12x CREE XM-L T6 LED Super Bright LED Flashlight

Hi folks,

I was polking around the internet and found this. It looks like they’ve finally did a 12X T6. I’ll have to think about purchasing this one, but my Skyray 9X T6 has been really excellent, so I may give it a try. Any thoughts?

http://www.epathchina.com/13000lm-12x-cree-xm-l-t6-led-super-bright-outdoor-sports-led-flashlight-torch-p-6574.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/13000Lm-12x-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Super-Bright-Outdoor-Sports-LED-Flashlight-Torch/707185281.html

Wow. Pretty soon our high end flashlights are gonna look like the ole Showerhead 101 LED lights you can get at stores.
Wonder how hard its driven?

The big problem is this:
The triple XMLs like TK70 are driven at 3 amps on high. A 5 XML at 1.9 amps will be brighter even with the same wattage because of better efficiency at lower amperage.

BUT, XM-Ls have a pretty linear performance curve (lumens per amperage drive) up to about 2 amps.
So, driving 9 lights modestly, or 12 lights a bit less should produce the same amount of heat and light and use the same wattage.

In other words, theres little point to adding more XM-Ls past a certain point because more LEDs doesnt give you more efficiency.
I’d be willing to bet you wouldnt see ANY difference between your 9XML and this 12XML.

they’re on ebay (just search 12x cree) and someone started a thread on the light here

my thought, shared by some others - we’ll see 18 next…look at the spaces in the reflector :slight_smile:

I love floody lights - but no way I’m spending $200+ on a crapshoot-fire

although - w/ 18x, one might be able to cram 2x of the KD 9x drivers in there and have a 130W ‘torch’, and 4x26650 IMR might give a
whopping 5 or 10 min run time, at which point, if the emitters aren’t toast, one might be tempted to quench the head in oil :Sp

hmm… something like this? it can burn paper :smiley:

Yeah, that is TORCH, not flashlight.

all of the above, there looks to a lot of vacant space in the reflector to say nothing of the fact that the head diameter is 76.5mm vs say the tf ak47 with 9xt6 and an 88mm head. guess you will just have to buy it and compare with your 9x :slight_smile:

ken

9 XM-L2 could equal= 10.000+ lumen @ 3A to each led.
27A total
27A/6 18650 batteries would equal= 4,5A per battery. Which should be no problem for normal good protected cells.
Now, give me a proper “compact” flashlight light that looks something light this with a proper UI (possibility to get into the mode you want quite easily):

Turbo: 30A (3,3A to each led, 5A per battery. Built in temperature monitor would step down the light to the needed mode)
High: 18A (2 A to each led, 3A per battery)
Normal: 5A
Low: 0,5A
Super low: 0,1A

One light to rule them all! :slight_smile:

youd be the perfect canditate to purchase this light too since you have that 9xml to compare it with. i too, also love floody lights!

I just received one of these, I know this is an older post. Tested it and at startup it’s pulling 4 amps. So, that means each LED is only getting .333mA! It is bright, but, I think it could be much brighter if the LED’s were driven better.

What driver would give more power???

Thanks for the help.

I have several lights that I want to modify. Resistor mods seem the simplest. I have double of a few lights.

Paul

You mean 4A at the tailcap? That’s 48W on three cells. About 3.5W per LED factoring some driver loss. That’s closer to 1A per emitter. Not horribly driven, probably could be pushed further.
BTW, welcome to BLF!

Yes, 4A at the tailcap. I would like to get more out of this light. It’s supposed to put out 13000 lumins, I have read (not tested it yet) that it is really closer to 3000.
I have a nice Sekonic light meter that measures EV and found a conversion chart. I may see what I can measure in the next few days.

Any ideas for a different driver or can a resister mod be done on this light???

Thank you for the welcome. I hope to spend some time here. I think my future is bright!!

Paul

Welcome, and this is a respected seller:

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S020991

Actually, you would be better to buy this:

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S021457

It is very strongly driven, and will produce more actual lumens.

3A each LED, 90+Watts, that's some heat to handle.

That’s 13000 Chinese Lumens, which has a conversion factor somewhere between 2 and 3. These lights have been made to output about 5k or 6k lumens. It is just too much power to get more than that in this light format.
I believe there is a thread on here about modding this light with a KaiDomain driver. Maybe it was 9x light but very similar.
If you want to and are comfortable with tearing it down and provide pics, we will be happy to help.

The first one you listed is the one I have, but i paid 57 for it. :slight_smile: I want to mod it to get a little more out of it.

Thank you,
Paul

Thanks for the Welcome!! :slight_smile:

Thank you very much for the offer!! I will be pulling it apart in the next few days. Hoping a resister mod can get it a little brighter!!

Paul

Ok, I put some fresh 26650 batteries in and retested, i have 6.2A at the tailcap. Better than the first test! So, this would mean 1.5A at each LED?

Thanks,
Paul

That’s a decent power input, assuming 80% efficiency, you are getting 60W+ to the emitters. That’s in the ballpark of 1.5A per emitter. Probably close to or over 4000 lumens OTF.

Now, when I just took it outside, it has a discernible hum/vibration. Why would that be???

Thanks,
Paul

P.S. I will test the output sometime this week.

That’s the flux capacitor :wink:
No idea, but it might be the driver’s boost switching regulator. Sometimes the coil can make noise.
Does it hum/vibrate on high? I could expect the PWM of med or low causing noise as well.