How to activate turbo mode in V11R?

I just bought the V11R. How do you activate the turbo mode? Seems like the only control is the spin dial and it seems like a gradual increase and not a jump from 190 lumens (max) to 500 lumens (turbo).

So how do you activate turbo?

You put in an IMR 16350.

There is no set "turbo" mode like you're thinking of. The ring smoothly ramps the brightness from min to max.

If you're using a 3.0v CR123 primary then maximum is 190 lumens. If you're using a 3.7v 16340 li-ion cell, then max output is around 500 lumens. I think IMR cells give slightly more lumens than ICR cells.

ok, all I use is 16340s. How do I know I'm not running the LED too hot? Wish there was a way to go max "safe" mode. Not liking this.......

In effect Sunwayman refer to a 'Turbo mode' when describing this light and also in the instructions booklet but there is no such thing. As the others have said here above it is the use of a 3.7V cell which enables the light to put out many more lumens.

A 'safe mode' with a 16340 is IMO to go to max and then lower the output until you can perceive the light dimming a bit. This will probably mean you are down to 75% or less. This is at least what I do.

With current technology, there is no safe 500 lumens in such a small light. If you're worried about safety and longevity and want care free usage, then don't use an IMR.

Kilovolt said:

In effect Sunwayman refer to a 'Turbo mode' when describing this light and also in the instructions booklet but there is no such thing. As the others have said here above it is the use of a 3.7V cell which enables the light to put out many more lumens.

A 'safe mode' with a 16340 is IMO to go to max and then lower the output until you can perceive the light dimming a bit. This will probably mean you are down to 75% or less. This is at least what I do.

Click to expand...

badtziscool said:

With current technology, there is no safe 500 lumens in such a small light. If you're worried about safety and longevity and want care free usage, then don't use an IMR.

Click to expand...

Or get something like an SC52 that automatically ramps the brightness down after a minute at 500 lumens.

As a general rule, I'm fine with using a small flashlight at 500 lumens. Just make sure you carry it in your hand instead of leaving it unattended on table. When it goes uncomfortable to hold you should turn the brightness down to let it cool.

I've twice had small EDC lights become damaged due to heat.
1. The first was a brand new Jetbeam BK135a - I ran it for 5 minutes on a 1.5v primary on high. The light flickered and then afterwards would barely glow. The driver was fried. I got it back on warranty service, but the only driver they had to stick into it was the 3-mode driver from a PA-01. The elegant programmable driver originally in the light was gone. Note that the light was barely warm in the hand. It was not at all hot.

2. The second incident occurred with my heavily modded Sipik 58 budget zoomie. This is a small 1xAA sized aluminum light with a zoomable aspheric lens. I had an XM-L in it and was running a 2.8 amp Nang 105c driver on IMR14500. The light accidentally turned on in my pocket and ran for probabaly 10 minutes before the heat got hot enough for my leg to notice.

When I took it out of my pocket, the light was on full-brightness and amazingly still working with no damage to the LED, but every part of the light from the bezel to the tailcap was almost burning hot. So hot I couldn't touch it for more than a fraction of a second. After a bit of effort I managed to turn it off and remove the battery (which was also extremely hot).

After the light fully cooled, I put the battery back in and it seemed to work fine. But the next day I noticed flickering. When I checked it out, I noticed that the positive contact on the driver had fallen off (this contact was a small spring soldered onto the bottom of the driver). My attempts to reattach this spring or replace it with a solder blob backfired when I held the solder to the driver too long and completely fried it. Good thing I had a spare driver. I've since adjusted the sensitivity of that light's switch so that it is less likely to come on in the pocket accidentally.

Wacki said:

ok, all I use is 16340s. How do I know I'm not running the LED too hot? Wish there was a way to go max "safe" mode. Not liking this.......

Click to expand...

Sunwayman recommends NOT using MAX output on li-ion for more than five minutes. Based on my experience,.... I would cut that in half!! That little sucker gets way too hot, way too fast!! I would dial it down before it becomes uncomfortably hot. This is an EDC light with neat, if not novel, output ability.
I think common sense would be a good theme for this type of light.

Can you adjust how long you leave it in maximum output mode based solely on how hot the exterior of the light is? I ask because I notice in winter when the ambient temperature is below freezing, flashlights (obviously) tend to not get as hot on the exterior, but I worry that the temperature I feel on the exterior might not tell the full story of how hot the LED inside the case is getting. Does anyone ever apply thermal paste (like for CPUs) inside the flashlight to allow for better conducting of the heat to the case?

Fireclaw18 said:

Or get something like an SC52 that automatically ramps the brightness down after a minute at 500 lumens.

As a general rule, I'm fine with using a small flashlight at 500 lumens. Just make sure you carry it in your hand instead of leaving it unattended on table. When it goes uncomfortable to hold you should turn the brightness down to let it cool.

Click to expand...

That's probably the only way to have a small light that can put out 500 lumens, but when you do that there will be people that will assume that the light is no good just because it can't sustain that output for a long period of time. FourSevens experienced this with the S12 and they caught some flack for it. 800 lumens but it dimmed down to 400 after a couple of minutes due to thermal regulation, so people complained that it truly wasn't an 800 lumen light. I just don't want the OP to think that they can simply put in an IMR cell and then just assume they can run max output until the battery dies.

gizmo8500 said:

Can you adjust how long you leave it in maximum output mode based solely on how hot the exterior of the light is? I ask because I notice in winter when the ambient temperature is below freezing, flashlights (obviously) tend to not get as hot on the exterior, but I worry that the temperature I feel on the exterior might not tell the full story of how hot the LED inside the case is getting. Does anyone ever apply thermal paste (like for CPUs) inside the flashlight to allow for better conducting of the heat to the case?

Click to expand...

Most well manufactured lights will have excellent thermal conductivity from led to body, and some do indeed use thermal paste to aid in that. I think with aluminum and the temperature current leds generate, it's pretty safe to say that if you can still hold it in your hand without burning yourself, then the led is also safe. Of course this has exceptions like in poorly made flashlights, P60 formats without proper shimming, etc.

Wacki said:

ok, all I use is 16340s. How do I know I'm not running the LED too hot? Wish there was a way to go max "safe" mode. Not liking this.......

Click to expand...

As stated with the batteries you are using (3.0V CR123's) 190lms is the max. The LED won't be hurt running it at that max level for extended amounts of time.

With IMR 3.7V one can feel when the light (the head) is getting too hot.

I don't understand why a person can't use such a light properly. To me it is like driving a car, it can easily exceed any speed limit so it is up to the operator to keep it within the legal limits. For sure here is by far more going on with that activity than holding a flashlight.

notsofast said:

I don't understand why a person can't use such a light properly. To me it is like driving a car, it can easily exceed any speed limit so it is up to the operator to keep it within the legal limits. For sure here is by far more going on with that activity than holding a flashlight.

Click to expand...

I say the same thing. You don't have to hold it wide open all the time. I usually only crank my V11r all the way up for 30 seconds to sweep an area. Then I lower the brightness. If I need a lot of light for a long period of time, I use a large flashlight.

Lou Minescence said:

I say the same thing. You don't have to hold it wide open all the time. I usually only crank my V11r all the way up for 30 seconds to sweep an area. Then I lower the brightness. If I need a lot of light for a long period of time, I use a large flashlight.

Click to expand...

+1 on lou's advice. use a bigger light if you need more lumens at a longer time. Bursts only when using tiny lights with big output.

I EDC my V11R with a 16340 exclusively and have let it run on max for close to 5min and it didn't feel THAT hot. For instance, it didn't get as hot as my SC600 does on turbo before it steps down. I think 5min of 500lm is perfectly safe on this light... and that's pretty significant. I can't think of any real world scenarios where I've needed max brightness for more than a minute or two.

Azlum said:

I EDC my V11R with a 16340 exclusively and have let it run on max for close to 5min and it didn't feel THAT hot. For instance, it didn't get as hot as my SC600 does on turbo before it steps down. I think 5min of 500lm is perfectly safe on this light... and that's pretty significant. I can't think of any real world scenarios where I've needed max brightness for more than a minute or two.

Click to expand...

I have many 1 X 123 lights, and if the driver's voltage range handles 4.2v I always use 16340/18350 ICR or IMR's being mindful to use high sparingly. I too have noticed the V11R's lack of heat transmitted to my hand when running this light for a few minutes (accidentally) compared to other similar lights like the RRT-01, EYE 10, and D25C which all get very noticably warm to hot within approx 25 seconds.

I always felt the V11r's thermal managenment was less than optimal since I'm sure the heat being generated is unfortunately kept within the confines of the head/emitter and driver making potential damage more likely.

will the V11R do 500 lumens on a 3.7v 750 mah lithium-ion RCR123?

burntoshine said:

will the V11R do 500 lumens on a 3.7v 750 mah lithium-ion RCR123?

Click to expand...

540 according to selbuilt's lightbox measurements http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...3A-1xAA-14500)-Review-RUNTIMES-VIDEO-BEAMSHOT