Ultrafire XM-L 3 mode P60 drop in from Manafont

For testing I have the Ultrafire XM-L T6 P60 drop in from Manafont , http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-cree-t6-3mode-memory-led-dropin-module-42v-max-p-5178

Already I like it , simply due to it having no bl-inky modes .

Now I wrapped the drop in , in my Gunmetal grey Solarforce L2 , which used to be SSC P7 . But with the release of the XM-L , the SSC P7 has become almost redundant . I like this drop in very much , 3 modes , Hi - Med - Lo , and no insane blinky modes . Now this drop in does suffer from heat sag , and quite a bit of it at that , but the starting output is really good , unfortunately it simply cant hold it [ more latter ] . The smooth reflector does offer a very nice beam , but no better or worse for that matter than the OP reflectors offer , I will test and see if it offers more throw .


I had no issues with the drop in , and it seems to be working fine , I wrapped it in Al-foil and made sure it was a very snug fit in the host . And after 2 minutes on high , it did get warm , I expect it will heat up a flashlight very much like a good performing SSC P7 , which means after 5 minutes on high , the host will most likely be hot , very hot . Now in all fairness the Medium setting offers more than enough light for everyday use + better current and run time , as does low , in fact with this one low is around 60 Lumen + or - depending on the individual cell used . I can honestly say , save high for showing off , this one puts out something like 350Lumen [ again depending on individual battery performance ] on medium , that is a lot of output , especially for medium , and around 1A current draw .


Next some performance figures .


Output is dependent on the cell used and the condition of the cell [ charge ] , I used two cells for testing , Panasonic 2900 and Solarforce V2 18650 .



Multimeter results = Panasonic

High = 3.4A

Med = 1A

Low = 0.17A


Multimeter results = Solarforce 18650 [ V2 ]


High = 3.39A

Med = 0.91A

Low = 0.16A


Light box results =

High = 1100+ turned on sags to 900+ within seconds

Medium = 340 to 355L

Low = 50 to 65L


Measuring the sag on high .


Start = 1100+ sags to 900+ within 2 seconds

15 seconds = 915L

30 seconds = 860L

60 seconds = 845L

2 minutes = 815L


Holly smoke , 1100+ on start @ 3.4A [ and possibly more ] , Im going to have to see about possibly re-mounting the emitter , and see if I cant stabilize the output a bit higher .. Still , an awful lot of sag , some 300L of sag , thats more output lost than most XR-E flashlights are capable of producing . I love the fact its 3 mode , blinky modes @ 800L are just annoying , so if you have to buy a XM-L drop in , well , look at this one .


I just love this drop in , its has potential . Im going to see what I can do about improving the heatsinking for the emitter , and I really hope Manafont can procure the 3 mode driver for re sale , so we can use it in DIY projects , I really like this driver .

So if anyone at Manafont reads this , please get this driver for us .


So far all the XM-L 's I have [ T6 - P60 drop ins ] seem to be doing about 800L , maybe less , so even with high current , they just dont seem to hold much over 800L once things settle , so at this time , the question begs , why drive them so hard ? 2 to 2.5A seems to be the sweet spot . Anyhow , this drop in Rocks , the driver is great , where has this driver been ?

Please Manafont , get this driver for us .


Bottom line = I like this drop in , especially the fact its 3 mode [ with memory ] , High - Medium - Low , it puts out a lot of light , but suffers from sag , stabilizing around 800L , Low and medium offer good output at much reduced current consumption . Its good to see some one offering an alternative to the usual run of blinky rubbish , and I am very happy with this drop in .

Now lets talk about throw , my best XR-E R2 P60 did 11200Lux @ 1 meter today , this XM-L did 13000Lux [ and dropping due to sag ] , and my DIY pill [ XM-L ] seemed to be holding about 13200Lux . The XM-L will not hold the focus though as it will flood out at longer distances , while the XR-E will maintain the spot [ hotspot @ centre of beam ] much better over longer distances . But still , that is a lot of power in the center of the beam [ XM-L ] , and the XM-L does throw rather well , but with all that flood , I guess it can be a little hard to notice .

It is really the heat that sags the emitter initially? 2 sec seems very quick for heat related problems... If someone has a way to try the dropin with 3-4 18650 in parallel to put the battery out of the question...

That fast its 2 things ...

1/ Too much current to the emitter

2/ Emitter not transferring heat to base/star quickly enough [ could be poorly or not as well mounted as it could possibly be ]

Or a combination ... The current does not back of , but rather increases slowly , another sure sign that the emitter is heating up ..

So initially , the current is 3.3A but increases quickly to 3.4A , and then holds ...

I think the XM-L is best @ 2 - 2.5A , [ no heat sag or over current ] , perhaps they will mature with time , and tolerate more current .

Perhaps finding a good hi-med-lo 2,4A driver would be best. /7amc could be near that.

I might see about swapping drivers perhaps , might put it into my DIY build as it seems not to suffer from sag ..

I just hope Manafont can source the driver for DIY .

Ive been unable to find a suitable one recently. I thought gettign the 8xAMC circuit board from KD and desolder/bridge over one amc... not skilled enough to know what em i exactly doing. It seems a bit logical to remove one amc but on the other hand i could eventualy f****up everything. XD

Best driver for me would be 2,7V-8.4V, linear, with output for 2400/2500mA, 1200mA, and around 150/250mA with good memory implementation. Im in for 5pcs if it gets done (at least).

I havent seen more than 2.4A from the KD driver .. I think you would be safe with it ...

Here's an animated GIF of the Ultrafire and KD dropins

I just got my Manafont XM-L dropin today.

3.38A on high with a fresh charged Flame Trustfire 18650... very nice indeed. Its home is in a shinny new 504B. Thanks Old!

Don thanks for that animated gif, but the image doesn't appear to loop. Tried it in 2 major web browsers. Interesting still.

Eagerly awaiting my Manafont Ultrafire drop-in. KD one arrived yesterday, my first, but that's for another thread. Thermally potted it tonight using DX 'thermal glue, grease-like'. That was fun (not). At least it's over. My aim is to be able to still remove the reflector. I noticed the sag too even though my KD one draws less current, I think due to my batteries and there's still sag. In my mind it's from heat, and someone here did a thermal potting using thermal epoxy (and only a little bit) and pretty much proved that. Batteries do sag too though. But he proved the thermal potting helped substantially and it seems like the major cause.

It isn't for me either though it was working before. I've made a new one.

Aloha old4570, now that you've had this for a while, do you still like it as much as you did as stated above?

I'm thinking about getting a couple. I really like the fact that it doesn't come with any blinky modes. Thanks.

yeah , I like it plenty .. One of my favorites ,

ATM I reach for either this one , or my DIY build on a XP-E reflector , or the RL-198 [ XP-G R5 and no blinky modes ]

I hardly touch or give a second thought to my XR-E's any longer , not that there not nice , but the XM-L , wow , it just ........... Blows everything away .

Sold! I was going to get 2 of them but now maybe I should get one for each of my p60 lights which is 6. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...... Decisions, decisions, decisions.....Undecided

Thanks old.

I like mine too, but I wouldn't get rid of my XP-G's. It is a little too much light on full brightness, great for lighting up an area but not great for seeing ahead. I tend to use my lights in short bursts to see what's up front, but with this one, you get blinded.

That makes sense so 2 it is.........for now. :bigsmile:

Thanks for knocking some sense into me brted.

Well , I dis agree ... Sorry ..

Blinded ???? If your in a hole and its pitch dark and you turn on a XM-L , I can see that ..

But if your walking around with a XM-L and change into high mode , not really , it will affect your night vision some , but so will any flashlight ..

Thing is , if you want to see , a XM-L on high will let you see everything out to 200 Meters or so [ dep on variables ]

I love mine , there just impossibly fantastic on high , for a walk around light , you would not really need more than low mode ...

Mine is 50+L on low , walk around with that and changing into high is not going to blind you , though I would pity anyone looking directly at it [ XM-L ] when on high .

I guess this is all about personal perception ..

Buy one , check it out , Im currently on 6 XM-L's .. Hopefully a 7th soon .

KD has run out of the 3 mode driver I liked , hmmm , so ATM Im sitting on several emitters , just thinking about what light to mod next .

I just bought 2 for now and I'm pretty sure I'll love them since I love lights that are really bright. I'll also probably give the other one to Norm to go in the wf-502b kit I gave him.

I just recieved mine today! love the no blinky modes. I dropped it into my solarforce L2i. Absolutely blown away by the light output on this thing. Now to dig up some aluminum foil to wrap it in :)

And now to find another nice p60 body to put the R5 drop-in into, that I removed from the solarforce. Perhaps I'll order another solarforce, I am really liking the quality!