SF M6 with MN21

A question-discussion for M6 owners: the MN21 bulb gives you roughly 20 minutes run time for basically $10 worth of primaries..... figure $30/ hr runtime at current prices. Of the owners-USERS of the M6, how many of you run the MN21, and how many hrs/week-month do you use it ? For those that admit to running the MN21, is this level of performance necessary versus say the MN20 or perhaps the MN16 with an adapter? For the truly dedicated, what kind of bulb life have you averaged with the MN21?
I would like to keep the thread on topic and not drift off to other bulbs etc. I too have adapters and run various other bulbs, but since this is one of the high end incan photon setups out there, I am curious how many truly use it flat out?

I have two M6 lights, both with the stock high output lamp. The first light I've had for ten years now, and the second for maybe six years.

I am a very light "hobby" user, probably turning on the M6 for no more than a couple of minutes a month, if that. Perhaps more than 95% of the time, use is restricted to momentary on-off for a few seconds. I've gone through a number of battery changes over the years, but IIRC (knock on wood) am still using the original bulbs on both lights.

I use the high output lamps in all of my SF lights that have the high output option. If you're going for SF, go for the gusto... If I want/need lower output, I use a different light.

try the mn15 bulb. It is my favorite. With the M6 battery carrier, you'll get 200 lumens and over 2.5 hours of awesome white incan goodness! See here for lots of information: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/142517

The mn15 is more than enough light that I find for my tasks. If my tasks demand more light, I'll switch to a rechargeable mag85 or mag440IRC

The MN21 has never been a practical lamp since its existance, there are quite a few lamps that can outperform it while drawing less current...of course they aren't simple drop-ins...but they do exist

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2577578&postcount=1

DM51 said:

The MN21 is an amazing bulb, but unless you have an endless supply of CR123A primaries, it really isn't very practical. It draws 4.9 amps. People probably fire it up from time to time to amaze their friends, but even for that purpose there are more impressive options. ... For all these reasons I do not consider it a practical option.
Output………….. ððððð
Run-time……….. ðð
Practicality……. ð
Overall…………... :green:

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I use my PhD M6 with the MN21 daily to read 400bbl tank floats along with a Saint. Probably amounts to 10 minutes per week with 60+ switches per day. No bulb problems in 6 weeks :twothumbs

The PhD-M6 is definitely the solution. It has revolutionised the use of the MN21 bulb, making it an option that no longer costs a fortune to run.

flashfan said:

...

I am a very light "hobby" user, probably turning on the M6 for no more than a couple of minutes a month, if that. Perhaps more than 95% of the time, use is restricted to momentary on-off for a few seconds. I've gone through a number of battery changes over the years, but IIRC (knock on wood) am still using the original bulbs on both lights.

...

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This describes my use and experience as well. I generally have the MN21 in my M6, ready to go. But I do occasionally swap to the MN20 or MN15 if I need the throw but know I will need more runtime for whatever I'm going to be doing.

-Robert