| Q: |
Why doesn’t my flashlight seem to hold the charge as stated in the brochure? |
| Q: |
Why doesn’t my flashlight have the run-time as stated in the brochure? |
| Q: |
Why won’t my flashlight go into “high” or “270 lumen” mode? |
| Q: |
Why is the blue light on the charger only blinking slowly? |
| A: |
For best results it is recommended that the flashlights first charge cycle be inserted into the charger for 4 hours. Once the original process is complete, the flashlight will resume its normal recharge cycle of 90 seconds and run-time performance ranges. It is also recommended for the flashlight to be periodically placed on the charger for 1 hour. Although not necessary, the light is designed so that it can be placed on the charger indefinitely with no performance degradation. |
| Q: |
My 12 volt AC volt adapter won't work with my charger? |
| A: |
Please ensure that your 12 volt AC adapter is rated for a minimum of 7amps. Many typical AC adapters are under 7amps. Please see the 5.11 web site or contact our customer service team to purchase a 5.11 A/C adapter. |
| Q: |
My flashlight won't charge when my vehicle when it is not running? |
| A: |
It is recommended that your vehicle is started during the 90 second recharge cycle for the flashlight. If you are charging your light for the first time, please try to charge the flashlight as much as possible. For best results it is recommended that the flashlights first charge cycle be inserted into the charger for 4 hours. Once the original process is complete, the flashlight will resume its normal recharge cycle of 90 seconds and run-time performance ranges. It is also recommended for the flashlight to be periodically placed on the charger for 1 hour. Although not necessary, the light is designed so that it can be placed on the charger indefinitely with no performance degradation. |
| Q: |
With the ultra capacitor technology, are you able to leave the flashlight on the charger when not in use? Would this cause any problems in longevity of the ultra capacitors charging capabilities? |
| A: |
The Light for Life Flashlight will be fine! We have incorporated this variable into our charging technology to ensure no problems in longevity. |
| Q: |
How long does it take for the Light for Life UC3.400 to recharge? |
| A: |
The Light for Life UC3.400 only take 90 Seconds to recharge fully. |
| Q: |
How does the Light for Life UC3.400 re-charge so fast? |
| A: |
The reason our flashlight recharges so fast is because of the advanced-capacitors we decided to use instead of batteries. An advanced capacitor does not recharge by means of a chemical reaction, thus enabling it to recharge very quickly. Flashpoint Power Technology carefully manages the energy for a very fast charge with no degradation. |
| Q: |
How many times can you recharge the flashlight before the ultra-capacitors can no longer recharge? |
| A: |
The Light for Life UC3.400 has been designed to recharge over 50,000 times. |
| Q: |
What makes the UC3.400 environmentally friendly? |
| A: |
advanced capacitors contain no heavy metals – they contain mostly carbon and aluminum, never need to be replaced, and use less energy to charge, the UC3.400 is the most environmentally friendly performance duty light on the market. Advanced capacitors will last over 10 years without replacement. So, they won't be thrown away after only a couple hundred charges adding to the 179,000 tons of U.S. battery waste per year. |
| Q: |
How long does the Light for Life UC3.400 last without needing to be recharged? |
| A: |
The Light for Life UC3.400 runs for 60 minutes @ 90 lumens, then it automatically switches to reserve mode for an additional 60 minutes starting @ 25 lumens. Therefore a total time of usable light for 2 hours. |
| Q: |
Why not rate the bulb in watts on the packaging materials? |
| A: |
The reason we do not rate the bulb in watts is because watts don't tell how much light is being emitted. Different LEDs require different amounts of power (watts) for a given amount of light. |
| Q: |
When do you have to replace the ultra-capacitor? |
| A: |
Never, our UC3.400 Flashlight has a solid state construction. The capacitors do not require replacing. |
| Q: |
How long will the flashlight hold a charge when not in use? A few hours? Days? Weeks? A year? |
| A: |
When the flashlight is fully charged, it will tend to hold a usable charger for at least a month. The length of charge hold is similar to a NiCad battery. |
| Q: |
What is the difference between a battery and an advanced capacitor? |
| A: |
Batteries require a chemical reaction to store energy. An advanced capacitor stores the electrical charge or energy directly. It's like storing a lightning bolt. Each time a battery charges and discharges it converts material from one type to another. During each charge, this material gets worn away. |
| Q: |
When will they come in? |
| A: |
Launch Date for the UC3.400 is September 2009 |
| Q: |
Are these lights intrinsically safe or do they have a "Class" or "Div" rating? |
| A: |
The UC3.400 is currently not rated as intrinsically safe. Intrinsically safe ratings are for explosive gas filled atmospheres. Typically these are termed as "Haz Mat" conditions. |
| Q: |
Can they be used in IDLH atmospheres? |
| A: |
The UC3.400 is currently not rated to be used IDLH atmospheres. IDLH means "immediate danger of life & health". This is a safety term for environments that may have reduced oxygen levels and possible toxic conditions. |
| Q: |
How well do the lights work in smoke filled atmospheres? |
| A: |
We do not have information or test data on the effectiveness of the flashlight in smoke filled atmospheres. |
| Q: |
What is the weight of the Light for Life UC3.400 Flashlight? |
| A: |
The approximate weight of the flashlight is 16oz |
| Q: |
Although many products claim to have batteries with no memory effect, if left on the charger, they can often lose much of their capacity. Will this be true of the L4L? |
| A: |
The flashlight can be left on the charger when not in use indefinitely with no loss in performance. An ultracapacitor has very little "memory" effects. The flashlight can be recharged anytime throughout its use and there is no loss of life or performance. Charge it up after every use or drain it down completely and in 90 seconds, its working like new. |
| Q: |
Does the charger automatically detect a full charge and switch to trickle charge mode or shut down charging all together if no trickle is required? |
| A: |
Our flashpoint power technology monitors the flashlight's recharge requirements to ensure that the flashlight is always "ready to go". The charger does not trickle charge. It is either on or off. |
| Q: |
What will the final - or near final - physical dimensions of the LFL be? |
| A: |
The UC3.400 is approximately 11.5" in length and weighs around 16 oz. |
| Q: |
The Flashlight is advertised to be impact resistant, what does that translate to? Has it been tested in a lab to see if it still functions after being dropped from 5, 10 or 20 feet? |
| A: |
We have tested the structural integrity of the UC3.400 by performing many different drop tests. The 5.11 UC3.400 has matched or surpassed the results of many of the other law enforcement duty flashlights. |
| Q: |
Do advanced/ultra Capacitors Explode? |
| A: |
Regarding capacitors exploding, we believe there are two issues. First, capacitors can discharge their energy extremely fast and some people have a strong association with being shocked by a capacitor (not an advanced capacitor) while dismantling things like TVs. This shock, sparks flying and all, could be the explosion others are talking about. Second, if capacitors are over charged they build up pressure. The large cell capacitors, i.e. the ones in our flashlight, are designed to vent the pressure through seams along the cell's case. So, they will not explode. Our Flashpoint power technology carefully manages the charging and discharging of the capacitors to prevent over charging even in extreme temperatures. Carefully managing the energy also enables the cells to last a long time, i.e. 500,000 cycles. |
| Q: |
Is there any energy leakage in our capacitors? |
| A: |
Ultracapacitors have a leakage comparable to NiCad batteries. They will lose more energy when they are fully charged but the loss decreases over time. In 3 days a fully charged ultracapacitor will lose about 15% of its original energy. After a week, the ultracapacitor might lose about 25% but after a month it would only be down by about 50%. Half the energy would still remain in the ultracapacitor, which means the flashlight would run for about 45 minutes total if pulled out of a drawer after a month off the charger. Additionally, there are no negative impacts to the ultracapacitor. The flashlight could be used for 45 minutes of light or it could be fully charged in 45 seconds. No negative memory effects or degradation would result. Leaving a battery to drain down to 50% of its capacity can reduce its life. Generally, batteries don't do well when their energy drains down past 50%. |
| Q: |
What is the difference between a battery and an advanced capacitor? |
| A: |
A battery stores energy through a chemical reaction. The flow of electrons (i.e. electricity) causes an oxidation/reduction reaction to occur between a metal and an electrolyte. This reaction effectively stores the electrical energy by forming a new compound. When energy is drawn out of a battery, the chemical reaction goes the other direction. Of course since nothing is perfect, this process does not store 100% of the energy going in, nor release 100% of the energy going out. Extreme temperatures dramatically effect this reaction resulting in poor battery performance. Also, this reaction gives off heat which increases the temperature of a battery resulting in low performance or reduced life. Every time this reaction takes place a battery loses its ability to transfer energy. After about 500 to 1000 cycles a typical battery needs to be replaced. An ultracapacitor does not store energy through a chemical reaction. The electrons that enter an ultracapacitor get stored in tiny pores that exist in the carbon material on each electrode. The carbon material is like a sponge storing electrons through millions of nooks and crannies. Because the electrons are not converted into a chemical compound, they are quickly stored, and there is very little degradation. In fact, an ultracapacitor can be cycled 500,000 times without losing more than about 20% of its original energy.
|
| Q: |
What sort of switch comes on the flashlight? Momentary, strobe, etc. How will they work? Can a traffic wand cone fit on one? |
| A: |
The button/switch has been designed to include a momentary setting, a constant on, and strobe mode. The momentary mode is activated by pushing down on the button/switch and keeping it down. When released, the flashlight immediately turns off. To turn the flashlight on continuously, the button/switch is clicked once. In other words, when the button/switch is pressed and released the flashlight turns on. The flashlight is turned off by pressing and releasing the button/switch again, i.e. one click-on and one click-off. The strobe mode is activated by double clicking the button/switch. To turn strobe mode off, the button/switch is pressed and released, i.e. one click-off. At anytime, when the button is pressed and held down, the flashlight is in peak output mode. |
| Q: |
Can a traffic wand cone fit on one? |
| A: |
Yes, we have designed a traffic cone accessory specifically for the Light for Life UC3.400 |
| Q: |
Will this be available in Canada or just the United States? |
| A: |
Yes, the Light for Life UC3.400 will be available in both the United States and Canada. |
| Q: |
Could we get a comparison against one of the work horses of LE, the SL-20x? |
| A: |
Currently we do not have any comparisons; however we will be creating one soon. |
| Q: |
How does the Light for Life UC3.400 function in cold temperatures. What is the minimum operating temperature? Would extremely cold temperatures affect any of the other electronics or LEDs? |
| A: |
We guarantee our flashlight to -20ºC. Because the Light for Life UC3.400 does not use batteries, it can operate without any loss of performance at very low temperatures. The other electronics are not adversely affected by cold temperatures either. |
| Q: |
Is this flashlight water resistant/proof? Is it safe to use in heavy rains? If somehow water was to get inside, would it explode? |
| A: |
The UC3.400 is water resistant. It is recommended not to submerge the flashlight in water. Heavy rain conditions will be fine. |
| Q: |
Hi! Can I buy L4L with EU standard charger (for 230 Volts AC), or I can use only in 120 V AC network? |
| A: |
Our current design is for a 12Volt car adapter plug. An AC power adaptor is available for the EU and will be available for purchase soon. |
| Q: |
Are you going to make other flashlights with the same tech? Like a smaller version |
| A: |
We are currently scoping the design elements for additional flashlights that utilize this amazing technology. |
| Q: |
Where is the switch located on the Light for Life UC3.400 flashlight? |
| A: |
The switch is located on the side of the Light for Life UC3.400 flashlight housing |
| Q: |
Is there a tailcap switch for the Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
Currently there is not a tailcap switch for the Light for Life UC3.400 flashlight. |
| Q: |
What kind of darkness penetration can we expect from the L4L? |
| A: |
There is a tightly focused beam that easily lights up objects over 100 yards away. The halo or corona is effective at illuminating objects close up. |
| Q: |
What does the beam pattern look like on the Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
The beam pattern for the Light for Life UC3.400 has a hot focused center beam with a useful halo or corona. |
| Q: |
How far will the beam throw on the Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
We estimate the beam to throw at least 100 yards. |
| Q: |
How does a 3 led beam compare to a single led, multiple lumen, tac light beam? |
| A: |
The 3 LEDs are seen as one tight beam because of how the optics were designed. You cannot tell the difference between the three LEDs in the L4L versus other single LED flashlights. |
| Q: |
Will this light have a dual low-hi setting. I need the ability to use the low setting to save my night vision, but have a high-intensity beam as well |
| A: |
The Light for Life has a 90 lumen standard mode (single click), then up to 270 lumens when you hold down the button. |
| Q: |
What happens if my Light for Life UC3.400 Flashlight breaks? |
| A: |
For flashlight technical support or repairs, please go to the 5.11Light for Life warranty section at www.511tactical.com/lightforlife for locations and additional information regarding authorized repair centers near you.You may also contact one of our technical support/repair representatives at the following: 1.888.511.4LFL (4535) or LFLUS@511tactical.com International: +46 40230080 or LFLEU@511tactical.com |
| Q: |
Who pays for shipping? |
| A: |
For replacement products, 5.11 will pay the shipping costs. |
| Q: |
How long will it take my Light for Life Flashlight UC3.400 to get fixed? |
| A: |
In the event your Light for Life UC3.400 Flashlight needs to be fixed, you will receive your replacement flashlight within a few days from the time of your service inquiry call. |
| Q: |
Are there any repairs I can fix myself? |
| A: |
Internal repairs are not recommended by the end user due to the solid state construction. |
| Q: |
Can I purchase replacement parts? |
| A: |
We will be offering a lens & button replacement kit that will be available for sale on the website soon. |
| Q: |
How do I change the lens of my Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
All replacement part directions will come with the particular accessory kit. |
| Q: |
Can I use rechargeable batteries in my Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
No, it is not possible to exchange the advanced capacitors. |
| Q: |
How do I install my car adaptor for the Light for Life UC3.400? |
| A: |
Please refer to the user guide instruction booklet that you received with your UC3.400. |
