Hugsby S3 Xenon Flashlight Mod Advice?

Hi All!

Your help and advice is needed. I am new to this site and would appreciate any advice or suggestions that you may offer. I recently purchased a Hugsby S3 Xenon flashlight off ebay. I purchased this flashlight firstly because it was inexpensive and secondly because it claimed to offer 300lumens of brightness. I purchased rechargable CR123 3.7volt batteries and a charger to power it. The Xenon bulb was 9v so when I popped 3 of these into the barrel for the first, it blew :mecry:I failed to take into consideration that non-rechargable CR123 3V should have been used instead...doh!! (not used to CR123 batteries!)

I was going to purchase a new reflector/bulb when I realised that that CREE Q5 LED's can be purchased quite cheaply. Is it poassible to convert this flashlight to run on 3 CR123 3.7v batteries powering this type of LED?

I am guessing that additional heatsinking will be needed? Anyway, I just thought that I would ask and see what everyone thinks on the matter.

dont have much experience with the Hugsby S3 though i do own a Hugsby B2, what are the dimensions of the S3?? that would determine whether or not your light can accept drop ins.

Seeing as how you're running on 3.6v RCR123s, this may be your option

Thanks Hyperloop :twothumbs I have measured the unit that you recommended and it matches the dimensions of that I wish to replace. Do you know if I can just swap the CREE Q5 fitting over for the old Xenon one and put the batteries back into the flashlight?

I can see that the CREE will accept voltage up to 18V? So I don't need to worry about the 3 CR123's blowing the ciruit or overheating?

Many thanks for your helpon this, it's is very much appreciated!

Paul

Well the Cree XR-E LED only accepts around 3-3.7v but the buck circuit of the drop-in takes up to 18v. 3 CR123s will be fine.

I don't know what the light looks like or how much space it has. If you are planning on swapping the Cree XR-E Q5(the LED, no circuit) with the bulb and using 3 CR123 batteries, you'll need a buck circuit to lower the voltage. Heatsinking is also important. Make sure that there is a good connection between the LED and the body of the light.

:welcome:

Thanks Gunner12! I have ordered the new CREE fitting from DX and feel much better now that I understand about the buck circuit effect of the drop in unit. I am looking forward to seeing how it performs

Thanks for your help and advice.

Hey I actually had the exact same problem as paul30 with my hugsby s3. I blew the light once I put in my 3 LR123A rechargable 3.6v batteries. I am also new to this aswell. So I was wondering what type of new reflector/bulb you put in to replace the blown light? also what are the lumens of the new bulb and what do I have to do to make it work so I do not blow it with my 3 LR123A rechargable 3.6v batteries? and what is the buck cercuit effect of the drop in unit?

One more thing I forgot to ask is what is the biggest lumens light/reflector that can fit in the hugsby s3?

Hi. I replaced the xenon bulb with a Cree Q5 drop-in unit bought off Dealextreme. I can't recall the stock code, but I'll try and find it for you. It was actually a blessing in disguise, as the new drop-in unit produces around 225 Lumens, and is much brighter than the Xenon bulb. It also take the 3 CR123A 3.7v batteries as it can accomodate larger voltages. I use it most days for a few minutes and I haven't charged the batteries since Janruary, so the power consumption is very good!

Hyperloop posted a link to the drop-in unit at the start of this thread, so if you want to replace your bulb I'd recommend the Cree. It makes the S3 a very bright, durable and well-built flashlight

jstraub223 said:

Hey I actually had the exact same problem as paul30 with my hugsby s3. I blew the light once I put in my 3 LR123A rechargable 3.6v batteries. I am also new to this aswell. So I was wondering what type of new reflector/bulb you put in to replace the blown light? also what are the lumens of the new bulb and what do I have to do to make it work so I do not blow it with my 3 LR123A rechargable 3.6v batteries? and what is the buck cercuit effect of the drop in unit?

Click to expand...

I bought S3 with 12v xenon bulb fitted, and using 3 x 123a 3.7v rechargeable is not a problem. The finish of the body is good enough, and I paid a total of $15 shipped from ebay. My 12v bulb is between spot and flood, and powerful coverage. I used the attack head once, then back to my collection drawer

Anyone know of an SST-50 or SST-90 drop-in mod that will work with the Hugsby S3?

I assume it has to support 3x3.6 volts for the 3xCR123A or 3x3.7 volts (or around 12 volts) for the RR123 rechargeable batteries. I saw the note regarding Q5 above which is fine but thought an SST-50 or SST-90 would be far better.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

OK looks a little like an Ultrafire 501C ...

How far can you pull it apart ?

You could just pop in a P60 pill maybe ... Some higher voltage input ones going around [ single mode ]

Or you could build a custom drop in with a boost driver and go 2xAA ?

???