Magic Fire 65W HID

[MDJAK]

Help, people, please.

So as I stated, I received the replacement 65W light from Ric. He's been great during the blown bulb in my original 45 watt, took that back, charged me a small increased fee for the new light, and shipped it very well packed.

As I stated, I placed 4 batteries in the light and it worked. Super bright I thought. I noticed it skinning the batteries, asked, and purchased the Eagle Tac upon recommendation.

Well, the light would no longer work. It momentarily clicks on and then instantly off. And I mean a brief quarter of a second perhaps. I don't know if the switch went bad.

I emailed Ric and he stated I should use Panasonic (or another brand) UNPROTECTED batteries. Unprotected? I questioned this and he said they are perfectly fine and work well.

Am I wrong to be skeptical? I am a noobie when it comes to this stuff with no knowledge of batteries at all.

Also, I've tried every battery combo I own, both Eagle Tac, and others, and the light does the same thing. I've tried the batteries in my other lights and they work perfectly.

Thanks

Mark

 

[BVH]

I don't remember if the 65 Watt has built-in protection in the battery carrier like the Fire Foxes does? If it does, then it is fine to use unprotected cells. If not, then you take your chances, raise your risk of an issue. If you're using protected cells, they are very likely to be tripping on over-current with the high draw of the 65 Watt (around 60 Watts IIRC from someone who did some testing) So 60 Watts equals about just under 4 Amps when running after warm-up (on fresh charged cells - more if not at full charge) and with a 2.5 - 3 times increase in starting Amps, you're looking at over 9 Amps momentarily. No protected cell is going to provide that without tripping off. That's most likely what you see with the momentary flash. The CGR 2250's and the original AW 1600 IMR's would provide the starting the necessary Amps. IIRC, AW has a new 2000 mAh IMR? That would be fine, too. The CGR's are fat and my 8, at least, had no insulation over the last 32nd inch of the negative "can" so they could not be used due to dead shorting when installing them in the tube. I'd look for AW's new 2000 IMR's.

Of course, you still could have a problem somewhere else - with the ballast, for instance, but it points towards over-current tripping.

 

[rufus001]

The CGR's are fat and my 8, at least, had no insulation over the last 32nd inch of the negative "can" so they could not be used due to dead shorting when installing them in the tube.

Any chance of a photo of the bottom of the battery to show exactly where the wrapping is missing? i Have a couple of battery carriers that are very tight fits and don't want to go .

 

[MDJAK]

I don't remember if the 65 Watt has built-in protection in the battery carrier like the Fire Foxes does? If it does, then it is fine to use unprotected cells. If not, then you take your chances, raise your risk of an issue. If you're using protected cells, they are very likely to be tripping on over-current with the high draw of the 65 Watt (around 60 Watts IIRC from someone who did some testing) So 60 Watts equals about just under 4 Amps when running after warm-up (on fresh charged cells - more if not at full charge) and with a 2.5 - 3 times increase in starting Amps, you're looking at over 9 Amps momentarily. No protected cell is going to provide that without tripping off. That's most likely what you see with the momentary flash. The CGR 2250's and the original AW 1600 IMR's would provide the starting the necessary Amps. IIRC, AW has a new 2000 mAh IMR? That would be fine, too. The CGR's are fat and my 8, at least, had no insulation over the last 32nd inch of the negative "can" so they could not be used due to dead shorting when installing them in the tube. I'd look for AW's new 2000 IMR's.

Of course, you still could have a problem somewhere else - with the ballast, for instance, but it points towards over-current tripping.

I think you are right about the protection being the cause. Hmm. I'll have to look for those new AW batteries. Thank you very much for your quick reply.

The battery carrier: I don't know if it has protection built in. It seems pretty bare bones.

 

[BVH]

Any chance of a photo of the bottom of the battery to show exactly where the wrapping is missing? i Have a couple of battery carriers that are very tight fits and don't want to go .

I was sure I'd taken pics of my own but cannot find any. Here's a pic on Ebay showing a different brand but the short label is exactly as mine were. I ended up cutting the wrapper from all of mine and finding some thin wall (.005") shrink tube and re-wrapping them so the ends wrapped completely around the tail section. The only downside is that the mating end of an adjoining cell (or carrier contact) must have a very tiny protrusion to make contact beyond the .003" - .004" wrap. All brands I have sen are the same. In an insulated, plastic battery housing, such as a laptop, it does not matter because there is no common contact with a metal case. Take a look on Callies own site and you can somewhat make out the same condition on their pic.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/280831047533

 

[rufus001]

I thought that it was the bottom that was a little short on wrap not the bottom of the side of the battery. But checking the ebay photo it's clear what you mean. Wouldn't this bare side contact the inside of the torch in most lights and therefore cause a short? Or is there generally enough room for it not to be a problem? And I'm guessing this is not a problem at all in e-cigs(which I have never seen)?

 

[BVH]

I thought that it was the bottom that was a little short on wrap not the bottom of the side of the battery. But checking the ebay photo it's clear what you mean. Wouldn't this bare side contact the inside of the torch in most lights and therefore cause a short? EXACTLY! I saw the issue so I was ready for the short when I first tried to insert them in my 45 Watt Magic Fire with it's ultra-tight clearance. Although others said there was no issue. The moment mine made contact, I saw a spark and heat at the contact site was tremendous.Or is there generally enough room for it not to be a problem? There may be room in other devices or if the body is plastic then no issue. Remember, I removed the sharp edge at the beginning of the tube so bare metal was exposed. But I would not trust a thin Annodization to protect against a short. And I'm guessing this is not a problem at all in e-cigs(which I have never seen)?

 

[MDJAK]

You were right. I got the AW IMR batteries you recommended , charged 'em up, placed them in the MagicFire 65 watt, went outside when it was very dark here in NY suburbs, and next thing I knew it was like an invitation to every moth and bug in the universe. It is a powerful light. I like it. Now I'll have to wait for cooler weather, when the bugs are less ubiquitous, and compare it to my Abyss.

Thank you very much.

 

[Zephrus]

Of the three beam shots on Ma sha1 comments it looks to me that the MF was the brightest? A little hard to tell and the SR90 may have a brighter hot spot but overall to my eyes it appears the brightest. Anyone else agree?

It's an illusion or "eye trick." If you vignette the 65W image it's at least just as bright or brighter. Looks like a slightly higher color temp too.

 

[Zephrus]

Just pulled the trigger on one of these bad boys along with 4 Panasonic 3100s . Should have it sometime next week. Looking forward to doing beamshots, throw tests, lux readings and will also do a FLIR thermal profile.

 

[mohanjude]

Just pulled the trigger on one of these bad boys along with 4 Panasonic 3100s . Should have it sometime next week. Looking forward to doing beamshots, throw tests, lux readings and will also do a FLIR thermal profile.

Did you manage to find it from the source?

Mohan

 

[Zephrus]

Found it on Flashlight-Torch.com. They have 1 left if anybody's interested.

 

[Toppe]

Found it on Flashlight-Torch.com. They have 1 left if anybody's interested.

Damn, sold out! I want to buy one, so that we can compare lumens with a FF3.

 

[Zephrus]

If the cells were in parallel, there would be no issue when any case touched any other case but since they are in series, there are different voltages at any given two different cases. The moment the two battery cases in the two forward-most positions in the carrier touched the body, there was instant arc and much heat and a tiny bit of smoke.

An HV anti-corona, anti-arcing spray [varnish] or compound will solve most all the problems in this area. Make sure the inner lining is relatively clean and free of oils, and then carefully and evenly coat it will about .1-.2mm of something such as the following. It will adhere permanently to almost anything:

LINK:
HV Anti-Corona Dope

 

[Zephrus]

Damn, sold out! I want to buy one, so that we can compare lumens with a FF3.

Based on everything I've seen and read in the forum, I'd take a stab and say (figuring conservatively) that the MF65W is putting out around 4600-4800 Lumens OTF. As a quick aside, as great as the FF3 is (and it is awesome), I liked the MF65W over the FF3 because 1. It has a SMO reflector and a tighter beam, and therefore will have a bit more throw (as Mohan's pics show). The FF3 is a remarkable light in many ways and it seems just a bit too floody for my taste. Not bad but just skirting the boundary. 2. I really like the look of the MF65W body a lot. Yeah it's about 2 inches longer than the FF3 but I don't mind that. It's still just as portable IMO. The biggest reason was maximum throw/output for the size/money.

I wouldn't want you to run a LS test solely for my sake, but if you want to do it for the group and those here who are interested in maybe buying one, that's cool :thumbsup: No guarantees but If you really want to get one to do the test and wouldn't mind PMing me your name, I believe I could contact F-T.com and they just might have one available for you. I'm sure everybody here is itching to know about its true output just as we are and how it stacks to the FF3.

 

[Toppe]

Zephrus, i have sent you pm.

 

[bxstylez]

Damn, sold out! I want to buy one, so that we can compare lumens with a FF3.

I received an email update from them that they were going to receive 3 units by friday to ship out

I lucked out and ordered one right away
looks like 1 more in stock now

 

[Toppe]

I received an email update from them that they were going to receive 3 units by friday to ship out

I lucked out and ordered one right away
looks like 1 more in stock now

I did exactly the same nine hours ago. Hope it will come here within two weeks :twothumbs

 

[bxstylez]

I did exactly the same nine hours ago. Hope it will come here within two weeks :twothumbs

sold out again!

 

[Zephrus]

sold out again!

They do tend to go fast just like the FF3. Can't wait to see what the output of this light is.