Just got my L5 in today... Wow!

I had bought this specifically to mod with a Seoul and DB1000 for increased output and runtime. I'm still going to do that but I think I may wait a while and see what comes out from Lumileds on the 5w front. LuxV Rebels maybe? This is the best LuxV light I've had/seen yet. I've had 2 U2s' and 2 L5s' before this. I don't know if this is an X-bin or what, but this thing is pretty bright and VERY white. A little on the cool side, but ok. I like my LEDs on the warm side, which is why I'm going to wait till photonfanatic has the USVOIs' back in stock before I do anything. Absolutely NO donut hole. I'm sure its there, but I can't really see it. Nice....now does anyone know if I would have to put a .030" shim under the SSC-P4 when replacing a LuxV?
Performing a quick ceiling bounce test, it seems to be just a little bit brighter than my SSC-P4 modded KL1 head on 2 cells. It really shows that the LuxVs' are showing their age. On top of that, it will only give me an hour at that level.
I'm intent on getting a standard Z41 and putting my 60 ohm 2 stage McE2S switch in there so I can have some extended runtime if needed.

Probably one of the COOLEST things I got in today was the new red filter, the FM4x series (thats' what it says on the little manual). The lens is interchangeable! WooHoo! You just unscrew the lens/filter from the front of the flip-up part and screw a different one in its place. Awesome! Gotta get that Y/G filter, just to see it. The actual red filter on this thing looks neat, its got a mirror finish on it and looks blue or amber depending on your viewing angle.

Anyway, I'm glad I got this thing before they were completely discontinued. I missed that nice reflector...

KDOG3 said:

Probably one of the COOLEST things I got in today was the new red filter, the FM4x series (thats' what it says on the little manual). The lens is interchangeable! WooHoo! You just unscrew the lens/filter from the front of the flip-up part and screw a different one in its place. Awesome! Gotta get that Y/G filter, just to see it. The actual red filter on this thing looks neat, its got a mirror finish on it and looks blue or amber depending on your viewing angle.

Anyway, I'm glad I got this thing before they were completely discontinued. I missed that nice reflector...

Click to expand...

SureFire's red and blue BeamFilters have AR coatings that give them that finish.
Be careful when cleaning it not to scratch it.
Just so people don't make a mistake since the thread is about the L5, the FM4x Series is the for the 1.36" diameter bezels aka the Classic Z32 Shock Isolated Bezel.

FMx3 IR BeamFilters - Glass (I'm not sure of it's details)
FMx4 Beam Diffusers - POC's 'LSD holographic 20deg diffusion polycarbonate
FMx5 Red BeamFilters - Multi-AR coated tempered Pyrex glass
FMx6 Blue BeamFilters - Multi-AR coated tempered Pyrex glass
FMx7 BeamCovers - Hard Anodised aluminium alloy

FM1x (1.62" diameter) - "M3" Millennium Bezel, 9AN & KL6.
FM2x (2.5" diameter) - Millennium TurboHead bezel & 'KT' TurboHeads.
FM3x (1.25" diameter) - Standard "6P" bezel (tight on the G2/G3/G2Z).
FM4x (1.36"diameter) - Z32 aka Classic WeaponLight Shock Isolated Bezel.
FM6x (1.47" diameter) - M2, 8AX/8NX/L7, KL3/KL5/U2 etc

FM5x for ScoutLight (FM53 IR) (new)

FM7x for HellFighter (FM73 IR), (FM77 Amber*) & (FM78 Opaque*)

If you've got a nice low vf lux V in that L5 try it in an 18650 body. Mine runs just short of two hours in regulation. I can honestly say that my KL5 is the last light that I would let go, and I have a few custom lights, and modded lights with Cree's and Seoul's. To me the KL5 (L5) is a workhorse for serious around the hour chores and other work close up to medium distance. Guess you sort of knew I liked the KL5. LOL. (I can never make those gremlin icons work right for me. they always get posted in the thread title, for some reason).

Bill

nice to see it was christmas for everybody.
*mossy whips out L1-s and blinds himself, tries to find keyboard*

Thanks for the clarification Size15s'....

Bullzeyebill: I may do just that, or have this body bored for 18650's. I do, however, have 2 17670's sitting here that I could use, is the output the same as on 2 primaries?

Output with two CR123's is the same as one 17650,18650 with my KL5. I have a low vf Lux V so that can account for the good regulation with LiIon's.

Bill

I have no idea what the vf is for this thing....I don't know how to check. Its not swapping the emitter that scares me, its that I don't know what I'll need to do to install the DB1000, and thats' where I can mess this up. Like I said above, I wish a LuxV "Rebel" would come out.

Anyone care to guess what the runtime would be on a 17670? Not looking for continuous runtime as it would probably be intermittent use, maybe 5-ish minutes continuous at a time.

The L5 and U2 are my favorite Lux V Surefires due to the balance of flood vs. throw.

I'm glad you got an L5 that fits your needs.

I also love the L2 and L4--great flood lights that throw a wall of light out to lower-medium range.

Your runtime should be 50-60 minutes continuous.

KDOG3 said:

I have no idea what the vf is for this thing....I don't know how to check. Its not swapping the emitter that scares me, its that I don't know what I'll need to do to install the DB1000, and thats' where I can mess this up. Like I said above, I wish a LuxV "Rebel" would come out.

Anyone care to guess what the runtime would be on a 17670? Not looking for continuous runtime as it would probably be intermittent use, maybe 5-ish minutes continuous at a time.

Click to expand...

Well its starting to get dark, so I'll take it out with me when I go out tonite with my telescope. I'll plop the red filter on after I start viewing to preserve my night vision....

I recommend keeping your L5 the way it is! The stock L5 is one of my favorite lights due to its high output, wide beam, moderate throw, and ability to use Li-ion cells. Mine also has a warm tint and no doughnut artifacts at all.

The Seoul mod will have more battery life and probably more throw, but it won't have more output--at least not with the generation of currently available bins. Why risk messing up a perfect light?

asdalton said:

The Seoul mod will have more battery life and probably more throw, but it won't have more output--at least not with the generation of currently available bins.

Click to expand...

I don't understand that statement. Are you saying that a SSC/P4 WON'T have more output than the LuxV??? That can't be right. This is BARELY and I mean BARELY brighter than a SSC-P4 driven at 500mah as in my modded KL1. And thats with that plastic optic that I'm sure causes more loss than the L5 reflector and lens! I think a Seoul in this thing at 1a would SMOKE the LuxV, even if it is a good bin, and since I'm a throw junkie, I would love the tighter hotspot.

But since this is a good bin LuxV (I can just tell from owning other LuxV lights), I'm in no rush to rip it apart. I can hang back for a bit. I just put my McE2S 60 ohm 2-stage switch that I had in a black G2 tailcap on it and its a nice addition. Gives me more flexibility.

Can't wait to find out where I can get the Y/G replacement lens for my FM64 though...I'm just dyin' to see what that looks like.

But despite all this, I'm CERTAINLY willing to entertain constructive comments and suggestions!

At 1 amp to the led, and with very good heatsinking, the Seoul P4 will outperform the KL5 at stock bias, which I believe is about 660mA's to led, maybe a little more.

Alll of my Seoul'd lights running at 1 amp to the led outperform my steller KL5. Output we are talking here, not beam quality.

All of my Seoul'd lights (modded) at 1 amp to the led outperform my Cree P4 modded lights at 1 amp to the led. I have been fortunate to have very good heatsinking for my Seoul'ed lights, CM did a great job, but he did find that the Seoul P4 can (some), even with good heatsinking, perform poorly, and drop output quickly at 1 amp to the led. The Luxeon leds, and the Cree's handle high amperage better.

Bill

At 1 amp you're probably right. The one head-to-head comparison that I can think of is my L5 versus my P4-Cree'd L6, which are running on equal current (probably 700 mA to the emitter) and have equal output. My other Cree lights (L2D-CE, P1D-CE, and two drop-ins) are about equal to my L5 in output--but they probably aren't driving their emitters at 1000 mA, either.

Congratulations on the new light

Aaahhh, the L5 isn't being driven at an amp? I thought it was.... ok, I get it now. That changes my perception quite a bit then. Its GOTTA be an X-bin then because its smokin' bright for 660mA.... hmmm I may indeed just leave it alone. I'd say it could be as much as 120 lumens.

But one thing I don't get now is the short 1 hr peak runtime from 2 primaries if the draw is only around 660mA. I guess it would be more than that if I have a good bin emitter though, right?

On two used primaries mine are both pulling close to an amp at the tailcap. So about 1 hour on primaries seems reasonable. Don't expect much longer run times on 18650 cells, my newer L5 pulls almost 1.5 amps with either 1 or 2x18650. Older L5 pulled 1.38 w/ 1x1865, and only 1.15 on 2x18650.

Charting the limited data show tailcap curent is minimal running on two primaries, and increases when the input voltage was lower(1x18650) and higher (2x18650). How much of the extra current is driving the LED, and how much is just being used/wasted as heat by the converter/regulation system is the big question.

My newer "awesome like KDOG3's" L5 will be staying stock, running two primaries, and enjoyed immensely as is. The older KL5 is staying mated to the 2x18650 body for "the duration", it's been a good light and a comfortable size for me. HTH.

Paladin

If I had an L5 like yours, I wouldn't change it - at least not for quite a while. I've got a light with 1000ma going to a SSC P4, and it's really bright, but not all that much brighter than my U2. It might be 20% brighter, but when I walk around with both my U2 and the SSC light, I never have found a situation where the U2 appears to be less useful. I've shined it through woods, into dark corners, and whatever else I can think of, and both lights seem to be the same (except the tint on the U2 is much nicer).

And this is coming from someone who really wanted to justify the time and money I put into my modded light. At the end of the day, the only real advantage is that my SSC is in a smaller package vs the U2.

I just tried 2 3.7v RCR123s' in it and it was noticeably brighter and got hot REAL quick, guess this one doesn't like 9v...

Do not mess with Mods. The L5 is a perfect piece of professional gear as it is.