It's about time you experienced the DRY goodness. If you had to wait any longer for yours, I was going to send you a 'loaner.'
I use Callie's Kustoms, or AW cells in mine. IIRC, the highest draw on the CW I saw was over 4A, and just short of 3A with the WW.
Johnny, I was getting the same reading as you with the Panasonic's, and a little more with Xtar 18700's. Then I tried the Hi-Max 2600mah. Those give me 4.1 amps. I'd like to find 18650's that will allow for maximum current draw in the Dry
I get a reading of 4.6a with 3000ma flames..haven't tried my 2400 flames yet..
johnny -
I thought I read that some people were getting upwards of 5 amps? I don't know. I'm actually kinda glad mine pulls "only" 4.30. And, I'm glad you got your Dry.
So - thought I'd ask; anybody EDC their Dry? Of course I would never have been happy until I got one but, I tried actually . . . you know, using it as a flashlight. Certainly a wild notion but, I took it to work and . . . yeah well, handy it ain't. Great conversation starter but, Foy missed his L2P.
Foy
Thanks Johnny for the welcome.
I bought the Dry (the one with turbo that does not shut off after 20 seconds) and have the TM11, the TK70 and a few other less bright lights.
I have not been able to compare the dry to my newly acquired Electrolumes Bruiser since I sold my Dry to my Bro-in law (gonna order another today or tomorrow).
What I can say is that the Dry is certainly quite a light considering the $100 (including shipping) smackers. Certainly not as bright as the TM11 and definitely not as bright as the TK70 but for $100 it has got to be the absolute biggest bang for the buck.
The TM11 has more throw and puts out noticeably more light but does not dwarf the Dry.
The Bruiser, in my opinion puts out as much light (of course I am going off of memory) as the Dry but not as much as the TM11 (this is based on my eyes).
The bruiser has great build quality, one solid light. It is a very floody light and really lights up an immediate area, this will be my camping light.
The bruiser is smaller (than the Dry and TM11, actually a little longer but less fat) and uses only one battery (larger than an 18650) and has about a 20 minute battery life. It has only one mode and is press on and release off or screw on (similar to my first Surefire).
If anyone cares I will do a more complete review and include pictures of the lights side by side.
If you don't need much throw and want a really small pocketable (in my opinion) pocket rocket the Bruiser is not a bad choice.
The Elektrolumens EDC is similar to the Bruiser but smaller and not as bright. Both have very good build quality.
Actually the DRY has been measured by many folks here and CPF.... for the record, the TM11 and TK70 does not have more OTF output than the DRY.
If you check CPF, the Elektrolumens Bruiser does not give out a lot of lumens too.... It is DD and 3 LEDs parallel, so you already have a good idea as to how well it does "as a system". Try a King Kong or MKNE 26650 in there though.... (esp the MKNE, from my experience in the XTAR S1 is 3P).
But don't put 4.23V Sanyo 2400s into the DRY and play with strobe (I think the prev version have strobe, the 3-mode, i still have 4 of them drivers after selling 1 off to a local flashlight pal... LOL!). I fried one of the XM-Ls in my DRY drivered SR3800. This reminds me to put my 3 x U2s into the light....or maybe i should change out the DRY's T6.
Hmmmm, interesting that the Dry would be have more OTF Lumens.
When I get my new one I will check again but when I use the lights for inspecting chimneys and looking into crawl spaces, the Dry does not light it up like the other 2. I also ordered the brightest Dry.
Maybe I am using weaker batteries. I will order some unprotected ones with my new Dry.
Anyone else compare them side by side and find that the TM11 and TK70 have significantly more light.
You need to have better batteries. Trustfire Flames 2400s are good and cheap (get the protected cells). The DRY is a very simple yet effective device for its intended usage. 14mm MCPCBs mounted on a 3mm aluminum plate in a budget light host, lightly pressed down by the reflector, XM-Ls are direct drive in Turbo mode, hence batteries = output. No worries, there is usually enough chinese-brand thermal compound in there.
The easy way to check is just a current measurement at the tail. If that does not solve it, connect the tailcap up as well and measure. Best is about 3.8-4.0 amps. No need to go above that, but it would be fun next winter should it hit -30 deg C again in Europe because you do get about a 10% boost in lumens OTF. (I guess not too cold, as people do die from this kind of weather).
Try to get protected cells (nearly 100% safe), no way to tell when the driver can fail and give you a dead short scenario, but luckily it's extremely rare. But no telling when folks would abuse the drivers and just forget about it after that, eg by gunning the light in Turbo for 10 minutes @ 10 deg C ambient. (too hot...messes up the electronic components)
Heh heh...pounder, let me help you...your link is not working.
Thanks 2100!
Ha ha ha.
Gotta love forums. Had I kept my silly mouth shut I would simply think that the Dry was a great cheap light and I may not have bought another one because for me it was not as useful as the TM11 and not "nearly as bright".
Now that I have been corrected I can buy it again and this time get the right batteries so that it may actually replace my TM11 as my main holstered light.
Thanks guys for settin a nube straight!
Anyone know where to get these better batteries for the light?
These will fit the holder and give you maximum light output.
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/panasonic-cgr18650ch-2250mah-liion-battery-p-291.html
I think the CGR18650CH would be too powerful, those are nearly like IMRs. Too much current and it goes poof in Turbo.
Trustfire Flames 2400 protected would do just fine. Get 6 for your 2 lights. They are protected and to date no PCBs have failed me.
lol it's all good man..BTW..i'll trade you my Dry with batteries for your TM11 ;)
Get TF 3000 from manafont. They are protected, have more capacity and provide more current.
Well, look at this. This looks like basically the same light as the TM11 for about $65?
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1460 It's the same company that sells the Dry.
I'm gonna stick with the Dry though, already have the TM11.
Thanks fora all your battery referrals, just ordered them.
Here's the amps my DRY pulls on turbo with step down using trustfire flame 3000mah's from Manafont.
Follow up:
My Dry is still performing admirably. To be sure, it spends a lot of time on the shelf but no light in my collection can wow even non-flashaholics like the Dry. As more times passes, the simple design becomes its strength. It's a big, heavy powerhouse that never fails to turn on and never stops impressing.
There's a reason the Dry group buy is perhaps the most successful in BLF history; honest value, as-promised performance, as-promised delivery and a near zero failure rate.
All sellers should do so well.
howdryiamFoy