Review: Solarstorm T3 (pic heavy)

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Hey guys!

i got a Sample from www.banggood.com to make a small review…

from their website:

Specification:
Product name: Solarstorm T3 3* Cree XM-L U2 2700LM LED Flashlight
Brand: Solarstorm
Model: T3
Emitter Brand/Type: CREE
Emitter BIN: XM-L U2
Material: Aluminum alloy
Mode: High/Middle/Low/Strobe
Battery Configurations: 3 x 18650 rechargeable batteries (Li-ion)
(Batteries not included)
Switch: Tactical push button tail switch
Brightness: 2700LM
Circuit: Digital CC circuit
Head & Tail: Stainless steel bezel ring, tailstanding tailcap
Waterproof: IPX-7, unable to support dive use
Color: Black
Weight: 290-gram
Size: 55mm(Head Dia.)*133mm(Length)*44mm(Body Dia.)
Package included:
1 x Solarstorm T3 3* Cree XM-L U2 2700LM LED Flashlight
1 x Strap

i ordered with netherland direct (fast in €urope) and after 2 weeks a well known gray bag was delivered (without custos sticker ;))

nicely covered in foam - a unsmashed brown carton box

a lanyard and a spare O-ring are packed together with the manual…

weeeelll - works not for me!

handy!

tailstand? YES!

writings and anodisation is very good

my threads have been greased (since mine is a Sample - maybe it was “tested” before it was sent?)

Lockout is possible and described

lets get inside….

3 Batteries fit without holder - the protected Panasonich NCR18650B (70mm long!) fit without problems!

the batterie tube seems to be made of extruded aluminium

the tailcap is somehow glued or so…

but there are screws!

the driver is heavily glued

- i have to think about sacrifying that light for science to look inside :wink:

the reflector is also very fine and the (non AR glass) is okay


LED are good in center

my Samsung phone says there is PWM - i cant see or hear any…

measuring the Amps is tricky when there is no tailcap…

1st: make a “batterypack”

2nd: solder the negative wire

3rd: get a “tail-contact-plate”

4th: bend your fingers!

High: 8,5 A PLUS
Mid: 3,45 A
Low: 0,24 A
with NCR18650B Panas @ 4,05 Volts

LOTS of light and it heats up QUICKLY!

UI:

  • a klick gives you momentary high - but is on 1/3rd of a second longer than button is pushed (kinda delay)
  • hold longer than 1,6 sec -> stays on in high
  • short klick toggles high-mid-low-high-….
  • holding 1 sec shuts the light off from any mode
  • double click always enables fast strobe (high)
  • when the light is ON the rubber button is green
  • the button flashes red once when powers on after lockout - but does not illuminate LEDs

some thoughts:
this thing is very bright!
… and very CW!
beam is nice - no mickey mouse shape :wink:
why do most lights start on blinding mode?
good value in my opinion

i will add beamshots IF i get my camera to do what i want (and i tried some time already :()

€dith has added some driver impressions…

.

my aff Link to that light: “thank you A
”non-aff”:http://www.banggood.com/Solarstorm-T3-3Cree-XM-L-U2-2700LM-4-Mode-LED-Flashlight-318650-p-933614.html

2

Thanks for the review. Are you going to try and pull the driver out? It looks like this light is well driven in stock form.

3

i think i will sacrifice it :wink: >)

4

Thank you for the review!
I really like the formfactor of that light. Looks well built too.

5

Thanks for the review :slight_smile: i’m curious if the T4 model is driven well too.

6

Agree with you about the starting in high stupidity, Dumbkoffs! |(

On my T3 I noted that the switch light does not illuminate until the power on delay for continuous on operation times out. Once the switch lights then you can release the switch and the light will stay on. Not sure that I understand the purpose of the power on delay though. Seems pointless to me. Prefer the power off delay to be closer to 1/2 second too. At least the light can be turned off from any light level rather than cycling through all of them.

Very light weight for the output level which means rapid heating of the light. This to me means that Turbo should either be on a timer or the light should include a temperature sensor to automatically cut back the output at a set temperature. As is it looks to me like they are asking for failures from uninformed users.

7

tsk tsk tsk filming in portrait mode

8

Based on ceiling bounce the T4 is also well driven. No current measurement done. Mine has been sent to RMM to see if he can fix the defect it arrived with, LEDs not shutting off completely unless lockout activated. If he can fix that I will also see if he can fit it with warmer LEDs as the color temp on both lights is very cold, per Fasttech about 8000K. My T3 shows lots of blue at the edge of the corona when do a ceiling bounce on a white ceiling.

9

i will do better next time!

10

As a comparison my T3 weighs 401 grams with batteries and my Supfire M6 RMM custom is 622 grams so over 50% heavier. The T3 battery compartment is 44mm in diameter and the M6 is 50mm. The M6 is about 6mm longer than the 138mm length of the T3 but note too that the T3 is longer than listed in the seller’s listed specifications above or the length listed on the factory box, 133mm.

11

Good Day M4D M4X, :slight_smile:
.
Great review….
.
Thank You Very Much,
Roberta 0:)

12

i got it out with just minor damage…
(-> fiddeling and kinking and pushing and bending needed…)

lotsa wires

here it is:

since it has 4 solder pads i am quite sure the same driver will be used in the T4…
do the 000 resistors have a lot of resistance? maybe i bridge them…

to becomplete:

and a look at the emitters on their 3mm thick base…

13

Great review M4D M4X. :slight_smile:

I need to refer to this thread whenever I buy this T3 in the future.

Looks like it is a FET based driver, great for high current draw. And yeah I believe those 000 resistors still possess resistant, I guess you can bridge them to achieve near direct drive.

14

Thanks for the disassembly photos. I note no components on the component side near the edge or obvious component traces so the board should be routinely removable from the battery side on these lights.

Why do the great majority of these 2, 3 and 4 parallel battery lights use just printed circuit board copper plating as the battery contact area? This material is relatively thin and soft. The only lights I have seen that use much thicker material are the Black Shadow Terminator and the SupFire M6 and L1 lights. Not only do they have much more durable battery contact designs but all of them have the board retained by easily removable fastener methods. The Terminator uses a center nut and the M6 and L1 units use a brass retaining ring like typically used in optics to retain lenses. On the M6 and L1 the retaining ring also is the contact for the battery holder body edge, the negative battery circuit contact surface. All in all the design makes for very heavy duty battery contacts and an easily removable ciircuit board for light modifications.

I wish other makers would do similar light designs as they appear to me to be much more durable and far better for light interior access for modification.

15

Thank you for the review if it was a NM or even a warmer CW tint i would get it but for me i have found that strongly CW lights give me eye strain and a mother of a headache.

16

I have a solarstorm sc02 that has this issue also. The led remains slightly lit when the switch is turned off. It turns off with a twist of the tail cap.

17

What the 000 resistor says?
-> Resistance is futile.
:bigsmile:

18

To me definitely a case of poor quality control. I wonder whether the lights in this price range are even powered up and cycled through all modes before being shipped. Interesting that both lights with the problem, yours and mine, are Solarstorm lights. Is this a design problem with the driver circuitry or use of cheap and leaky FETs.

19

I just had a look…
my LEDs are not glowing.

and I didn’t write that I barley measure parasitic drain!
(just the minus in my dmm changes)

20

M4X;

My T3 does not have LED lit problem either, just my T4 as received. Hopefully a rare problem because if it is at all common then I am sure that we will see multiple posts on BLF regarding it.