Compact, re-chargeable thrower?

[Culhain]

I want to buy or build a compact, re-chargeable incandescent throw
light to use at work. Please help me narrow down my choices.

By compact, I mean a light that is no bigger than a Mag 2C and preferably
smaller. The light will be see about one or two hours use per week and I prefer that it have about one hour runtime.

From what I have read, I'm starting to favor a solution that uses two
of AW's protected 18650 cells and the Pila charger, as they seem to
have the quality needed for a work light.

So far, I have been thinking about a Leef body and SF's KT2 turbohead
or a Streamlight TL3 set up to run on a pair of 18650's and a 1499. My guess is that "best throw" may boil down to the size of the reflector, so I have not ruled out a modded Mag 2C.

What will work best?

Thanks

 

[mdocod]

The TL3 is a nice choice but it won't hold 18650 cells, 17500s will fit and give about 30+ minutes runtime on the 1499, on the stock lamp they will run more like 50 minutes.

The Leefbody will give the space needed for the larger format cells, and you have a nice arrangement of lamps to choose from in a KT2 turbohead that will run on the 2x18650 option.

SF MN15: 10W, 154 - 103 lumen in 104 minutes
SF N2: 10W, 154 - 103 lumen in 104 minutes
SF MN16: 20.5W, 360 - 215 lumen in 43 minutes
SF MN20: 20W, 300 - 186 lumen in 47 minutes
LF HO-M3T: 16W, 280 - 188 lumen in 60 minutes
LF EO-M3T: 18.5W, 322 - 212 lumen in 49 minutes

The MN16 is the choice for the whitest brightest, but it will suffer from more frequent burn-outs as it is being overdriven in this application, the other lamps in the list will run close to their intended drive levels and should last close to their rated life. The HO-M3T is pretty similar to the output of the 1499 in a TL-3 but will run for the 60 minutes that you are looking for on 18650s.

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An ROP low in a 2C mag with a pair of 18650s (requires some tailcap modification to make work, I was never able to screw down the tailcap no matter how much material I removed) or 18500s (much easier to deal with, simply need a spacer tube to center the cells, bend over the tip of the stock spring, and swap bulb) has incredible throw due to the smooth reflector, in my experience if you are only using in short increments you can get by with the stock reflector and lens on the low bulb for awhile. The Low bulb is in that same ballpark as the HO-M3T, 1499, category as far as total output is concerned.

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Another option would be the Wolf-Eyes M100, or M300. The M100 is less output than the stuff we are discussing here by a little bit but has a smooth reflector so should throw well. The M300 is about 50% brighter than the HO-M3T or 1499 or ROP low, but will still run for an hour because it uses 3 18650 cells instead of 2.

 

[depusm12]

Actually there is a custom set up for 18650's and the TL-3 here's a link.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149619

 

[Culhain]

Thanks for your replies. Mdocod's excellent compatibility list encouraged me to start looking for something better than what I'm now using(D3 and Cabela's mini-turbohead).

The Fivemega TL-3 is the very light that I was considering and overall, may represent the most economical solution.

For the Mag 2C mod, I was thinking of using the MagRing 2 to allow the use of two 18650 cells, plus metal reflector, UCL etc.

MagRing2:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178764

I'm also thinking that if I go with the Leef body and KT2 that they will have ready re-sale value minimizing my down side risk, if the results don't answer my needs.

It looks like there are more bulb options for the Leef/KT2, plus the option to use standard bezel and bodies. I have never seen a SF turbohead in use, will it throw about the same as the other two?

 

[Kremer]

I don't know if it's small enough for you, but a FBOP Tigerlight (8" model)would fit the bill pretty well. It'll throw about as far as you ever need anything to throw, short of a spotlight. I love mine. ~275 lumens for 70 minutes or something.
~Dougk