Thrunite TH20 led swap options

I recently got the TH20 cool white that I have only one gripe about. The center beam is greenish yellow with surrounding spill that’s actually the expected cool white.

I’ve read an older thread about swapping for the Nichia 219c. I was considering this however I’ve read some saying these can sometimes have greenish tint too.

Even though I probably should by now, I haven’t yet accepted using 3 to 4k high cri. I tend to still lean towards something cooler around 5000k+. I use a good bit during daytime in shadow areas and maintenance.

Nichia has a 219c in 5000k that I was going to try but thought I’d come here to see if there were any updated options in my flavor for a TH20. I’m trying to avoid emitters that color shift with power levels and without greenish tint and not too yellow.

Pardon if my terminology isn’t up to par. I’ve soldered for many yrs but flashlight hobby is new.

Thanks I will look into that. I may buy a couple different ones just in case. Like I mentioned, the threads speaking on led swaps are a bit dated and there’s probably more experiences since then. Hopefully one of them will stumble onto this thread. If not I will grab a few bare emitters and learn something along the way.

Measure it and see if it’ll take a standard 20mm TIR lens. They mix light very well and can usually get rid of even horrible tint-shift.

My 4C S2+ had a standard fried-egg beam, where the hotspot looked way too yellow and the spill was quite blue, but behind a TIR lens it’s actually a great CT/tint, slight above the BBL but what I call “warm sunlight”, which is quite accurate, as sunlight’s a bit above the BBL, too.

Keep in mind that high-CRI can be a subtle thing, so don’t expect a psychedelic experience after swapping a high-CRI emitter. Nice absolutely, but you might have to “tune in” to those subtleties, especially paler hues.

Thanks for the tip. I can get an accurate measurement when I safely get the bezel off. I ordered a watch opener to get it off. It’s TIGHT and don’t want to scratch it to death. I could make something from aluminum but I need a watch opener anyway for batteries.

I was thinking I may order both a Nichia 219c D280 5000k & Samsung LH351D 5000k and see what comes out of it but your idea about the lens is something I’m about to look into.

Yeah that’s perfect description. Mine looks like a fried egg too. Wide white band surround yellow center. Green too!

Edit: I thought about returning it but hate doing that and it’s prob worth the trouble changing led because it’s seeming a good light. I have similar headlamps that take 18650 but are on the heavy side. I don’t care for wearing headbands tight to accommodate and don’t like the overhead straps.

I also want to point out I don’t think all the TH20 have the same issue. I wouldn’t doubt if they received batches of emitters with variances in bin or whatever

I ordered the 219c 4000k, 5000k, and LH351D 5000k. I even ordered another of the same emitter than came with it except for same bin. Hopefully I can settle on the first one I install. The others will come in handy later so I can see how they look as well, in person. I have a Lumintop Tool AA I may swap out too

Thanks for the help and will update results.

The TH20 is a favorite of mine. Next to rotary and magnetic rings, it’s one of my most used lights. Great ramping UI , reminds me a bit of the venerable NiteCore D10 UI. This one has been moderately abused , the design is rugged and waterproof. Reflowed the emitter to 4k shortly after receiving it. One of few currently available lights that I’ve purchased several of.

Okay, so I received several emitters from MTN. After 5 mins of making a final decision I went with the Samsung LH351D 5k which is still 90+ CRI. I’m very impressed. I couldn’t ask for better. There is no color shifting with brightness levels or off-putting center beam unlike what it came with. Nice uniform color. It does seem to be a tad dimmer than the original. No where near enough to matter. This may have become my fav light.

I’m starting to dig these higher CRI emitters. I have both a 219c in 4k & 5k left. I think I may do a led swap in my Tool aa using the 219c 4000k. It came with a cool white that I practically loved but now it’s seems too white without the realism of a natural light that these lower K’s have.

I picked up a Sofirn sp33 v3 on sale for $31. It’s a brut for sure. I haven’t had the time yet to really dig deep. I noticed it starts stepping down rather quick and is temp controlled instead of timed

Thanks to everyone

I also wanted to add that I just noticed while trying a nimh cell…the diff in brightness is much less significant than all my other lights of thesame size. I thought for sure I’d only use Lithium cells with this light but pleasantly surprised a high cap nimh will do just fine. The difference is subtle. 2300mah beats 750mah all day long!

I am interested in this light. Glad it’s not to difficult to swap emitters. How are the run times on the lower end. The specs say 21 hours at 1.6 lumens.

That seams short to me.

I have a Thrunite TH20 that was modified with a 219b R9050 sw35. Beautifully warm. Not very powerful, though. But it’s definitely sufficient for short range tasks. I’ve run only NiMH and Alkaline cells in it. Will finally be getting a 14500 cell soon and will be interested to see how much of a difference it makes. Very comfortable headband, especially since the mount is all silicone—no hard edges. Ramping is a little slow, but not a major issue.

I recently got a Sofirn D25L headlamp with twin LH351D emitters at 5000k. Very nicely neutral. Wall of light with reasonable throw. The only downside is the UI doesn’t have moonlight/firefly mode. The lowest mode is reasonably low, though. Trouble is that mode memory—you can’t force the D25L to start in low. It also remembers the last mode even if you cut power via the end cap lockout. But a small price to pay for something picked up for just $17 (Amazon coupon plus Sofirn coupon code).

It’s longer, I tested mine, with a Energizer L91. In infinity low, not moonlight, I achieved 8 straight days until the cell gave up the ghost. The light is a bit of a vampire too, which I prefer for my uses and wants.
Definitely recommend protected 14500 if anyone uses one in turbo for more than a minute at a time

The main difference is turbo mode when using a 14500 especially when compared to nimh.

The light has very near the same brightness using either 14500 or nimh when on high mode. It’s when turbo is used that makes a big difference. The 14500 is significant whereas nimh stays the same.

On high (not turbo) with a nimh there is 1.5 amp draw at the tail switch. With a 14500 the brightness is the same but drawing only .5 amps because of higher voltage. Turbo is approx 1.2 amps.

High mode is bright enough for my usage plus won’t need a protected cell which I do not own. I have bigger 18650 headlamps if I need something brighter. I haven’t done the math or further test my guess is I may get a little more runtime on nimh 2300 mah cell depending how it handles the 1.5 amps till the end. This is even if I need it all the way on high…

When we talk about replacement, do we mean 3-volt diodes?