Thinking of buying a G2 Nitrolon. Thoughts?

[fyrstormer]

The P60-style drop-ins have been looking pretty impressive lately, and I've been batting around the idea of building myself one -- but the reason I buy titanium is because I can beat the hell out of it and it'll still look good, which can't be said for anodized aluminum. (yes, I know there are a couple titanium P60 hosts out there, but the grade isn't specified and I'd rather have good aluminum instead of cheap titanium.) So I figure I'll skip over the whole "Sh**, I can't believe I scratched it!" problem and just get a G2 Nitrolon.

But here's the question: there's a G2 and a G2 LED, the former having a plastic-coated head and the latter having an exposed aluminum head. (is it Cerakoted? I wonder...) Which should I get? Obviously the exposed aluminum head will dissipate heat better in theory, but given continuous on-times of maybe 5 minutes at a stretch, what are the chances the Nitrolon coating on the incandescent head would cause a drop-in to overheat? I want to say it's not that big of a deal, since air is a crappy conductor of heat anyway, but maybe someone actually knows from experience?

 

[ebow86]

The nitrolon bezels aren't coated in nitrolon, they are made entirely of nitrolon. If you are going with an LED dropin then I would difinetly suggest going with the aluminum bezel. It will dissipate heat much better than the nitrolon bezel. That's why surefire uses the aluminum bezels on their G2 and G3 LED's, doesn't matter with the incan models cause they don't mind heat.

If the dropin you plan on using can handle 9 volts, maybe you should consider a G3 instead?

 

[USACelt]

All the P60 drop-ins I have read about recommend NOT using them in the G2 with the nitrolon head, but safe in the aluminum head. But I guess it also depends on the drop-in you plan on using. The regular bulbs get hot, so if your using a lower powered drop-in, no problem. A MCE or bigger led will need the aluminum head to be safe.
Im no expert and others may have better info, these are just my observations with my G2, P60 and P60 clones.

 

[fyrstormer]

The head is made entirely of plastic, huh? No metal at all? Hmm.

If I go ahead with this I'd most likely get an Oveready drop-in, though I wish their drop-ins had indefinite last-mode memory. (I've heard that they don't, maybe they do, I have no firsthand experience.) However, one of the listed features is thermal shutdown, which would cover my ***(ets) a bit, though obviously I wouldn't want to be bumping against the upper limit of the drop-in's operational envelope all the time. But at 1000 lumens on high mode, I gotta think I won't be using high mode that often.

 

[ebow86]

The head is made entirely of plastic, huh? No metal at all? Hmm.

If I go ahead with this I'd most likely get an Oveready drop-in, though I wish their drop-ins had indefinite last-mode memory. (I've heard that they don't, maybe they do, I have no firsthand experience.) However, one of the listed features is thermal shutdown, which would cover my ***(ets) a bit, though obviously I wouldn't want to be bumping against the upper limit of the drop-in's operational envelope all the time. But at 1000 lumens on high mode, I gotta think I won't be using high mode that often.

Yes that is correct, made entirely of nitrolon, I don't feel comfortable calling it plastic because it's much more than just "plastic".

 

[pwatcher]

I have both versions, and a nitrolon head is fine at lower output levels, or with a lower powered dropin like the M60L or M60LL or variants thereof.

But the aluminum head on the G2L will give you more versatility down the road if your needs change. Of course, you could always swap a 6P head on the G2, if you had one or bought one cheap. Then you don't get stuck with a P60L if you don't like them to begin with?

 

[fyrstormer]

Hmm. Perhaps it's time for a little edjumacation.

I thought the 6PL/G2L heads could be gutted and fitted with P60 drop-ins the same as their incandescent counterparts. Is this not correct? If I bought the G2L, would I be stuck with the LED module it comes with?

 

[Kestrel]

I've got the Oveready V3 in an all-aluminum host and it gets HOT on extended runs on high. The aluminum G2L bezel at a minimum, that's for sure. If you're not going to do runs on high for over 5 min, I'd guess it should be OK but it's definitely not optimum.

You'll have to watch out for some of the NIP G2's since some of the more-recent ones have an all-plastic head that has the hex flats, so it looks like the aluminum head but it's not.

I thought the 6P/G2L heads could be gutted and fitted with P60 drop-ins the same as their incandescent counterparts. Is this not correct? If I bought the G2L, would I be stuck with the LED module it comes with?

The vast majority of G2L's out there will be the older type, just drop out the P60LED module and put in the Malkoff/Oveready/etc and you'll be good to go. The newest ones have an integrated head design that you're probably not looking for - you would probably need to acquire an older head/bezel for these - not sure about how they are configured.

 

[ebow86]

Hmm. Perhaps it's time for a little edjumacation.

I thought the 6P/G2L heads could be gutted and fitted with P60 drop-ins the same as their incandescent counterparts. Is this not correct? If I bought the G2L, would I be stuck with the LED module it comes with?

The older G2 LEDs contain the P60L module and aluminum bezel, so their bezels are upgradeable, just swap out the P60L with something else, hence "dropin". The new G2 LED's use the KX4 bezel, which is glued shut and not meant to be upgradeable. So if you bought a newer G2 with the KX4 bezel, then yes you would be stuck with the LED module it comes with, unless you decided to try and crack open the bezel and replace the LED, which would be silly IMO.

 

[fyrstormer]

Yeah, if all else were equal, the only reason I'd consider the aluminum head would be to get the hex flats.

 

[fyrstormer]

Okay, here's another question. What on earth are the blue filters for? Red I understand, but blue is blinding and useless for illumination.

 

[pwatcher]

Okay, here's another question. What on earth are the blue filters for? Red I understand, but blue is blinding and useless for illumination.

blue filters are used for blood tracking, among other things, IIRC.

 

[fyrstormer]

blue filters are used for blood tracking, among other things, IIRC.

I knew that. I knew that when I bought one. Why did I even ask that question?

Long day, not enough sleep. Oh well.

 

[ebow86]

Blue is also good for detecting uh, stains on things, similar to UV but not as good. Example, look over a hotel bed with a blue light, and enjoy the nice comfy floor

 

[fyrstormer]

'cause the floor is cleaner? :duh2:

 

[fyrstormer]

The older G2 LEDs contain the P60L module and aluminum bezel, so their bezels are upgradeable, just swap out the P60L with something else, hence "dropin". The new G2 LED's use the KX4 bezel, which is glued shut and not meant to be upgradeable. So if you bought a newer G2 with the KX4 bezel, then yes you would be stuck with the LED module it comes with, unless you decided to try and crack open the bezel and replace the LED, which would be silly IMO.

For some reason (probably sleep-related), I only just now comprehended this. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[ebow86]

'cause the floor is cleaner? :duh2:

Ok, you got me there

 

[Henk_Lu]

I asked Nailbender about a dropin for my G2 and he said an XP-G would be OK, so he built me one of these.

While I guess I have to use high with caution, I do that with all my lights anyway. I don't know how warm the Nitrolon gets on the outside though, until now I didn't feel the head getting warm, but I didn't use it for more than 3 to 5 minutes on high.

If you need a light that can run constantly on high, I'd rather buy a 6P. At Oveready they have bored ones (no bored Nitrolon)...

 

[ElectronGuru]

Couple of thoughts...

Nitrolon is fiberglass reinforced nylon. Its very tough in its own right. Formed as a solid color through and through, any bits that might somehow chip off, will just show more of the same color. Nitrolon bezels are available in hex style, on the G2Z and G3.

LED versions in black have HA coated bezels. Bezels in other colors (tan, green, yellow) have some kind of paint or powder coat. The black is good, the colors do not hold up well.

The primary concern here is heat. Malkoff and Triple drop ins dissipate heat primarily through contact with the body. The P60L the metal bezel configurations are design for, dissipate most of their heat through the reflector.

LEDs don't like heat and Nitrolon is a great insulator. For LEDs operating at more than 500ma, more heat than can be conducted away, will accumulate inside the drop in, shortening the life the LED. This is true for the Malkoff as well as the Triple. As far as 'getting away with it', an LED rated for 100,000 hours might have diminished output at 50,000. This may be enough. But for anything above 500ma (1K lumen drop ins are pushing 3000-6000ma), metal hosts (including the body) are recommended.

 

[buickid]

The G2 is a solid, inexpensive light. I gave one to my grandfather with a cheap DX drop-in and he loves it. If he misplaces it or some how destroys it on the farm, no biggie. I keep meaning to pick up another one for use this coming Colorado winter, when the 6PD (with Malkoff) and E2D will make my hands go numb haha. As for LEDs in a G2, for short bursts ie < 3 minutes, a reasonable drop in shouldn't have problems. We were fishing at night, and the E2D died. Fired up the G2 with DX drop in to supplement the gas lanterns, and ran it all the way from the fishing spot back to where the truck was parked, ~15 minutes (It was getting pretty hot). I would say that even < 3 minutes is a safe number for a well built drop in with decent thermal mass.