notes then in use at District Police Training Centres included something along the lines of "If you need assistance at night, do not blow your whistle but flash your torch in the direction where a colleague is likely to be." That caused some jokes about needing a searchlight, even in 1967.
Tonyf33
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Tonyf33 »

well I bought a '5W' light that runs on 3AAAs, comparative to my Raleigh 1 Watt it isn't 5 times as bright but then again I paid £5.50 for it including postage and a rear thrown in for good measure(via ebay) Compares closer to a 3W I bought over here and even then I don't think that was what I'd consider to be a proper 3W light in any case. Ithas a carry handle too so doubles as a torch very easily.
With Duracell 1000m/Ah it runs for over an hour though I haven't really timed actual. Here's the light beam comparison, albeit up my stairs..lol
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Russell160
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Russell160 »

Anyone know what time they open on a Sunday?
Russell160
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Russell160 »

Answered my own question: is this the first sign of madness?

It's 10 am in the Lancashire Yorkshire area. Expect queues, furtive beardy types in high viz loitering with intent.
Tonyf33
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Tonyf33 »

Russell160 wrote:Answered my own question: is this the first sign of madness?

It's 10 am in the Lancashire Yorkshire area. Expect queues, furtive beardy types in high viz loitering with intent.

:lol: 8)
LANDSURFER74

Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by LANDSURFER74 »

thanks djoptix

5 Watt Cree LED.... This torch and a rear light and mounts are available from e bay for less than £8 delivered..don't rush out to Aldi quite yet !!!
rjb
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by rjb »

djoptix wrote:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5W-270Lm-CREE-LED-Torch-Flashlight-Bicycle-Holder-5-LEDs-Rear-FlashLight-Set-/270854781271?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item3f1033f957


I bought one of these last year. Despite being described as 5 watts it's more like 1/2 watt as measured with a voltmeter, 130 ma at 3.6V (power watts = Volts X current).

However i was very pleased with it. The quality of construction was good with a substantial aluminium case. It was not as bright as my tesco 3 watt torch which led me to checking it with a voltmeter but still very bright and usefully small with a decent bar mount which also takes the tesco torch :wink: .
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

rjb wrote:
djoptix wrote:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5W-270Lm-CREE-LED-Torch-Flashlight-Bicycle-Holder-5-LEDs-Rear-FlashLight-Set-/270854781271?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item3f1033f957


I bought one of these last year. Despite being described as 5 watts it's more like 1/2 watt as measured with a voltmeter, 130 ma at 3.6V (power watts = Volts X current).

However i was very pleased with it. The quality of construction was good with a substantial aluminium case. It was not as bright as my tesco 3 watt torch which led me to checking it with a voltmeter but still very bright and usefully small with a decent bar mount which also takes the tesco torch :wink: .


Indeed - and "Cree" my derrière ...

Mine at least was draining a whole 1.27 watts from the batteries.
When I told the seller he offered me a 50 percent refund if I would withdraw my negative review.

But it's a decent-enough 1 watt torch and my second backup front lamp (after the spare battery).

It was the same with the "9 watt" domestic lamps I use on my bike - £10 and only about 6 watts, but decent value none the less ...
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Phil_Lee
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Phil_Lee »

Who's going to be first to measure the power consumption of the Aldi torch with a multimeter and post it here?

I suspect that it's more likely to be accurately described than the DealXtreme or Ebay ones.

I have one of the Tesco 3w 2xAA torches - it actually draws 0.755A at 2.7v (part used alkalines that I had handy) and 0.684A at 2.186v (part used NiMH)

So 2.0385w on alkaline or 1.49522w on NiMH, both in part used state.

Fresh cells may do better - as the current rises with voltage it appears to be un-boosted (some fancier LED drivers use a circuit to boost voltage to best performance level, which would cause the current use to increase at lower voltage).

A DealXtreme "3w" torch I have here (3xAAA) draws 0.24A at 3.7v, so at 0.88w, it doesn't even get close to it's alleged power even on brand new freshly charged Eneloops.
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Woodbridge Pete
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Woodbridge Pete »

You may need to use a bit more than a multimeter to measure the power. A lot of the circuitry for LEDs uses current pulses to the LED, so the average DC current you measure may appear a lot less. An oscilloscope may be better to view the power.
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