Kinda disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E, EDITED

seattlite · Feb 14, 2009

After a 3 week wait, the postal carrier today shows up with the CL1H.

I put in 2xRCR123's .... no light.
....disassemble, re-assemble....
I put in 1xPila 168s .... no light.
....disassemble, re-assemble....
I put in 1x18650 ........ no light.
....disassemble, re-assemble....
I put in 2xCR123's ..... no light.

hmmm.....I put back in the 2xRCR123's....tap head..oh, now I get light. Turn off, no light...WTF. Yes, I made sure that everything was tight. I also backed the "pill" from the reflector, used a spacer on my cells, and made sure that my batteries were making contact. Any other suggestions?

VERY DISAPPOINTED in the quality of this light. My ~$50 MTE is better more reliable than this light. Hopefully other folks have much better luck than me. I bought from China, so, I'm uncertain what to do about the return ..... maybe I'll have my credit card company buy the light back from me .... NEXT.

[highlight]Addendum:
We'll, I tried everything, but still couldn't get the CL1H to work....then I noticed that the lamp assembly(Pill/Reflector) was about the same size as a SF P series LA. So, I stuck the Dereelight MC-E LA, into an older Vital Gear F2 head and onto a Vital Gear FB2 body....AND IT WORKED! I also prefer this configuration for EDC than the CL1H body. So after playing lego for about an hour, I'm happy with the Dereelight LA, but disappointed with the body.

Output wise, its bright, but not as bright as my Arcmania 15-3(still really amazed at that light). [/highlight]

Richard

sol-leks · Feb 14, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

how is your 50 dollar mte quality-wise, I've been really wanting to buy one but I'm worried it will break. Should I take the dive. Oh and sorry about your CL1H that really sucks.

seattlite · Feb 14, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

sol-leks said:
how is your 50 dollar mte quality-wise, I've been really wanting to buy one but I'm worried it will break. Should I take the dive. Oh and sorry about your CL1H that really sucks.

Quality is great. Much better than the Dereelight. Threads on the Dereelight are rough, the MTE is much smoother.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the MTE P7. Direct Drive from a 18650 cell. My co-worker also bought one after he saw mine, and the 2 that he bought had no issues...just works.

Richard

seattlite · Feb 14, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

Question for the Dereelight owners...is there supposed to be an o-ring between the reflector and bezel?

Nevermind...I found the O-rings.

sol-leks · Feb 14, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

I was thinking about getting the MTE MC-E, but you would recommend the p7?

seattlite · Feb 14, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

sol-leks said:
I was thinking about getting the MTE MC-E, but you would recommend the p7?

Not sure....I only have the MTE P7 and the the MTE MC-E.

I finally got the Dereelight MC-E pill to work in an older Vital Gear F2 host with 2xRCR123's and the Dereelight MC-E pill is about 35% brighter than the MTE P7(direct drive).

I'm really liking the VG F2/Dereelight MC-E Pill combo ... I'm gonna start EDC'ng this combo.

Richard

jzelek · Feb 14, 2009

Hi, I just got the same light from Dereelight (CL1H V4 MC-E) with the + 2 extension.

I also had the same problem (light not coming on) until I figured out that all I had to do is tightened down all the threads really tight!

You might also have to clean them or sand paper off any Anodizing that could of carried over to the contact point were the body and tailcap meet.

Also all the threads on the light are pretty gritty ( I guess the factory doesn't clean them very well) and they just needed some extra lube, l used Nyogel 760G to smooth them out.

Also it took only 2 weeks to arrive from China to MA (not bad at all IMO).

So far I like the light, lots of lumens, lots of spill and nice quality build.

WadeF · Feb 14, 2009

The light probably just needs to be taken apart, cleaned, and put back together properly. Also make sure the switch is installed properly inside the tail cap. The Dereelights are a modular system, they are meant to be taken apart and reconfigured, so sometimes you have to spend a little more time making sure everything is put together right. I haven't had any of these issues with my CL1H V4 and the MC-E.

If you're in the USA you could have purchased from the USA Dereelight dealer and he could have made sure everything was good to go before shipping to you.

Also you mentioned this "I also backed the "pill" from the reflector, used a spacer on my cells, and made sure that my batteries were making contact. Any other suggestions?" I have never had to back the pill from the reflector, use spacers with the cells, etc. I run my MC-E on two R123's, or two 18650's with the ext. tube.

jzelek · Feb 14, 2009

WadeF said:
If you're in the USA you could have purchased from the USA Dereelight dealer and he could have made sure everything was good to go before shipping to you.

There are no dealers in the US for the complete Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E (with special reflector) flashlight because of liability concerns (could cause a fire?). So far this complete light can only be ordered directly from China.

Note: You can buy the 2.1 A MC-E pill in the US and then that can be added to a Dereelight CL1H V4 host, but I don't believe the new reflector is available here yet.

WadeF · Feb 14, 2009

jzelek said:
There are no dealers in the US for the complete Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E (with special reflector) flashlight because of liability concerns (could cause a fire?). So far this complete light can only be ordered directly from China.

Note: You can buy the 2.1 A MC-E pill in the US and then that can be added to a Dereelight CL1H V4 host, but I don't believe the new reflector is available here yet.

Wow, good to know. I was unaware about this.

I had the 2.4A MC-E in my CL1H V4, but now that is in my DBS V1, and the 2.1A MC-E is in my CL1H V4.

electric sheep · Feb 15, 2009

The Dereelight has excellent anodising and very solid construction plus its heat sinking is superior to the cheaper hosts BUT the threads are gritty and need cleaning, once cleaned and lubed it is a very high quality flashlight. Considering the cost i think Dereelight is very very good value but you do have to clean it up. As most people who buy this light are knowledgeable i dont see a big problem. I am almost 100% certain if you clean the threads well and re- build you will have a much better light that will dissipate heat much more efficiently than other hosts. My 2.4a is a superb light and WOW's everyone who sees it. Ceiling bounce is like a 60 watt main bulb in the room but such a clean light. I know we all feel a light should be perfect but at the price i think the light is already very good value and the issue with gritty threads is not enough to ruin a very very good light.

seattlite · Feb 15, 2009

As a consumer, I guess I ddin't really know that one had to "clean-up" the light. I have no problems "re-working" the light to what it suppused to be, but I wish I knew that up front.

As far as light ouput, I guess I'm a little spoiled to think that I could get the same or more ouput than the Arcmania 15-3 for a fraction of the cost ... not close, but it is brighter than my MTE P7.

IMHO, as far as costs....As a whole light, I still think that the MTE is a better value ... granted the light ouput is about 35% more on the Dereelight, but for ~$40, and you don't have to re-work the light, I'd be more inclined to to recommend the MTE.

LEDAdd1ct · Feb 15, 2009

My CL1H V4 feels gritty as well. What is the proper way to remedy that? I was thinking:

1) Dissassemble.
2) Clean threads with tissue/toilet paper.
3) Re-lube.
4) Assemble.

Is that right, or is there a special recipe?

WadeF · Feb 15, 2009

Tissue, toilet paper? Are you trying to make things worse?

Use a lint-free rag, maybe a paper towel. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean out the threads, and then re-lube with a proper lube (I like Nyogel 760). I also treat all contact points with deoxit.

The Dereelights aren't off the shelf WalMart lights, they are more geared towards flashaholics and it helps to have a basic understanding of how these lights work and how to properly maintain them. They are a high performance, modular system. If you want a simple take it out of the box, turn it on, type light, maybe it isn't for you. These lights allow you to change the pill to fit your current needs (MC-E, XR-E, warm, cool, different voltages, etc), you can change the reflector, you can change the tailswitch cover from black, GITD, etc.

All of my Dereelights have worked fine out of the box, but it never hurts to clean any brand of light and re-lube it and clean the contacts with better quality materials than the factory may have used.

I have the MTE P7 light and I cleaned it as well, and even took it apart to re-soldered part of the circuit because it was horribly put together. The MTE P7 I have has very poor quality when it comes to the assembly of the circuit, and the reflector is just basically resting in there (not secured well). I don't know how the MTE MC-E lights are, but my MTE is not in the same league as the Dereelights and I don't consider it a better value at all. The CL1H V4 which can continue to be upgraded with newer pills is a much better value in my opinion.

Wiggle · Feb 15, 2009

Re: Disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E

sol-leks said:
how is your 50 dollar mte quality-wise, I've been really wanting to buy one but I'm worried it will break. Should I take the dive. Oh and sorry about your CL1H that really sucks.

I've got 2 of the MTE P7s that I modified for use on a bike (external wired battery pack). The build quality is very good, not perfect but good. The general fit and feel is excellent, the anodizing is a bit soft compared to the HAIII on my Fenix lights though and the emitter is not perfectly centered. The memory works well and the beam is a good balance of decent throw with excellent spill.

seattlite · Feb 15, 2009

WadeF said:
Tissue, toilet paper? Are you trying to make things worse? Use a lint-free rag, maybe a paper towel. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean out the threads, and then re-lube with a proper lube (I like Nyogel 760). I also treat all contact points with deoxit.

The Dereelights aren't off the shelf WalMart lights, they are more geared towards flashaholics and it helps to have a basic understanding of how these lights work and how to properly maintain them. They are a high performance, modular system. If you want a simple take it out of the box, turn it on, type light, maybe it isn't for you. These lights allow you to change the pill to fit your current needs (MC-E, XR-E, warm, cool, different voltages, etc), you can change the reflector, you can change the tailswitch cover from black, GITD, etc.

All of my Dereelights have worked fine out of the box, but it never hurts to clean any brand of light and re-lube it and clean the contacts with better quality materials than the factory may have used.

I have the MTE P7 light and I cleaned it as well, and even took it apart to re-soldered part of the circuit because it was horribly put together. The MTE P7 I have has very poor quality when it comes to the assembly of the circuit, and the reflector is just basically resting in there (not secured well). I don't know how the MTE MC-E lights are, but my MTE is not in the same league as the Dereelights and I don't consider it a better value at all. The CL1H V4 which can continue to be upgraded with newer pills is a much better value in my opinion.

Hmm...my problem with the light was that it didn't work out of the box. I guess it was bound to happen. All the lights that I've purchased, new, used, custom, non-custom, have all worked out of the box....except for this one. I have no issues with the pill/reflector, but just the body. The pill actually works quite nicely in my Vital Gear F2.

Looking at the pill pricing, I do think that the pills, drop-in's are a really good value, especially for a regulated MC-E. I also verified that the MC-E pill/reflector works perfectly in a 6PD head/G2 body with no issues.

js-lots · Feb 16, 2009

It is obvious the quality is not going to be the same with the mte lights. However the mte P7 I own has been going strong for almost 3 months now with 0 problems. I like to mod yet I havent taken apart my mte in fear that it will stop working. the dereelight is suppose to be of a better quality and easily modified . good luck getting the light working properly.

Mattole · Feb 16, 2009

How much is the Dereelight MC-E from China costing you?

seattlite · Feb 17, 2009

Mattole said:
How much is the Dereelight MC-E from China costing you?

$99 shipped.

FlashCrazy · Feb 17, 2009

Hi there, Seattlite. Sorry you had troubles with the CL1H. If you haven't done so already, definitely contact Alan at [email protected]. Explain to him that you think the body itself has a contact issue, I'm sure he'll help you out right away.

Kinda disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E, *EDITED*

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Kinda disappointed - Dereelight CL1H V4 MC-E, EDITED