# battery life on a set of leds? UNBELIEVABLE!



## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

Not sure if this is the place for this, but it is sort of technical in the fact that it involves a pair of led eyes in a prop from last year...

I was sorting thru the haunted shed last night trying to get to a few props for this weekend when I noticed an eerie blue glow in the farthest back corner of the shed...I investigated and much to my surprise I saw my headpopper prop with a pair of blue led lights just glowing away...*untouched since last October when I put the prop in storage!!! *The battery source is a pair of AA batteries....how in the world is it possible that this thing has been glowing for a full year?????

Maybe the shed truly IS haunted....


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## Koumajutsu (Aug 9, 2006)

wow, that's awesome. what brand are you using?

LEDs are extremely energy efficient, but even with 2AA alkaline they should normally last between 340 to 600 hours of continuous runtime at 10mA


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Don't tell the battery manufacturers that. They'll find a way to ensure earlier death for their products next time around


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## pshort (May 6, 2008)

The numbers don't pencil out for normal AA batteries. Typical alkaline AA batteries have a capacity of about 2500 mAH, and I would be surprised if the current through the LEDs was less than 5mA (that is usually fairly dim). Doing the division, this comes to about 500 hours of life, or about 20 days. This makes me think that something else was going on, such as your kids playing a joke on you or something that kept the lights off most of the time (loose batteries, a switch, some sort of sensor, etc).


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

The batteries came with a small store display that involved a blinking led. The leds were hacked from a strand of christmas lights....I figure there is another explaination, but this prop is buried in the back corner of the shed...I couldn't reach it to investigate so there is no chance someone is playing a trick on me.

There is no sensor on the rig, just a straight hookup from the lights to the battery. There Has to be another explanation other than the batteries lasting that long...just HAS to be.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

They may have shut down during the winter for a bit but that still leaves all the spring and summer months.

Have you checked for mice?


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## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

Bone Dancer said:


> They may have shut down during the winter for a bit but that still leaves all the spring and summer months.
> 
> Have you checked for mice?


Mice?

I really don't think mice are responsible. Why would they set up a treadmill generator to recharge the batteries when they wouldn't get paid for it?

Nope - just not likely


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## Koumajutsu (Aug 9, 2006)

fritz42_male said:


> Mice?
> 
> I really don't think mice are responsible. Why would they set up a treadmill generator to recharge the batteries when they wouldn't get paid for it?
> 
> Nope - just not likely


Have you never seen The Secret of NIMH?


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

fritz42_male said:


> Mice?
> 
> I really don't think mice are responsible. Why would they set up a treadmill generator to recharge the batteries when they wouldn't get paid for it?
> 
> Nope - just not likely


Mood lighting? Dance parties? Mouse raves?


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## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

rofl


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## RandalB (Jun 8, 2009)

dave the dead said:


> Not sure if this is the place for this, but it is sort of technical in the fact that it involves a pair of led eyes in a prop from last year...
> 
> I was sorting thru the haunted shed last night trying to get to a few props for this weekend when I noticed an eerie blue glow in the farthest back corner of the shed...I investigated and much to my surprise I saw my headpopper prop with a pair of blue led lights just glowing away...*untouched since last October when I put the prop in storage!!! *The battery source is a pair of AA batteries....how in the world is it possible that this thing has been glowing for a full year?????
> 
> Maybe the shed truly IS haunted....


Doesn't surprise me, I had a set of flashing LED eyes that went for almost 6 months with a 9V...

RandalB


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

I purchased 6 boxes of color changing LED icicles after Christmas sale at Lowe's 3 YEARS AGO!!...Yesterday I was sorting through my Halloween crates and came across these lights... To my surprise when I pushed the "try me" button, every box worked fine.. They all came on and cycled through the colors just like the day I purchased them


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## AnthonyZ (Nov 26, 2008)

Some things just won't DIE!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

AnthonyZ said:


> Some things just won't DIE!


Zombie LEDs!


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Wasn't this done before?? The ol' "the oil in the lamp lasted many days...it was only supposed to last a few hours" thing? 
Looks like dave gets to name a new holiday! ALL HAIL THE MIRACLE OF THE LEDs!!

(cowering,watching for lighting bolt from the heavens...)


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

lol Debbie.

btw...as of last night...still going.....


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## TearyThunder (Jul 1, 2006)

Are you sure this prop isn't motion/sound activated and being activated while you are checking on it?


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

TearyThunder said:


> Are you sure this prop isn't motion/sound activated and being activated while you are checking on it?


yep. It is a direct connection from the batteries to the led.


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## Adam I (Jun 16, 2007)

It must be dark energy.

Just look at Dave's Props, He's be taping into it.


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## TearyThunder (Jul 1, 2006)

I guess it would make sense in a way since watch batteries will last a year or two.


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## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

Perhaps the battery has randomly mutated into a zero point energy source or is feeding on the psychic energy in the other props stored from years of scared kids!


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Hmm well I just don't know; could it be..........*SATAN*??!!?!??!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

LMAO, Rev! If I'd been drinking a Pepsi when I saw that, I would have spit it all over my keyboard


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

I'll bet the wires were loose, or a battery was just this shy of full contact and when you moved the stuff to get to the prop it jarred it enough to complete the circuit. Only thing I can think of. Besides Satan.


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## TheMikeBarrera (Aug 6, 2015)

Hey all, that sounds scary! what kind of battery's are you using? I personally got tired of change them and decided to go electric and brighter LED eyes. Here is a link to the ones I use now. Seems to be alot brighter and more dependable than batteries. Hope this helps.

personal ebay link removed by moderator


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## tarpleyg (Nov 4, 2014)

I know this is an old post but I should mention that last Halloween I got some of those iLoom balloons and activated all the LEDs in them. The next week I popped all the balloons and dug out the LED modules thinking I'd use them for something else. I put them away in a drawer. A few weeks ago I was rooting around for something and came across these. Some of them were still lit. That's damn near 8 months on a set of batteries. They weren't very bright but they weren't bright to start with.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

LOL - I don't know which has more life...that battery or this thread! But even if it's been running LEDs for a few years, "that ain't nuthin'!"

This battery has been ringing a bell...almost continuously...for the past 175 years!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Electric_Bell


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

That's hilarious Corey. The church lady post was friggin hilarious!

Send me those freakish batteries. All mine last the normal life span. I would be really curious to know what is causing the longer than usual life.


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