5-Watt WHITE Luxeon on 9 Volts -- Pics

[MR Bulk]

I finally got my hands on a White Luxeon 5-watt side emitter through the good graces of a great friend, and stuck it into the original focusing Cyan Fire Breathing Dragon.

Although it originally seemed a little greenish/yellowish when tested, on 6AAs (yes, that is 9 volts) it whitened up considerably, and is actually very close to daylight in color.

It outshined the 1-watt side emitter I got from Lambda (although not by that much, a true testament to the excellent match between Maglite reflectors and side emitters), and was obviously bigger and brighter than a SureFire 6P w/P60 LA.

Beamshots were from three feet away:

One thing to note -- the Fire Breathing Dragon donor is a Garrity, with a faceted reflector. My results from past experiments seem to indicate the mirror-smooth Mag reflector better optimizes the typical output pattern from side emitters, at least on the pieces I've personally handled.

The world of incandescent flashlights just got squeezed a little bit smaller...

 

[Rothrandir]

very impressive charles! i notice that you have an o-ring right under the head of at least some of you mag-lites...is this for extra water protection? i was doing that for a while, but people kept asking questions and i got tired of explaining the reason, also, i wasn't sure how effective it was.

are the garrities nice for modding? i have always thought about purchasing one for modding, but don't want to get stuck with a $20 crappy incandecant

 

[lambda]

Very Nice Mr. B!

So, does it have enough throw to meet your demands? Or will that take the 20W Luxeon?

And great to hear the 6 AA battery holders will be perfect for powering the 5W!

 

[McGizmo]

 

[MR Bulk]

rothrandir, speaking from a reflector point of view, Garritys seem better with HDs, Mags with SEs. The o-ring is just to keep the focus from slipping by accidental turning.

Mr. L, Yeah I guess the throw of this one'll do...for now (unless you got a 10-watt you can give up). d;^D

 

[Rothrandir]

hmmm, i'll have to check it out. any suggestions on modding? i have no way to turn a heatsink or anything, i am currently using the heatsinks from lambda.

 

[MR Bulk]

Lambda's sinks are much better than any I could ever make, and that includes not only the kitchen, but bathroom ones as well. Seriously though, you Should be buying heatsinks from Lambda, the ones this size of mine are simply hole-sawed from a sheet of aluminum and filed/sanded to fit.

I am going to put this in a Mag reflector with a short post, as it seems better suited to a side emitter than this Garrity is.

 

[Rothrandir]

do lambda's heatsinks work in the garrity?

 

[MR Bulk]

Hmmmm...possibly, but as with any mod part that must be made to fit exactly right (especially in as important an area as heatsinking, upon which the lifespan of the Luxeon critically depends), that is exactly what must be done by the hands of the final modder -- sanded and filed and adjusted to fit Exactly Right.

So for instance even if he sent you a sink for a Mag, and you are indeed modding a Mag, you may have to do the final finishing to make it fit no matter what.

A modder's life is an extremely detailed one...

But oh, the joy and sense of accomplishment when you hit the switch and -- she actually lights up!

 

[Rothrandir]

also, what about thermal issues? specifically, how well does stainless steel perform for heatsinking purposes? with a maglite, the aluminum makes the whole body a great heatsink, but is stainless steel really good enough to dissipate the heat? especially heat from a 5w luxeon?

 

[MR Bulk]

SS? No. Alum. or copper? Yes.

 

[moraino]

MR BULK

Great works. Great pictures. I wish I can get hold of the 5Watter here in CANADA.

I know you have sold your Ultra Stinger long ago.

By feeling, which one would you say of the 3 throws farther meaning 5W, 1W and US. Thanks for your response.

Henry

 

[MR Bulk]

The US is simply too powerfully focused a beam (for now). It throws with the best of them.

I shall wait for the White 5W HD since HD's appear to do well in reflectors if the colored Luxeons I have seen are any indication.

 

[Alan]

Mr. Bulk, whenever you're ready to put this animal in this production, I'll the first one in the line

Alan

 

[MR Bulk]

Don, but aren't you're doing that already?

 

[McGizmo]

Charlie,
I have no idea what the flux of the two sample LED's I have are. I didn't even bother on a light meter reading because of this. Given the variation in lumen output with the Luxeons out there right now, I am concerned that light measurements can be more mis-leading than illuminating! This is one of the reasons that I had hoped to get the integrating sphere on E-bay.

I suppose one could calculate the area under the graphs of the various light dispersion patterns, based on which portions of the light would be re-directed VS which portions would directly escape the bezel. One could then theorize, on paper at least, which of the LED's, HD or SE would ultimately have the "brightest" beam, based on a perticular reflector. Again, because the HD seems to have a narrower beam, the SE would really have to put more lumens into its beam to keep up over any great distance. I am reasonably confident that the HD could be seen from a greater distance but whether the HD will allow you to see a greater distance is still unanswered by my personal experience. When I get some more SE's, I think I'll put one in a turbo head, just to see its throw compared to a HD. numbers will be somewhat meaningless again for reasons stated but sometimes what you see can tell a pretty good story.

- Don

 

[MR Bulk]

Don,

I am thinking to get really nice bright 5-watt mods made one would have to do what I've been doing all along with the LGIs. Order a bunch, then test each individual emitter for brightness at a given applied voltage. Select the brightest and dimmest and make two mods and light meter them, and from there gauge how many in between them satisfy a certain threshold and are worthy of becoming a/an (insert name of mod here -- such as an LG5).

 

[McGizmo]

Charlie,

That will certainly work for getting the bright ones. Of course I'd prefer the runt from a high flux bin to the star of a low fluc bin..........

I guess what I was pondering above is suppose I gave you a 130 lumen HD and a 130 SE, which would you chose to put in your flashlight and why.........

 

[MR Bulk]

'Giz, uhm -- well, give'em to me and I'll find out...;^D

(Sure wish Future would get on the stick here...)

 

[McGizmo]

Mr. Bulk,

I think you will find that the HD will give you a tighter and possibly brighter spot than the SE. In some cases, the larger sized of the SE's spot along with the fact that more of the total light produced is within that spot, gives it the advantage. However for pure throw, my guess is on the HD edging out the SE. What we really need is one of each with comperable flux placed in like or the same reflector and then a lux reading being made on the center beam.

Nice mod Brah!

Aloha,
Don