My surviving hotwire champ

[Josey]

What with the economy, gas prices and a whole bunch of unexpected repairs, I ended up selling most of my lights. I tried to list the best of my hotwires so I'd know which to save, but it was too hard. In the end, I sold the one that I could most live without. And then sold another. Eventually, I was down to my best hotwire. I mean useable hotwire. I do still have a FiveMega 623 flamethrower, but with a runtime of 8 minutes or so, it's really just a show piece. An awesome showpiece, but a showpiece.

The winne is the hotwire I liked best of all my ROPs, 1185s (even regulated 1185s), tricked out Mag 2Cs and 3Cs and 6Cs. My cherished Mag458 from JimmyM -- a three-foot-long monster that put out something north of 11,000 lumens. My special MagChargers, including a couple MC60s and a MC85 orignally built by Ginseng.

The winner? Well, it proved easier than I thought. It's a regulated TigerLight11-R built by the master: JS. Jim is a genius who welded together an 8-pack of Eneloops, welded the pack to the switch, wired in a Surefire regulation circuit and somehow shoehorned it all into a stock short-body TigerLight.

Resistance? I don't think there is any. Resistance is futile. Although it uses a WA1111, it will outthrow any 1185 that doesn't have a lot of resistance fixes. It's a thrower. It cuts through the night.

I've never tested the runtime, but I think it's about 40 minutes or a bit more. And this is a constant, regulated beam with a beautiful tint beautifully focused by a Carley LOP reflector. I can light up the tree tops 600 feet away with enough light to read by. It's easy to recharge in its special cradle, wither from an AC wall socket or my rig's ignition.

Jim doesn't get enough recognition for the great work he does and for this particular light. He's an awesome guy, totally brilliant -- and his hotwire is second to none.

Here it is:

 

[scottaw]

I sold some of mine, kept a 5761 with an AW switch, that bulb is the best at the lowest levels....but i kept an 1111 bulb to switch in if i get the itch.

 

[Josey]

I tried the 5761 in a couple of lights, but it guzzled down so many amps that I gave up on it.


Look how true the colors are in the second shot. I always liked that from the 1111.

 

[scottaw]

Oh yea, i'm a HUGE 1111 fan, but with the AW switch it goes all brown at lower levels. And my hotwire is mainly for showing off, so 50% more lumens is always good.:twothumbs

 

[Kremer]

+1 I love my two Tigerlights (one a TL35x), but I have not had the opportunity to get or build one into a regulated unit. If you don't already have one you might want to upgrade your charger from the dumb wall-wort constant current design to a smart charger, it's pretty easy.

I'd also like to make one into a LED monster, I think a single P7 would be perfect in a Tigerlight.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Josey, thanks for your comments. You have always been wonderful on these forums, and I know it must have been hard to narrow down your collection. Thanks for sharing your favorites!

 

[Josey]

Yes, Kremer, a smart charger will be next, but not until my financial house recovers.


Lux: Wow, thank you for the kind words. I've learned a lot from your posts and appreciate what you have done for CPF. It was hard to narrow down my hotwires, but it was also a nice to commit to one light. I had gone a little overboard.

 

[Phaserburn]

I too have a regulated JS-built TL-11 and love it. I also find myself using the Gen4 LA for it's close to 90 min runtime and great throw. It's a very dependable combination. My TL has also survived all my hotwire experiments that have long been sold.