Longevity of CR 2032 Batteries in Bike Arlington Blinkies

[JeffC]

Kudos to Bike Arlington for passing these out recently. Even though I already had blinkies on my bike itself, I found a nice home for this on the rear of my helmet where it is easy to turn off and on. Being a regular night time commuter I have an ingrained idea of when I need to replace and/or recharge all the batteries I use but this one is a newbie to my flock. Does anybody know how long these CR 2032 batteries will last with the light in a blinking mode? Here is what it looks like

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2055[/ATTACH]

Topic

[vvill]

I had one from last year I was using quite regularly in blink mode (also on the back of my helmet), and it started going off mid-ride around 6-9 months after installation. It would always turn on again but only dimly (I compared it to a new one). I bought a new pack of 5 batteries from an amazon vendor to replace them (and have spares handy) – a lot cheaper than standard retail. I would guess the run time is similar to what is quoted for most blinkies (30-100 hrs or so).

I kind of want to set some them up like a smiley face on the back of my helmet (but I don’t have enough… yet).

[Dirt]

I took a bunch of the duds from last year and fixed them. Many just needed batteries. I gave them out over the course of the winter and kept a couple for myself to use. I don’t know actual runtime on them, but I got at least 2 – 3 months of use out of them before the batteries started to dim. Since I ride a LOT in the dark, that means they lasted pretty dang long.

I bought 100 batteries on Amazon for about $13 (shipped) and have been using them on the Bike Arlington lights and other gadgets I have around the house. I suggest getting a name that you recognize if you buy the batteries. I got some no-name batteries in a tube that were super, super cheap on eBay and, though the good ones worked as well as the Maxcell batteries that I bought on Amazon, the dud rate was enough to bring the cost close to the $13 that I paid for 100 of the good ones.

Glad you like the lights. It is awesome to see people using them!

Pete

[Mark Blacknell]

I love it when Dirt just saves everyone else the time of posting an answer. My experience matches his (except I wasn’t smart enough to find 100 for $13!). All I really have to add is that if your blinkies get a good soaking, it’s probably a good idea to shake ’em out. I had a few end up with rusted/intermittent contacts when I let them sit after an underwater ride (easily cleaned up, though).

[JeffC]

Hey Guys, thanks for the answer, sounds like the run time is about what I can expect with my other AAA LED blinkies, pretty darn long. Fortunately I already have some CR 2032s at home for a totally unrelated household appliance. Oddly enough I also recently got several CR 2016s for the Spokelit Niteize lights that fit onto spokes for lateral nighttime visibility–asked about those on here awhile back. It would have been great if both ran on the same battery, but whatcha gonna do, as it is some of my other lights use AA and some AAA.

The odd thing about judging a light like this is that since it is rear facing I cannot really tell its brightness. On the trails, I try to run dimmer blinkies or on constant mode just to be seen–cannot stand it when people have overpowered lights on the trail, it’s unnecessary on many stretches of the W&OD and Custis with street lights and is dangerous to others. On the streets, I spare nobody the wrath of my Christmas tree like appearance and go for a battleship coming into port like approach with lights ablazing.

So what would you say this Bike Arlington blinkie is? Is it super bright, spasm inducing for the streets or is it a lower-key, subdued light better just to be seen on the trails?

[Tim Kelley]

@JeffC 35866 wrote:

So what would you say this Bike Arlington blinkie is? Is it super bright, spasm inducing for the streets or is it a lower-key, subdued light better just to be seen on the trails?

It’s an under-powered emergency “be seen” light which is intended as a backup for people who forget their lights or aren’t able to purchase their own. If you plan on riding regularly in the dark, investing in a more powerful set of lights in greatly encouraged.

Here’s the back of the card we’re giving out with each set of lights: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=398115996923589&set=pb.205971902804667.-2207520000.1352989896&type=3&permPage=1

[Author]

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