First Post

[NE450No2]

Gentlemen, this is my first post. I discovered this Forum a few weeks ago and I have been "lurking" looking it over. There is a lot of good info here.

I am a Flashaholic, and have been so since the late 1950's when I was first a CUB Scout. With out boring you with my life story, since I used my first Sure Fire in 1986 or 1987, I have never looked back.

They have never failed me.
I did a quick count in my head and I have at least 31 of them, from the 2 first Original 6P's, up through all manner of weapon lights to the M6.

I am Retired now but I worked in a Job where having a quality light was a factor in life and death.

Also in my Hobby, which takes me to far away, remote places, again a quality light can mean life or death.

Which is why I like Sure Fire, and use them.

Which brings me to my first question.

The M6 Guardian. I really like this light. I use it with the MN 20 bulb, and use it only when I really need that much light. I have used it from Alaska to Africa.

 

[NE450No2]

This is a long post and must be in segments as I am on a Sat. system, and I hate to type in a bunch of stuff, only to loose it to sun spots, or whatever.

So, I found the M6 thread interesting.

However the way I use it, rechargeables are not for me.
I do not have time to fuss about with them.

My M6 is always carried in my kit and must be ready for instant use, even after several months of just standing by.
Which is why I like the lithium 123's.

As I use it, once I turn in on, it runs until the job is done, whether it takes one set of batteries or three.

What I really need is longer run time, with a reasonable amount of light.
All these "123" battery lights give about one hour or so of light.

LED's just will not work for my search purposes, it must be incandescents.

The use of the SF MN15 bulb, might be my answer.

So I ask the following questions;

How long is the run time of the M6 with the MN15?
What are the Lumens?
Is this overdriving the bulb, will I get an early "poof".
What will the bulb life be?

I am also thinking about getting an extra battery pack or two for the M6, is it ok to store the batteries in the pack, long term, if I put the "loaded" pack in a water proof carrier?

What are the top 3 choices for 123 batteries?

While I consider myself a serious flashaholic, I am a user, not into the serious technical, scientific, experimental side that many of you are.

Main thing for me is, when I am out in the bush, and I press the button, I need my flashlights to "glow in the dark".

If I can get increased run time, with decent bright light, the M6 will be even better for me.

I can always put a MN 20 or MN 21 bulb in when needed.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Zeruel]

:welcome:

Hope you still have your 80's Surefire(s) to share the images with us?

 

[Petersen]

Welcome..

Have you checked out Js's M6 X-lola thread?
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=142517

Should answer most..

I have also been eager on trying the MN15 in my M6, but SF lights (and parts) doesn't come cheap here in Europe, so have to wait for my next US trip.. ( :thinking: whenever that will be with my company's current travel restriction)

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

If I might ask the question: Why does it need to be incan?

If the answer to that question is that LED's tend to make it hard to differentiate between colors, and makes the outdoors look "washed out", you may want to consider High-CRI led's. They allow for good color rendition, and are more efficient than incans.

 

[fivemega]

MN15 is a 7.5 volt, 1.2 Amp, 30 hrs bulb.

There are many aftermarket bi pin bulbs to work with 6 primary batteries in M6

Carley 1168 is a 7.6 volt, 0.8 Amp, 25 hrs__Rerate 8 volt, 0.82 Amp, 20 hrs, 150L
WA1336 is a 6.0 volt, 0.64 Amp, 525 hrs___Rerate 8.1 volt, 0.7 Amp, 14 hrs, 168L
WA1315 is a 6.27 volt, 1.42 Amp, 125 hrs__Rerate 7.7 volt, 1.5 Amp, 10 hrs, 366L
WA1148 is a 6.3 volt, 1.95 Amp, 140 hrs___Rerate 7.6 volt, 2.1 Amp, 14 hrs, 508L
WA1123 is a 5.0 volt, 2 Amp, 5000 hrs_____Rerate 7.6 volt, 2.2 Amp, 33 hrs, 457L
WA1274 is a 7.2 volt, 2.77 Amp, 40 hrs____Rerate 7.4 volt, 2.8 Amp, 29 hrs, 608L
WA1111 is a 6.0 volt, 3.35 Amp, 100 hrs___Rerate 7.2 volt, 3.6 Amp, 11 hrs, 880L

 

[DM51]

There are many rechargeable options for the M6:

SureFire M6 rechargeable options – SHOOTOUT (Part 1)
SureFire M6 rechargeable options – SHOOTOUT (Part 2)

 

[NE450No2]

Zeruel I do not have the ability to post pictures at the present time.

Gentlemen, thanks for the replies.

Maybe I was not clear in my post.
Rechargeables and LED,s will not work for my uses of the M6.

I do have a question on a couple of rechargables, but I will post that in a different thread.

What I am looking for is the ability to increase its run time, with a still fairly bright output.

So with the M3 and M3T producing 125 lumens for 60 minutes on three 123,s, what would the runtime and lumens be with the M6 using the MN 15 bulb?

 

[NE450No2]

DM51

That was quite a piece of research you did on Rechargeables and the M6.

It is just that the way I use it, I need the long term storage reliability, and the ability to refuel [change batteries], when in remote locations.

Also,
The ability to have a fairly bright longer runtime, and change to the MN20 or MN21 when needed, in one light, cuts down on the amount and weight that I have to carry, both which are at a premium for what I do.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

Maybe I was not clear in my post.
Rechargeables and LED,s will not work for my uses of the M6.

You were clear, I just would like to know why...

 

[Dioni]

:welcome:

The M6 guardian is my next acquisition, but I'll use only rechargeable options!

 

[NE450No2]

Tekno

My M6 MUST be ready to "glow" 100% of the time.

I carry it in my kit all the time so I cannot be fussing about keeping the rechargables topped off

Sometimes I must use it for several hours in a row so there is no time for recharging batteries.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

I completely understand about the rechargeables. When I need 100% certainty, that's what I use too.

What I'm curious about is why no LED's?
They have a tendency to be sturdier than an incan, and they use less power.

 

[NE450No2]

For use outdoors I refer the "color" of the incandescent.

When you are looking for "things", especially animals, the colors are easier for me to see with the Ican bulbs.

For just "general" light use LED's are fine.

I even have a headlight with LED's and an incandescent [Petzl].

I recently bought a P60L bulb. I will use it for general illumination in the field as I do appreciate its longer run time and the bulb is longer lasting.
But using it side by side with a regular P60 when checking on my animals the Inca makes a BIG difference.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

You may not want to rule out High-CRI LED's then. Their biggest selling point is that they allow you to differentiate between colors very nearly as well as an incan. I actually prefer the High-CRI LED's over incans as they tend to be higher color temperature, with less of a yellowish-brown tint.

It's not the brightest light, but I'd be willing to lend you a light so you can see the improvement in color-rendering over "standard" LED's yourself. PM me if you're interested.

 

[leukos]

NE450No2,

The MN15 in the stock M6 should give you close to 200 lumens for approximately 2.5 hours and lamp life around 10 hours due to overdriving it somewhat.

Here's a great product from AW that gives you three different brightness settings for the M6: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=229959 ($63 option) Theoretically you could get 7.5 hours of runtime with the MN15 at the 30% setting. This product also softstarts the lamp, which should increase its life somewhat. It is a fairly simple modification and a 100% improvement.

 

[angelofwar]

NE450No2,

The MN15 in the stock M6 should give you close to 200 lumens for approximately 2.5 hours and lamp life around 10 hours due to overdriving it somewhat.

Here's a great product from AW that gives you three different brightness settings for the M6: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=229959 ($63 option) Theoretically you could get 7.5 hours of runtime with the MN15 at the 30% setting. This product also softstarts the lamp, which should increase its life somewhat. It is a fairly simple modification and a 100% improvement.

30+ Surefire's and you're JUST NOW FINDING THIS SITE??? LOL! Leukos answered one of your questions...as far as the other one's, I would get an Extra MB20 off the Marketplace (It may take awhile, but you'll save some duckets...). I keep my M6 in a peli, and a spare MB20 fully loaded with SF123's (which answers another of your questions.) I've had them in there for 3 months, and it's still reading a full charge. Hope this helps, and yes, please post some pic's of your older SF's!

Oh, and :welcome:

 

[NE450No2]

Tekno

Thanks for the offer. Are those LED's a drop in or are some modifications necessary. What lumens and runtimes are avialable?

 

[NE450No2]

NE450No2,

The MN15 in the stock M6 should give you close to 200 lumens for approximately 2.5 hours and lamp life around 10 hours due to overdriving it somewhat.

Here's a great product from AW that gives you three different brightness settings for the M6: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=229959 ($63 option) Theoretically you could get 7.5 hours of runtime with the MN15 at the 30% setting. This product also softstarts the lamp, which should increase its life somewhat. It is a fairly simple modification and a 100% improvement.

Thanks for the info.

The clicky switch is interesting, but I would hate to give up the Momentary on, and I see where it does draw some power when the light is switched off to maintain memory of last setting.

If I used my M6 Daily it would be ok.

Does he make a similar switch for the M3 or M4 SF light?

 

[NE450No2]

Angelofwar

I will try to get some pictures done when one of my "techie" buddies comes out to visit.

I love Pelican Cases :twothumbs. I use them quite a bit.

I have thought about getting an extra MB 20 or two and finding the right size "plastic", pipe either hard or soft, that was of the proper diameter and could be cut to length and sealed to protect one MB 20 from fluids breakage etc.

It would not take up much space and would fit in the same pocket of my pack, or in a coat pocket. I always carry the SF Spares so I have extra bulbs, but might even make this carrier to hold a bulb or two as well.


Also Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate it.