what to do with SF incan lamps?

chriscoobs

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I have a few old "high pressure xenon 9v" and p60 lamps that work fine but i have converted to malkoff dropins and was wondering if anything can be done in terms of modding the lamps or if i should just throw them away. let me know your ideas. thanks
 

Kestrel

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The "9V" lamps are still quite usable and even desirable by some here due to their compatibility with two LiIon rechargeables in series - the voltages of 3xCR123 (what these lamps were designed for) and 2xLiIon (a very popular rechargeable configuration on CPF) are very similar.

The "6V" lamps don't have many uses IMO, one very good one is the one that archimedes linked to.
 

Illum

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P60s aren't too bad actually... they run wonderfully at 5V (~1.15A). A decent holder and a simple power supply these work better than the 12VAC Halogen bi-pins for painting lights.
 

yifu

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If you want to mod them, probably not a good idea, it's much better to get a bipin socket/reflector from FiveMega and chosing your own bulb. But, put them up at the marketplace! There's still demand for these things, if sufficiently cheap.. Hint hint.
 

HotWire

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I've used the P60 lamp in a Surefire with a single 17670. A nice soft warm glow emits for creeping around the house at night. I ended up with a few P60 lamps after modifying the Surefire hosts for an LED or brighter incandescent lamp. Some people say that the low voltage will make them turn black, but mine is still crystal clear. You could buy cheaper hosts and install the P60 and an 18650 to give you longer run time. Welcome to CPF!
 

cland72

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The "9V" lamps are still quite usable and even desirable by some here due to their compatibility with two LiIon rechargeables in series - the voltages of 3xCR123 (what these lamps were designed for) and 2xLiIon (a very popular rechargeable configuration on CPF) are very similar.

The "6V" lamps don't have many uses IMO, one very good one is the one that archimedes linked to.

I love using 2x17500 batteries in my stock 9P. Free lumens with the most HCRI output you can get.

As for the 6V bulbs, I have them in my "rainy day" stash in the unlikely event EMP affects LED drop ins/flashlights. You can't get but about $10 per P60, so for that price I'd just assume keep them around in case they are needed.
 

Chrontius

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I use a lot of LEDs around here, but I keep the incans around for color rendering, or sudden flights of fancy.

A 6R conversion kit can be had cheaply if you can find a B65 compatible stick; the charger and conversion tubes are on clearance at LA Police Gear.
 
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justlooking

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So, is there no problem running a P90 with 2xRCR123s? I tried it, and it is nice...

What about using a P91 with 2xRCR123s?

This doesn't under-drive thebulb?
 

jellydonut

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It underdrives it slightly (8.4V off the charger, 7.4V continuous vs. 9V). I don't remember what the voltage/discharge curves are like for CR123s vs. li-ions so I don't know if that's worse, better or just similar.
 

fivemega

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So, is there no problem running a P90 with 2xRCR123s? I tried it, and it is nice...

What about using a P91 with 2xRCR123s?

This doesn't under-drive thebulb?
If you are refering to protected RCR123s, both P90 and P91 will be over 2C limitation of cells discharge but P90 works excellent with pair of IMR 16340 and P91 overdrive but still safe (shorter life) to run with mentioned setup.
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It underdrives it slightly (8.4V off the charger, 7.4V continuous vs. 9V)
Both P90 and P91 are [size=+1]NOMINALLY[/size] 9 volt.
P90 works well with 7.5~7.8 volts and P91 works without overdriving at 6.6~6.8 volts.
So drive P90 with pair of IMR16340 with confidence and P91 knowing that it will overdrive but still safe.

For your information, each brand new and never used primary CR123 has about 3.2 volt open cirquit, drops to about 2.5 volts under load of (P90) 1.2A and drops even further down to about 2.2 volts at (P91) 2.4 Amps.
Each healthy and fully recharged IMR16340 has about 4.2 volt open cirquit, drops to about 4.0 volts under load of (P90) 1.2A quickly and drops even further down to about 3.7 volts at (P91) 2.5 Amps.
 

jellydonut

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Both P90 and P91 are [SIZE=+1]NOMINALLY[/SIZE] 9 volt.
P90 works well with 7.5~7.8 volts and P91 works without overdriving at 6.6~6.8 volts.
So drive P90 with pair of IMR16340 with confidence and P91 knowing that it will overdrive but still safe.

For your information, each brand new and never used primary CR123 has about 3.2 volt open cirquit, drops to about 2.5 volts under load of (P90) 1.2A and drops even further down to about 2.2 volts at (P91) 2.4 Amps.
Each healthy and fully recharged IMR16340 has about 4.2 volt open cirquit, drops to about 4.0 volts under load of (P90) 1.2A quickly and drops even further down to about 3.7 volts at (P91) 2.5 Amps.
So in other words 3x CR123 in practice provides around 7.5 volts - perfect, then. Thanks for the clarification, I was unsure.
 

justlooking

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Thanks jellydonut and fivemega, for the clarification. I was, in fact, using AW protected RCR123s. Guess I won't do that again! I knew it sounded too good to be true.

I thank you, and my fingers thank you!
 

Chrontius

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In my long experience, (if only with this ONE setup) a P91 and AW IMR 16340 setup is safe... but I wouldn't have dared using that on LiCo cells.
 

fivemega

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So, counting overdrive, how much is a P91 on a pair of IMR 16340 putting out?
My esimate will be 400~450 BULB lumens at start of fully recharge cells.
So in other words 3x CR123 in practice provides around 7.5 volts - perfect, then. Thanks for the clarification, I was unsure.
3x CR123 in practice provides around 7.5 volts under 1.2 Amps load.
In my long experience, (if only with this ONE setup) a P91 and AW IMR 16340 setup is safe... but I wouldn't have dared using that on LiCo cells.
Unless longe run time is needed. For example if host can take 2 protected 18500, then run time will be almost 3 time longer than 2 IMR16340
 

ToyTank

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lovecpf I have 2 P60 I burnt using lifepo4. They ran for only an hour or so now I know better.

I like the mod Archimedes linked to and I may need to make something similar.

I have one with a 4x20 tritium vial in it to make a trit torch. Works well but weak compared to 15mm sphere with reflector.

IMG_20120418_220004.jpg

IMG_20120418_220026.jpg
 
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