~3000 Lumen Magmod 4x XMLs Build Up

History:

Quite a few years ago I made a little Mag mod stubby that I always loved and was impressively bright. It ran on 4x lithium 14430 and those powered 3 cree XPG emitters. Many years have passed and I felt it was time to make something really fun using the newer XML emitters. With some new machines skills and access to a CNC mill and a lathe, I was sure this next mod had a lot of potential.

The Build:

First off I needed to get to the shop to create my led mount and heat spreader. I decided to use .125in thick copper to ensure the heat would be spread perfectly to the edges and then dissipated into the body of the flashlight head.



Next I knew I wanted to shorten the body of the flashlight so I cut out around 1.5in of body tube. Sadly I didn't take a photo while I was doing anything on the Lathe! I then bored out the inside of battery tube to fit my higher powered lithium cells and then created a pressure fit overlapping area for the two bodies to be pressed back together and look fairly seamless.



Once all the machining was done now I got to play with the electronics that had come in from deal extreme. I ordered a Deal Extreme 57779 which had not been tried yet with 4x XMLs. I put my leds on the copper puck proceeded to test them out. Sadly with in about 20 seconds I knew the driver would not work stock! The two diodes with the label D2 were heating up instant burn temps within 8 seconds of running on high.



So either I was going to need to get something kaidomain or really go high quality and shoot for Taskled driver (who is always out of stock! ). With limited options and both about a month away from actually getting a part I decided to replace the diodes with ones that had a much lower voltage drop and could be mounted else where to dissipate their heat directly into the body of the light. I got it all wired up and sure enough they work great!!! I even get amazingly great efficiencies after everything is said and done!

Kind of a messy photo but here are my two diodes mounted inside with driver board center!



Since I am using a custom battery pack I purchased a 4 series BMS board and go that all wired up:




The next piece of electronics I put together for the battery indicator light out of a little micro controller with a voltage regulator and a bicolor led. I wrote some code that was customized for my particular battery discharge curve. The light is green to about 75% then orange to 30% red to about 10% and then flashing red below that.

This is before I potted the circuit. This is the bottom and the top you can see the 8 pin micro controller.



All together:














Lastly beam shots:

The first set of photos is shinning the light toward a tree on the edge of our property which is 165ft away. The two streetlights right above that tree are 375FT away.

Control:

Fenix LD01:




Fenix LD20:


Trustfire FR-803:




Fenix TK35:

MagMod 4x XMLs:


And of course the GIF:


Indoors all lights, white wall, high shutter speed, all lights same distance:


My light and TK35 with different distances to make light spot size equal on both on high:


My light on low and TK35 on high, different distances to give same size spot:




Some fun notes:

Battery on high will only last about 23 minutes.

Battery on low will last around 2 hours!

Flashlight on high gets hot and I shut if off after about 7 minutes due to discomfort.

Lights up a room with ceiling bounce better than the room's actual light!

I love the light's neutral white color, creates much more usable light.

Got to run off to work I see if I left anything out when I get home tonight.

Very clean build!!! I likey!!!

Wow that's pretty darn amazing! Loving it

wow... very nice!

:rock:

Magudaman, I'am very impressed. You have done lots of homework on this project. Great job on modding the driver :thumbsup:. Nice pics and beam shots, thanks for sharing.

Ace build
Please tell what the optic is and where from

Very nice mod, I build mine using a DX circuit board SKU 20330 out of stock, I replace a cap for a 20v cap to work with 4 18650 in serie, work just fine... Thanks for share.

BTW, where you get the lens?

Beautiful job I think your optic might be holding you back in the field...would Ledil Boom Reflectors fit?

Thanks for all awesome responses! This project was a real pleasure since the last time I built up a flashlight it was before I had all the machining skills and equipment. This time around I was able to really do what I was imagining.

Yah I wish the optics were a little better and a tad bit more focused, they are extremely flooded. While cool to light up an entire area it really doesn't throw as far as it could for so many lumens. The optic is a deal extreme optic plu 1915. I should have taken some photos of it before I put it all in. I did have create 1mm insets in my heat spreader to get the correct height for the XMLs but it seems to work beautifully for ~$2. Plus it is 50mm in diameter which was the real selling point as it fits in a mag head stock! It does seem nice and clear but I am sure I am loosing a little bit but it is quite shallow.

One issue I have with my driver is a slightly low switching speed on low. While the spot doesn't create a visible flicker you can see it movements in your hands or really notice on moving objects.

This is one of the most beautiful not to mention cleanest multiple-emitter Mag build I have seen yet. Consummate work, IMO. Maybe you want to consider tube extensions to use 4x26500 or 32650 when you need extra runtime, lol.

StudFreeman said:

This is one of the most beautiful not to mention cleanest multiple-emitter Mag build I have seen yet. Consummate work, IMO. Maybe you want to consider tube extensions to use 4x26500 or 32650 when you need extra runtime, lol.

Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly.

Not only an excellent build, but a well thought out and enjoyable post. Thanks magudaman! This is what CPF is all about IMO.

This is the most amazing light I have ever seen. I love it. Nice job.

What did you do for the mag switch? Since you ripped out all of the original plastic switch what did you replace it with?

Sorry I never seem to be properly subscribed to my own threads. Anyhow I didn't actually remove the switch. Its still in there. It was substantially trimmed down and cut through to allow wires to pass from the battery directly to the driver circuit while others pass through the switch. I sadly don't have any photos of the switch mods

I was wondering if you would be willing to link me to the lipo cells you purchased? I'm having trouble finding lipos that would fit in a maglite.

Just wanted to say this is a gorgeous build. What a lovely wall of light

It is a very nice build.
I was checking beamshots, noticing tree behind house and tree on other side of road seem brighter in Mag Mod shots.
So it seems it is throwing.
But then I noticed a problem. The photos have different camera settings.
Exposure and aperture remain constant, ISO, (which is sensitivity) varies.
Control F3.2/1sec/ISO1600
Fenix F3.2/1sec/ISO1250
MagMod F3.2/1sec/ISO800

So control shot is not a control shot.
I'd say good news is Mag Mod at ISO800 is less sensitive than Fenix ISO1250.

So I'm being a downer on your thread, but at the same time upping the output of your mod

Check the house top right. Noticeably brighter in the Fenix shot compared to Mag Mod shot.

EDIT - check your cam. You probably have "Auto ISO" enabled.