complete list of all LED PR flange drop-in bulbs

[john2551]

LEDninja,
I'm considering purchasing a few of these 3watt bulbs. How much brighter (if any) would this 3watt be vs a 1watt like the TLE-1F? I imagine a 4 cell comparison might show better results than if you compared them in a 2 cell light.

PS Has any CPF member purchased these LEDtronics 3watt PR bulbs yet?

 

[LEDninja]

The TLE-1F is my brightest PR drop in. My guess is 30 torch/40 LED lumens in a 4AA light. (1 watt LED with a 1.25W (350mA) drive circuit).

My guess is the LEDtronics 2 cell is similar. (3 watt LED with a 1.25W (350mA) drive circuit).

The 3 cell my guess is 50 lumens. But the circuit looks semi-regulated so more voltage more output. With 4 cells you may get 66 lumens. With 6 cells you will probably burn the bulb out unless you have a metal flashlight with good heatsinking.

All my PR bulb flashlights (except my 2C magLED) are plastic. I am reluctant to go past 1W in case I fry or melt something. Also the cost of 2 of these plus shipping is equal to a SSC-P7 light which at 400+ lumens will whomp any of the drop ins in this thread. (Since I got my MTE 5 mode SSC-P7 my TLE-1F seems very dim)
The LEDtronics bulbs seem to have the same case as the TLE-1F. Which means similar focussing difficulties. The only flashlight I find that works well with the TLE-1F is this (with faceted reflector):
http://dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=412946

With plenty of AA Cree-XRE, SSC-P4 & Rebel lights under $20 I no longer chase after the drop ins. The only PR lights I still use are the 4AA stubbies which are extremely stable sitting on their bums doing a ceiling bounce.
See picture bottom left. I alternate that one (with Tektite LPR-3 & Press n Seal diffusing film) with the above linked light (with TLE-1F)

 

[JamisonM]

Those of you thinking of buying drop-ins with a luxeon III or similarly powered LED may want to the think twice if you're buying for that sweet 100lm or greater output. One thing I've noticed in reviews of them is that their output starts to drop after turning them one because the LEDs aren't heatsinked very well. This leads me to guess that the drop-ins will only provide their advertised output for a short time after being turned on. The longer the light stays on the lower the output drops until it levels off.
1 - http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/diamond_magbulbs3w.htm
2 - http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/diamond_magbulbk2.htm
3 - http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm
4 - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm
5 - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/terralux.htm
6 - http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/f321-3w/default.asp

Notice the one thing all of them have in common; the output drop. It's not so bad with the terralux 6ex's, but with the others, it's nearly, and in some cases, half. This just shows that you should be aware of what you're getting.

 

[john2551]

I agree with the both of you;
1) Newer SSC P7 lights are MUCH brighter
2) The regulation isn't so great with some of these bulbs.

But some forget i didn't start this thread to compete with 500 lumen drop-in modules. I started this thread because i had a bunch of old plastic 2AA, 2D, etc, lights that could be upgraded to something that would be a little brighter but more importantly have MUCH longer runtime than with the incan. bulb. The LED bulb can take more abuse from dropping the light also without breaking.

 

[hank]

REI NiteIze PR2 replacement on sale, $6.83 http://www.rei.com/product/743037
DorcyDirect has theirs on sale for $8, free shipping, for a while.

I'm sure someone compared them earlier, I've forgotten.

 

[Hondo]

The NiteIze at REI is a 10 mm LED, not too bright, but very long runnng, and tends not to focus up to a hotspot in anything but a Mag light.

The Dorcy one is the same as the one sold at Sears, and the picture is wrong, it is not a bat-wing Lux, and there is no metal cap (i.e. it's easy to replace with a Seoul, if you like). It is much brighter, but uses more power, than the NiteIze.

NiteIze also has a higher power bulb which I have seen at Lowe's for $15, and appears to be identical to the TLE-1F. I am not sure exactly what LED this one uses, but it sounds equivalent to the Dorcy with a 1-watt Lux.

 

[john2551]

The Nite-Ize 1 watt bulb i got recently is bright but has a warm color tint compared to the everLED which has a pure white tint. Terralux bulb is very white also. The Dorcy bulb leans toward the warm tint side of the spectrum.

 

[opie32311]

Re: all LED PR flange drop-in bulbs.....?

Careful, 6V lantern batteries are center spring NEGATIVE. Everled has a special bulb for this, but most are center positive. Best case is it won't work. For sure, the Sears Craftsman LED upgrade bulb will blow if installed in one of these, and it shows one right on the package as a candidate for the upgrade!

I made my own center positive, Li-Ion rechargable lantern battery for this bulb by seperating the top of a cheap carbon battery and replacing the cells with four parallel 26650 Li-Ion's, wired positive to center. You can fit up to eight 18650's in there, BTW. Or just re-wire the existing cells if it is not dead, or replace with four alkaline D's. But in my experience, re-wiring the battery is easier than trying to reverse the light. Don't try this with alkaline 6V batteries, once you peel the steel can you have a pile of loose junk. I used a shop knife in the parting seam of the plastic lid, near the corners, and whacked it with a hammer, working my way around untill the whole thing broke free. A little hot glue to hold it back on when done.

Hondo

 

[opie32311]

RE: Sears Craftsman LED Upgrade/ Over voltage problem

I purchased 9 of these to upgrade 9 GE Steel Beam laterns I had purchased previously, originally supplied with krypton bulbs. I was powering these with 4 Duracell 1.5 volt alkaline batteries. After checking the polarity to make sure it was correct, I installed the new LED's. After 15 min. of on time all LED's ceased to function within 2 min. of each other. I switched off the power and let them set for 30 min. and tried switching them on again. Six of the nine LED's emitted light, 3 were toast and smelled of burnt insulation and cyanide (don't ask). I returned the 3 nonfunctional LED's to Sears for replacement. So as not to have a repeat performance, I removed one battery from each lantern replacing it with a dummy battery constructed out of a piece of wood cut off a broom handle with a diameter half way between a C and D battery which I wrapped with aluminum foil for conductivity. Subsequent testing produced excellent results with no LED failures either from overheating or burnout without a noticeable drop in light output. It is my opinion that these LED's are not capable of handling being powered by 6 volts but perform adequately well being driven by no more than 4.5 volts provided by 3 D cell alkaline batteries. opie32311

 

[Hondo]

opie, that is very interesting, and a bit concerning. I have not run these bulbs on more than the 4.2 volts from a Li-Ion as descrived above, but the table on the back of the package shows data for them up to 5 cells and 8 volts. If this is the same bulb, you were certainly within your rights returning these as defects if they burned out after relatively short runs on four alkalines. Perhaps I have been lucky to have set mine up with near the maximum true safe voltage capacity with my parallel L-Ions, or maybe there is a batch of defective units out there. Did your bulbs come with the performance table on the back, showing data up to 5 cells? Anyone else use these with four or five cells for extended periods?

 

[LEDninja]

TerraLUX has a new version of TLE-6EXB LED UPGRADE FOR 2-3 C/D CELL MAGLITES out.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/255707

Seem to use the TLE-1F case so should be PR2 size. Rebel LED, 140 lumens claimed.

 

[ps56k]

In the winter like here in Chicago - with bulky gloves on - I prefer a thick flashlight to grab... vs the current 2AA tubes.
I have my classic 2D or 3D yellow industrial flashlights with Krypton bulbs... KPR102 - 2.4v @ .7a

SO - I was thinking of getting the TLE-1F as a replacement,
just hard to justify as it's twice the cost of the flashlight...

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-1f.html

--

 

[LEDninja]

The TLE-1F at battery junction is on backorder.
LEDreplacement do not have stock either.
You can get the Nite-Ize 1 Watt PR bulb for $2 less.

Note that the bulbs do not focus too well on fixed focus flashlights. My TLE-1F has a donut hole close up, single hotspot at more than 10 feet.

-

Sandwich shoppe still lists their version of the SMJLED PR bulb. 2 CELLS ONLY. Focus well on fixed focus flashlight. Not as bright as the TLE-1F.

 

[hank]

search this topic on 'dorcydirect' and look for mention of a discount code; there's usually one.

 

[Sean Archer]

search this topic on 'dorcydirect' and look for mention of a discount code; there's usually one.

Hey all, I just ordered a Fulton 991. Which of these would be the best bang for the buck? Do they all fit in a Fulton?

 

[LEDninja]

See post #113 for my latest views in this thread.
I've also commented in your other thread.

I repeat: With the exception of SMJLED PR2, most of the LED PR2 bulbs I got do not focus well in fixed focus flashlight. Sample:

CPF discount codes.
The following probably focus the best:
SMJLED PR bulb
Dorcy bulb.
Tektite LPR-2

 

[Lynx_Arc]

search this topic on 'dorcydirect' and look for mention of a discount code; there's usually one.

dorcy raised their price on their pr LED bulb from $10 to $12 recently.

 

[anthonigene]

Re: all LED PR flange drop-in bulbs.....?

I'm buying this one to upgrade from MAG 2D Xenon

It's probably worth mentioning that the Nite-Ize PR bulb currently being sold (item no. LRB-07-PRSC) is considerably improved over the earlier, essentially identical-looking version. The output is now MUCH brighter, particularly when operated on just 2 cells (3 volts) - not as bright as the SMJLED-PR on 2 cells, but close enough to be comparable. Alas, the focus is still inferior to the SMJLED-PR when installed in fixed-focus flashlights.

Current consumption appears to remain at a relatively constant 125 mA, regardless of the number of cells used (which would imply around 0.4 watts of power when used in a 2-cell light). The bulb will also produce a very usable amount of light from just a single, fresh 1.5 volt cell, and gets noticeably warm when operated at 6 volts.

 

[LEDninja]

Re: all LED PR flange drop-in bulbs.....?

I'm buying this one to upgrade from MAG 2D Xenon

You can also get:
Dorcy 41-1643 30 Lumen 3V Replacement Bulb (for 2 cell mags);
Dorcy 41-1644 40 Lumen 4.5V - 6V LED Replacement Bulb (for 3 or 4 cell Mags).
Try Frys or Sears.
Dorcy Direct have a Buy one get one at 50% deal right now. (2013 Nov 11)

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Re: all LED PR flange drop-in bulbs.....?

You can also get:
Dorcy 41-1643 30 Lumen 3V Replacement Bulb (for 2 cell mags);
Dorcy 41-1644 40 Lumen 4.5V - 6V LED Replacement Bulb (for 3 or 4 cell Mags).
Try Frys or Sears.
Dorcy Direct have a Buy one get one at 50% deal right now. (2013 Nov 11)

If you can find them Walmart has 2 cell and 4 cell LED dropin bulbs for cheap. I think they may be made for rayovac by dorcy as dorcy makes stuff for them at times. I think the price is under $4.