I think Old Lumens has driven them at 1.9a in atleast one of his projects
———4B XPG———————————4C XPG—————————-Nichia 219
On a multi mode light I run them at 1 amp on high and 2 amps on turbo on a single mode light I run them at 1.5 amps
Nice comp shot, E. Thanks.
I’ll put up shots from a whitewall shooutout once I get back to my laptop.
The pic in the OP was the result of my first attempt at reflowing! :party:
The 219 and the 16mm XP-series board are both from (you guessed it!) IlluminationSupply.
That is such a lovely, creamy white color. I have 2 of those at home and I havent done anything with them yet. :(
Buy them bare and reflow onto XP-G 16mm stars. That’s what I have started doing.
Never done that before. Add a bit of solder, lay LED on top, heat from below? Blowtorch or pan?
I usually do that directly on a ceramic glass cooktop.. level 7 out of 9 usually works fine, lower could also be fine. :)
Has anyone ever as IS directly if it is possible to get the LEDs reflowed onto the desired star?
Also add a bit of flux.
Pan is easier for keeping the LED level but either will work.
I’ve got some solder paste, that should work I guess. Will try a syringe to apply it.
I just ordered Nichia bare emitters and some 16mm boards. I’ll see in 3 weeks…
The three lights I’ve built around the 219 see a lot of use because of that sweet tint! I have 2 on-hand and I really want one to replace the XP-G in my Maratac Cu. I have yet to figure out the trick to removing the pill yet.
I have a really nice lighted magnifier in my shop except that it uses three small fluorescent tubes. I am going to replace them with either 6 or 9 of the ’219s.
I set the board on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil covering it. I put a tiny bit of solder where the emitter will sit. Then the pan goes on the stove over a low-medium flame. It does not take too long to for the solder to melt, maybe 1 minute. Practice on cheaper/fried emitters before doing the real thing
I use regular 60/40 solder rosin core solder, (.032"dia), if the pads are not already pre-soldered, some are. I just use the soldering iron and pre-solder the pads with "just a touch of solder" and make sure it levels out. I set the led in place and heat the star from underneath, with the soldering iron (I hold the star in a vise) and I watch till the led settles onto the star. Take the iron off and blow on it a little, to help cool it faster. I've never had one ruined, as long as you just get the star hot enough to have the led settle down in.
(updated OP with comparison photos)
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OldLumens, I like your idea. Tinning the PCB first and setting the emitter on the pad before heating again must alleviate the requisite fussing when placing the emitter perfectly in my method. Thanks for that!
That wall shot looks like a bag of Skittles ! I'm really digging the Nichia, and the Neutral (3C) XM-L.
Thanks for the pics.
I just reflow soldered 3 Nichia 219.
1st try was on a cook-top, trying to use the bit of solder that was already on the board. Bad idea; the board’s white coating got brown, the insulation layer smoked - and the LED didn’t solder onto it (no damage either).
Fortunately I ordered one excess board 
Then I took solder paste, applied it with a syringe, and heated with a normal lighter from below while holding it with locking tweezers. Success! Fast and simple
Now I can order bare emitters and driver boards whenever that’s cheaper/better available
Thanks BLF
thanks, what is the CCT of these Nichia 219’s?.
are they good for the eyes, as they do say between 3700-4300 is good.
also compared to the XML’s these only give out 200 or so lumens.
would it not be better to go for XML, & Incan?.
??
see;
True 90+ Hi CRI Warm White CREE XML P60 style replacement modules.
These are S6 flux 7A2 tint 3200k 90 cri emitters, S6 flux is the highest flux available in 90CRI. As with all XML emitters they have pretty good throw with a adequate amount of spill.
As with most warm white emitters these look much like a incan and the color rendition is great. At S6 flux it is the highest lumen Hi CRI single emitter I know of and only about 20 lumens less than a T2 flux. At 500+ lumens it is more than twice as strong as a 90+ CRI XPG.
thanks…
They are SW45 bin, so somewhere around 4500K.
Incan in a flashlight? Not really efficient. And the great thing about the Nichia is that it is very close to sunlight. The high-CRI XMLs are very orange, just like incans. Great if you like warm white.. but not everybody does.
I’ll wait for a Cree version now… the Nichias dedome on you if you breathe on them. Ruined 2 out of 4. I gave them up. With my poor night vision, they just don’t have the lumens.