Budget Showerhead Mag Drop-in.

[Jash]

Budget Showerhead drop-in for Mag. Fusion 36, now available in warm.

Hi Folks,

Found this little Fusion 36 led drop-in on ebay after seeing someone on here talking about it a bit. It's for a 2-6 cell C-D maglite.

So, it cost $23 delivered and came in a plain cardboard box with a little bubble-wrap around it.

It's a 36 Nichia led array that simply drops right in to your C-D maglite. Just pull out the reflector and bulb, slot this in and screw the bezel up tight. It's quite chunky and the leds are all placed firmly and uniformly within the module. Surprisingly well made for the price.

Claims 400-600 lumens with a 10k hour lifespan. Operating voltage is 3-9 volts.



Fusion 36 on right, P7 on left.

P7 at three metres.

Fusion 36 at three metres. It's a bit on the blue side.

P7 on house at 15 metres.

Fusion 36 on house at 15 metres.

Stock 3w Mag led on shed at 15 metres.

P7 on shed at 15 metres.

Fusion 36 on shed at 15 metres.

Well, that's the beam shots updated, I got a new camera. Indoor wall shots, F2.8 1/50sec. Outdoor shots, F2.8 1sec.

Now for some more info.

I ran it for about 15 mins to see how hot it got (both Fusion 36 and P7 run on 8 fresh eneloops). The whole unit weighs in at just over 50 grams and most of it is aluminium so there's plenty to suck away the heat. After 15 mins it was warm to touch. I could hold it firmly in my hands without any discomfort and it felt like it was only a few degrees above body temp, maybe.

It's ALL flood. There's absolutely NO useful light after 50 metres.
Because of this, it is of no use other than to light up a large area within 30 metres, but it does it well.

The light starts almost immediately from almost 180 degrees and graduates brighter the closer to the centre of the beam. It's VERY nice and smooth and is a great light for those who want LOTS of very bright flood that's nice and cheap.

If you've got an old mag lying around doing nothing and want to give it a bit of zing, this will do it. Has to be the best bang for your buck drop-in for a mag available, just don't go expecting great things and you'll be happy.

 

[kramer5150]

:sick2:nichia blue:sick2:
LOL

Curious...
What exposure settings did you use on your cam?
Whats the tailcap current draw?
Is it regulated?

thanks!!

 

[Jash]

The exposure level on the cam I used is weird, just goes from -2 to +2 in 0.3 incraments. Had it set on -0.3 with iso400.

Current draw at tail cap is 1.42A.

The manufacturer does not state anything on the issue or regulation, so I'm going to assume there is none. Would be good if it was.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

It looks to be nearly as bright as the P7, so I would expect at least 400 lumens. Do you agree?

I think I'm going to have to pick one of these bad boys up. Very good bang for your buck!

 

[Sgt. LED]

Having no regulation on this one could be OK.
I'm thinking it may be a D cell vampire! Let know what it does please.

 

[Jash]

It looks to be nearly as bright as the P7, so I would expect at least 400 lumens. Do you agree?

It's pretty close to the P7 in output, but the tint makes a big difference to how your eye percieves it.

I asked my son which one he thought was brighter on the ceiling bounce and he said the P7. Then I pointed it at a wall and he said the Fusion 36.

It's ALL flood, so up close it may look brighter as it lights up a LOT of wall.

 

[LEDninja]

1.42A/36LEDs=39.4 mA/LED. The Nichia GS should be able to handle that.
Can you try some alkaline cells to see if the amperage drops and the light becomes less blue.

I did not notice the Nichia Blue in the beamshot in the other thread.

 

[Jash]

Can you try some alkaline cells to see if the amperage drops and the light becomes less blue.

Just measured the current at the tail with 4 fresh Duracell D's and showed 1.32A.

No noticable change in colour. It's only in the very centre it's a bit blue, everything else is white and you don't notice it at all outdoors.

I'll run it for a few hours over the next week to see if the drop in voltage makes much difference.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

I picked up two of these (one for my father in law and one for me) based on your recommendation. He has an old 6D mag that he absolutely loves, and I'm sure will like ten times more with one of these in it!

 

[ama230]

Great review and pics Jash :twothumbs

I had a good camera but not good at setting the night shot exposure settings.

As for the setup you have, is it a fm holder with the 4parallel/2series holder?
As for the voltage what is it at in the picture, just curious as i do not know a lot about the holders/adapters.
Then are you using a AR coated glass lens as I think this would help with throw and a focused beam as I think the photons are confused as where to go with a plastic lens, IMHO

Then for the blue in the picture, I would like to state that there is no blue, this is what the camera picks up. As for what you actually seen is a true white light, heavy in the 6500k and little in the 5500k. This is what the sun emits and i am sure the sun doesn't look blue. There is a little hue of the purple/yellow tint on the very far outskirts of the flood beam, as this is to ensure that this is the latest gs k1 bin.

As for the overall impression i find that you were actually pleased with your purchase as it is a little overwhelming that a 23$ drop in can perform as well as it does. Then for the title on this as it is a little harsh and a little misleading, but for anyone who clicks across it I hope it gets a little of their attention. Then to add as this would cost us 40$ easy for materials and more for time to build as you have to give the Asians credit for this bang for the buck marvel.:devil:

Then for the heat, it does great as well too. If you put your hand in front of the beam, you can feel the IR heat from the leds as this thing is screaming.

I know what you are trying to imply on past posts as a single or double or triple can out do this, as you are totally right, but a simple improvement to a lame design can flip it to win it in a minute(rhyming unintentionally:naughty.

Then as i got one good question is that, are you seriously still going to throw this in your glove box still? This thing means business and has the best of both worlds(throw and flood). Then another question, if you were to rate this out of 10 where would it stand?

When I used mine it easily threw a 100meters, but on the camera it looked weak as this does not have any optics.

Then to state the previous question in this post:
Is it regulated?
For sure, it handles multiple ranges and keeps a steady output on batteries. They use a simple cap, inductor, resistors and ic configuration. This is a low level of regulation and is not complicated with no pwm. It does not need any pwm as the current for each emitter is negligible to do so and would be squeezing out a few less mW. But for the price, who can argue.

I wish they did a module for a minimag as i would buy atleast ten of them, i can see it now a 2AA maglite screaming at 100lumens@200mA. This is a great company and I hope with your reputation and friends on here we can help them help us with our needs.

 

[Jash]

ama230,

I'm using Soshine 2xAA to D adaptors that give you four 4ah D's with a total of 5.6 volts fresh off the charger. After running it for 15 minutes straight and then probably another 10-15 just mucking around, they were down to 1.32 volts for each battery. So I'm expecting good runtimes with this configuration.

I'm just using a DX glass lens on the Fusion 36 and the stock plastic lens on the P7.

Don't think I will throw this in the glove box as the beam is even more floody than the P7. So I'm going to use it for my night time walking the dog light as I really do like the floody characteristics of this light engine. Especially that when you hold it at your hip (pointing straight ahead), there is light at your feet and plenty of light all in front of you and to the sides.

Mine doesn't throw 100 metres. Well, there is light at that distance but not what I would call usable, especially compared to the TK40. It's a different light for a different purpose, and that's why I like it.

To rate it something out of just 10 is difficult. So I will give my ratings for different reasons.

Flood: 10/10 (perfect for making the WHOLE back yard light up)

Throw: 4/10 (Can't see the BMX track 100m away)

Value: 10/10 ($23 for 400+ lumens, off alkalines too!)

Quality: 6/10 (machining could be better)

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

Jash,

Thanks a lot for posting this. I would never have believed this drop in to be anywhere near 400 lumens if it weren't for your review.
My order shipped today, and I'll post back in here with my findings once my arrives. :twothumbs

 

[sithjedi333]

Hi, I have a couple of questions

1) what do you think runtime would be on 2 or 3 alkaline D cells?

2) would this work in an incan D Mag from 1990? i dont know if the dimensions have changed over the years

thanks, it looks great!

 

[Jash]

Hi, I have a couple of questions

1) what do you think runtime would be on 2 or 3 alkaline D cells?

2) would this work in an incan D Mag from 1990? i dont know if the dimensions have changed over the years

thanks, it looks great!

I've only got 4D mags so I can't tell you about runtimes with 2-3D. But I would imagine several hours of good light with light output declining with voltage drop.

It should fit an older style mag as the module has quite generous tolerances. As well as the use of a standard bulb base. It really is as easy to fit as a normal bulb.

 

[sithjedi333]

Here is the response from the seller. Unfortunately runtime is too short for me.

_____
Yes, the module built in a switching mode regulator. Runtime for 2D alkaline will be about 1 hour. However, we will suggest buyer use 2D rechargeable Lithium for more light and longer run time. The module can fit old style Maglite as well.

 

[ama230]

I would hope that this is a guestimate. 1 hour is a little too short in anyones case here as I have heard it from first experience.

Jash has seen .06v drop form his eneloops and they have less than half the power density a Dcell battery, then this was measured after 15min. Doing the math, this would be around 8 1/2 hrs with the eight eneloops 2P4S @ 5.4v.Realistically i would estimate about 4-5 hours on this setup because this is just using backyard math atm. I would not use alkalines in this as you are putting terrible gas in a nice vehicle, but this is my opinion too so please take this with a grain of salt, I do not want to say its a fact as nothing is for sure.

My math is 1.4v/.08v(per 30min of runtime). Then this gives 17.5x30min= 525min/60min = 8.75hrs with 4 supa frickity fresh eneloops @ 5.4v. Correct me if I am wrong but is this a crazy runtime or what? Is this a new guiness record or what, please correct me if I am wrong here.

Then to add is I have done this with two ultracaps @ 700F. Also one ultracap that has about a 1/3rd of the power density of a aa, just for reference. Then the runtime of the light was an hour solid with this setup.

Also to make it clear too is this light engine is going to quit at the .7v mark as this is the Vf of a diode and this internal circuit. This is a very good engine and there is very little room for improvement and that would be the regulation circuit integrated.

Then for the quality of the module of course it is not as good as the builds I have seen on here but again this is a nice piece of machined billet and has a 9/10 build quality of the top builders on here, but for me its a 10/10.

I am going to do a run time test on this with fivemega 6aa to 2dcell setup with tenergy 2600mah AA cells and will promptly report it on here as it will take a week or so for the maglites and modules to come in.lovecpf

Then another question for jash,
How far will your p7 mod throw in meters?

Hope this helps,
Eric Ramirez

 

[Jash]

P7 throws about 70% of a TK40 on turbo, which is a LOT.

The Fusion 36 throw is about 50-60% of the P7. It puts a lot more light to the side compared to the P7.

The P7 module I have is this one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14413

Second best bang for your buck as it needs a little modding to your mag to get it to work.

 

[sw629]

Jash,
If i may ask, which seller on ebay did you purchase from? I'm currently looking at a Fusion unit for my Dewalt work light and have two Mags I may upgrade with the unit you tested. Great review, thank you for the information.

Cheers, Will

 

[Illum]

Just measured the current at the tail with 4 fresh Duracell D's and showed 1.32A.

No noticable change in colour. It's only in the very centre it's a bit blue, everything else is white and you don't notice it at all outdoors.

I'll run it for a few hours over the next week to see if the drop in voltage makes much difference.

6V in...all LEDs in parallel....expect to find a 2.2 ohm 10W resistor somewhere in there. assuming nichias are being driven at 3.6V downgraded from 6V, that resistor should be giving out at least 3 watts of heat, if not more

 

[Jash]

Jash,
If i may ask, which seller on ebay did you purchase from? I'm currently looking at a Fusion unit for my Dewalt work light and have two Mags I may upgrade with the unit you tested. Great review, thank you for the information.

Cheers, Will

I contacted SINO UNION and they said you can buy them on ebay, but I can't find them anymore.

They also said that bulk purchases can be made directly from them. I don't know what they consider 'bulk' but I'm going to find out as I have quite a few friends who would probably like one of these. They can't see the point in spending $70 on a Malkoff:mecry:but this would seem more reasonable to them.