Should I swap my PD's U Bin LuxIII with a Seoul P4 ?

[jtice]

Just got my McLux PD about a week ago,
and yep, I am already thinking about an LED swap. :devil:

Just wondering what to expect, as far as difficulty of the swap,
and increase in brightness.

One thing that will be a bit disappointing, is that the low mode will be brighter also,
I think its just right the way it is.
I know that some of the newer PDs with Seouls had different drive levels set on the LE, but I dont want to go messing with that, swapping resistors, etc.

Forgive this dumb Q, but, PDs dont have typical Light Engines, that can pop out, correct?
The heads are designed more like the original McLuxs?

Thanks for the input,
~John

 

[Codeman]

John,

I can't really speak to the swap issues, but...

I wouldn't worry about the low being brighter. Both my Ti-PD and Ti-PD-S came in at 3 calc'd lumens. At 25mA, the Seould is being driven high enough for it's increased brightness to manifest itself.

On high, the -S has almost double the output - 80 calc'd lumens vs 45 for the Ti-PD. You're McLux PD should be about the same, so I'd expect the same results with a SeoulSwap.

BTW - the drive levels are the same for the Ti-PD and Ti-PD-S - a GDx2 at roughly 25mA/525mA. I'm not sure about the McLux PD, but I suspect that it's the same as well.

Ti-PD/PD-S/PD-S-Mizer Shootout has measurements and beamshots, though, so you can see for yourself.

 

[starfiretoo]

Swapping out to a Seoul would be noticeably brighter.
For me the reason to keep the original is if you like the tint. I still own some Lux III lights because of their white or bluish-white tint.
The emitters are potted in like the original McLux's but the LE's are only held in by a screw.

My 2 cents.

 

[jtice]

Thanks for the info guys.

Codeman,
Great charts, they were really helpful, seems its a nice upgrade
Good to hear that low should be fairly the same. If its a bit brighter it will still be fine with me.
High seems to be a nice increase though

starfiretoo,
I agree, that tint can play a large part, I have warm tint leds that I know arent as "bright" but "look" much "brighter" due to better color retention.

Do I have to remove the converter assembly at all?
Or, can I just take off the bezel and reflector, and do it from the top?

~John

 

[starfiretoo]

I don't think you need to remove the converter but i found it easier for me trying to solder the leads back on. Don gives hints here and there in his threads on how to do it easy. You do need a small Phillips screwdriver, #0 or #1 or something like that.

Do I have to remove the converter assembly at all?
Or, can I just take off the bezel and reflector, and do it from the top?

~John

 

[mossyoak]

jtice, im thinking of sending my ti pd to milky already to, i never wanted the seoul when i had yours it was more perfect than my new pd.

 

[depusm12]

Go for the Seoul my new PD has the Seoul and it seems brighter and whiter than my Lux V McLux 27LT. I'm actually considering a Seoul mod to my 27LT. The low on my Seoul PD is lower than the low on my 27LT.

 

[charlesn]

See link below for a step-by-step swap of a T-bin Lux for a U-bin Lux... figure the job will be about the same, though a bit more complicated:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=122152

 

[easilyled]

Yes definitely - I had mine modded by Sengoku who's also in the UK and
he did an excellent, very clean job.

Its now twice as bright on high, still about the same on low and has
an excellent white tint.

 

[quantile]

Just to add another data point: A few months ago I swapped out the LuxIII in my PD for a SSC P4. The original was a UV1J, now its a SSC USV0H. The SSC's V0 tint is warm but not as much as the original V1. Brightness did not change much on low and increased about 80% on high.

The swap itself wasn't too hard, I used the thread linked by charlesn as a guide. I took off very little from the base of the reflector. As a result, the hotspot reads just as much Lux at 1m as with the original emitter but is much bigger in diameter.

Marcus

 

[jtice]

Thanks guys,

How many of you have been using the 0.03" spacer to set the Seoul led up a bit?
I have heard you should do this with just about every Luxeon to Seoul swap.

~John

 

[mossyoak]

nevermind, the ti pd is getting shipped away, off to far away NC.

 

[datiLED]

Thanks guys,

How many of you have been using the 0.03" spacer to set the Seoul led up a bit?
I have heard you should do this with just about every Luxeon to Seoul swap.

~John

I have used the 0.030" shim for Seoul conversions with very good results.

Something that I have begun to do recently is use the 0.027" shim. This allows me to add a layer of Kapton tape to the back of the reflector to prevent any shorts with the top of the LED. The thermal epoxy takes up the remaining 0.002". (Remember to have the back of the reflector turned down by 0.030" to make room for the raised emitter, though!)

I use the Arctic Alumina to attach the disk to the heatsink. While it is being placed and drying, I test the copper surface for continuity with the heatsink. Continuity = bad. Check for continuity again before doing anything with the LED.

After the AA is dry, you have two choices. You can use more AA to epoxy the emitter in place before soldering the leads. Or, you can use thermal paste under the Seoul, and solder the leads in place. The latter option will give you a little "wiggle" room for centering the emitter in the reflector. If you choose to epoxy the emitter in place, you need to move quickly while aligning the emitter. You have less than 5 minutes to get things right. If you plan ahead, this should not be a problem. Place the LED in the head dry, and do a few "test runs" to get the feel for it.

I have had to do several mods through the head, and it isn't too difficult if you have a good temperature controlled soldering station (or iron). The heatsink will be working againt you if you are unable to remove the converter board. You will need to get the tip temperature up really high to ensure a quick solder joint. I Seouled a Pierce M10i and a Peak Glacier Bay this way, as there was no way to get the the heatsink or converter boards out.

Take your time with the mod, and have fun doing it.

datiLED