Comparision MF K3500R K2000R

Hello there,
my name is Martin, Iam from Germany. I started my little collection with an LED SSCP7 and switched right now to two Microfires. I bought both over ebay, the 3500III is new and the 2000II is used but looks perfect. Now I dont know exactly if the K2000 is perhaps faulty:

The K2000 takes a lot longer to start up, the first 5-10 theres nearly no light. I takes about 20 seconds to get a good beam. The 3500 nearly immediately starts with a nice beam, full light is about 10 seconds.

The other issue is the beam, of course there must be a diffrence between 24 and 35 Watts but the beam of the 3500 is much more focused the 2000 is a little bit blure. ( I tried to focus already)

Is it possible that the bulb of the used K2000 is soon to be dying or is
normal ?

Thxs for any replies
Martin

:welcome:

20+ seconds is a typical amount of time for most of the 24W lights to "get going." What you describe isn't unusual.


Regarding the focus I'm guessing your experience it due to the 24W light having more reflector texture. This always results in a smoother, softer, more diffused beam.

Does your 24W light have more reflector texture?

Patriot said:

:welcome:

20+ seconds is a typical amount of time for most of the 24W lights to "get going." What you describe isn't unusual.


Regarding the focus I'm guessing your experience it due to the 24W light having more reflector texture. This always results in a smoother, softer, more diffused beam.

Does your 24W light have more reflector texture?

Click to expand...

Thxs patriot,

I took a deeper look on the reflector, not only that the texture of the 2000 has deeper holes but the 3500 also has a ring without texture
on the outer area of the reflector.

So the bulb seems to be ok. :twothumbs

Duderino said:

Thxs patriot,

I took a deeper look on the reflector, not only that the texture of the 2000 has deeper holes but the 3500 also has a ring without texture
on the outer area of the reflector.

Click to expand...

Ah, ok. Yep, you might even start to enjoy that highly diffused beam of the K2000 the more that you use it. It's better for most generic tasks and they're a little better as walking lights imo. Having the two slightly different types are a nice compliment to each other depending on what mission you're undertaking. :thumbsup:

Patriot said:

Ah, ok. Yep, you might even start to enjoy that highly diffused beam of the K2000 the more that you use it. It's better for most generic tasks and they're a little better as walking lights imo. Having the two slightly different types are a nice compliment to each other depending on what mission you're undertaking. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Yes, I already compared them during a walk outside. I have to admit, that I like the shorter ballast-battery compartment on the 2000 even more than the longer one of the 3500.

With this great beam the forrest looks full of animals. Everywhere some rabbit or a hedghog...never saw so many creatures before

Right now I have another question, I think i heard that it is possible to get an empty battery grip with the possibility to use 123 batteries ?!
Is this right and is it possible to charge this ? Where would I get something like that ?

Duderino said:

Right now I have another question, I think i heard that it is possible to get an empty battery grip with the possibility to use 123 batteries ?!
Is this right and is it possible to charge this ? Where would I get something like that ?

Click to expand...

It's not possible, nor would it be beneficial. The manufacturers doesn't make a 123 holder but if they did, primary 123 lithium cells aren't rechargeable. Li-ion RCR123's are rechargeable but the discharge rate would be way too high for three cells. The best cells are what's in the light right now.

Patriot said:

It's not possible, nor would it be beneficial. The manufacturers doesn't make a 123 holder but if they did, primary 123 lithium cells aren't rechargeable. Li-ion RCR123's are rechargeable but the discharge rate would be way too high for three cells. The best cells are what's in the light right now.

Click to expand...

Well, I found this: http://www.powerleds.de/shop/produc...crofire-Warrior-CR123A-Batterie-Gehaeuse.html

I think Ill give the store a buzz...

I'm Sorry Duderino, when I wrote this last night I had it in my head that we were talking about the Oracle 24W and 35W HIDs. I probably never made the metal transition from reading a different thread and forgot we were in a Microfire discussion. :duh2: Yeah, I've seen that 123 holder many times but I can't remember anyone having purchased or reported on it. Powering the light on 123's could get expensive if you use it alot though.

4Sevens also carries the 123 holder http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=63_73&products_id=305

Patriot said:

I'm Sorry Duderino, when I wrote this last night I had it in my head that we were talking about the Oracle 24W and 35W HIDs. I probably never made the metal transition from reading a different thread and forgot we were in a Microfire discussion. :duh2: Yeah, I've seen that 123 holder many times but I can't remember anyone having purchased or reported on it. Powering the light on 123's could get expensive if you use it alot though.

4Sevens also carries the 123 holder http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=63_73&products_id=305

Click to expand...

Well I still hope it can be done with recharable 123 batteries and this seems to be possible: e.g.

http://www.digitalland.de/xanario_pinfo.php?xP=CR123A_Akku
8x5 Euro = 40 Euros and the chargers and the holder of cours. Seems reasonable to me.

As long as they're 3.0V and not more, which usually isn't the case. Most "3.0V" RCR123s charge to 3.6V-3.7 volts so their name is really misleading. This battery for example, charges to 3.7V on this charger.

I'm guessing that the 8 x 123s are wired 4s2p which gives 12V static and 2600mah. Using 8 x RCR123s wired in 4s2p the voltage is going to be 4 x 3.7V or 14.8V total and 1500mah. The the problem is, if Microfire designed the ballast to run at 12.0V-12.6V and you try to run it as 14.8V, there's a possibility of . In fact, if you ask Microfire if you can use RCR123's in that holder I'm sure they'll tell you no, or attempt at your own risk.

Besides raising the voltage to what could be fatal levels to your ballast, as you may have noticed your battery capacity drops significantly with RCR123's. The best cells available provide about 750mah each with a real world rating. Ignore the 900mah & 1100 ratings that you see advertised. They're simply not true. In 2p (parallel) configuration that's 1500mah at best, probably less though unless you're using AW cells and they don't make "3.0V" li-ion cells. If you were to charge the "3.0V" cells to only 3.0V on a hobby charger the stored energy would be ridiculously small. You'd basically be running their capacity at one half of their 700mah rating. You'd get about 15 minutes of run-time. :shakehead

If you're looking for an extended run option a second rechargeable back would be the best choice. http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=63_73&products_id=301 The 8 x 123 primary holder would be ok for long term storage or back up too, as long as you don't mind using disposable cells.