XML and XML2 de-dome color temperature changes

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

I de-domed an XML2 T6 3C LED. The original color temp was 4820K, a rather nice neutral white. The de-domed color temp is 3068K… standard halogen bulb warm white. Light output went from 865 lumens to 700 lumens. I think I’ll mount it in a Defiant 3C…

I used Coleman fuel to de-dome the LED. I removed the dome became it became damaged with the LED/heatsink toppled over face down onto a table when it was running at 3 amps. Burned a hole in the table and buggered the dome.

Edit: changed the thread title to reflect the addition of the 6500K XML T6 data

2

Nice, quantifiable data - thanks for sharing !

3

+1

4

Thanks.

5

It’s interesting how the color temperature actually became warmer.

Most dedomes I’ve seen made made it cooler because some of the phosphor that converts blue into white light was chipped off.

Was the dedoming process straight forward with the Coleman fuel?

Thanks for sharing!

6

A little heartbreaking to hear of a pleasant-tinted LED’s demise. Looking forward to the results of the Defiant build.

7

great info!

I put a dedomed xml2 t6 3c on 20mm copper sinkpad in a 7g5v2. I’m surprised how much I like the tint, now that I know the actual color temp.

I also did some resistance fixes, but was very surprised when throw went from ~85kcd (stock, collimator) to ~180kcd, although I suspect I need to measure from farther away. ~13ft probably isn’t adequate for that light…

8

The Coleman fuel worked great. The dome came off clean and no scuzz was left behind or removed phosphor.

A proper de-dome will result in a warmer color temp.

9

The Defiant went from 78.4 kcd with the domed XML2 to 160 kcd with the de-domed XML2… over twice the throw (measured at 2 meters)

These Defiants were mod’d with 3 amp Qlite drivers, sinkpad, and coated lenses.

10

Tom E started a thread recently with some good gasoline dedoming info in it. In case you missed it dedome.

11

Thanks. I remember reading about the various chemicals used to dedome them. :slight_smile:

12

I did some lumen measurements on the lights. Running on 3 C cells the domed XML2 was 680 lumens. De-domed was 595 lumens. Stock Defiant right out of the package was around 470 lumens.

Running off a bench supply set to 4.0V was 615 lumens de-domed, 720 lumens domed. This test was just with the head and bypassed the switch.

13

huh. well, i’m more confident in my numbers now!

14

How is the qlite working out with 3 x C cells? Im guessing it runs well on 3.9V or less?

15

It’s OK, but the C cells can’t hold the current for long. The Qlite/XML2 drops out of regulation around 3.6V

16

Some beam shots. Domed on the left, de-domed on the right:

17

Nice! What equipment did you use to measure the kelvin temperature? Would it be a safe bet to assume a drop of about 1,500k give or take when dedoming a led?

So a dedome of a 0A or 0B tint led (8,000K) has the potential of turning into a 2B or 2C tint?

Thanks!

18

I haven’t dedomed enough stuff to be able to predict what the outcome will be…

For measuring color temp I used this:

It has a Taos TCS3210 color sensor chip. I calculate the color temp from the color channel readings.

19

Thanks for the beam shot comparisons. Very useful!

20

What exactly do you mean by resistance fixes?