Eagletac MX25L3C heat problem

yang

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Jun 5, 2015
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Hello all,

I just got a Eagletac MX25L3C with nichia 219 B11 flashlight. As this is a my first high power flashlight, I am not sure if it performed as expected.

Basically, the heat it produced seemed to be extremely high! After I turn it on in full power, for 5 minutes it becomes extremely hot. I really mean EXTREME, I basically cannot hold the flashlight at all. I feel if I did, my skin will be burnt.

I used a kitchen thermometer. With loose contact, I can get 130 F degrees. The actual temperature must be higher than that.

Do you know if this is normal? Or maybe I am not supposed to put it in full power for that long? Will it damage the light? I am really confused.

Thanks,
Yang
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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9,258
I just got one and ran it on high. I didn't time it, but I think it was close to 4-5 minutes straight. It was warm/hot, but I could still hold it just fine.

Did you buy it used? The previous owner may have turned off the energy saving feature which knocks down the output 25% after 200 seconds. Otherwise, it only drops 10%.
 

chuckhov

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Feb 11, 2009
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Florida, AKA God's Waiting Room
What is too hot to the touch is relative to the individual.

You both may indeed be talking about the exact same temperature, and it bothers one but not the other.

We really are all different.

Thanks,
-Chuck
 

Mr. Tone

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Jul 2, 2009
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Illinois
Mine got hot like yours. You should make sure the power reduction is set to 25%. The fact that the outside is really hot is a sign of good heatsinking.
 

CelticCross74

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Aug 30, 2014
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Fairfax Va
Thats a HELL of a light for your first high power LED light! Most of us here are long since used to our high power LED lights getting warm/hot to the touch after just a few min. Almost all modern high output LED lights have power step downs built in to keep the emitters from cooking off but some makers like Eagletac have designed in ways to defeat or partially turn off the energy saving step down feature which is a feature on all 6 of my Eagletacs. I have the 25% step down feature turned off on all 6. I dont have the model you have but I do have the 2500 lumen MX25L2 it gets plenty warm but I guess I am just used to it. Most likely as is stated above the 25% step down feature is turned off and remember youre light is gonna get pretty warm/hot due to being multi emitter
 

markr6

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I'm curious. I'll turn the power saver off mine tonight and do a 5min test to see how much hotter it gets.
 

Amelia

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Mar 25, 2015
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I'm curious. I'll turn the power saver off mine tonight and do a 5min test to see how much hotter it gets.

I turned mine off (set it for 90%) about 10 min. after I got the light! :)
It gets warm... you betcha!

Great light. My favorite by far.

How are you liking yours so far? You got the Nichia version, yes?
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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How are you liking yours so far? You got the Nichia version, yes?

Yes Nichia version. I love this thing! If that switch was a Zebralight UI, it would be worth $1000 to me though!! Good enough...simple UI with a few hidden tricks.
 

Amelia

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Mar 25, 2015
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Yes Nichia version. I love this thing! If that switch was a Zebralight UI, it would be worth $1000 to me though!! Good enough...simple UI with a few hidden tricks.

That "press/hold for full brightness" is worth $1,000 to me... something even the ZL UI can't match! I typically run mine on low or medium while walking around, and "hit the switch" to blaze up what I want to see! :)

Gawd I love that light... I want to be buried with it like the pharoahs so I can blaze my way into the afterlife in style! :)
 
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yang

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Joined
Jun 5, 2015
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2
Thanks everyone. I will play a bit more tonight to see how the power reduction feature works. So far I like the nichia version. I saw some photos online that has pink tone, but I do not see it in my naked eye. I guess it is related to the color temperature setting on the camera.

I have one more question. I am sorry that I know the question is very naïve. The manual says if I switch 10 times between level 1 and 2 in 5 sec, it can go into tactical mode. I did that. The strange thing is it started to flash. I guess it is in strobe mode? If I try to switch to other level or cycle the power, the flashlight seemed to go back to normal. It seemed I cannot make it into Tactical mode? Very strange.
 

InspectHerGadget

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Apr 17, 2014
Messages
247
The problem with heat production exists for most lights these days trying to push out the most lumens.

I have the MX25L3 with the MT-G2 emitter and that gets hot too if you leave it on high for 5-10 minutes. It actually takes a very large heat sink and a correspondingly large and heavy light not to get hot with 2500 Lumens running through it and it does step down a bit automatically.

I have a TN32 with the XM-L2 emitter and the heat is not really a problem as it produces only 1700 Lumens and has a massive heat sink. Ditto the TN35 with the MT-G2 emitter I'm sure will run much cooler than the MX25L3 which is much lighter and more compact.
 
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