I't thinking of buying an Surefire E2 flaslight (not with the led) to expand my edc, but i can't find the avarage lifetime of the bulbs. Has anyone more info about this ?

Thanks

I'd be surprised if you get an absolute answer to that question. I've had my E2e since probably 2002 (or before) and have used it hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, and it rides daily in my briefcase. It's still using the original lamp. So what's that? Well over 3 years and going. On the other hand, I've changed the bulb on my E1 (oldschool one) and the bulb lasted a few seconds before fizzling out.

It seems like, to me at least, if you get a good one it'll last a long time. Conversely, if you get a bad one it's usually quickly evident. I'm sure you've seen a standard filament bulb burn out when dropped but my E2e has been downright abused and still goes on. (Watch, it'll blow out tonight) <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

PS I've heard that the light quality degrades over time and should be replaced to keep it at its peak performance. Maybe some CPF'ers will chime in if there's been any bulb tests. Which I imagine would be difficult to apply to real life use since noone keeps their lights on, runs the batteries down, inserts new batteries, runs the light down, etc.)

Dunno... I'm guessing it's somewhat less than an LED's 50,000 hours. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What's driving the incandescent over LED decision? Do you need the "throw"?

My experience has been similar to Gator's. I have several SureFire lights, but all use the P60 lamp assembly. The very first one (literally new in the box) lasted about 10 seconds. I called SF & they sent me a free replacement. Since then, I average about one bulb a year in the C2 I carry & use daily.

Best life was from 12/31/99 (remember Y2K eve?) until about Thanksgiving 2004; that was in my EDC light. The rated life of the P60 is 1 hour. Note that that is of actual, constant use. Intermittent use should be longer.

The E2 series uses a different lamp assembly, but SF's rating is similar: 60 or 75 minutes, IIRC. I expect performance to be similar, as well.

Unless you get the LED, I recommend at least 1 spare bulb in your kit. The SF SparesCarrier (1, 2, or 3--for different models) carry both a bulb & extra batteries. You can also fit two 123 cells side-by-side in a Kodak Advantix film canister. It won't work in the Fuji; it's too small. A spare bulb can also easily be stored/carried in a film cannister, too.

Good luck, whatever your choice.

David

Actually, turning them on & off shortens lamp life due to thermal shock on the filament.

IIRC, 60 minutes is the run time with a P60 head assy and a set of batteries, not the expected life of the bulb.
If it was, you would have to replace the head assy, each time you change the batteries.

I remember seeing a expected life of 30 hours, somewhere on the SF web site, but I can't find it anymore ...

Please join hands and read along with me. As strange as it may seem, on page seven of SureFires' Operators Manual, that came with my flash lights, there is a table entitled Lamp Replacement Guide. The guide states that the P60 and P90 lamps should be replaced every hour and that the P61 and P91 should be replaced every 20 minutes. That is the reason I changed my lamp to led for normal use and carry the P60 and P90 for special purposes. The SureFire's Operators Manual is Document #71-01-630 REV 8.

<img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I am indeed impressed by the throw. But if lifetime of the bulb is this short, I will reconsider the led variant.

Thanks for the answers. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I checked in the user's manual of my 6P and G2s : no such a thing.
And I could not find anything about bulb life expectancy on SF web site.

So I send a mail to Surefire technical support :
I know LED lifetime is expressed in thousands of hours, but what is the expected lifetime for a Xenon bulb assy (let's say a P60) ??
Here is their reply :
The lifetime of a P60 bulb is minimum of 30 hours .

It looks like the SF manual you mentioned is really badly formulated (?) ....