Cree Elly conversion kicks butt!!

[FlashCrazy]

I know there's a separate thread about this, but just had to post a new one so maybe more people would know about it.

Just got in my Cree stars from Dealextreme today. I've had 3 Elly flashlights sitting here from them, just waiting to be converted. I converted two of them today, left one stock for comparison. Wow, what a difference!! Pure white beam...great! I've heard the conversion would make it quite a bit brighter and better tint...but what I didn't hear was how great the throw would be! Neat little project for ~ $14 each. Great runtime on a single AA too. It's darn equal to, if not a little brighter than the Nuwai X-3 3 watt Luxeon light. The best comparison however is to the Vinet from DealExtreme. The beam and brightness are just about equal. (And the Vinet's a great light!) The Vinet's hotspot is just a little larger. The spill on the Elly is a little brighter, and is approximately 1 foot bigger in diameter. All in all, a great conversion, and so simple!

 

[2xTrinity]

The best comparison however is to the Vinet from DealExtreme. The beam and brightness are just about equal. (And the Vinet's a great light!) The Vinet's hotspot is just a little larger. The spill on the Elly is a little brighter, and is approximately 1 foot bigger in diameter. All in all, a great conversion, and so simple!
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This conversion is awesome. Another one I would recommend is putting a Seoul LED into the Vinet... it should be a similar effect (I put a Cree into the Vinet, and had to substitute a different reflector... when I Seoul comes, I'm going to substitute the original reflector and put in the new LED) The U-Bin Seoul put out even more lumens per watt than the P4 Bin Cree, without the "halo" around the hotspot. DX has the U-Bin Seoul LEDs for $7.18.

 

[VidPro]

oh great and what is an elly? is that using a aspherical lens?

the Nuwalie 3W 3C light converted over well also, the reflector was just right for it, i was surprised, beings i had 5 other reflector types and none of them worked right with the cree.

 

[Vickers]

oh great and what is an elly?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1120

 

[VidPro]

ahh i see, ( Insert appropriate swear words ) 7$ Shipped !!!! wow.

 

[2xTrinity]

ahh i see, ( Insert appropriate swear words ) 7$ Shipped !!!! wow.

That means for $14 shipped, you can have a U-Bin Seoul light that runs on a single AA cell. It will only be pushing about 1 watt, rather than 3.5W (Typical power consumption at 1A current) but that should represent about 70 lumens out the front, with a solid two hours of regulated runtime on a typical AA cell (I believe the Cree mod was tested to be over 60).

My Cree modded Ellys I've either given away, or sold, to non-flashlight enthusiasts simply because it runs on conveniently available batteries, and is still as bright as just about anything for sale in stores in the USA.

 

[Strauss]

Lets see some comparison beamshots! Thats why you left one stock after all right?

 

[MorePower]

Great runtime on a single AA too. It's darn equal to, if not a little brighter than the Nuwai X-3 3 watt Luxeon light.

That's right on, based on my measurements. ELLY + Cree = 1:40 to 50% on one 2100mAh Nimh. Nuwai X-3 = 1:44 to 50% on two 2100mAh Nimh. Throw numbers (lux) were within 3% of each other right up until the end where the X-3 lasted just a bit longer.

Hopefully I can get around to posting more data from my recent runtime measurements.

 

[JimmyM]

I got my Elly about 2 weeks ago. Once I received my 14500 LiIons I modded the Elly.
I just moved the positive wire from its solder pad to the tiny hole at the positive battery contact. Wow is that sucker bright. Why do they even bother with the driver and AA cell business. Why not just dump the driver and say it's a single 14500 light?

 

[nanotech17]

I got my Elly about 2 weeks ago. Once I received my 14500 LiIons I modded the Elly.
I just moved the positive wire from its solder pad to the tiny hole at the positive battery contact. Wow is that sucker bright. Why do they even bother with the driver and AA cell business. Why not just dump the driver and say it's a single 14500 light?

Because if you don't put the resistor for dd ,your stock switch will sulk after one click

 

[HarveyRich]

Originally Posted by nanotech17: Because if you don't put the resistor for dd ,your stock switch will sulk after one click

Not so sure about this, despite the reported high current draw at the led after the mod. As I recall, the draw was about 1.1 or 1.2 amps, which is high, but not that high. I haven't put any resistors in either of my two creed Elly's and they both are performing beautifully with the mod at 14500 batteries--and have been for months.

Harvey

 

[FlashKat]

I also direct drive my Cree's and Edison Opto's without any problems. I think it has more heat build up and problems with resistors. If you have a SSC Seoul then you definitely need a resistor.

Not so sure about this, despite the reported high current draw at the led after the mod. As I recall, the draw was about 1.1 or 1.2 amps, which is high, but not that high. I haven't put any resistors in either of my two creed Elly's and they both are performing beautifully with the mod at 14500 batteries--and have been for months.

Harvey