New Duracell 1000 Lumen Flashlight

flashlight

One thing that I try to do periodically is tell you when I find a good buy on something.  Well yesterday, a friend was over and showed me his new 1000 lumen Durabeam Ultra flashlight.  It is made by Duracell and sells for $15.99 at Costco.  The amount of light it produced was impressive so I got excited and wanted one.  My wife happened to be in town so I called her and asked her to pick me one up.  Which she did.

The flashlight has a 3-beam setting, full power, a reduced power and a strobe light.  The beam can be focus in from narrow to wide angle.  They claim it will run for two hours on the high beam and 35 hours on the low.  I have not yet tested this.  It seems fairly rugged and looks like it can take some abuse.

After playing with it last night, I can tell you that it has a long reach and for $15.99 is worth the money.  It utilizes 4 C cell batteries.

This morning I spent some time looking at the reviews on Amazon and this flashlight seems to have a problem with NIMH rechargeable C batteries.  Most of the time you put them in the flashlight, it will cause the light to fail and destroy the light.  Now there are two other things, I do not like about the light.  One the switch is located at the rear of the light making it hard to turn on one handed.  The second reason is that like almost everything else today it is made in China.

Now in the reviews of the lights that were destroyed by rechargeable batteries they were number 1440 on the base.  Mine says 1449 on the base, so they may have made changes to the product.

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I intend to keep this light because the amount of light that it products is amazing.  This has the most reach of any flashlight in this price range that I have encountered.  Hopefully they have fixed the problem with the rechargeable batteries, although for right now I will not test this.

I tried to contact the company to find out if they have fixed the problem, so far without any luck.

Howard

 

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76 thoughts on “New Duracell 1000 Lumen Flashlight”

  1. I’d be curious to know if you do discover anything about the rechargeable battery issue. I just bought 2 and have been researching the complaints.

    1. I have 2 of the Duracell 1000 LEDs that worked fine for a few years until I recently put in rechargeable C cell batteries. They both turned on normally and immediately dimmed to almost nothing. Blew out the LED modules! This is a cheap design made without a voltage regulator and this forces the user to limit the use to only costly disposable batteries.

  2. The only somewhat plausible theory I’ve found is that Alkaline batteries have a much higher internal resistance than NIMH batteries.

    Alkaline:
    Full charge: 150 milliohms
    1/2 charge: 300 milliohms

    NIMH:
    Full charge: 11 milliohms
    1/2 charge: 21 milliohms

    So the theory is the circuitry does not protect the LED from pulling too much power which causes it to burn too bright and it burns itself out. The flashlight was designed to work with the natural internal resistance of an akaline. I have not found anything from the vendor that confirms this but it’s the best I could find.

      1. Mine are 1444 & 1450 and the rechargeable batteries ruined them both. Such a perfect light with such a stupid flaw. It’s a shame they didn’t just put a little more effort into these and sell them for $50 instead. I have always preferred Duracell for there batteries performance. Too bad they screwed up with this product.

        I was informed that the numbers printed on the base of the flashlights (1440, 1444, 1449, 1450, etc.) is a product count and shipping location number, but that’s it. I was given no explanation or proof to support this though. Only told that not a single thing has changed since the 1st few in production were made, that they’re all the exact same. I am on my way to but a new 1,100 lumin flashight made by a different manufacturere………unfortunately. Cwome on Duracell,…. figure it out over there!!! This sucks and you owe me $60 now.

  3. I was the one that introduced your friend to this flashlite. Was able to take this flash lite camping. l let up the forest, high beam is outstanding. The same company also makes a 300 loom light. This light comes in a 3 pack for around $22.00. This will fit in a pack pack quite nicely. This light takes 4 double A batteries.

  4. I have one with 1440 on the tail and I have no problem using eneloop AA batteries.

    A better rechargeable option would be to use non LSD NiMH batteries since those have higher internal resistance than the LSD ones such as eneloop. Also, I would not recommend using NiMH C batteries since they likely deliver much more current than their AA counterpart.

  5. I just got the Durecell 1000 and for the price, its the best light I have found.
    More light than I have found on a 4,5, or 6 cell light with a conventional bulb.
    I will be getting 2 more, 1 for each car and home.

  6. I bought this flashlight and one day old it worked perfectly with the normal c battery and I put rechargable batteries in it (tenergy 5000mah) and fried it instantly and it’s just a schmeckle of a dim light now so it’s going back don’t think anyone wants to buy batteries it’s pointless!

  7. Ok, I bought this flashlight at Costco around Christmas. Put in batteries, tried it out, and threw away the packaging. Now nearly four months later I need to use it and, I’m embarrassed to say, I can’t figure out how to turn it on. The button on bottom only gives me the strobe. Any suggestions?

      1. The switch on mine worked for about a month then it only turned on the low beam for a while now it doesn’t work at all. I Would like to replace the switch.

  8. I can’t get the batteries to last 5 minutes in this light. I even upgraded the batteries to Sony Stamina Platinum

  9. Disappointed greatly.

    Great light, very bright. Shined it into the sky at night, got a call from an astronaut on the ISS telling me to knock it off. It is THAT effing bright.

    Bad switch. Can’t turn it on anymore. Push the button, nothing. Release the button, get a glimpse of how good the light is before it blinks out.

    Very disappointing. The week it worked, Damn…, awesome.

    After that, it might be good to pound things like a hammer, but a hammer would be better.

    As far as lighting something up, the reflection off my fingernails provides better light.

  10. I have the same problem, when you turn it on it shines a beam and goes out??? Could use it as a strobe pushing the button on and off in a hurry.

  11. The switch on the Duracell 1000 lumen has a high failure rate. I only used a few times and found switch only allowing light to come on for split second before turning back off. Later checked reviews on Amazon and saw many similar complaints. (Check the 1 star reviews)
    Decided to check out the 300 lumen model, and saw reviews of same issue. Would recommend keeping spare light next to this if anyone decides to go with these models. Duracell needs to address this with quality replacement switches.

    1. We bought one as well and were very impressed for the first week. I thought the batteries died (put it my car door pocked with the switch down). We replaced the batteries and it was an awesome light again … for one use. Same problem – only a flicker when you push the switch.

      1. I have had the same problem. I guess I learn slowly but I am on my third set of batteries, same thing each time, it works the first time you put new batteries in, then the next day you can only get a blink out of the on switch. I’m also embarrassed to say that this is the second Costco Duracell I have bought thinking I just bought a dud the first time. Costco needs to get everyone a refund on this product, it is obviously defective.

  12. The problem with the instant on/off when you try to turn the light on is in the end cap! I have a few of these lights, so I switched the end caps with a 500 and the 1000 worked fine, and you guessed it now the 500 has the problem!!

  13. It comes right back to Duracell to replace defective switches on 1000 and 300 lumen models. Too many complaints on these models.
    The 500 lumen model has been very reliable, so maybe Duracell should seek replacement caps from this particular supplier.

  14. Purchased 4 of the 1449 from Costco for $19.99. The switch on the back of the light failed in 2 of them after very little use, would purchase again.

  15. I purchased the Duracell 1000 also at Cosco used it twice loved the power, the third time the switch doesn’t work it turns on and doesn’t stay on. Return to Costco or call Durecell for a replacement switch that’s a question for anyone?

    1. How Can We Help?

      We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions regarding any of our Duracell® Flashlights. You may reach Duracell® Flashlights by filling out the contact form below, by phone, or mail.

      *NOTE: We can only provide support for our products. Some Duracell Flashlights and Portable Lighting Products are distributed by other Duracell licensees. If you have questions or concerns regarding these products, please contact them for support.

      Please do NOT contact us for support of these flashlights from the DURACELL® Durabeam™ Ultra Series:

      250 lumen flashlight
      300/350 lumen flashlight
      500 lumen flashlight
      1000 lumen flashlight
      1300/1350 lumen flashlight
      Instead, for support of the above flashlights (many of which were sold at Costco), please contact: TechnoMate at: 1-888-910-2280 (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Pacific Time)

      ***If you are experiencing issues with your Duracell BATTERIES, please contact Duracell headquarters at 1-800-551-2355 (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern Time)***
      FOR PRODUCTS NOT LISTED ABOVE, PLEASE FILL OUT THE CONTACT FORM BELOW

      Name *

      First Name
      Last Name
      Phone *

      (###)
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      Email Address *

      Subject *

      Message *

      SUBMIT
      By Phone: 1-888-387-2776
      Hours of Operation: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Time)

      1. Dear Anna Belle,

        My Duracell 1000 lumen flashlight has the Duracell company name on it, therefore Duracell should warrant its performance. My flashight, purchased at Costco years ago, works well for days or weeks at a time, then randomly completely drains the batteries. Based on my and many other complaints on your flashlight, this is a design or production flaw, and Duracell’s responsibility! You should compensate me and other customers.

        Sincerely,
        Ted Jones

  16. I bought the new light and was thrilled with it’s power and ability to focus the beam. I have played with it less than 4-5 minutes run time. When I tried to use it last week, the light would not stay on. Pushing the button to light the light result only in a flash in less than a second duration the turns off. The switch button does not let the light stay on.

  17. Bought one at Costco. After only a few weeks, it would not stay on for more than a second. Exchanged it and the second one and it did the same thing. Fortunately, Costco returned my money. It would have been a great flashlight. Since then I have read numerous reviews that many others have had the same problem. It is hard to believe that Duracell would put out such an inferior product.

    1. EVERY DAY CARRY, how heavy do you think the flashlight is with 4C battery’s and 12 inches of thick aluminum? A few ounces?

  18. *NOTE: We can only provide support for our products. Some Duracell Flashlights and Portable Lighting Products are distributed by other Duracell licensees. If you have questions or concerns regarding these products, please contact them for support.

    *******************************

    Please do NOT contact us for support of these flashlights from the DURACELL® Durabeam™ Ultra Series:

    250 lumen flashlight
    300 lumen flashlight
    500 lumen flashlight
    1000 lumen flashlight

    Instead, for support of flashlights from the DURACELL® Durabeam™ Ultra Series, please contact:

    TechnoMate – phone: 1-888-910-2280 (8:00am – 5:00 Pacific Time)

    I called and they said they would send me a replacement.

  19. I am a unlucky owner of a Duracell 1000 with a bad endcap switch. I called 1-888-910-2280 (TechnoMate) and spoke to a pleasant operator here in America who is mailing me a new switch…no questions asked. We will see how it works in a week or so.

  20. Just bought 6 of the Duracell 1000 lumens flashlights for Christmas presents from Costos for 14:95 each. If I had read the review’s first I would not have got them. I hate to give somebody a present and goes bad after 2 or 3 times. Maybe I got 6 good ones, if not they will hear from me for a refund . It is not right to keep on selling something that you know is bad !!

  21. I was camping for 7 weeks in aug. and sep. these were my favorite light. they were turned on several times every night. ihe thing I liked best was the focus beam. the lights lasted well on the 3 C cells. I had NO problems with them until I put recharge batteries in them. TERMITATED. home depot had them as of 12-15-15. I will purchase at least 4 after Christmas and get my Duracell batteries at COSTCO . the best prices on flashlight batteries and the Duracell batteries have a 19 year shelf life

  22. I have at least 10 headlamps. the best under $20 are the YKS ultra bright EBAY $4.96. i have only had it for 10 days tremendous light. amazon $7.99. the other, that i originally purchased 6 months ago for $20 price range. it is a very good light on AMAZON for $7.99 and another place for $84.00. really check it out

  23. while on the subject of batteries, COSTCO has a fine Panasonic eneloop recharger set with recharger, 8 AA, 4AAA , 2 D cell adapters and 2 C cell adapters. $30.00. tremendous price. the charger is a 4 section, any combination AA or AAA with 4 charging LEDs and auto shut off. highly recommended.

  24. My Duracell 1000 does seem to have a bad switch on it. I leave it sit on a shelf above my disk and seldom use it. You punch the switch in it and it only lights for 1 second and then out. I will try the number and see if I can get help, or maybe I will be out a flashlight.

  25. I found a quick fix with internal switch of Duracell 1000 lumen.
    Just pour a little bit of alcohol inside switch right where the spring located and let it dry or blow it with compressor. It worked for me and then i decided to put a rechargeable batteries WHAM!!!!It fried the led bulb, so much with my good ‘ol flashlight………….

    1. Thank you for the suggestion about alcohol. I sprayed some in my end cap and then dried it out with compressed air from a can of Dust Off. The switch now works right. I had been using the DuraBeam out in the rain when it failed. I think that moisture gets inside the circuits in the end cap and messes with the resistances. Alcohol absorbs the moisture and restores the circuit. I also have a new end cap coming.

    2. same here i have two of them one works great the other one has mostly likely a bad switch . would i buy another one you bet great while working . iam sending mine back to be replaced do the same 1 year warranty

  26. Spoke to Duracell, got phone number of the company that handles the 1000 lum light. (The Duracell people were dumb!!!).
    The 1300 lum will handle recharge batteries where the 1000 will not.

  27. costco has duracell 1300 lumen in stock. because of past problems with duracell flashlights terminating when rechargeable batteries are used, i put recharge eneloop C cells into it to check. after many cycles of high, low and flash i had no problem. i will test how long it lasts on high and low with eneloop AA in C cell adapters then several min. on flash. this will be posted soon depending on how long the batteries last.

    1. the duracell 1300 is a tremendous flashlight. the 1000 lumen were NOT rechargeable compatible which many people discoverer the hard way. with eneloop recharge AA batteries in C cell adapters, the batteries lasted 45 min. on High beam and on Low for 3 1/2 hours. at a distance to the wall of 55″, the beam was 104″ in diameter. on spot, the beam it was 5 1/2″ at 104″. after being outside in a residential area about 100′ from a light pole for 10 min, my eyes had adjusted to a low light level. to check how bright the light was on wide beam, at 15′ the light was blinding. back in the house from 10′, on spot, the beam was visible on a turned on 25W twisty flouorscent bulb. this flashlight exceeded my expectations. i probably wont have many uses for the bright setting but will use it many times on low. this flashlight and eneloop recharge batteries are a good combination.

  28. My low and flashing mode works but the bright mode shuts off after a few seconds. Is it the circuit board in the clicker that is making the light cutout? Is there any way to bypass it so that it will work? I don’t like the low or flashing mode, all I want is the bright mode.

  29. I have a 1000 lumen Flashlight I didn’t know rechargeable batteries wasn’t suppose to be used in the flashlight. I’m wondering if there are replaceable light bulbs for these lights. I used it for work at night doing Security work. This light is really good for the job I’m doing.

  30. Bought the 1000 Lumen (1448) flashlight at Costco a few months back, and have been having the same problem that many of you are having with the endcap, and the circuit board inside it causing the light to go out after a few seconds. Just called 1-888-910-2280 (TechnoMate) and told them about the problem with the endcap circuit board. Was told that I would received a new Flashlight is 5 to 10 days, no problem!!! WOW.

  31. Called the number above. No questions, sent me a 1300 Lumen model for free, no charges whatsoever. Awesome!

    Works great with Eneloops (standard ones) in c cell adapters.

    Thanks!

  32. I bought the 1000 Lumen model about 2 years ago, and it also stopped working (except for the momentary flash) after about three weeks and a total of about 45 minutes use. Put it up on a closet shelf and forgot about it until last week. Took it down, put in new batteries, and – surprise, suprise -it WORKED. . . for about 45 minutes. Then it started the single-flash-after-pushing-the-button routine again.

    This problem (that I was unaware so many people had experienced-until now) is NOT due to using rechargeable batteries. At least not in my flashlight. . . I never used anything but regular Duracell batteries. As I read the above posts, it seems to me that some people describe “frying” the LED with rechargeable batteries, and I assume that those folks never see the LED illuminating again? Perhaps all of us have switch problems, but with two different levels of dysfunction?

    All I know is that I will be calling to get a replacement switch, and thanks to everybody who shared the number and their experiences. the other thing I have done, however, is to drill out most of the internals of the old switch and I soldered in a single-position (on-off) switch. i believe is now operates in constant bright mode when I push the switch on (again demonstrating that the problem with the momentary flash of the LED was a problem with the circuit board in the switch).

    1. I’d try and get them to send you a 1300 Lumen one instead of the 1000. I’ve read that there are issues with lots of the 1000s, mainly the switches and LED burning out when used with rechargeables.

      For what it’s worth, I have two 1300s that both work fine on rechargeables. Haven’t had them long, but both are working fine.

      1. I should add, the 1300 Lumen model is a newer model and doesn’t have the bad reviews the 1000s do, there are less reviews for this newer model however.

  33. I have several of these 1000 lumen Duracell flashlights sold at Costco. The endcap switches have failed on several of them and I called TechnoMate to report this. I had to leave a message and number and they called back withing 15 minutes and are going to send replacements for the failed units. Thought that was really painless to get them replaced but I suppose Costco would not look kindly on a vendor with a defective product not making some restitution.

  34. I bought two pack of 700 lumen duracell flashlights from Costco one worked one didn’t, bad rear switch guess I’ll have to just keep the bad one for parts..My suggestion don’t bye….

  35. Bright light but shuts off after a few seconds. Replaced batteries and didn’t help . Never used rechargeables. Any help out there ?

  36. The manual for the 922241 1000 Lumen Duracell flashlight does not make any claims about being compatible with rechargeable batteries. The packaging has a claimed output of 1000 Lumens and 36000 cd.

    There is another (newer?) 1600081 1000 Lumen Duracell flashlight whose manual DOES claim to compatible with rechargeables. The packaging for this version claims 1000 Lumens and 22500 cd. The endcap on this version is distinctive in that it is much wider than the body of flashlight so it is possible the endcap/switch was redesigned. At this time I haven’t been able to confirm if the endcap/switch has the same problems.

  37. I know this is an old post but I feel it’s still relevant. I bought my Duracell 1000 2 years ago from Costco, it died in 2 months. I put it in a drawer and forgot about it. I just dug it out and was going to throw away and decided to search if there was a fix and found this website along with the phone number posted for customer service for new endcaps. I called and walla! There sending me 2 new end caps with 2 questions, purchase place and model. They got my address and I should see them in 5 days.

  38. I put the new battries in my light. I turned it on this morning and the batteries were almost dead. I have one in my motor-home and went to turn it on and the batteries were also dead. It appears these lights drain the batteries even when turned off. Not a good device to have in a emergency. This is why they are so cheap.

  39. I own a Duracell 1000, the number on the bottom is 1746. I leave it in my motor home for emergency use and so far there have been no problems a described above. Great Light, Great Price.

  40. Hello this freaking flashlight is amazing. On the maximum zoom it went out to at least 200 meters maybe even further.And bright .Don’t look into the light….It is strong enough to damage your sight.Solidly built and can be used as a defensive tool.If necessary.It weighs about a pound and a half. I think it is some kind of aluminum alloy.As well as rubber also works good in rain sleet and snow.Also it will function for along time of that I have no doubt.So there you go.

  41. Hello. This flashlight is amazing. I’ve tested this item extensively in all weather conditions. If the “BUNNY” keeps on going then Duracell would win the race.Well I like the way the beam shoots out and lights up the sky.It is a solidly built and is high grade aluminum alloy and rubber. I’ve noticed that the focus when it is halfway to spot that there is another beam in the middle of the flood light.Very interesting. The middle spot appearance is a yellow color and this spot seems to disappear when moved to flood setting.I am going to keep an eye on this.

  42. Never had any luck with duacell products especially there batteries(junk), some of their batteries were dead in the pack,I don’t buy Duracell batteries anymore, I have the same failing problem with my duacell 300 flashlight, just another piece of junk.

  43. I loved this product when it worked. First problem started after I’ve had it for about 30 day the switch fails sometimes and I found that if I continue to play with it the light does turn on sometimes. Then at around 45 days of the purchase I found that this flashlight will never work again because the square little led bulb dislodged and it is a total waste because the store will not refund my money because I do not have a receipt. ( it was a present) so I am a very mad person that has another China piece of crap

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