ultrafire wf-502b beam?

Hi everyone. I recently ordered off of ebay an ultrafire wf-502b. I ordered the not ansi rated, probably over-rated 1000 lumen model. I was wondering if anyone else has anything to share from their own experience with this light. I allready have the specs. Also, whats th runtime, and on which mode is the runtime for. 1 last thing. I think i noticed one of the specs say its a focusing adjustable light. Is this true? Thanks so much for any help.

Ah these chinese specifications are really fun. wf-502b is a mediocre host but not bad. Absolutely not flood to zoom but fixed. Depending on the led used and reflector the beam vary slightly. 1000 lumens is highly overrated. MAX would be 900 lumen if heavily overdriven for a short time. For such a host 600 lm is pretty nice and reasonable. Can be driven harder but not for long.

It is a decent light, and like all P60-style lights with XM-L, it has a very floody beam. Nice size and all-around usefulness.

I have three of their host all with different bulbs. A MCE, a XPE R2 and an Osram Led bulb. I also had a XML one too. XML one was from DinoDirect and was rated for 600 lumens which I found reasonable. It drew 2-2.2 amps from a lithium ion battery. The beam really vary by the emitter and reflector. R2 is a decent thrower while MCE is quite floody. XML had a nice, broad beam more on the floody side. I prefer orange peel reflectors to have a smoother beam over smooth reflectors. It is a nice host, with clean and good size.

It's a solid light, worth the money. I have two of them for general purpose.

Given the high lumen specification, I assume it has an XM-L dropin, possibly driven hard. If that's the case, I'd advise you look up the threads where the process of stuffing the void inside the head with tin foil (to improve cooling) is described.

I never did that, as mine have low power drop-ins (XR-E R2).

EDIT: With an XP-G dropin it will be fine as is, too. It's only above 2A from battery that you have to start thinking about cooling improvements (or shorter runs on High).

I found well driven Q5's quite hot. I always wrap any dropins with foil. Helps with sag alot if anything.

Hi, is it possible to run two cr123 batteries instead of the one 18650 in the xml version? Thanks!

Welcome to BLF, embombs.

You need to know if the drop-in is rated at 3-4.2v or if it is higher, in order to answer that question.

2xcr123=6v

Hey thanks for replying! The problem I'm facing is that the chinglish specs say that it can come to over 1000 lumens with just one 18650 rated at 3.7v, even for an XML t6 I very micy doubt that. They don't provide any info about drop in voltage required :s. It would be awesome if someone has actually tried it to see if the flashlight does have a "booster circuit", which they claim it has and if we can utilise 2 cr123a instead of the 18650 for a higher voltage.

Thanks!

Cheers dude, very welcoming! :D

Hey,

The voltage requirement, if not in the description, will be on the individual drop-in (or should be). If it says max 4.2 or gives you a 2.7 to 4.2 range, you can't go over that. 2 cr123s brings you to 6 volts and rcr123s brings you to 8.4. You'd need to get the body and get an 8.4 volt drop-in to use 123s of any kind.

But why would you want to? That extra voltage will not improve performance, and 18650 discharge curve is more stable. At 4.5 volts, an XM-L is done playing as far as output is concerned. The XM-L drop-in will provide 600 usable lumens. You don't want anymore than that because they can't handle the heat. Running them frequently on high as they are will shorten their lives.

The exception is the Intl' Outdoors U2 bin 820 lumen drop-in with copper base. It rocks and sustains output pretty darn well! One of the most powerful XM-Ls I own (and surprisingly throwy for a "wall of light" non-thrower in such a small package).

The host is great. You might consider getting that by itself and pay more for a good drop-in. But with the general XM-L drop-in on ebay (I prefer smooth reflector myself), you'll still get great light. I have several and love them all.

Int'l Outdoors U2 XM-L - 10 ft from wall

these ultrafire 501's and 502's are great flashlights. as long as youre getting it for less than 14$ for the 501 with an XML, you cannot go wrong. the XML's in them (in my experience) are always 4.2 max voltage, and VERY bright. they come with actual glass lenses. I have three of them. I always watch ebay for them and bid and buy them if i can get them for 10$ or less (about once a month i get lucky and get them for 10 or under)

I got a -much talked about- manafont 3 mode ultrafire drop in for 16 bucks, thinking it was going to be better. its almost the same. the manafont one throws further somehow, while the stock 501b is just as bright, but is more floody and with less artifacts in the beam. my favorite light is my 501b with Orange Peel reflector manafont XML 3 mode drop in.. Its small (the 501b is the smallest P60 host I have found), bright, cheap, simple and reliable so far.

the next cheapest P60 that comes close is the solarforce L2 (which is a better host but not by much) but at 13.00 for just the host, then another 13.00 for the dropin... that makes the Ultrafires the best bang for the buck P60 hosts you can find.

Of course, this is all just my opinion..i have both solarforces and ultrafire P60 lights.. I dont wrap them in foil, or any of that.. I dont use them for more than 5 minutes at a time and the remain cold the entire time.

this post probably contained too much info. sorry.

Thanks your knowledge is awesome!

I know this is an older thread, but I’m new to this and researching a bit before I posted and this thread is the most relevant. I recently purchased an Ultrafire WF-502b led flashlight (also rated at 1000 lumens although I know this is a stretch). For batteries, I purchased online 4 RCR123A Protected 3V Rechargeable batteries along with a charger.

The batteries arrived today (finally!) and I charged them up and put them in the flashlight. Unfortunately, the light turned on for 10-20 seconds and then shut off. I took the light apart and read that the voltage for this light is 3.7v to 4.2v. So my question is whether or not I have the right batteries. My guess is no.

The 2 RCR123A’s add up to 6v total, and I believe the light would need a minimum of 7.4v (with 2 of the batteries). Did the light turn on for that short period of time because of an overcharge? Should I just buy a 18650 rechargeable battery to resolve this?

Thanks for any insight!

i think you just blew up the driver… like mine…i was bored and i want to see how bright is the light if i put 2 18650 battery together in serial… well let’s just say now i need another flashlight :smiley:

2 fully charged RCR123A = 8.4v 1 fully charged 18650 = 4.2v. You would have been ok using one 18650. Sorry to say but you might have fried it.

Yeah, sounds like you fried the driver. You could either replace the driver and run with a single 18650 cell or just replace the drop-in. I'm not aware of any decent XM-L drivers for the high-voltage cell combo you are using at this time. You can get high-voltage drop-ins but typically, you would use a single 18650 cell in this light. You would get better performance/more power from a good 18650 anyway...

Trustfire Protected 18650s - $11.70/pair

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/protected-trustfire-18650-37v-3000mah-rechargeable-batteries-2pcsset-p-7941

Ultrafire 3-mode (no strobe!) drop-in, VERY bright, nice unit - $15.98

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-cree-t6-3mode-memory-led-dropin-module-42v-max-p-5178

<edited to add>

Here's a post about a high-voltage SolarForce XM-L drop-in that would let you use your existing cells. This drop-in is very conservatively driven so it won't be quite as bright...

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/6828#comment-139039