Did you measured the current draw with 1x18650???? maybe is too high! 5A+ or more! (or not)
How did you managed to run it with ONLY 1x18650???
Hey yes! The 3T6 runs on 1 x 18650! Haha! My Sky Ray does not run on 1-cell, just does not light up. So the drivers are different definitely.
2.65A on 1 x 18650 with Solarforce battery at 4.23V (!!! tends to overcharge on the WF-188...hmmm). The value should be somewhat wrong (due to DMM voltage drop inside the meter), but not too far off. 2-cell is 2.1A actually with fully charged cells and 1.37A on 3-cell.
How to run on 1 cell? Just put coins at the back. Or if you want, magnets. You can do it safely here. DO NOT USE THAT AT THE POSITIVE END, esp with unprotected cells, sure short out in an accident. (eg hard knock)
But, how it is possible to fit ONLY 1x18650 and get it working?
Coins. In this mode, you can also do 2 x 18500.
1 x 18650 @ 2.6A does 87 lux reflected ceiling measurement. Compare this to 130 lux with 2-cell operation, drop of 33% well...not too bad. How much is that 87 lux?
Right after this, my Ultrafire P60 XM-L does 3.1A with the same battery in a L2T with wrapped aluminum foil, got 54 lux. After 30 seconds it dropped to 41 lux. 25% drop due to heat. :D And it continues to drop.....
Compare this to TK70's 250 lux, and the DRY triple at 310 lux initial and 250 steady. (if you are in sub-zero with a light breeze you probably do about 290-300) Those lights haul ass.
I have an AW so current draw should be ok, charging them up again for current draw test. I think driver is rated for 1,2 or 3 cells.
so it seems that 1 cell is not so good for lumens?
Nope...but nobody cares, it is small enough to put into your pocket and its like 15mm longer than your C8 and you don't have to buy 18500s. And the 18500s don't pack as much energy into the cells while i am sure most have good 18650s here. A Panasonic 2900 / 3100 should be a piece of cake even at 4A.
The Sky Ray can do 2 x 18500 and be a bit brighter (not sure how's the status of the reliability now + ordering from the stores, mine is rev 0), but definitely cannot do 1 x 18650 coz I tried. You can order a pair of 18500, but at an extra cost though not much. If you have lights like Sky Ray STL-V2 or Fandyfire STL-V6 (both are same light), then your 18500's investment is not wasted as they can use that as well.
My 2 cell version runs on 1 cell as well at just over 3 amps. The Xtar 2600 measured just a little over 4.1 volts unloaded at the time I tested it.
Edit: My original test was incorrect at 2.49 amps. Not sure what mode I was in, but it wasn't on high.
Seems like it is direct drive for 1 cell voltage. I tried a lower voltage cell @ 3.75 and it did 1.65A.
Like i said to Agenthex, i need to get a new meter!
What are you using now?
The same one which HKJ evaluated as the cheap meter as in the one you get in MF or DX (DT9205), but the leads are 10A AWG18 ones from my Uni-T. The Uni-T (low-end about $30) went haywire when i measured HID ballasts, you know when a 100W starts up it goes above 10A.
2100, I wish I knew what to recommend. The DMM's I own are close to 10 years old. I'm not up on current models. What are you looking to spend?
Probably a Uni-T 58E, I think the local electronics shop is selling at $50. Actually most models are around there for our really simple usage in this $$ range. For Flukes you really need to go the really high-end range.
Looks like a great meter for the money. Very good specs indeed :)
The specs are definitely not real. But I guess hopefully would be better than the really cheapo meters.
So you're saying it's like the Lumen ratings of cheap Chinese flashlights. What has this world come to lol!
i have not tryed my TR-3T6 3 x 18650 on 1 x 18650 only the normal 2 x 18650,s and the 3 x 18650,s im happy with running two most of the time, i didnt buy this cause it was a pocket torch i have others for that.
its the same as my TR-1200 it can run two or three 18650,s and the battery tube, extention tubes, glass lense and tail cap are all the same.
the only diffrence is the alloy ring inside the bezile on the TR-3T6 is where the TR-1200 drop in screws into and the head has less fins and the TR-3T6 head is larger and made for a screw in, the TR-3T6 it better handled for heat, but ive ran my TR-1200 for many 30 to 50 mins runs on high and one 85 min run on high and its current is pritty steady.
so the TR-3T6 host is just a modded TR-1200 host thats seams to be pritty common on the budget lights use in alot of torches from all over.
Does anyone know of a forward clicky that can be used with the 3T6?