lux III or Best binned 1W ??

ledled

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I'm looking for a lux III light but I saw discussion other threads that talks about a best binned lux I will have the same output as a lux III with much longer battery life. That sounds like getting a light with the best lux I is a better choice.
Are there any manufacture states what bin of LED they're using? Or I have to find them just by "pure luck"?
 

Erasmus

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The Fenix L1P has an R-bin Luxeon I LED inside, that's guaranteed. The new TerraLUX MiniStar2 also has a R-bin Luxeon I LED.
 

ledled

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Their web sites says 46 Lumens for the L1P. Is R bin the brightest Lux I?
Inoova T3 is rated 80 Lumens for Lux III.
 

Erasmus

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ledled said:
Their web sites says 46 Lumens for the L1P. Is R bin the brightest Lux I?
Inoova T3 is rated 80 Lumens for Lux III.
Highest bin for the Luxeon I is indeed R-bin, rated between 39.8 and 51.7 lumens. Luxeon III are available in S-bin, T-bin (about 15 dollars on this forum), and U-bin (quite rare, sometimes available on this forum for 20-30 dollars). Lumens ratings can be found on http://home.comcast.net/~theledguy/bin_codes/. Unless you buy a U-bin Luxeon III, the R-bin Luxeon I will be more efficient (Lumen/W).

If you're planning to buy a Luxeon III flashlight, you can check whether the LED is swappable before you buy it. Then you can install a U-bin yourself when you can buy it for a good price on this forum :)
 
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cratz2

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I'm not 100% sure which thread you are talking about but another thing to keep in mind is different lights drive the LED itself at different amperages... For example, an R-binned 1W LED driven at 350mA is very likely to be brighter than an S- or even a T-binned Lux III driven at 350mA, and definately brighter than the same driven at 350mA. I think this is why a lot of folks will buy a 1W light (say the Costco 2xAA) then swap out the LED with a Lux III and are disappointed by the change... thinking it will be three times as bright on the same mA is just not going to make for a happy CPFer.

I will say that I own several R-binned lights (Fenixes, Dorcy 3Ds and one Element) and they are all impressively bright and white with only slight tints.
 
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yellow

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but ....
a Lux III, isnt this (more or less) a 1 Watt, but tested to be able to withstand more current?

So shouldnt the higher bin give more lumen at any current?
(given it is the same as the one going to the 1 watt)
 

wquiles

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From a numbers game alone, the S bin 1W' are awesome!. So basically, this is how I would put it:

Assume vf is J for both, and pick vf of 3.4V:
1W - S bin flux @ 350mA = 60 lumens average from 3.4*.35 = 1.2 Watts

3W - T bin flux @ 1000mA = 77 lumens average from 3.4*1 = 3.4 Watts

Clearly the S bin 1W is a LOT more efficient than the T bin 3W at their rated vf/current. In fact, you could build a 3x light with three of these 1W S flux LED's and get about 180 lumens from almost the same power & battery life as a single 77-80 Lumen light :wow:

Will
 

lamperich

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S bin Lux1 are already out there.
it´s the u bin Lux3

and dont forget

1 Watt und 3 Watt is the wrong describtion. also if lot´s of people(boardies with lot´s of postings or own homepage or both :D ) still use them.

the so called Luxeon 3 Watt(700mA) led is "only" ~1,7 brigther than a 1 Watt (350mA)
if you under drive a so called 3 Watt (@700mA) than it´s not 30% it´s also not 50%
it´s ~ *0,6 of lumen if driven @ 350mA


If you are try to talk about lumen/watt
oh men. :-D

watch out for postings made by macgismo evan newbie etc...


Biggest problem is still that to many torchs only sucks caused by ugly regulations resistor or direct driven led´s...
believe me one n´one is two
grinser2.gif
 
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Darell

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LOCO is more like it.
wquiles said:
Assume vf is J for both, and pick vf of 3.4V:
1W - S bin flux @ 350mA = 60 lumens average from 3.4*.35 = 1.2 Watts

3W - T bin flux @ 1000mA = 77 lumens average from 3.4*1 = 3.4 Watts
The thing I've often wondered about, and have yet to learn... how many lumens do you suppose the Lux3 would produce if driven at the same 350mA of the S-bin?
 

wquiles

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Darell said:
The thing I've often wondered about, and have yet to learn... how many lumens do you suppose the Lux3 would produce if driven at the same 350mA of the S-bin?

Per the table shown by Don on a UW0K, at 350mA, it gave out 56 lumens. What this tells me is that to obtain the highest lumens at 350mA, you either need one of these SX1J's that LEDSupply just sold, or you need a nice U bin like the one Don tested. I would "expect" that S and T bin 3Watters will not give as many lumens at 350mA than these SX1J's or U bin 3Watters, (EDIT) assuming that your driver can work at the vf of the LED ;)

Will
 
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lamperich

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wquiles said:
Per the table shown by Don on a UW0K, at 350mA, it gave out 56 lumens. What this tells me is that to obtain the highest lumens at 350mA, you either need one of these SX1J's that LEDSupply just sold, or you need a nice U bin like the one Don tested. I would "expect" that S and T bin 3Watters will not give as many lumens at 350mA than these SX1J's or U bin 3Watters.

Will

year but if the electronic inside your torch cannot handle the little vf variation you can also lose with a U bin.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=88003&page=3&pp=30


HEY it was your posting
yellowlaugh.gif
 

theamazingrando

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Erasmus said:
The Fenix L1P has an R-bin Luxeon I LED inside, that's guaranteed. The new TerraLUX MiniStar2 also has a R-bin Luxeon I LED.

Is it only newer MiniStar2 units that have a garanteed R-bin?
 

ktronik

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Darell said:
OK, so where are folks managing to but the Cree that seems to stomp all others at 1W? And how much are these little wonders?


Hey Darell,

I tried the first version of the cree x-lamp 3w 7090's...complete waste of money!!! :mecry: they were very BAD...

1. they need to be 'reflowed' not hand soldered...as they DONT like heat at all...hey I KNOW how to solder quick!!

2. the first run had bad blue rings... not nice at all...

Darell, I have 2 if you want them...FREE so you can blow them up

Lets hope the newer versions are better!!!

Best

ktronik
 

Erasmus

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theamazingrando said:
Is it only newer MiniStar2 units that have a garanteed R-bin?
True. TerraLUX only supplies the new ones with R-bin nowadays, but you'd better ask it to your dealer because they might sell old stock to you (that's Q- or P-bin).
 
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