This was my third attempt to get this light how I wanted it.
On my first attempt I tried a 4.5A IOS driver. I had all kinds of problems trying to get all three modes, and when I did, high started at.4.6A and the current would start dropping like a submarine trying to evade a depth charge. Then the emitters died.
On my second attempt, I used a Dry driver with 3*XM-L2 U2 1A on Noctigons, and wired the whole thing from stem to stern with 18AWG. It's a nice driver, but the best I could get was 3.37A on turbo. That's not bad, but I wanted more from this light.
Third attempt: I wanted to give that IOS 4.5A driver another try. I tested it, and it seemed fine. I'm wondering if the Fujik I used to mount it on the contact board hadn't cured enough the first time, and was causing shorts.
I removed the leads and replaced them with 18AWG, reinstalled it and...yikes!
At the tail I got
High - 5.1A
Med - 1.3A
Low - 0.12A
I'm really happy now! It's running nice with no problems.
I also double copper braided the tail spring. Why bother with all that copper braid only to place a brass cap on top of it, so I drilled a hole and inserted a 3.18mm copper rod through it and filed it down.
In the photo you can make out the copper rod I soldered through the brass cap.
Nice!!! That’s the same host as the LusteFire 3XU2-U3 that I crammed 3x MT-G2 into. I got right around 5000 lumens OTF, they are driven around 3A/emitter. I’d expect 4500 or so from three XM-L2 at 5A.
Orsm Ouchyfoot. I wonder if it was the Fujik or some other issue. 5 amps is in the sweet spot and should have no trouble heating the work place in winter. Is it night shot time where you are yet?
It’s the same as the LCK 5A driver except it was 4.5A custom for IOS. I guess it goes into direct drive when running three emitters on high, so it shouldn’t matter whether it’s labeled 4.5A or 5A.
With three 26650 the current is holding really steady.
ouchy - what cells? The super shockers are the same setup basically, and 6A can be achieved on hot cells. Worth taking a quick measurement if you got 3 fresh low resistance cells around. With the spring mods and the heavy gauge wires in yours, it maybe can do more. Would be interesting if this light does the same or better than the Shockers. The Shocker has the battery carrier which is probably a good source for voltage drop.
Tom. I’m using three KK ICR26650. The E-Moli’s gave me about the same reading, but they’re too long and the tailcap won’t even meet the threads. I Only have two of the Sonys 26650 so I’m out of luck.
I wanted to ask you about the current drain on the Shocker in DD. I was thinking of throwing a 5A LCK driver in mine, but am not sure if 18650s can hold up with the current drain.
The 26650s are rock solid.
PS: I’m charging up some high drain Sony 18650 to see what they’ll do.
I charged some brand new Sony US18650UTC4 cells and let them rest over night. They only gave me 4.7A. It was their first charge, so maybe they haven’t got their juices flowing.
A fresh charge on the KK ICR26650 give me just over 5.2A
Any recommendations on some good low resistance 26650 cells?
The original SONY 30A 18650's were as good as it gets. I used them in the Shocker for high amps. The TC4's I've not tested, not sure if better than the original, but I got some TC5's on order.The best 26650 is the Powerizer (no longer available), but a very close 2nd is the SONY 50A 26650. After that, dunno - guess the KK ICR's at 4000 or 4200. My hot J18 did best on the SONY 50A's I believe, better than the KK's for sure.
Ohh - maybe I used magnets in between, can't recall. The KK's you used were unprotected? Thought they were about the same length as the SONY's, could be wrong.
The driver board on the stock light didn’t have a spring. The cell’s anode butted directly against the board. I left it that way until I determined a spring wouldn’t hamper the tailcap being tightened down with KK cells.
I installed a spring with double copper braid and I am now getting a reading of 5.4A.
