Surefire 6P Questions

I could've sworn, when I first got my 6P in 2006 its packaging stated a 600 lumen output. Now 12 years later, amazingly my lamp assembly finally burned out!

I tried getting an LED replacement for more lumens, runtime, overall lifespan, rechargeable 123A compatibility, etc. and I can't find any surefire brand product that's specific to the 6P. Looks like there's just a gross lack of support for the product from surefire. The only surefire brand LED conversions I can find are not for my light PLUS are grossly overpriced, replace the whole head AND cost as much as whole new light. So that's would be a no go even if it were compatible.

Why can't they just literally put an LED in the exact same drop in assembly?

So I settled for an off brand product that claimed compatibility. But when it arrived I found it doesn't even fit in the head. I can still put the bezzel on but the drop in is too wide at the end/doesn't taper correctly to sit all the way down flush. So the drop in protrudes from the body a little and the bezel can't screw down all the way. Probably not water resistant anymore. Ugh.

Anyway. On top of that although it claims like 1200 lumens or something it seems DIMMER than the original that was supposed to be 600. It's very short ranged and doesn't even outshine like parking lot lights at it's brightest point at close range so it's just trash.

So I gave up and decided I'd just get an original incandescent 6P lamp since that's what I got best performance from anyway. But the Surefire P90 that looks like the thing I need states only 65 lumens??? And that's just sounds TOO weak??? Plus I could've sworn my original 6P was 600 but I can't find any surefire brand drop in that puts out as much. So what's going on here?

I did find a P91 that puts out 200 lumens so I guess that'll do but is it compatible with the 6P???

Also is there any way to regulate voltage with a drop in component(body?) that would allow me to use rechargeable 123As with incandescent???

Your SF 6P journey could begin and end with the outstanding Malkoff M61 LED dropin upgrade; other members may stop by shortly.

(BTW the classic SF P60 lamp assembly was ostensibly rated at ~60 lumens for many, many years.)

+1 for the Malkoff M61.
Lifetime warranty, fits the 6P perfect. It will transform your 6P.

Russ

The 6P incan was only 65 lumens and has never had a 600 lumen version.

The Malkoff M61 has 450 lumens and will run for 1.25 hours on 2 x CR123's.

You can also run it on one 16650 Li-ion rechargeable battery.

Lumens Factory also makes several P60 drop ins that wouldl be worth looking at.

Yep get a Malkoff M61W and your done.

shipwreck. said:

I could've sworn, when I first got my 6P in 2006 its packaging stated a 600 lumen output. Now 12 years later, amazingly my lamp assembly finally burned out!

Click to expand...

SureFire P60 lamp = 65 lumens
SureFire P61 lamp = 120 lumens

These were the stock incandescent lamps available for the 6P, from SureFire.

shipwreck. said:

I tried getting an LED replacement for more lumens, runtime, overall lifespan, rechargeable 123A compatibility, etc. and I can't find any surefire brand product that's specific to the 6P. Looks like there's just a gross lack of support for the product from surefire. The only surefire brand LED conversions I can find are not for my light PLUS are grossly overpriced, replace the whole head AND cost as much as whole new light. So that's would be a no go even if it were compatible.

Click to expand...

SureFire produced the P60L dropin LED assembly in ~ 2008 and rated this at 80 lumens, then later ~ 2010 upgraded/re-rated at 120 lumens.

These were not especially popular, and have long since been discontinued.

shipwreck. said:

Why can't they just literally put an LED in the exact same drop in assembly?

Click to expand...

Yes, this is essentially what the P60L did, but also had the unfortunate tendency to fail prematurely, thought likely due to inadequate heat-sinking.

shipwreck. said:

So I settled for an off brand product that claimed compatibility. But when it arrived I found it doesn't even fit in the head. I can still put the bezzel on but the drop in is too wide at the end/doesn't taper correctly to sit all the way down flush. So the drop in protrudes from the body a little and the bezel can't screw down all the way. Probably not water resistant anymore. Ugh.

Click to expand...

Some "off-brand" products do not have optimal fitment, true.

shipwreck. said:

Anyway. On top of that although it claims like 1200 lumens or something it seems DIMMER than the original that was supposed to be 600. It's very short ranged and doesn't even outshine like parking lot lights at it's brightest point at close range so it's just trash.

Click to expand...

Some "off-brand" products rate their output ... optimistically.

shipwreck. said:

So I gave up and decided I'd just get an original incandescent 6P lamp since that's what I got best performance from anyway. But the Surefire P90 that looks like the thing I need states only 65 lumens??? And that's just sounds TOO weak??? Plus I could've sworn my original 6P was 600 but I can't find any surefire brand drop in that puts out as much. So what's going on here?

Click to expand...

The P90 lamp is rated at 105 lumens, and requires ~ 9V (nominal) input.

shipwreck. said:

I did find a P91 that puts out 200 lumens so I guess that'll do but is it compatible with the 6P???

Click to expand...

The P91 lamp is rated at 200 lumens, and requires ~ 9V (nominal) input.

shipwreck. said:

Also is there any way to regulate voltage with a drop in component(body?) that would allow me to use rechargeable 123As with incandescent???

Click to expand...

Yes, electronic "drivers" (converters, regulators) serve this purpose.

CPF has an entire subforum devoted to the topic of Incandescent Flashlights, much of which specifically discusses running these with rechargeable cells.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?46-Incandescent-Flashlights

From Malkoff, the closest currently available LED dropin to emulate the output of your original incandescent P60 lamp is probably the M61WLL ( ~ 80 lumens @ ~ 3000K )

You will, of course, get much longer runtime ( ~ 10x ) ... and rather lower CRI ( ~ 80 vs 100)

There have also been an M61LLHCRI with approximate ratings of ~ 60 lm @ 3250K (CRI >90) and possibly an M61LLHCRI2 ~ 75 lm @ 2850K (CRI >90) but these were very limited runs.

Lots of great info already.

I'll try to simplify some.
The 6P came with a module called P60 that gave about an hour runtime on 2- 3 volt CR-123 cells. 6 meant 6 volts. The P61 was brighter but it sucked up batteries like ice cubes in the Sahara at noon. The P90/91 were for 3 cell lights.

Now, like said there is an entire section here about P60 style lights made by SureFire and others. But Gene Malkoff devised a brass drop in module he called M60. Later he devised the M61. He also has an M361 for one cell lights.

The M61 comes in white, neutral and warm tints. (N and W mean neutral or warm). They act like the P60 in terms of runtime and like the P60 dim after the voltage of the batteries below a certain point. Say an hour plus dimming.

There are L versions, which put out about 50% of the full output of the M61 but runtime is like 5 times plus dimming. Then the LL is about ten times plus dimming.

If you want similar to the 6P when new the M61WLL would be about as bright. But runtime is crazy good on a pair of batteries.

A bonus is those Malkoffs run off a single rechargeable like a 16650. Malkoff Devices is the name of his company and he stands behind what he sells.

To get 900 lumens you'll need to buy a newer flashlight. Folks make P60 sized triple LED modules but they'd run pretty hot in a stock 6P.

Now if you want to update and stick with SureFire their G2x Pro is a great value and not very expensive. It's made of a very durable plastic like material called Nitrolon.

IIRC, the M361 runs up to 6 volts. Great info in this thread...

BTW, to get 600lm out of anything not HID back in 2006, one need to enlist the wizardry of one of out esteemed modders or torture cells and bulbs in Surefire M6 or Mag hotwire builds. It used to be rarified company. One can now choose between different formats making 3-4 times that in a Home Depot aisle. How far we've come...

"I did find a P91 that puts out 200 lumens so I guess that'll do but is it compatible with the 6P???"

You can run a p91 in your 6P. Just use 2X16340's. That what I have.

I had the same flashlight. Malkoff to the rescue. One minute install, guaranteed for life.

Yes a Malkoff drop in is what I would buy. Just choose the correct one for your personal preference. They have the M61 which is 450 lumens and a 6200K tint, they have a M61N. The N stands for neural a neutral 4000K tint and is 400 lumens. They also have the M61W it is 380 lumens The W stands for warm tint.

Then you can get into all kinds of super low modules 80 lumens and others for longer runtime. Very modular the Malkoffs.

Hope this helps, If you call the shop Gene and the team will get you straightened out.

My ~2010 LED 6P had a rated output of 80LM, lol. I added a Redilast XM-L2 1.5A 3 mode P60, for ~500LM ($40,) adding two Redilast 17670 protected 16650s.

$75 in upgrades added to the Lowes' blowout price of $35, makes it a $110 light that sits in a drawer.

I know we have a lot of SF fans on this board, but screw 'em.

Chris

I know most folks don't recommend them first but what opened my eyes to the possibilities for my old 6P were Solarforce Drop-ins. I think they may actually be getting hard to find now but I still use two of them in my Surefires. Both XM-L variants running hot from a single Li-Ion cell (16650) in both my C2 and my newer 6P. I'm guessing that on fresh cells they are probably throwing out around 500 lumens, maybe less but that's plenty for them. I keep telling myself that one of these days I'm gonna get a Sportac dropin for them...one of these days. Or maybe a Malkoff.

Don't foget those Rayovac P60 size units in their 2x AA Indestructable can fit and make a 2 level light. Now 2x123 cells would kill it, but a single rechargeable allowed to rest overnight from the charger should be ok.

WOW! I want to thank everyone for all the information! This is a super responsive forum!

I think I'm going to go with the malkoff drop in sounds great!

Gotta keep this 6P going somehow. It's tried and true, and I don't like all these newer lights with strobe settings and high and low output modes, etc.. I just need maximum output in an instant with a momentary on tailcap pressure switch. Seems like the only lights that keep it appropriately simple for my purposes are the super duper tactical ones that cost way too much haha

Can't really go wrong with a 6P host.

If you've been happy with the output of the P60 lamp module for all these years, perhaps you should look into getting more incandescent lamp modules.

I have a Malkoff M61WLL that I absolutely adore, but if you're used to the throw of the P60 lamp module, you might want to go with the M61WL or M61NL instead.

--flatline