Ultimate drop-in?

[chiphead]

I've been hearing about something called an SST-50W drop-in pushing 280's+. This would make the ultimate drop-in for an Ultrafire or Solarforce body I'm about to purchase. What does it take to drive it, is there a lot of heat to deal with? What is the runtime, and light color? This is going to be the last flashlight I'm going to build/buy...really.

chiphead

 

[calipsoii]

Never heard of an SST-50W? Sounds a little like Malkoff's naming convention but I don't believe he makes a P60 drop-in with an SST-50.

Nailbender sells SST-50 and SST-90 dropins (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=282416). I own one of his SST-50's and it puts 550 lumens out the front on 2xCR123A primaries. I have one of his SST-90's in the mail and it'll put out more. He makes them in any tint you want, with any driver you want, with as many modes as you want.

The SST-50 I have now puts out a good amount of heat. In my Surefire 6P, if it's not being held in a hand or used outside in the cold air, it'll be too hot to hold after a couple minutes. I've used it outside on high for 20+ minutes straight with no issue. The SST-90 apparently gets even hotter.

If you already knew about Nailbender's offerings and are actually looking for an SST-50W, then I wish you luck! Remember to post here if you find details on it.

 

[GeoBruin]

I too have a Nailbender SST-50 dropin (2.8 amp, 3 mode, 4500K) in a Solarforce L2P and it's a sweet light. Great beam, very bright. I've honestly never used mine on high long enough to get really hot but I hear it can get pretty warm.

 

[CarpentryHero]

Sst50 is a beauty, I have a single mode from nailbender and I love it.
Seen a solarforce on eBay that comes with an Sst-50 but haven't heard anyone buying one.
OverReady has the TriV-xpg which is an 1100 lumen wall of light. That's in bulb lumens, OTF is less.
The ultimate drop-in is different for everyone.
The Sst50 is my favorite. I'd like to try the OverReady triV-xpg.
The Sst90, MC-E and P7 are beatiful LED's too

 

[Jash]

The Malkoff M61 does 260 otf and will run for a couple of hours off one 18650. It barely gets warm so there's no heat issue at all.

Unless you're putting an SST-50/90 in a big host like a mag, I wouldn't even bother as you're not going to get the most out of your investment as you can't drive them to their full potential in a P60 host. It's like buying a V8 and only driving it in the slow lane.

Wait for a bit and I'm sure there will be some drop-ins with XM's arriving once the leds are released. 750 lumens a 2A, yes please!

 

[tandem]

Or instead of waiting for the new LED, a triple XP-G P60 could satisfy any craving for even more output.

The Malkoff M61 does 260 otf and will run for a couple of hours off one 18650. It barely gets warm so there's no heat issue at all.

Now for 260-280ish that sounds like a good plan...

 

[CA Desert Dog]

Hiya. I am a new guy here and I am looking for a super bright red drop in module for a Trustfire, Solarfire or similar flashlight. Does Nailbender make these things up custom?

I do a lot of night coyote hunting and we pick up their eyes with a red light.

 

[TDKKP]

The Malkoff M61 does 260 otf and will run for a couple of hours off one 18650. It barely gets warm so there's no heat issue at all.

Unless you're putting an SST-50/90 in a big host like a mag, I wouldn't even bother as you're not going to get the most out of your investment as you can't drive them to their full potential in a P60 host. It's like buying a V8 and only driving it in the slow lane.

Wait for a bit and I'm sure there will be some drop-ins with XM's arriving once the leds are released. 750 lumens a 2A, yes please!

I have a D26 SST-90 from Nailbender and love it. I'm running that P60 drop-ins with three NiMh C size batteries at its full potential.

 

[Belstaff1464]

Or instead of waiting for the new LED, a triple XP-G P60 could satisfy any craving for even more output.



Now for 260-280ish that sounds like a good plan...

The warm version is even better but I think you about lose 20 lumens 'coz of the tint.

 

[calipsoii]

Hiya. I am a new guy here and I am looking for a super bright red drop in module for a Trustfire, Solarfire or similar flashlight. Does Nailbender make these things up custom?

I do a lot of night coyote hunting and we pick up their eyes with a red light.

Hit the link I posted above to go to his massive sales thread. He sells a number of red LED drop-ins (all the way up to SST-90). I believe in the later pages of that thread, someone asks about a red LED dropin for hunting.

Cheers!

 

[don.gwapo]

VanIsle quad xpg drop-in came to mind. Many is anxiously awaiting for this but sales thread have not started yet but a very few lucky members here have it already and amazed how bright this drop-in is.

 

[jellydonut]

Hit the link I posted above to go to his massive sales thread. He sells a number of red LED drop-ins (all the way up to SST-90). I believe in the later pages of that thread, someone asks about a red LED dropin for hunting.

Cheers!

Nailbender makes dropins with a whole bunch of LEDs. I am guessing a red XP-E would give better throw than any of the colored SST LEDs. Maybe just ask Nailbender which would be better for your use, Osram's red ones or CREE's red ones.

 

[chiphead]

Never heard of an SST-50W? Sounds a little like Malkoff's naming convention but I don't believe he makes a P60 drop-in with an SST-50.

Nailbender sells SST-50 and SST-90 dropins (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=282416). I own one of his SST-50's and it puts 550 lumens out the front on 2xCR123A primaries. I have one of his SST-90's in the mail and it'll put out more. He makes them in any tint you want, with any driver you want, with as many modes as you want.

The SST-50 I have now puts out a good amount of heat. In my Surefire 6P, if it's not being held in a hand or used outside in the cold air, it'll be too hot to hold after a couple minutes. I've used it outside on high for 20+ minutes straight with no issue. The SST-90 apparently gets even hotter.

If you already knew about Nailbender's offerings and are actually looking for an SST-50W, then I wish you luck! Remember to post here if you find details on it.

Wow!

 

[chiphead]

The Malkoff M61 does 260 otf and will run for a couple of hours off one 18650. It barely gets warm so there's no heat issue at all.

Unless you're putting an SST-50/90 in a big host like a mag, I wouldn't even bother as you're not going to get the most out of your investment as you can't drive them to their full potential in a P60 host. It's like buying a V8 and only driving it in the slow lane.

Wait for a bit and I'm sure there will be some drop-ins with XM's arriving once the leds are released. 750 lumens a 2A, yes please!

Gasp!

 

[CarpentryHero]

That's true, your not getting all you can out of an sst50 in the P60 format, but you are still getting lots of light.
It'll probably be awhile before the xm becomes available and a few months after that before there affordably useable.
I like my sst-50 in a surefire, and still think it's a good buy.

 

[Raymond33]

I use a Nailbener SST-50 regulated, in a bored Surefire 6p with 18650s and copper wrap, almost every day. It is great as an all around light for taking the dog out for short trips, or seeing things that go bumb in the night. But, after a eight to 10 minutes, the heat does build up so that it is uncomfortable to hold, and it must be shut down.

 

[stallion2]

i'm not a huge fan of SST-50's in a P60...i think you're cheating yourself by not dropping that emitter in a larger head. my two favorite P60 lamps are Malkoff's M61 (beam is about the best all-purpose i've seen) and Thrunite's 1.5A XP-G. i'm using the Thrunite pill w/ a Solarforce/DX type reflector because it has better throw and its OTF is probably in the low 300's.

don't bother w/ the Oveready unless you're gonna use a larger host. and the difference between neutral and cool white from a practical standpoint is tint alone. at 1000-1100 lumens you can't see the difference in output, the percentage of output lost w/ the neutral is too small to be perceptible. this affect is further amplified by the fact that their beams are so flood oriented. i would say go w/ neutral if you ever have to choose.

 

[bigchelis]

I am currently working on it right now with PCC.

A XP-G R5 Tripple in series. Direct Drive off 3 IMR 16340 cells.

Solid Copper slug as heatsink. No cavities for drivers, just solid half pound of copper.

Previously; the Moddoo Tripple Direct Drive I tested did 1260 OTF in a Surefire C2 hosts. I wanted to take this a step further by adding a solid chunk of copper in there.

Overall; the Tripple or Quad XP-G R5 P60 drop-ins are the ultimate Drop-ins currently.

 

[projectbluebird]

Nailbender's P60 drop ins are very good. I have an SST-90 regulated 3 mode in my 6P. makes a nice compact light with usable, and extreme output.

The only time I noticed the heat was the other night I was using it continuously for about 15 minutes on high. It was toasty, but the temperature was in the low 40's and I had forgotten my gloves... felt pretty good.

 

[KevinL]

I am currently working on it right now with PCC.

A XP-G R5 Tripple in series. Direct Drive off 3 IMR 16340 cells.

Solid Copper slug as heatsink. No cavities for drivers, just solid half pound of copper.

Previously; the Moddoo Tripple Direct Drive I tested did 1260 OTF in a Surefire C2 hosts. I wanted to take this a step further by adding a solid chunk of copper in there.

Overall; the Tripple or Quad XP-G R5 P60 drop-ins are the ultimate Drop-ins currently.

Got any copper to spare? I might be keen.....haha!


To answer the OP's question, it really is a balance of three factors:
1. Light output
2. Thermal management (heat generated, which can damage components and reduce light output)
3. Battery power

Theoretically one could construct a copper slug, weld it to a Surefire, mount a SST-90 and drive it on IMR/LiFePO4 at full 9 amps for a staggering 2K+ lumens output. It most certainly can be done, but you would probably fry all but the most robust tailswitches, cook the light, make it too difficult to hold, and/or ensure that it would only be useable on a 30-second ON/5 minute-OFF duty cycle. It would generate 30+ WATTS of pure heat alone.

Heat also reduces LED output, as LEDs become inefficient when heated, not to mention the risk of thermal damage to the LED, electronics (if applicable), and batteries.

I believe Oveready has found a useable medium between all the factors with their 1.1K lumen drop-in. :thumbsup:

As an aside, not a drop-in but it does illustrate the challenges, I am an owner of download's Pocket Rocket. SST-50 driven at at a mere 2.8A already presents formidable heatsinking challenges in a package that looks like a slightly upsized Fenix L1D. Just 10 watts of heat in a 23mm diameter barrel in a 30degC (85F?) operating environment already makes the light feel like you are holding onto a hot mug of coffee after a couple of minutes. It is not the fault of the light, but rather such a physical package limits your thermal management options.