Flashlight Host and Uncommon Budget Flashlights

That’s not so heavy for a 4 cell. If you want the heaviest flashlight host, get the TR-J20. I remember reading people weighed it at 1.5 or 1.6kg without batteries. With those crazy amount of fins, it should be able to handle 10k+ lumens until the batteries run out. I only wish it ran on 4 cells instead of 3 so you can put in some XHP35 HI emitters.

http://kaidomain.com/Led-Flashlights/branded-flashlights/trustFire-flashlights/TrustFire-TR-J20-12-x-Cree-XM-L2-13000-lumens-5-Mode-LED-Flashlight?sort=rating&order=ASC

I bought one too. It’s a nice 5A tint also, whereas the Arrow, Mouser, and elsewhere sell unbinned tints so you can end up with nasty yellow/green tint. The XHP70.2 4000k 80CRI M4 bin I got from Mouser is very far above the BBL and the tint is unbearable.

Oh those showerhead floodlights bring back memories! The quality is actually quite usable, believe it or not, and BLFers then did not have any issues with the quality.

I have a Trustfire X100 (7 x XM-L) which is 75mm diameter head, 3+1S tube design. It weighs 700g only though (3S tube) from my own weighing. The head of the TR-J20 looks more substantial though.

Trustfire X100
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.16.51e077e3bS5Geo&id=18364904880&ns=1&abbucket=12#detail

The problem is that these TF/UF/SFs do not install a proper ($:money_mouth_face: driver, all these lights were all not driven to its full potential. Of coz when 12pcs of XM-Ls are driven to its full potential, the whole package needs to be engineered properly for it to last, even if the head is spec-ed up to be a 2kg monster with crazy fins. The heat is still going to be phenomenal even with the TR-J20’s amount of fins. I do not think it’s going to be infinitely run even with a 2kg head, unless if the temperature is sub-zero and with a slight breeze, if not the electronics would burn.
Dunk it into a jar of water (till the base of the head, no need to fill her up to the top part) and it ought to be fine though, i have already tried with the BLF Q8.

Yes, TR-J20 = 单只重量1360g
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.8.4cfa6dffIofKKK&id=554906646863&ns=1&abbucket=12#detail

Later i am going to bring out my X100 and my triple XM-Ls (Xtar S1/Fenix TK-70/DRY) to test on the variable voltage 30A PSU. :slight_smile: Its been a while. I think the 26650 and 32650s are done for, 0 volts. :stuck_out_tongue: Now where are my 18650->26650 conversion tubes.

Yep, the Trustfire TR-J20 “budgetlight host” is a beast, even though it’s very underdriven. I guesstimate it should be around 3000+ lumens, wrt to my 3S driven X100 and the current they both take.

Ceiling bounce test in lux

TR-J20
Initial – 147.7
30 sec – 147.6
180 sec – 147.4

What? 10k for a few good minutes should be fine. :heart_eyes:

Strangely, the weight shown is different at every website.
Aliexpress shows it at 1,524g
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TrustFire-TR-J20-12-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-12-6V-5-Mode-Flashlight/32625088463.html
Lightmall shows it at 1,550g
https://www.lightmalls.com/trustfire-tr-j20-12-x-cree-xm-l-t6-13000-lumen-5-mode-high-power-led-flashlight-by-3-26650-26650

I think it is reported to weigh on the heavier side. The aluminum shelf is measured at a whopping 1/4” thick. I think with the mass and surface area in the head, this should be able to handle 10k lumens for 30+ minutes. Even the DX80 can handle over 7k lumens fr 1hr 34minutes and it has a lot less mass and surface area.

My dream project would be to replace the LEDs with 12 quad E21A 4000k from Virence.com, which is very efficient. That would make it a super practical light for photography or any other purpose.

Maybe it’s on the heavier side then. Just being over 1000g = no joke man, regardless that it’s 1.3 or 1.5kg. :slight_smile:

I saw a couple of those latest tens of kilolumens Acebeam/Imalent reviews on youtube, one was saying that on Turbo it’s doing 165 F (71 deg C) before stepping down………… so the “turbo/high threshold” might be a little different from what we’d personally expect from the more budget lights. Though the DX80’s lower output at 7k and 1hr+ is quite telling too (it’s gonna be ultra efficient at those levels)
eg on the BLF Q8 it is set at ~ 55 deg C, unless you change it to “timed” and push to 70 deg C manually.

Maybe it’s like what you have said, it shd be sufficient 30 mins 10k lumens run in cooler climates and the 70 deg C head temps/battery temps are not a big concern. :slight_smile: A higher temperature delta between the host-air interface also means higher heat transfer rate to the air.

Personally i am not a fan of pushing it that hard, also is coz my country is in the tropics (always hot!) so the batteries are gonna be risky. The head part (electronics and LEDs), well, i am still ok with that. In much cooler climates, i suppose the battery tube area is going to be kept quite cool.

For me a quick fix would be that i just tailstand the lights in a mug of water, at least to the base of the, so at least for the battery area it helps significantly. :slight_smile:

Your dream project looks cool, good luck……i always give thumbs up for efficient designs as they’d be so useful across many applications in reality, though that 1-2 pocket rocket hotrods for ultra specific use might interest me at times as well.

Or maybe put it this way, i prefer it to be pushing no more than ~ 1500-2000 lumens for every 100g. That’s for the mass aspect. Not only for the first cold start turbo run, but also subsequent turbo runs from an already warm state coz you have been using the light already and need a turbo, host already at 40 deg C. Heat dissipation via the air is added bonus of coz.

In my case and temperature, 3 mins (most times 2 min 40-50s) is what it gets the 400g BLF Q8 5000lm to 55 deg C thereabouts.

The MS12 may not have a precise stepdown temperature. I might vary from light to light.

I don’t know how accurate a lumen/weight ratio is going to be. There are a lot of variables. Maybe a wattage/surface area would be more accurate.

I did a test, my 700g Trustfire X100 maintained 66 deg C stabily with 30 deg C ambient, 1.43A 16.5 volts from my PSU = 24 watts, light is horizontal orientation so that the fins are vertical and supposed to get some slight convection going. But this 24 input watts means 3.4 watts into each XM-L only, very efficient.

No way that 65 deg C is hand holdable. I tried, 2 seconds is the max I can manage. The youtube reviews, i think it was the Acebeam X45, was doing 165F or 71 deg C before thermal regulation. You’d drop the light nearly instantly if you accidentally tried grabbing it near the head area.
Tailstand-ed, still ok

For sure lumens :mass ratio is going to be a rough guide, hence why i just specified a range (1500-2000 lumens). That’s the easiest to gauge as we have that info easily from the specs and you’d get the answer within a few seconds of eyeballing the numbers. :slight_smile:

Wattage:surface area ratio or mass theorectically makes the most sense, but it also depends on how efficient you think your LEDs are gonna be operating at the driven level, even if we are talking about the same LED type eg XP-L for the Q8 with the output at 3500lm and then at 7000 lm. Varies quite a fair bit, so that’d require a fair bit of work in mapping the lumens to the watt and also the efficiency of the LEDs between NW/CW. Not an impossible task, of course, just more work. You can also measure the wattage of the light, but that requires you to actually get the light first, or hopefully someone already has the figures. But no issue for the popular lights.

For me it such things aren’t super critical to get the exact figures of course, a ballpark figure more than enough suffices when trying to select a light.

Just an XM-L2, but useful for those non-modders who wants a warm white thrower shortie style light.
Head diameter 64MM Body Tube 35mm Length 170MM Host weight 328g(no batteries)
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=2013.1.20141002.9.27484096FrUk5i&scm=1007.10009.70205.100200300000001&id=524078887725&pvid=dfd13c1b-06a2-4607-8625-151569b616ff

USD 9….7A XP-G2 “EDC”
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=2013.1.w4023-737137492.4.436d4096QXDjdn&id=17372601709




Oh…this one chinese 7070 emitter light. I was shooting for 268rmb but the seller wanted 318 lowest. Single piece only though.

Someone did a test, conservatively it does 6500 lumens stock and 7.2% drop in lumens at 30s. The Sofirn Q8 comparatively did 6.x % drop at close to 5000 lumens. Not sure if the stock springs/driver would react positively to a spring bypass and electrical contact cleanings, if so 7000-8000 might be possible. Good enough for a 368g light. An olight X7 similar form factor is 9000 lm.

Please refrain from unnecessary bump.

Sorry my bad … actually it’s due to the behavouir of the board.

I edit the last message and it’d be bumped on the first page. It wasnt a delete and repost.

Post #328: I also found this one. They call it the Dongdonghai D8A. It may have a slightly larger reflector than the Astrolux MF02. Nice suggestion to use a XHP70 in it. But I would go for XHP70.2 and direct drive. There are some nice TA 30mm drivers.

Good idea, DD would be savage, if you have the “correct cells” to drive that. Will go chk the associated costs for TA, thx for the idea. :smiley:

The seller has 70.2 in the link i posted so you might save a wee bit on domestic shipping, or just get it from other TB sellers or your fav source.

Look at the flashlight again. The last option is a new one. It seems that is a 2S4P extension tube. Now things are getting really interesting! :sunglasses: The XHP70.2 listed here is the highest P2 bin: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=568795758705

Hmm…….

rmb 248. usd 35. Price is ok.

Nothing too fanciful, more of a thrower than a flooder with the decently large reflector and XP-L HI, so not sure where this 3 x 26650 would be useful (cheap-ass tripod mounted hunting light? :expressionless: ). 3P config though.
Shd be sufficient heatsinking + surface area for constant max level light delivery.

Looks is ok, throwback old school perhaps.
Overall shd pass for a budgetlight thrower just for fun/collection.

I have a couple of Palight years ago, pretty ok stuff.

https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.43.55cc6dffHt5xAC&id=558243771965&ns=1&abbucket=12&skuId=3467390289727

Same as the PAlight BOSS II, I think.

What are their battery’s like. Most don’t ship decent ones to AUST now.

3 x 26650, 3P config.

Yeah it’s mighty difficult nowadays. Even Taobao 3rd party forwarders with “Sensitive Air” options are trying to ask customers to limit the number of Li-ion cells per consolidated package to around 12 max.

This light is now sold at Banggood as a Haikelite Q30: Haikelite C30 7070LED 12000Lumen 5 Modi Ladeanzeige Licht IPX8 Wasserdicht Sale - Banggood Deutschland-arrival notice-arrival notice