looking for an incandescent for work

I was scrounging around here a few months ago, trying to find an LED for work, and bought a Fenix TK11, and love it. I bought a few Ultrafire 18650 rechargeable batteries, and that works just fine.

I tried finding a thread with general incandescent reviews, but couldn't find one.

I want a smaller SUREFIRE inca light, either 1 18650, 2 AA's or 2 AAA's that is bright as hell. It will be my backup in case I get stuck in a foggy situation, and the LED will just reflect back at me. I've been kicking myself for only carrying 1 light. I looked on the surefire site, but there were not any that caught my eye.

I want to go with surefire because, I can get a huge discount on them, and I know they will last a long time.

Thanks.

You might try a bored out 6P, or an E2D with a higher-voltage bulb and a pair of RCR123A's

crackley said:

I was scrounging around here a few months ago, trying to find an LED for work, and bought a Fenix TK11, and love it. I bought a few Ultrafire 18650 rechargeable batteries, and that works just fine.

I tried finding a thread with general incandescent reviews, but couldn't find one.

I want a smaller SUREFIRE inca light, either 1 18650, 2 AA's or 2 AAA's that is bright as hell. It will be my backup in case I get stuck in a foggy situation, and the LED will just reflect back at me. I've been kicking myself for only carrying 1 light. I looked on the surefire site, but there were not any that caught my eye.

I want to go with surefire because, I can get a huge discount on them, and I know they will last a long time.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

E2/E2e/E2D with lumens Factory lamp assemblies and/or two types of rechargeable batteries or primaries. There are several bulb options as well. Let me break it down for you.



E2e + 2xCR123 + MN02 = Moderate brightness combined with very long runtime on primary CR123 lithium cells. This is the least bright alternative lamp assembly for the 2xCR123 E series. Excellent setup for camping, power outages, emergency, indoors and every other task when you don't need "tactical" brightness or long range illumination.

E2e + AW 17670 + HO-E1R = very long runtime, excellent color temperature with a very flat output discharge. Decent brightness for general purpose tasks. The best "free lumens" setup, hands down.

E2e + AW 17670 + EO-E1R = same as above, but with a bit less runtime and more brightness overall. Throw and brightness on this setup is greater than a stock SureFire P60 lamp assembly on primaries. This is a fantastic setup!

E2e + 2xCR123 + HO-E2A = same as the stock SureFire MN03, but it has better throw and less oval beam shape. Cheaper alternative than MN03 if you want to run primary batteries.

E2e + 2x AW RCR123 + HO-E2R = same as above setup, uses rechargeable CR123 instead of primaries (also known as 16340 cells or RCR123 3.7v)

E2e + 2x AW RCR123 + EO-E2R = the most powerful alternative for common li-ion RCR123 batteries. Significantly brighter than any other setup mentioned here. It has increased throw, spill and everything else. Runtime is shorter, though.

E2e + 2x IMR 16340 + IMR-E2 = insane power in a tiny form factor. The power of a SureFire M3 coming from a little E2/E2e/E2D host. It must be used ONLY with 16340 IMR batteries from AW, no exceptions.



There you have it. 7 complete different setups, without the need for hunting after adapters, extensors, modifications, boring out services, aftermarket parts and what not. Just replace batteries and lamp assembly and you're good to go. I don't think there is any other incandescent flashlight as versatile as the SureFire E Series.



More info here: http://www.lumensfactory.com/
You can get batteries, rechargers, lamp assemblies and accessories from www.lighthound.com or directly from the user AW in the CPF Market Place.

Cheers!

If you get a Surefire 6P and then purchase a 18650 solarforce extention from lighthound.com then you could use 2 17670 cells w/ no boring needed.

You could then use a P91 which will give you more than 450 out the front lumens as tested by MrGman.

You could for longer runtime a P90 or a D26 IMR9 lamp also sold at lighthound.com.

Now, if you just use the Stock Surefire 6P then a P90 or P91 w/ 2 AW CR123's will be perfect.


:welcome:

Regards,
Jose

bigchelis said:

If you get a Surefire 6P and then purchase a 18650 solarforce extention from lighthound.com then you could use 2 17670 cells w/ no boring needed.

You could then use a P91 which will give you more than 450 out the front lumens as tested by MrGman.

You could for longer runtime a P90 or a D26 IMR9 lamp also sold at lighthound.com.

Now, if you just use the Stock Surefire 6P then a P90 or P91 w/ 2 AW CR123's will be perfect.


:welcome:

Regards,
Jose

Click to expand...

The P91 also demands IMR cells. I'd not recommend these dangerous combinations to flashlight newbies.

Outdoors Fanatic said:

The P91 also demands IMR cells. I'd not recommend these dangerous combinations to flashlight newbies.

Click to expand...

good call,
I only have IMR 16340's myself, but I agree the OP should stick to lower current applications or get IMR 16340's.

I'm just a little excited over the P91 performance that I think everyone should have one.:twothumbs

bigchelis said:

If you get a Surefire 6P and then purchase a 18650 solarforce extention from lighthound.com then you could use 2 17670 cells w/ no boring needed.

You could then use a P91 which will give you more than 450 out the front lumens as tested by MrGman.

You could for longer runtime a P90 or a D26 IMR9 lamp also sold at lighthound.com.

Now, if you just use the Stock Surefire 6P then a P90 or P91 w/ 2 AW CR123's will be perfect.


:welcome:




Regards,
Jose

Click to expand...

How do you get 450 out the front with a P91? Isn't it rated more like 200:shrug:

thermal guy said:

How do you get 450 out the front with a P91? Isn't it rated more like 200:shrug:

Click to expand...

Surefire rates their lights conservatively, generally using the average output for the life of the batteries. On fresh batteries Surefire incans are much brighter on startup, and you'll see better performance out of lithium ions. For the P91 IMR cells are recommended due to the heavy draw.

thermal guy said:

How do you get 450 out the front with a P91? Isn't it rated more like 200:shrug:

Click to expand...

surefire always under-rate its lumen some CPF has already mention in some thread that p91 could some how reach 450 lumen
here is the link
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/233057

glock17 said:

surefire always under-rate its lumen some CPF has already mention in some thread that p91 could some how reach 450 lumen
here is the link
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/233057

Click to expand...

I realise that surefire is conservative as to the out put of there lights but still have a hard time believing that it puts out 250 LM more then there spec.I have used the P91 in the past and find it bright as hell but it was not putting out 450LM at least not on 3 primaries.

In my opinion, not the E2E is the most versatile setup... this honors should go to any D26 based light I think.

My favorite ones are the C2 and C3. If you want to get a small and bright one, just put a P90 lamp assembly into a C2, load it with 2 black AW 16340s and you'll have half an hour of bright light.

Not enough runtime? Buy a C3, don't mod it (a P90 is already in), load it with two AW 17500s and you'll have the same light, this time it will nearly last an hour.

Countless options are out there: from LED dropins if you want to turn it into a LED light for whatever reason, or the wicked bright Lumens Factory lamps.


Timmo.

I'm afraid, SF lights are mostly designed around the 123 primary cells. And SF incan bulbs are therefore either 6V or 9V, if you insert one 18650 (3.7V), they will look dim.

I recommend you take a look at Wolf Eyes' incan flashlights. They are designed around Li-Ion rechargables.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/category.aspx?uid=1-140

6's will take one 18650 and 9's will take two 18500's.

Because you have already invested in 18650's already. Just get the basic 6A (for the primary 123 cell's). And ask Mike@PTS to swap out the included 6V bulb for a 3.7V bulb for the Li-Ion batteries.

I can't think of any SF incan lights that will take either 18650 without extra work. Nothing from SF will accept AA's or AAA's.

Someone's already mentioned, two IMR16340 rechargable will fit into most SF lights (must be IMR16340). But you need to swap out the bulbs. But I dont recommend this setup, as the IMR16340 only has 1/3 the capacity of the 123 primaries and very short runtime.

However, I do like running my SF A2 with IMR16340, since A2 has a voltage regulator, there is no need to change the bulb, and it can also stretch the runtime out a little bit longer. However, the LED's on the A2 are not regulated, and it's recommended to mod the flashlight to reduce the current to the LED's.

dchao said:

I'm afraid, SF lights are mostly designed around the 123 primary cells. And SF incan bulbs are therefore either 6V or 9V, if you insert one 18650 (3.7V), they will look dim.

I recommend you take a look at Wolf Eyes' incan flashlights. They are designed around Li-Ion rechargables.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/category.aspx?uid=1-140

6's will take one 18650 and 9's will take two 18500's.

Because you have already invested in 18650's already. Just get the basic 6A (for the primary 123 cell's). And ask Mike@PTS to swap out the included 6V bulb for a 3.7V bulb for the Li-Ion batteries.

I can't think of any SF incan lights that will take either 18650 without extra work. Nothing from SF will accept AA's or AAA's.

Someone's already mentioned, two IMR16340 rechargable will fit into most SF lights (must be IMR16340). But you need to swap out the bulbs. But I dont recommend this setup, as the IMR16340 only has 1/3 the capacity of the 123 primaries and very short runtime.

However, I do like running my SF A2 with IMR16340, since A2 has a voltage regulator, there is no need to change the bulb, and it can also stretch the runtime out a little bit longer. However, the LED's on the A2 are not regulated, and it's recommended to mod the flashlight to reduce the current to the LED's.

Click to expand...

Look at it this way. By the time the led's burn out koala's onion rings would of come out already.

thermal guy said:

I realise that surefire is conservative as to the out put of there lights but still have a hard time believing that it puts out 250 LM more then there spec.I have used the P91 in the past and find it bright as hell but it was not putting out 450LM at least not on 3 primaries.

Click to expand...

Combine the following concepts:

1. SF underrating a bulb.

2. [(Va/Vd)^3]xLd=L

3. IMR 16340 or LiCo in 18500 or larger sizes.

------

Remember, on 3xCR123s, the P91 runs ~6.6V or less.

-Eric

My setup is a Surefire G2 with two AW 16340 cells and a Surefire P90 lamp assembly. I carry two spare cells and a spare P90.

I was just re-reading through this thread... Thinking....

If the primary purpose of this light is a fog-penetrator, then a floody P91 is probably NOT the way to go...

If compact size is important, stick with one of the lower output D26 modules, like in the P90/SR-9/G90 category. (~10W). The smaller filaments will produce a tighter beam which will probably better serve you in foggy conditions....

I was also just thinking, if you wouldn't mind a slightly larger head, a D36 would be ideal. LumensFactory just came out with their seraph line of flashlights which is jumping out at me as a possible solution...

You mentioned that a 2AA length light would be alright, so you might consider a 2x18500 platform for your incan, which will provide the necessary stored energy to get good output and reasonable runtime. An SP-9 with the D36 mini-turbo adapter installed, and a pair of AW protected or IMR 18500s driving an HO-9L would be pretty ideal.

Alternatively. You could pick up say, a SureFire 6P, and put a KT2 on it, use the included MN15 lamp with a pair of IMR16340s for a real solid thrower... That's a 2.5" turbo-head so might be a little larger than what you had in mind though, which is why I was thinking the D36, which is still in that acceptable size class for holstering...

-Eric

thermal guy said:

I realise that surefire is conservative as to the out put of there lights but still have a hard time believing that it puts out 250 LM more then there spec.I have used the P91 in the past and find it bright as hell but it was not putting out 450LM at least not on 3 primaries.

Click to expand...

Not to take things off subject too much, but.....
Primaries will sag considerably under load.
When testing my P7 P60 drop-in on direct drive with MrGman we tested it with 2 Primaries and the voltage of two primaries was 3.9v under load and we got 456 out the front lumens in a 6P hosts with UCL lens and DX clickie. The current at the tail was about 3A.

Now take the P91 with over 2.6A of current at the Tail and stick 2 big 17670 AW cells and not so much sag resulted in 466 lumens out the front. If things go well, I will try and persuade MrGman to test the P91 with AW 18650's from 1~3 minutes. I hope he can test the cells voltage sag under load at the same time. It would be good to see what the stock surefire cells do under load and how many lumens the P91 puts out with it.

Jose

mdocod said:

I was just re-reading through this thread... Thinking....

If the primary purpose of this light is a fog-penetrator, then a floody P91 is probably NOT the way to go...

Click to expand...

You're right.
There are lots of steam clouds, fog from evaporating liquid, and airborne particulate in different portions of my work area. Over time I've tried at least a dozen 26mm 9V LAs from Surefire, Lumens Factory, Wolf-Eyes, Digilight, G&P, along with some oddball ones that were probably rebranded G&P.
Not my pick for general purposes, but the Lumens Factory ES-9 is good for this use.
It's also the longest running LA of that size/type that I know of, with something like a 850mA draw, IIRC.

As mentioned previously, I think the 3-cell SF's like the C3 are a very good option. With this body length, either Incan or LED assemblies can be used, with either 3xCR123 (lithium primary) for ~7.5v or 2x17500 (LiIon rechargeable) for ~7.4v. Maximum flexibility & interchangeability, more so than a 2-cell SF w/ an incan lamp assembly, with which you cannot use CR123's for reserve and are often locked into small-capacity RCR cells, as there is no way to get the voltages to match for a specific chosen lamp assembly.

The above also reiterates the earlier post by dchao.

For example,

• 2xRCR123 (rechargeable) in a 6P/C2: ~ 4 watt-hours, & no CR123 backup option (cannot get anywhere near the same voltage - required for incan).
• 2x17500 (rechargeable) in a 9P/C3: ~ 8 watt-hours (for only ~25% greater total length), & 3xCR123 as a backup, providing the same voltage

However, this may be a larger host than what the OP is looking for.
My two lumens,