ElektroLumens vs. Malkoff?

I want to modify 3D or 4D MagLite, what's a better module to use?

I realize Malkoff generates 240L, but EL can do a lot more, but at the expense of run time.

Who does heat sinking better?

Short and sweet: Malkoff hands down!

both will have same excellent heatsinking...malkoff is regulated so it will be better with alkalines & nimh , EL is direct drive so its good with nimh but not well with alks especially if its high powered...if you will use recharchables EL may suit you for a P7 or other monsterthow drop-ins ,if you use regular alkalines mostly then Malkoff is better with regulation ,he may have a P7 sometime as well...its all preference on what module you like

I use NiMH but I have a lot of Alkalines I want to put to use as well.

Looks like Malkoff is the answer. The host is 3D Maglite.

I use alkalines just fine with my MT-1.

etc said:

. . . . . I realize Malkoff generates 240L, but EL can do a lot more . . . . .

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Uh you might want to check the Malkoff page a little more thoroughly. You'll find that these two Malkoff drop-ins put out just a tiny bit more than 240 lumens:

1.) http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_10&products_id=20

2.) http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=3

Dang, its seems as though the product in the second link is not currently available. In case you were wondering, the second link was for the Quad maglite drop-in which used 4 Q5s and put out 1000+ lumens.

Which brings up my next point, generally its a little easier to get your hands on Elektrolumens drop-ins. But both EL & Malkoff make great products.

Malkoff is not currently making the quad. I was going to get one but now I'm really looking forward to the universal Mag C/D drop-in. From all accounts it's a fantastic product. I have one of his M60 drop-in for P60 type light and it's a piece of art. amazingly good and the beam color is perfect.

I've never owned a Elektrolumens before,but I believe you'll be impressed with the malkoff 3d...Great throw as well as tint,it's my backyard did you hear that honey light.After going through many inferior lights,this was my pick of the crop,gl.

They're a different design philosophy. The elektrolumens modules usually don't use regulation and are run direct drive (preferably by rechargeables). While you sort of give up high performance with alkalines relative to the regulated malkoffs you also have a theoretically more reliable light, with no driver circuitry to fail. Most of the EL maglight stuff is more floody than throwy but they do throw decently due to the huge amount of light coming out.

Being a flashaholic, I have owned products from both of them. They both make excellent products. I always thought that if you could combine both of those guys into one, you'd have a one super flashlight and flashlight mods maker. Wayne (Elektrolumens) makes all of his flashlights and dropins because he does his own machining...and his philosophy is to keep the electrical design as simple as possible, going with direct drive (meant to optimally be used with NiMH batteries) in most all of his products. Gene (Malkoff Devices) strictly sticks to making flashlight dropins as he does not do his own machining. What he does do is design the modules and circuitry himself...taking great pride and effort in making sure they are of the highest quality with his regulated dropins. While I can see the arguement that having regulation circuitry gives an additional component that can fail, it isn't something I worry about with a high quality product (such as Gene's). My opinion is that Gene's single LED dropin is probably one of the best (if not the best) and versatile that you can get right now. Sticking with just a 3D Mag, Elektrolumens' MT line of dropins are also very good products. I think it boils down to preference and actual type of use. I have found that the Eletrolumens MT dropins offer better flood than they do throw, whereas Malkoff Devices is probably more the opposite...but Gene's new Universal Dropin seems to be a good combination of throw and flood. Eh, just be a good flashaholic and buy both! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the reviews.

I got the Malkoff "Drop-In Module for 2-3 D-Cell to fit Mag-Lite", will do a review shortly. It's rated at 240 lumens with a battery life of 6 hours.

http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=2

In the future, I would like to get one of these quad-LED modules for 1,000 lumens - the only thing stopping me now is the price. I would think in another year they should really drop in price as more efficient and better modules become available.

I think the stock MagLite 3W module is rated at 60 lumens so a 240-lumen unit ought to be a real improvement over it.

Regulated vs. direct drive - it's an old argument I've seen on CPF for a while.
My understanding is that regulated gives you flatter performance curve and then it suddenly dies.
Direct drive means the curve is less flat and it diminishes in brightness more instead of suddenly dying.

That depends on the regulation circuit. Some will be true constant current until the battery voltage falls too low, then the circuit cuts out. Others will run in direct drive for a while once the voltage threshold goes low enough.

With the E. L. you could use alkaline batteries, but it would be much dimmer and have a much longer runtime. If you get the 3D, you could pop in 4 C cells instead to make it a little brighter than 3 D cell alkalines.

etc said:

...I think the stock MagLite 3W module is rated at 60 lumens so a 240-lumen unit ought to be a real improvement over it.

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It's like the difference between a Bic lighter and a blowtorch!

I have several Malkoffs (2-"D" drop-ins, 1-"C", 1-M60 and soon to be 1-M60L) and I'm thoroughly impressed with them all...I got my first "D" close to a year ago, and it has seen a lot of use in that time and it still makes me smile when I fire that baby up! I run 4-6,000 MaH NiMH "C" batteries in a 3D and that thing absolutely ROCKS!!! :rock::rock::rock:

You definitely won't be disappointed! :naughty:

Definately Malkoff for Quality. I have had EL lights in the past, the Soldering and LED installation have not been the best

Thanks for the feedback.

I wanted the flexibility to use alkalines as my flashlight can double as a TSHTF device, if the grid goes down. I have a big box of Energizer Industrial D cells for this purpose.

Malkoff how-to-install and beamshot pics:

http://flashlightnews.net/forum/index.php?topic=656.0;all

EL quad and all look very impressive, with lumen output in another dimension, but the cost is prohibitive at this point, maybe later? Reduced run time is another consideration although not really an issue for me.

The QuadStar Phaser is built like a tank, with the Quad Optic's it put's out a wall of light with the center being the brightest faiding slowly and even all the way out to the edge of the beam. I dont have the Quad Cree drop in from Gene yet, but I do have one of his original 2C cell Mag's with a P4 Seoul LED and it absolutely Rock's, also I have a Q2 and a Q5 drop in from Gene they are both very bright. I sent Wayne some Q5's to build me some Decree light's which uses the Cree Optic's and is powered by a single 18650 direct drive they are ever bit as bright as Gene's dropin's. If the power failed and everything went black I'd be very content with either of the two,but most of the time I have both one in this pocket and the other in a different pockect :nana: HAHA!!!

Seriously If you had them both it would be very difficult to choose between the two Q5 light's. It would prob boil down to which style/design you prefer and which battery you would want to buy and/or charge.

Elektrolumen's and Malkoff are both here in the good ole U.S of A. and stand behind there product's. Just get em both and you can use one today and the other tomorrow :wave:

I can tell you that the regulation in the Malkoff Quad does NOT suddenly cut out (unless you're using protected Li-ion cells, in which case that's the fault of the battery). When the cell falls below a certain voltage, the dropin runs direct drive so you can still suck your batteries dry.

My preference is for Gene's regulation because it gives you more power source flexibility. For example, it's just as easy to put the Quad in a 2D maglite powered by Kaidomain's 2D rechargable Li-ion pack (~8V output) as it is to use it in a 4, 5 or 6D with alkalines or NiMHs. My understanding is that Wayne generally recommends a 3D maglite running NiMHs because they feed the LED just the right voltage, and thanks to low internal resistance, voltage sag is minimal thoughout the life of the charge so the light output remains roughly constant - no real need for regulation in this configuration (and, bonus, no efficiency loss from regulation circuitry). Drawback here is that you're pretty much stuck with the 3D configuration.

I think any of these dropins will run just fine on alkalines. However, depending on the power (like in the Quad for instance), you may be seriously overdrawing your batteries since alkalines are not designed to deliver such high currents (NiMH or Li-Ion are MUCH better suited for this). For a single emitter dropin (XR-E or SSCP4), I don't think alkalines are a problem. I believe for the Quad, alkalines will quit after about 60-90 minutes of runtime and require a "rest" before they can drive the light again. Wheras with (for example) 6 x NiMH D cells, the Quad can be run constantly for nearly 4 hours.

AvidHiker said:

I can tell you that the regulation in the Malkoff Quad does NOT suddenly cut out (unless you're using protected Li-ion cells, in which case that's the fault of the battery). When the cell falls below a certain voltage, the dropin runs direct drive so you can still suck your batteries dry.

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yes genes circuit will drain thoses batteries great..i put his drop in using 1D battery and it could put 30-40 lumens and i even tried a dead battery at .8v and it still put out light