# What's the best way to charge lume?



## maxpowerman (Oct 11, 2010)

Well I guess the title says it all but I work a lot at night and was curious as to the best way to charge the lume on my watches. I've tried zapping them with my led Streamlight, which works for a while, but it doesn't last more than about 20 mins at the most. 

Do I just have crappy lume on my watches or is there a better way to charge it than putting direct, bright light on it?

Thanks guys!


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## Raza (Jul 21, 2010)

Try a UV flashlight. They work really well.


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## nocnoc (Nov 22, 2010)

Afaik, direct sun light is best. Followed by short wave light as in UV lamps (normal black light bulbs or LEDs), followed by fluorescent light, with incandescent light at the bottom.

I also think that fully charged is fully charged. So from there on it can only go downwards. The difference is in how fast you get the full charge not in how long it lasts.

How long it lasts, given that you started with a full charge, will depend on the luminous material, the binder used, and how much is used. Indirectly also on the background color because that will make it seem brighter, too.

From pics and charts I've seen the greenish Superluminova C3 is the strongest. Apparently Seiko's Lumibright is the same thing as C3. I'd like to know what Citizen uses because frankly, I find Citizen jade blue-green lume to be even stronger than Seiko's. And longer lasting, too.

I don't know what Rolex's new lume is made of. It's blueish, too.

If you want lume that really does last all night long, you need to use tritium gas tubes or tritium paint (haven't seen that in modern watches lately).

It's really also a question of ambient light and of how your eyes are adjusted. If it's totally dark I can even see the very faint tritium lume of a 20 year old Rolex. But in the movie theater it's practically useless.

What also works very well are very highly polished silver hands on a matt black background especially if the hands have an edge where the light can reflect. If there is the slightest amount of light left, you can read the time.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

+1 for T-tubes.


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## Raza (Jul 21, 2010)

Yeah, if you absolutely need lume to last all night, I'd find a cheap Luminox or Traser to wear at night.


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## nocnoc (Nov 22, 2010)

Charge lume with Pfizer's little blue pill. Will last all night and be slightly blue! :-d Best used on dive watches.


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## Lester Burnham (May 9, 2008)

I used to use a UV-flashlight, but I found out that this beast (> half a meter long) works even better:


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## maxpowerman (Oct 11, 2010)

nocnoc said:


> Afaik, direct sun light is best. Followed by short wave light as in UV lamps (normal black light bulbs or LEDs), followed by fluorescent light, with incandescent light at the bottom.
> 
> I also think that fully charged is fully charged. So from there on it can only go downwards. The difference is in how fast you get the full charge not in how long it lasts.
> 
> ...


NocNoc,

Thanks so much for your outstanding response. I learned a lot from your post. I figured tritium tubes was going to be my best bet but I didn't know how to best utilize what I already have. I have a Citizen Aquaracer that I wear as my beater and the lume (green), when fully charged, is crazy bright but it doesn't last as long as I would like it to. I'm going to head to Walmart to try to find a UV flashlight just for the heck of it.

Thanks again.


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## maxpowerman (Oct 11, 2010)

nocnoc said:


> charge lume with pfizer's little blue pill. Will last all night and be slightly blue! :-d best used on dive watches.


lol!


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## DM71 (Feb 6, 2009)

*Most of the new boutique brands with C3 Superluminova properly applied or any Seiko wacthes would last all night (6-8 hours) after a charge of about 30 sec with LED light.*


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## Donf (Jul 11, 2006)

For a really fast, good charge take out and old electronic flash unit, turn it on until the "ready light" comes on, hold it 4 to 6 inches from your watch and punch the flash button. Even a little shoe mount unit will have her lighting up at max brightness! 

PS use caution with this technique on an Omega 2254 - you can read by the sucker afterwards!


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

Lester Burnham said:


> I used to use a UV-flashlight, but I found out that this beast (> half a meter long) works even better:


Several uses, beside being a Flas light, for that baby!!
1: Crutch
2: baseball 
3: Lethal weapon


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## Xspect (Jul 27, 2010)

I got to try this one


Donf said:


> For a really fast, good charge take out and old electronic flash unit, turn it on until the "ready light" comes on, hold it 4 to 6 inches from your watch and punch the flash button. Even a little shoe mount unit will have her lighting up at max brightness!
> 
> PS use caution with this technique on an Omega 2254 - you can read by the sucker afterwards!


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## TNT13 (Aug 17, 2008)

I have a cheap uv key ring light I got off the internet that I use to give a quick charge before going to to the movies. Sunlight is the best, but if you have that, you don't really need lume.


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

TNT13 said:


> I have a cheap uv key ring light I got off the internet that I use to give a quick charge before going to to the movies. Sunlight is the best, but if you have that, you don't really need lume.


If I feel I need to see the time while watching a movie, I usually walk out. And do not return.
Of course, with the said key ring light, you do not need any lume on the watch, and second best, you can be really nasty to the other movie watchers!!!


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## nocnoc (Nov 22, 2010)

maxpowerman said:


> NocNoc,
> 
> Thanks so much for your outstanding response. I learned a lot from your post. I figured tritium tubes was going to be my best bet but I didn't know how to best utilize what I already have. I have a Citizen Aquaracer that I wear as my beater and the lume (green), when fully charged, is crazy bright but it doesn't last as long as I would like it to. I'm going to head to Walmart to try to find a UV flashlight just for the heck of it.
> 
> Thanks again.


I'm glad I could help. 

I actually bought a $4 blacklight 60W bulb and tried that in my little nightstand lamp. Works pretty well. I'm thinking of getting another little light like it and keep it next to my watch box so that when I put on a watch for the evening I can charge it.

I like the flash idea, too. Might try that.

The thing about lume longevity is that it's not really a goal in engineering. On diver's watches you want tons of bright lume for 2-3 hours only because most dives aren't any longer if they are at all that long. And when you are sitting on a boat on the sea the sun is so strong, the lume will definitely be fully charged.

OT: That extra long flash light would draw serious "compensation" comments from any woman. :-d


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## germanwerkssean (Nov 29, 2010)

*2 Aspirins and a tall Stella Beer!!! Always works for me... Oh yeah, Those cheap plant light bulbs at Wal-Mart are absolutley the best way to charge up the 'ol Lume!!*


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## Haf (Aug 9, 2009)

I use one of my dslr camera external flashguns, these things do wonders triggered at 1/16 or something like that


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## nocnoc (Nov 22, 2010)

Shoot! I pulled out my old camera flash yesterday to give it a swing. Well, I hadn't used it in 15 years or so. I'm sure it would still work well IF only I had taken out the batteries back then. 

I couldn't even get the battery door open. It's a paper weight now. Too bad. If you are using a flash as rarely as I do, be smarter and take the batteries out for storage. Duh!


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## TNT13 (Aug 17, 2008)

Janne said:


> If I feel I need to see the time while watching a movie, I usually walk out. And do not return.
> Of course, with the said key ring light, you do not need any lume on the watch, and second best, you can be really nasty to the other movie watchers!!!


I don't think you understood what I meant. I charge my watch with *UV* BEFORE the movie starts and it's good for the whole movie. And being a true WIS, I have to keep looking at my watch even if I'm enjoying the movie. 
I have also taken watches with indiglo, but I think that's more bothersome to the people around you than lume alone. Of course you now have people texting during the movies.


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## Raza (Jul 21, 2010)

TNT13 said:


> I don't think you understood what I meant. I charge my watch with *UV* BEFORE the movie starts and it's good for the whole movie. And being a true WIS, I have to keep looking at my watch even if I'm enjoying the movie.
> I have also taken watches with indiglo, but I think that's more bothersome to the people around you than lume alone. Of course you now have people texting during the movies.


I still really want to pick up a tritium watch (likely Luminox or Traser) for those long nights out on the town.


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## Ananda (Feb 28, 2008)

a halogen lamp seems to work pretty good for me.


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## norm (Aug 26, 2006)

I do just what Raza suggests - a UV flashlight exposure for just a few seconds before bed will really brighten things up, and you can use it to see if there are any scorpions under the bed, as they emit a blue glow when exposed to UV light.

One of my favorite watches is a Bernhardt Officer's watch. Great watch, except it has no lume (at least the vintage cream dialed version doesn't), so I keep a Luminox by the bed....I also take the Luminox with me on vacations so I can see at night. I'm very nearsighted, and can't see the time on those digital alarms in the middle of the night.


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## Raza (Jul 21, 2010)

norm said:


> I do just what Raza suggests - a UV flashlight exposure for just a few seconds before bed will really brighten things up, and you can use it to see if there are any scorpions under the bed, as they emit a blue glow when exposed to UV light.
> 
> One of my favorite watches is a Bernhardt Officer's watch. Great watch, except it has no lume (at least the vintage cream dialed version doesn't), so I keep a Luminox by the bed....I also take the Luminox with me on vacations so I can see at night. I'm very nearsighted, and can't see the time on those digital alarms in the middle of the night.


I have an Officer in the railroad style, and it has really intense lume...for a short while. In minutes, it's virtually unnoticeable.


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## timesofplenty (Aug 6, 2008)

These blacklight bulbs work great, >$10 at hardware store:


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## wuyeah (Apr 24, 2007)

I use a Surefire LX2 .


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## cavallino33 (Jan 7, 2008)

I just use a regular CFL bulb seems to work ok. I'm not really a lume person though.


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## John MS (Mar 17, 2006)

cavallino33 said:


> I just use a regular CFL bulb seems to work ok. I'm not really a lume person though.


+1. A minute under a CFL will do the same job as a minute under an incandescant in my experience. More time and brighter lights don't seem to make any difference.


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## JWNY (Mar 12, 2012)

interesting. time to sun tan


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## BarisKiris (Apr 7, 2014)

Although I agree that the best ways of charging the lume are Sun, LED lights, Light bulbs etc... I find it more convenient to charge by mobile phone's flash light. Because wherever I go, I always bring my mobile phone with me, not the light bulbs. And the sun is already set, by the time I need the lume. 
I just charged it this Saturday, when l was in nightclub's toilet. When I was back, my friends noticed how nice the lume dial was glowing  

Sent from my HUAWEI P6-U06 using Tapatalk


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## ~tc~ (Dec 9, 2011)

What is this "lume charging" of which you speak? LOL










But seriously - when I NEED lume (aka - every time I travel) I wear a GTLS watch.


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## BarisKiris (Apr 7, 2014)

Lol, indeed tritium lume is more convenient, but I only paid around $50 each, for these humble Alba watches, and it only takes 30seconds to charge them.
Let the pictures talk as well.









Sent from my HUAWEI P6-U06 using Tapatalk


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## ~tc~ (Dec 9, 2011)

How do you charge lume on a dark 15+ hour plane flight or the pitch dark hotel room after?


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## BarisKiris (Apr 7, 2014)

Mobile phone's torch function, while the phone is on airplane mode 

Sent from my HUAWEI P6-U06 using Tapatalk


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## NWP627 (Feb 24, 2008)

This:







or this:


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## Memphis1 (Feb 19, 2011)

stick your hand out the window, lol!!!!






i know, i know, the joke doesn't work at night.


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## tknospdr (Dec 28, 2014)

Don't mean to double revive a zombie thread (2010 and 2014), but this has some great info on it. I was reading about a watch that looks really cool but it's supposed to have "black lume" on it's hands. I can't seem to find pics of black lume anywhere and was wondering how well it works.
Anyone know, or better yet have pics?


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## Gwill101 (Jan 30, 2021)

Use your phone flashlight it worked very well


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## Sankar107 (Jul 22, 2021)

maxpowerman said:


> Well I guess the title says it all but I work a lot at night and was curious as to the best way to charge the lume on my watches. I've tried zapping them with my led Streamlight, which works for a while, but it doesn't last more than about 20 mins at the most.
> 
> Do I just have crappy lume on my watches or is there a better way to charge it than putting direct, bright light on it?
> 
> Thanks guys!


I just used my phones flash light to charge it. Worked perfectly. Ofcourse not a full charge. But hey


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