Beamshots; Rattlesnake, D36 LF lamps, IMR and normal, standard tailcaps

[cernobila]

Well finally got around to it, had to find out the differences between the original D36 LF lamps and the new IMR lamps. Once again the exposure is 1.6sec at f4 100ASA on wide setting. The flashlight is the WE Rattlesnake with and without the 168 extender. The cells are the AW 18650 2600mAh version. The switch is the original clickie version. I have also used the LED tailcap with both the IMR 13 and IMR 9L, walked around the house for about five minutes with the LED on until I got bored and put the light down. There was no sign of heat or other problems......Now for the beamshots, you be the judge for yourself.

D36 HO-9L (2.0A)


D36 EO-9L (2.4A)


D36 IMR-9L (3.4A)


D36 EO-13 (2.2A)


D36 IMR-13 (3.0A)



A few questions have been answered during this session.

....The new AW 18650 cells fit in width and length in both 2x and 3x cell configurations.
....IMR lamps have not destroyed either of the WE standard tailcaps. (clickie and LED)
....You do not need IMR cells to run IMR lamps.

And btw, the beam quality of all the LF lamps is about perfect.

 

[325addict]

Some of the outcomes of your tests I already expected, such as the fact, the LED tailcap survived even the IMR lamps.

For the rest, your beamshots are really, really nice, with that combination of room-lighting and shining into the garden, so you can even judge the throw!

This was all I needed to be sure that I'll have that IMR-13 lamp in my M90!


Thank you very much,

Timmo.

 

[Croyde]

Yes very nice beam shots indeed :twothumbs

I am just waiting for my IMR-13 to arrive now.

Sadly I will not be able to compare it with the EO-13 as when I charged the IMR 18500 cells in the Rattlesnake using the tailcap charger I think they must have been somewhat above 4.3 volts, as when I turned the light on the lamp flashed and died :sigh: . I will have to watch this I guess with the IMR-13. The batteries were quite warm so I probably should have left it a while before turning the light on.

 

[Eric242]

Nice beamshots cernobila! I hope you don´t mind me making a animated GIF of the last three.

Now I can´t wait for my IMR-13 to arrive 🙂

Eric

 

[cernobila]

Yes very nice beam shots indeed :twothumbs

I am just waiting for my IMR-13 to arrive now.

Sadly I will not be able to compare it with the EO-13 as when I charged the IMR 18500 cells in the Rattlesnake using the tailcap charger I think they must have been somewhat above 4.3 volts, as when I turned the light on the lamp flashed and died :sigh: . I will have to watch this I guess with the IMR-13. The batteries were quite warm so I probably should have left it a while before turning the light on.

Considering that the highest amperage of the LF lamps is 3.4A, I think that they all perform very well. Good quality beams, quite round and smooth compared to SF and bi-pins........I don't have problems with blowing lamps as I only use the AW Li-Ion 18650 cells in all my lights and charge them on the Pila IBC charger, even if I forget about charging, they are never more than 4.2V. This combination is predictable, reliable and hassle free.

 

[Croyde]

I normally always use a Pila IBC but as the Rattlesnake has a tail cap charger which can charge all 3 cells together I used this. Perhaps it was a one off issue which caused the charging indicator to stay on i.e. green LED remained lit, for too long?

I have certainly not had an issue before with using any IMR cells with EO (not IMR) lamps from Lumens Factory.

 

[cernobila]

I normally always use a Pila IBC but as the Rattlesnake has a tail cap charger which can charge all 3 cells together I used this. Perhaps it was a one off issue which caused the charging indicator to stay on i.e. green LED remained lit, for too long?

I have certainly not had an issue before with using any IMR cells with EO (not IMR) lamps from Lumens Factory.

Not sure how the tailcap charger works, I don't have one. As the WE cells are protected (and the charger is designed for these) this may have something to do with the way the system works. If you are charging unprotected cells I would do so individually and keep an eye on them, the Pila IBC may be one of the better ones to use.

 

[Wilkerson Brasil]

....IMR lamps have not destroyed either of the WE standard tailcaps. (clickie and LED)

Good news!

 

[Croyde]

Not sure how the tailcap charger works, I don't have one. As the WE cells are protected (and the charger is designed for these) this may have something to do with the way the system works. If you are charging unprotected cells I would do so individually and keep an eye on them, the Pila IBC may be one of the better ones to use.

Well it looks as though I will need to charge the IMR cells with the Pila IBC, as having charged them on the IBC and then safely operated the new IMR-13 which arrived today, if I then connect the tail cap charger it continues to charge the cells with the red charge light remaining on and the bulb being faintly lit. So it would appear that whilst the Pila IBC can stop charging the unprotected IMR cells at the appropriate point, the Wolf-Eyes tailcap charger cannot. Oh well :sigh:

Waiting for it to get dark now, so that I can see what this 1,000 lumen IMR set up is like in real life 🙂

 

[cernobila]

Well it looks as though I will need to charge the IMR cells with the Pila IBC, as having charged them on the IBC and then safely operated the new IMR-13 which arrived today, if I then connect the tail cap charger it continues to charge the cells with the red charge light remaining on and the bulb being faintly lit. So it would appear that whilst the Pila IBC can stop charging the unprotected IMR cells at the appropriate point, the Wolf-Eyes tailcap charger cannot. Oh well :sigh:

Waiting for it to get dark now, so that I can see what this 1,000 lumen IMR set up is like in real life 🙂

No expert on this but it looks like the WE charging system relies on the cell protection to stop over charging. Most likely you could safely charge any good quality protected cells in the WE light.....LF always give beautiful beam quality so far, enjoy.

 

[xeonsaga88]

Just a word of warning for those using clicky for the IMR line of lamps, use only in short burst (ex. 5min or lesser for the IMR-9 and even shorter bust for the higher current IMRs) . From my personal experience , using IMR-9 (which draws 2.4amps) for 10 mins straight killed my clicky , the plastic internals melted. :sigh:

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Just a word of warning for those using clicky for the IMR line of lamps, use only in short burst (ex. 5min or lesser for the IMR-9 and even shorter bust for the higher current IMRs) . From my personal experience , using IMR-9 (which draws 2.4amps) for 10 mins straight killed my clicky , the plastic internals melted. :sigh:

Oh crap! That's good to know...

 

[Juggernaut]

No expert on this but it looks like the WE charging system relies on the cell protection to stop over charging. Most likely you could safely charge any good quality protected cells in the WE light.....LF always give beautiful beam quality so far, enjoy.

My cheapy DSD charger charges my cells to 4.21 volts while my WE tail cap charger always cuts off at 4.10 volts? So this seems to low for the voltage protection to kick in, so it must be the charger from what I guess:shrug:.

 

[Croyde]

The tail cap charger works just fine with the protected W-E cells but just not with the unprotected AW IMR cells - so presumably an issue of compatability between the two. Not a major issue though, as I am now just using the Pila IBC to charge the AW IMR cells and this works as required.

Just realised that the LF D36 lamp case is just the right size to hold 3 spare IMR 18500 cells and it is rattle free.