BLF-348 LED replacement

Hello,
I have accidentally ruined the LED in my flashlight and i would like to replace the LED.
After reading up on how to reflow it im eager to try it out.


I had the nichia version of the BLF-348.

a) What would be the best LED to replace it with aiming for 1) brightness 2) runtimes 3) tint - in this order of priorities?

b) More importantly, Where can i buy just the LED and how do i recognize its the right size? Do i keep the pcb thats there or would i have to change it too?
(i checked for example a nichia 219c at mount.el. but couldnt tell if its too big for this tiny flashlight. also they do no ship to my country) Could i maybe find some on aliexpress or banggood?

c) If a and b works out without too much trouble (or money) i would like to replace the Lumintop Tool LED for something with a better tint as well, i wouldnt even mind a drop in output using a nichia since the 5lm lowest mode is too high for me anyway

Thanks for your suggestions and experience

For the price of the flashlight, I would just get another BLF 348 if you want the Nichia, or a Slingfire 348 if you want the slightly higher power/lower CRI Cree LED. In any case, either one would be cheaper than buying an LED by itself.

Same thing with the Tool. There is a version of the aluminum Tool for sale on Amazon using the Nichia 219 LED. FWIW, several people have commented in another thread that they swap the heads between a Tool and a Lumintop Worm, which is about the same price but has the Nichia emitter. The only bad part about that is the Worm head will fit on the Tool, but the Tool head will not fit on the Worm.

Cool i might try the worm then if the LEDS are more expensive than the flashlights

EDIT: I would like to check a local electronic components store for LEDS i could use (better cheap than nothing) however i cant find the right TYPE of LED...
What are the typical flashlight LEDS called?
My guess was looking for SMDs but they are connected differently, the only LED i found that seems to have the three stripes on bottom is "SMD 5050 PLCC6W6"

Im sure smd 5050 is not the only one that has this type of mount connection. There is a list on wikipedia with all the modules but they do not mention how they are connected. Could someone list me the flashlight compactible type of SMD LEDS?

i see the numbers are the size of the LED, does that mean flashlights always use a square LED? (5050 3030)

EDIT2: 5050 is wrong, it looks from the upper side right but its not the same from the back side. This is a tough thing to google

EDIT3: The original nichia seems ot be of type 3535

The "footprint" of LED's confuses the hell out of me too.

Unsolder the old nichia, keep the circuit board. The nichia 219 has the same footprint at the Cree XP-(C/E/G/L) series. I would go with XP-G2 (XP-G3 is available but it's more expensive). XP-L would also fit, and probably has a greater output, but is more expensive.

Google re-flowing an LED, there are some good guides. It's fiddly but satisfying when it's all put back together. Once you've done your first successful LED swap, you'll want to mod other lights to get your 'perfect light'.

gravelmonkey said:

The "footprint" of LED's confuses the hell out of me too.

Unsolder the old nichia, keep the circuit board. The nichia 219 has the same footprint at the Cree XP-(C/E/G/L) series. I would go with XP-G2 (XP-G3 is available but it's more expensive). XP-L would also fit, and probably has a greater output, but is more expensive.

Google re-flowing an LED, there are some good guides. It's fiddly but satisfying when it's all put back together. Once you've done your first successful LED swap, you'll want to mod other lights to get your 'perfect light'.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what i did, used a candle and a piece of aluminium foil and it was super easy and fun. I had a good feeling that i could succesfully replace the LED this time, then i realized i have no idea how to find a compactible LED.

"footprint" is that how its called?

Ill give searching it another try and look up the LED you mentioned

Allright here are some notes.
XP-L is cheaper than XP-G3, at least for a single one, one can get 10xp-g3 for 15$
XP-G2 is what Lumintop Tool uses (wouldnt be a very good upgrade i think, unless i used a different tint)

Im just worried about hte voltage, if it says "Voltage:2.9-3.5V" it probably wont run with a single AAA, or is that just the ideal one for max brightness?

With around 3$ per LED its a bearable price, i wonder what the best availible LEDs are now... maybe a high CRI one, though most neutral ones are around 5$ from what i see and nichias even more...

If you're just changing the LED and keeping everything else the same, the BLF-348's driver electronics will boost the AAA voltage to the 3V range required by the LED.

Phlogiston said:

If you're just changing the LED and keeping everything else the same, the BLF-348's driver electronics will boost the AAA voltage to the 3V range required by the LED.

Click to expand...

Cool thanks for telling me, thatll save me some trouble.
Mouser com has a great choice of LEDs with different CRI tint and lumens for good prices, however their shipping costs ruin it all...

For a bit of thread necromancy...

Try Kaidomain. They have a decent selection of LEDs and the usual free China shipping to almost anywhere. The 219C will fit a 219B MCPCB and have a bit more output. KD has it in 90 CRI, 4000K, which is a bit warmer than the 219B that came in the 348.