And now for some progress photos from Clemence, on the E21A Quad going into one of the Utorch S1 Mini
The man is an Artiste! His work is way beyond anything I could have hoped for. He has even spent time improving the beam, by various methods.
I give Clemence’s work my absolutely Highest Recommendations. I feel sooo fortunate to have his help.
here is his site https://www.virence.com
Wow that really does look like a candle! Sweet I love it!
thanks, yes, it is intended for use inside my Westfalia Camper, after the campfire burns out, and for other fully dark adapted, close range applications
morning after
fwiw here are before and after Lumens, thanks to Clemence:
Utorch S1 Mini [OEM Cree XPL HD NW]
ML = 0.1 lm
L = 6 lm
M = 98 lm
H = 661 lm
Utorch S1 Mini [4x E21A D160 sm203 R9050]
ML = 0.03 lm
L = 3 lm
M = 36 lm
H = 273 lm
I really like the new lower levels, I only use the first 3 modes anyway
I have other lights with narrower and cooler beams for outdoor distances, like spotlighting wild pigs, turkeys, and deer. The aspheric lens of the Utorch is not the tool for that job. The Utorch S1 Mini aspheric lens has a great beam for a close range headlamp and floodlight.
Turbo runtime test by Clemence of Stock Utorch S1 Mini w NW XP-L
Notice the nice Flat Regulated output
Turbo Start
661 Lumens for 40 seconds
360 lm for 30 minutes
90 lm for 1 hour and 6 minutes
dim? lm for ? minutes, until battery LVP kills the light?
More good news regarding runtime of Utorch S1 Mini, modded to a single N219b 4500k 9080 by Texas Ace.
The light is working great.
Did a runtime test on Medium @39 lumens, lasted
3 hours and 17 minutes (it then stepped down to 2.9 lm and battery was 2.9v, 10 min later battery LVP kicked in and light turned off.).
That is exactly the same as the Stock XPL spec on Medium.
There is a 60% drop in lumens from 98 lumens on medium w NW XPL, to 39 lumens w N219b 4500k, but, No runtime penalty from swapping to N219b…
Happy Dance
Looks like:
the final rays before the Sun’s bedtime,
something you might choose to eat,
a Kundalini fire starter.
Jon_slider, those are some very useful info. Seems like the 4xE21A performs about the same as a 219B 9080 in the low end but I know they should be alot brighter than even the 219C at higher amps per Texas_Ace’s test. I’m surprised you can fit a 4xE21A in that Utorch S1. Does the reflector need to be cut to fit the 4xE21A?
Yes, I Love that color, but,
Houston, we have a problem
Its all Clemence
however, unfortunately, it has come to light that the Utorch driver does not appreciate the lower voltage of the quad E21a and that results in runtime on Medium dropping to 2 hours, instead of 3.25 hours. So Clemence has told me he does not recommend the quad E21a w the Utorch Driver.
Im still hoping he can make a single E21a work.
apparently the Utorch driver is designed for the Vf of the XP-L, and if presented with a lower Vf LED, the driver simply increases the current, thereby defeating the whole purpose of using a quad to increase efficiency.
Clemence Rocks
the Utorch Driver, not so much
I still Love my 4500k N219b modded Utorch, it has no Vf issues. Utorch should also be fine with N219c swaps, though I prefer N219b (NLA unless you find someone holding stock, such as Texas Ace)
fwiw, the Klarus Mi1c driver has the same design as the Utorch, except the screw that grounds the white wire is accessible without removing the LED board. (Mi1c modes are slightly different)
fwiw, the sw45 N219b Utorch mod drops lumens by 60% on all modes… quite a large penalty, but for my indoor, full dark use, not an issue.
my N219b lumen levels, on my homebrew meter are 0.1 2.6 40 220… runtime @40 lum is 3.25 hours… Turbo steps down at 40 seconds to 110 lumens.
also fwiw, w the stock NW XPL, the battery monitor blinks once at 3.8v, which with the sw45, the battery monitor recalibrates slightly, and blinks once at 3.6v
so, anyone interested in a Utorch S1 Mini, currently on sale for $20 at gearbest, bear in mind that it is a cheap light, with a cheap driver. And there are issues with the screw connection for the white ground wire. Some are not secure from the factory, and create issues such as, failure to work on Medium. Both Texas Ace, and Clemence, found loose ground screws in Utorch S1 Mini, and someone just posted here
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/50360/42
that they received a Utorch that wont work on Medium nor high… I suspect the loose grounding screw… and fixing that requires removing the LED board…
I have not heard of Klarus having the same grounding screw problem, and on that build, the LED board is cut away so that the ground screw can be accessed without removing the LED board. This is the version with a reflector
sooo… If you choose to buy a Utorch, dont expect too much from it. It might work out of the box, or it might not. Unfortunately the quad E21A gives up not only ~50% of the lumens, it also gives up ~40 of the runtime sad
the Klarus Mi1c aluminum uses the same aspheric lens as the Utorch. Klarus also offers a Ti and Copper Mi1c, those have reflectors and flat glass lenses. They produce a small and intense hotspot, that I do not care for indoors… but works OK outdoors for longer distances.
and trivia, the aspheric lenses are plastic, not glass… many have asked, few have been able to inform… so, you heard it here first! LOL
more trivia, the Utorch has a NW option, listed at 5000k, it tests at about 4250k. The Klarus has no NW offering, only CW…. All are low CRI. People will claim the NW shows colors better, but imo, not really, being low CRI, it still fails to show RED correctly, and makes it look Brown. Speaking as a Tint snob, with a strong bias for High CRI Ra, and High R9 CRI
Thanks Clemence and Jon!
Experiential Inventors and Alchemists like you keep this forum interesting.
A Motherload of useful information is contained in this thread.
Yes, Clemence has been nothing but a joy to work with. The Utorch not so much. Now Im thinking of trying a Klarus Mi1c, still aspheric. Reports from djozz indicate the Klarus runtime on Medium (6.5 hours stock) drops 23, to 5 hours with an E21A, but that still beats the runtime of the Utorch (3.25 hours stock), w quad E21A, that drops 38, to 2 hours. The reason the Klarus runs longer is because it is at a lower brightness. The reason the runtime drops is that the drivers increase current when presented with lower Vf than the stock XPL. I think…
The Utorch has a 100 lumen medium, and the Klarus has a 45 lumen medium, in stock form. The Utorch drops to 39 lumens w a quad e21A, (thats a 61% drop), while the Klarus drops to 30 lumens w a single E21A (a 33% drop).
The Klarus also has a better pocket clip, as far as bezel up carry, that I value for HatLamp Use…
stay tuned for the adventures of HighR9 in the land of Luminosity, not to be confused with LuciFerocity, in the UnderWorld.
Meanwhile I continue to carry the sw45 N219b modded Utorch, thanks to Texas Ace. Love the LED.
And if you cant be, with the LED you Love, Love the one youre with!
Got Mods will Travel.
this post needs more photos… here are some of the LED swaps being discussed, Im particularly attracted to the options with high R9:
less interested in the Lower R9 variants
And for a single EDC selection, my vote goes to the now extinct in the wild sw45
bottom line is that for the Utorch and Klarus lights, changing to E21A reduces runtime, while changing to N219b does not.
I had the same problem:
The lamp turned only on in dim mode.
(An hour before I had it tailstand on high an it started flickering, so I charged it)
I opened the lense and turned away the LED-board from the screw an it works now normal.
It was shortened. The day before kids used it constantly on high. I assume the board can start to shift with heat.
Thanks for sharing your experience joechina
I also had dim mode only, after using High mode, even on a fully charged battery.
imo the actual source of the problem is this screw (covered in solder), that is attached to the white wire (not the end we see on the LED board, but the other end), which is a ground:
To access it requires removing the LED board
Here is a similar screw next to the white wire, on the Mi1c, but it is accessible without disassembly because the LED board is cut away to reveal it.
Clemence told me the screw at the bottom end of the white wire, on a Utorch I sent him to swap LED, was very loose. imo when you and I have “fixed” the problem, by sliding the LED board around, we are jiggling the screw in a way that makes better contact, temporarily. My hunch is that the poor contact makes the light unable to move enough power to run high mode, and causes it to step down to moonlight. Just a guess.
My Utorch modded to SW45 9080 has been reliable since Texas Ace did something to anchor the white wire to the LED board with sugru, though that did not actually address the loose screw under the board, it seems to have stabilized the connection. He also mentioned that it seemed like the white wire may have been “shorting to the LED board”.
Due to this Assembly flaw (loose grounding screw), I am not recommending buying any more Utorch S1 Mini. I recommend the Klarus Mi1C instead. I like the lower moon level (0.2 lm) on the Utorch, better than the 1 lm moon on Klarus, but not the unreliability of the Utorch. I like the lower Medium mode on the Klarus 45 lumens (6.5 hours runtime), instead of 100 lumens on the Utorch (3.25 hour runtime). The Klarus has not had reports of failure like you and I have experienced with our Utorch.
We are screwed!
Twisting the board was not enough!
I still have flickering on high and on a second opening the screw does wiggle.
this is how Clemence solved the problem, he got rid of the screw and with his mastery of soldering, he got a blob to stick to the aluminum ring around the driver. It required complete disassembly, which includes removing the switch…
Update from Paradise
single E21A 2000k in a Utorch S1 Mini
you can buy the board here
and the LED here
and keep your eye on this link, if you want an N219b 9080
a little bird told me that the final batch have shipped to Bali, coming soon to a modder near you
and, let me give a plug for Clemence, the man has skills, contact him for modded Armytek lights, here is his store:
Wow, great thread! The UTorch tint is so much improved! I really like the look and features of that light, not so much the original yellow color. Love all of the examples you’ve provided with the different lights and their color representation.
Yes, the stock NW Utorch tint looked awful on white paper, but it worked very well even in stock form
fwiw, they are on sale atm for $20
I am resisting buying more
You don’t say? Do you have a link, I couldn’t find one for that price.
Oh Jeez…. Nope, nope, nope I have two versions of the olight mini s and Imma be strong and ONLY buy the maratac brass AAA! That’ll total six aaa’s inside of a month. Stupid freaking flashlight rabbit hole.