7-7.5 amps , i think some members have seen even higher values (~7.8).
With an R100 and my multimeter , even with short 16awg leads i was getting too a 5.5-6 amps reading , which of course was wrong.
I just measured stock driver, R100 and with wire added. Each with 2 different batteries. Convoy L6... XHP70 Beast! - #3979 by JasonWW
I didn’t like the lumen drop after slicing my dome, so I’ve got a new xhp70 on the way.
It’s almost impossible to get a pretty beam from the SMO. You always get differing levels of donut hole shaped hotspots. Some are better than others. It helps to move the emitter slightly off center from the reflector to get a smoother hotspot.
I cut the bottom of the reflector off and bolted the emitter in place. So I can shim the emitter up however I want and I still can’t get a pretty looking hotspot that is nice and smooth.
Once my domed emitter gets here I will try again to see if I can get a nice hotspot with the SMO reflector.
My multimeter read 4.1 amp with an added R082 resistor. So typical below spec, inaccurate measurement. Multimeters and their leads vary a lot. You can only do direct comparisons to your own measurements. Like before and after you added your resistor.
Even clamp meters can be a bit off depending on what brand and model they are. Most folks here use the Uni-T ut210e meter.
Thanks guys
Need to find clamp meter 
Reflector mod sounds like trial end error work with a lot of issues… maybe I will stay just with R100 / stock SMO… rather than jumping into sanding / cutting and looking for best hotspot.
Anyway, I’m happy to hear about dome + ref mod results!
Here is a comparison of a stock SMO reflector with and without the centering ring. I used thin tape to prevent any short circuits. The stock wires only allowed the reflector to drop down a tiny bit, but you can see how the corona around the hotspot starts to shrink. That light gets put into the hotspot which you can measure with a lux meter. You can’t see much improvement with the naked eye, though. So you need to decide if you want maximum lux or something that looks good to your eye.
Hmm, I’ve got an L6 getting delivered today and my plan was to slice the dome and leave all else alone. Is the lumen loss really that bad when slicing an XHP70? Is it a visual difference, or just a numerical difference?
I would stack a single R140 resistor and leave it alone. It’s really a great light and with that bit more power you’ll find it useful for all sorts of occasions. 
Dale, are you thinking instead of the slice, or in addition to it?
I wouldn’t slice it. The reflector is optimized to work well with the domed emitter.
The XHP-70 has fairly large gaps between the 4 dies, as such, there is just a weakness at the center of the beam and it will never really be a thrower, it’s not designed to throw but the opposite, to illuminate a wide area. Pretty sure they were thinking in terms of street lights and parking garages with this emitter. Difficult to make a cat bark, if you know what I mean.
Edit: As big as the flashlight industry is, worldwide, Cree is still designing their product for mains use and overhead lighting. They’re not really worried about the best possible flashlight emitter, or so it would seem.
Yup, between the large die area and the the gaps in between (of the XHP70) and the OP reflector (of the L6), I’m aware of the floody nature of this beast. I guess I really just need to try it out before jumping straight into the “need more throw!” boat. I’m just looking for a good mix of flood and throw. It’s quite possible that the large reflector and raw output will get me where I’m looking for in terms of distance. I can’t wait to fire this thing up.
XHP70.2 should help with the donut hole problem in the SMO reflector once that emitter is available. Lots of people here don’t like the tint of the new generation cree emitters though. Personally I don’t mind it, but it’s all personal preference.
I also don’t find myself needing more throw on much of anything, most of my illumination needs are within 100 yards, and the L6 is overkill for that IMO.
For enlarging a cylinder like that i would go strait to one of these i have in different sizes.
Off course i would have to weld something on to it to get the reach, and that’s also fine at drill speeds.
It’s a visual difference. When you add the resistor you get a visual bump in brightness. When you slice the dome you get a visual drop in brightness. It’s like your going back to before you added the resistor.
I don’t have a device to measure lumens, but I can do a ceiling bounce comparison once I get my new emitter.
Slicing the dome creates a smaller hotspot which is where you get the increase in lux, but I’d rather have the dome on and maybe move up to a FET driver. Get it pushing 6,000 lumen. That should be more fun.
It is.
I have a black L6 doing a bit over 7000 lumens. Domed, with the original OP reflector, it’s just a whole lot of light! Top bin, larger copper mcpcb fitted onto a machined emitter shelf with FET driver weilding ramping firmware.
My clear L6 is stock, at the moment, but I’ll be changing that soon enough too. I may just go with an MT-G2 as I’ve always loved the result from that big emitter… might be a month or more before I can do it though. 
Which driver are you using?
Not to do a COMBO BREAKER! or anything, but…
Since people have raised the point of making a version of the L6 as side-switch only, would it be plausible to make said switch a physical, reverse clicky like most of the usual Convoys (C8, S# series, etc.)? Or is the sheer power running through the torch too much for such a switch to handle?
I ask because I’ve seen selfbuilt review the Sky Lumen (Vinh Nguyen/V54’s own manufacturer) V2 and he said that the reverse clicky was a feature precisely because of the high amperage involved in making a 2000lm+ 1x18650. Though that was 2 or 3 years ago, so I dunno.
Maybe someone will find my comparision usefull:
SRK XML-2 U2 / Acebam K40M / Convoy L6 (R100)
Who?
The problem is physically fitting all the parts. I’m working on a side clicky Ultrafire FX13 at the moment.
Ideally you want the switch between the batteries and the driver, but there is no room. So you have to put the switch on top of the driver and somehow route the positive power from the top of the battery around the driver to the switch then back to the driver. That’s tricky.
You might be able to find an empty spot big enough on the driver to drill a hole, then mount your spring onto an insulated pad. Solder a wire to it and run it through the hole. Then you might get lucky and have a spot on top of the driver to connect the positive wire from the switch to. If not you’ll need to run 2 wires through the driver.
Sorry it was to DB customs…but also to anyone using a FET driver for the L6.