M1, and a x6 which would you guys choose?
219C is a far nicer beam, tint and CRI.
XP-G3 is brighter
XP-L2 is stupid bright (and just as stupid hot).
I plan to build both a 219C and XP-L2 triple X6 as soon as the hosts show up.
219c is nicer beam, but the total light output is significantly less right? How would a 219 compare to a xpl In raw power?
219C is around ~1200 lumens vs about 2200 lumens from the xp-l2, both maxed out.
I have a quad 219C and it makes a bit over 2000 lumens.
A quad 90+ CRI XP-G3 makes over 3000 lumens
An XP-L2 would do even more, possibly as much as 4000 lumens.
Xpl2 sounds pretty good, but where I am ordering only has the 219c, and xp-g3 2d.
My other option is to order just the spacers, and buy the triple xpl u4 high cri from mtn
It has the color I like, and the output should be quite high off of a 30-q, with fet driver.
Any of them will work fine. If you want high CRI then you are ok with less output to get it.
If you want max lumens the XP-L2 is the best. The XP-G3 is a lot cheaper though and still gives impressive output.
Where did you find xpl2?
I would try the g3, but 2d tint is near 6000k
A 5000k would be OK. But the warmer 3-4000k just look so nice outside.
That is the way I should do it! Exactly what I want for my lights.
My only issue is that I don’t know if I could get them reflow ed on the copper star. I only have a soldering iron, a knockoff haiku clone.
I could get 4 of those. Do a triple with the x6, and just drive a single really hard in the m1. I already have a fet driver in m1.
They are not hard to reflow yourself with some solder paste and either a stovetop or a lighter can even work.
If you really want them reflowed then KD sells some on stars IIRC.
Or just go with the 219c’s.
Hmm, I had my eyes on some 219C’s to swap into my S41S, but those XP-L2’s are really tempting. How’s the tint shift on them? Better than the XP-G3’s?
Edit: just read your analysis on the XP-L2 and it’s tint shift. Ugh. I guess I’m still curious how they’d be behind a triple/quad optic.
By tint shift, you mean different color from hot spot to spill?
I am thinking those would be great led, they have good cri, and a nice tint
Yup, exactly what I meant. I’m curious to see for myself, so I just pulled the trigger on a few from Arrow. Went with XP-L2 70+ CRI V5 4000K.
The XP-L2 is going to turn that S41 into one heck of a pocket burner! Even my XP-G3 version gets silly hot lol.
The tint shift depends a lot on the reflector. I have not tried them in a few lights and the larger reflectors do very well with them, the smaller ones have worse tint shift frm what I have seen.
I have not built a triple with them yet but I hope to fix that today.
Do you have to dig out the triple/quad optics for XP-L2s?
I am not sure, I have not tried it. For the cute-3 you should not but the smaller triples might. Although slicing the dome is what I would do, it should help the tint shift as well, although it is unknown what effect it has at this point.
I am building some cute-3 based X6’s myself.
Here is a theoretical analysis of how the lumens output and the heat generated would change if changing the emitters in a triple setup from XP-G3 S5 to the >90CRI 4000K 219C D240. It was done using data from Djozz and Texas_Ace.
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/5oyz2e/triple_emitters_calculations_of_cree_xpg3_s5bin/
TL;DR the triple nichia 219C D240 should, on 100% FET, draw ~20% more amps and generate ~20% less lumens than the XP-G3 setup, if nothing but the emitters are changed, and the emitters run on less than 10 amps.
I didn’t read that entire reddit thread but there is an error in your numbers somewhere sadly.
For example a SINGLE 219 D240 will pull over 10A from a 30Q, the XP-G3 will pull around 8-8.6A.
In a triple setup with thin wires the triple XP-G3 was pulling around 18A IIRC, with better wires 20A would be more likely.
The 219C I would expect to pull even more then this. 20% more sounds about right so figure ~20-24A for the 219C.
I have an XP-G3 test ready, I will see about posting it in a little bit.
I understand the scepticism, but I’m rather certain that I have accounted for your point about a plausible error in the amp draw calculations. Maybe I have not clarified what I’ve tried to do clearly enough.
I don’t know what amp draw will occur in these triple setups, because I don’t know the circuit resistances.
Therefore I have calculated the resulting amp draw and lumens output from a range of circuit resistances (0.04-0.10 ohms), assuming an ideal power source at 3.8 V (non-sagging). At 0.04 ohm I estimate the current draw to be 13.5 A for the 3xNichia and 10.8 A for the 3xCree.
My conclusion of ~20% more heat and ~20% less lumens is approximately valid for circuit resistances between 0.04 and 0.09 ohms circuit resistances, which is in the approximate range of ~7 A to ~12 A draw on FET. If your circuit resistance is less than 0.04 ohms (13.5 A), the Nichia emitter pretty much gains no output and only gains heat, while the Cree emitter has not peaked in output yet.
Edit: Forgot to mention, excellent data, Texas_Ace! I really appreciate the good work :laughing:
Also, thanks for the input on real-life experiences with amp draws - that indicates that I may be considering a range of circuit resistances a bit too high for real life situations.
Ok, I missed that part, I saw somewhere that you didn’t think either would reach over 10A and then saw numbers based on currents much lower then that and assumed those were the numbers you were using.
At those voltages, those currents and results sound reasonable. Good work!