REVIEW - CREE DROP IN from EBAY***VERY NICE***

mhubble

Enlightened
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Jun 17, 2006
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Location
Virginia
YOU CAN FIND THE DROP IN HERE. WHEN I GOT MINE IT ACTUALLY HAD COME FROM GOLDENGADGETS. FAST SHIPPING. ORDERED FRI GOT ON TUESDAY.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Surefire-G-P6-c...ryZ16037QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


After finding a couple of BRINKMANN MAXFIRE on closeout at TARGET I decided to get a couple of cree drop ins for them. Theres no shortage of them out there so I decided to get the ones I could get the fastest. Which turned out to be these from EBAY. 20.00 each shipped, they wouldnt combine shipping.
Fits the BRINKMANN perfectly with a litlle gap left in the head whcih I filled in with a GITD o ring. VERY BRIGHT, Just barely gets warm in the head after 30 min. No heat problems at all. The runtimes are amazed me the most. 3 hours of runtime with no drop in brightness except for the last 5 min. You can see the details of the runtime test below. Took the light outside last night and was amazed at the throw, the hotspot was huge at 25 yards. About 8 feet in diameter. It completely lit up my out building at 25 yards. Tons of spill too. Dont know who makes these but Im sold on them.




EDIT - FROM A PREVIOUS POST.
I been doing a runtime test tonight. I did 30 min on 30 min off for a total of 1.5 hours of runtime. No drop in brightness. The head barely gets warm. The real surprise is the sanyo batteries that came with it has only dropped to 2.8 volts after 1.5 hours of runtime. And man is this thing bright. At 25 yards it has a huge hot spot and tons of spill. Practically lit up my backyard. Im continuing the runtime test Ill post more later.

Edit - Another 30 min of runtime for a total of 2 hours, no drop in brightness, batteries read 2.7 volts.

EDIT - I did two more 30 min runs for a total of 3 HOURS of runtime. It only started to drop in brightness the last 5 min it was running. After 3 hours of runtime the batteries read 2.12 and 1.90 volts. Still plenty of light. Im going to run it till it dies now. Ill post results later.

EDIT - Ive run the light for another hour, its about 50 % brightness. Batteries read 1.45 and 1.65 volts. Goint to continue to run it till it dies.

EDIT - Ran it for another hour dropped to about 25 % brightness, batteries read 1.3 and 1.5 volts. Still had plenty of useful light. Ended the test here.

Overall thats 3 hours of full brightness, 2 more hours of deminishing brightness, and still useful light left. This is the first cheap CREE Ive seen last this long.


Edit - I found a way to get the drop in to stay centered in the MAXFIRE. The housing that the original bulb came in threads into the head. Cut off everything but the threads, using a dremel cut out the inside of the threaded piece untill the drop in fits inside. Screw it in the head and it helps hold the glass in and centers the drop in. If you need pics let me know Ill try and take some later.



This was before I figured out how to center it.
p9040009wm3.jpg

The gap before the o ring
p9040006us3.jpg

The gap after the o ring.
p9040005fr2.jpg
 
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Great review,

Is it the same as this DX drop-in?

Is the drop in brightness measured using a meter or is it a perceived drop.

Don't run the batteries too low or they might vent/explode.
 
5 hours of usable light is pretty good.
Human eyes might not perceive any drop in brightness until the output has dropped past 50%.
I read that somewhere here.

Good to know that you are happy with the drop-in.
 
mhubble I got my drop-in to day. Shipping was fast I ordered on Thursday. I was able to screw the top all the way down and get the drop-in centered by starting it then thumping it against my hand to center it. Then screwing it down more. thump,screw,thump,screw,thump,screw.until it was all the was down. I would say it is around 70 lumen's. compared to a P60 the hot spot is not as bright but larger and it has a little more/better spill. Tonight we went on a hike when it got dark I pulled out the Maxfire then dropped it. :oops: It didn't hurt it a bit. we walked for a half hour the head got worm but not hot. I think this drop-in is a good deal. The Maxfire will probably live in my truck. It's nice to have the extra run time and not worry about the bulb burning out. Thanks for helping me find a drop-in for my $6.50 light.
 
I have exact same drop-in in my Brinkmann. Very nice and very bright. Mines has no gaps so im very pleased. This is by far my cheapest/brightest bang for the buck light. Cheers
 
I finally put this combination together myself and I am very pleased with the results (Sooooooo much better than the stock incan bulb). It's very bright, second only to my Ultrastinger but so compact I keep it in my motorcycle tankbag. So far I have not had any issue with overheating or anything like that. I do like the forward clicky for momentary activation.

The only question I have now is what rechargeable Li-Ion's to use in this?

CR123A's?

18650's?

Pluses/Minus's to either?

Great combo for a great light, recommended! :thumbsup:
 
Got one of these from Goldengadgets and dropped in my G2.

No light at all! After a moment, I removed the dropin and noticed it was burning hot. And the cells in the G2 were very hot to the touch. Dead short.

Returned it same day. After 8-days, still waiting for a replacement.

Just my experience.

:shakehead
 
After seeing this, I thought I would give it a shot since I have a Brinkman siting at home waiting for my AR-15 build. Not bad at all. Too bad it won't drop shipping on two or I would have bought more. I also have a gap and need to get an o-ring for the space.

mhubble:

What size o-ring did you drop in there?
 
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