Is there a better driver available for the xml led ? i have the 2.8 amp driver and although it is good the stupid modes are a right pain, also it's only 2.8 amp and the one on my KD XML drop in is pulling around 3.2amp from an 18650 and is noticeably brighter.
The driver needs to run off of 3 c nimh cells but i could use 2x18650 if required.
If you solder a short piece of wire to connect the 2nd star (clockwise) and the outer ring, you will get 3 modes, no strobe or SOS. I use a longer piece of wire and then snip it short once it is soldered down in place. It's pretty easy and getting the 3 constant modes is one of the best things about this driver.
Whatever I can get - tends to be Swan branded around here. Have used Maplin's own brand but it, like pretty much everything else they sell, is horribly overpriced.
I reckon if it'll work in a lighter it will work in a burner. And may well be a lot cheaper.
I mean butane is butane - probably some propane too as butane has an inconveniently high boiling point of -0.5oC
Thanks Don now just need to find a better driver, i'd love to have the the same dimming ability as the vara power but i guess that's going to cost a fortune..
It looks like CPF is still seriously screwed up, with so many posts missing/corrupted. My 300+ links are now completely worthless for that site, so it was all time wasted for me in building a useful reference index over the past few years. In answer to your driver question, a new thread was restarted on CPF from a guy that builds custom mag mods for resale. His builds are both innovative and well thought out, and his customers are nothing less than extremely pleased with his product.
The 19mm driver he uses for 2X LiCo is this one. Notice: its a 3 mode without all the blinky crap added on that most of us cant stand. Woohoo! Its about time. Reports of up to 3.2A to the led have been reported. In his CPF thread (and the older one, which is now gone - thanks to the extreme gross incompetence of the CPF admin) there are still no recent reports of this driver overheating when being properly heat sinked in his builds. The key seems to be in using short wire runs of properly sized wire (24AWG teflon silver stranded, or larger) and running with 2 x Lithium cells for 8.4V total after a fresh charge. Other configurations seem to have been less successful. I have this driver sitting on my self for a 2 x 18650 XML thrower mod but haven't gotten around to putting it together yet. I have no doubt that it will perform as expected. Hope that helps!
Or go direct drive with 3 C NiMH cells in a 2 D Mag and get 100% efficiency directly from the cells. Also wont have to worry about a potential LiCo explosion and still run with 5000 mAh capacity.