Underpowered Trustfire TR-J18

[fccwpe]

I just received a Trustfire TR-J18 that has 7 Cree XML T6's. I threw three Nitecore NL183 2300mAh 18650's charged to 4.2 volts in it and it seemed a bit dim for the specs on the light. I compared the beam to my single XML T6 Ultrafire 502b and they were just about the same brightness with the TR-J18 having a slight edge and spill advantage. I then checked tailcap current. The Trustfire TR-J18 ran at only .85 Amps and the 502B ran at 2.3 Amps. Cleaned all the contacts and checked battery voltage again and got the same results.

Is there something I can do to fix this or should I return it?

 

[Changchung]

Return it back... Maybe is the driver.


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it... :D

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I think, perhaps, that's simply how bright it is.

 

[mvyrmnd]

It'll never be as bright as it says on the packet. The stock driver is useless. You can easily upgrade it and get much more oomph.

 

[fccwpe]

It'll never be as bright as it says on the packet. The stock driver is useless. You can easily upgrade it and get much more oomph.

Concur. I returned the light last week and will check the tailcap current when I get the new one. What do you recommend for modding to get more oomph?

About the advertised output...... 8500 lumens? No way but it should run with more than .85 amps at the tailcap.

 

[langham]

That is 10.7W which for that body doesn't seem too unreasonable.

 

[langham]

I looked at the specs on DX and it said that it is digitally regulated at 3A which probably means LED current and that would be about right.

 

[mvyrmnd]

Concur. I returned the light last week and will check the tailcap current when I get the new one. What do you recommend for modding to get more oomph?

About the advertised output...... 8500 lumens? No way but it should run with more than .85 amps at the tailcap.

It's known as the KD Beast driver...

It'll push each emitter at 3A - you'll be looking at 6500-7000 lumens for about 30 seconds until they start to throttle from heat. It's a pretty straightfoward swap out.

I looked at the specs on DX and it said that it is digitally regulated at 3A which probably means LED current and that would be about right.

If they meant 3A TOTAL output, then yes, they were correct. I think, however, they meant 3A per emitter - which at ~23V (all 7 emitters in series) would equate to 69W. The beast driver will give that.

Be aware though, that 69W at the batteries means a current draw of 8.2A on fresh batteries, and because it's regulated, it will up the amps as the voltage drops, so when your batteries are at 3.6V each, the current draw will be 9.58A.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD QUALITY BATTERIES!