Ikelite C8 versus eLED light
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AtomicWalrus
Contributor
GoBlue!:
The higher wattage bulb in the rechargeable pack is for the standard halogen UK C8. The eLED only comes in 1 size so far, which is about as powerful as the standard 13 W bulb. Interestingly, the smaller eLED C4 has the same output as the larger eLED C8. The eLED system has a DC regulator built into it that means the LED doesn't see a difference between the 6 V provided by the 4 C batteries as compared with the 12 V provided by the 8 C batteries of the bigger model. Of course, the result is that the smaller light has reduced burn time. Kind of neat because I've always found the standard C4 to be a rather useless dive light, but the eLED improves on it quite a bit.
Thanks for the info. Now I'm wondering if there's anything special about the rechargeable battery pack/charger from UK, or if I could order batteries/charger elsewhere at lower cost.... Seems a burn time of 3.25hrs (per UK website) is going to eat through batteries pretty quickly.
Jim
Jim
AtomicWalrus:
AtomicWalrus
Contributor
GoBlue!:
The nice thing about the UK pack is that it's 1 piece, and has a nice compact charger that plugs right into the battery. That way you don't have to deal with bulky chargers and making sure you reinsert all 8 batteries in the correct orientation. I also believe that they've taken some care to weight the pack to leave the light neutrally buoyant.
On the other hand, the UK pack is expensive, and the battery life isn't anything special. Most people I know have just bought their own rechargeable NiCad or NiMH batteries and use those - haven't heard any problems, and they're way cheaper.
RonDawg
Contributor
Dove my first night dive with my eLED last night. I was quite impressed with it, and it was much brighter than the standard lights used by the others in my group. Only the one guy with a UK Light Cannon had brighter light than me.
djac5700
Contributor
A review article comparing the C4/C8 eLED to the incandescent versions, referenced in a SB Lights Forum:AtomicWalrus:
http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/uk_c4-8eled.htm
From that article (these are the C4 eLED and C8 eLED):
Throw (Lux) (click for description) LOW
C4 ~ 1450 at beam center. (38.08 Comparison Chart equivalent)
C8 ~ 1450 at beam center. (38.08 Comparison Chart equivalent)
HIGH
C4 ~ 2450 at beam center. (49.50 Comparison Chart equivalent)
C8 ~ 3500 at beam center. (59.16 Comparison Chart equivalent)
Overall Output (click for description) LOW
C4 ~ 2200 (22.00 Comparison Chart equivalent)
C8 ~ 2200 (22.00 Comparison Chart equivalent)
HIGH
C4 ~ 3500 (35.00 Comparison Chart equivalent)
C8 ~ 4800 (48.00 Comparison Chart equivalent)
I'm not an expert on light rating, but this article suggests that the C4 eLED does not have as bright of an output as the C8 eLED on the "high" setting.
I bought a C8 eLED yesterday from ScubaToys... I'll be trying it out next weekend in the Keys. I'll let you know what I think...
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