BLF edition Mag-Lite Mod?

[wight]

@DavidEF

@wight

DavidEF, have you had a chance to read any build threads?

I’ve read a few of Old-Lumens’ Mag-Lite build threads, and several other non-Mag build threads, including all of the Scratch-Made Contest build threads. But, as far as I recall, none of them say why they are making the choices they are, except for instances of personal preference. I may go back and read some more Mag build threads to give my brain a second chance at “getting” it. I was really NOT wanting to clone someone else’s build, though. And I really want to push this XM-L2, but I don’t want to break it with heat issues or poor quality work.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but you won’t be breaking any new ground with this build. Mag builds have been done six ways to Sunday, so you almost certainly will be building an exact replica of another build, especially with the path you’ve started going down (stubby 1s). For 1s driving an XM-L2 at high currents you won’t find a better regulated solution than a 7135 based driver such as a 105c. All the 7135 based drivers are functionally very similar. Your only other option is unregulated DD drivers such as the BLF20DD. You’ll be using an H22A heatsink and you’ll probably glue a cut-down Noctigon or SinkPad on top of it. There’s no originality there… and there’s no shame in that. Build it, learn from it, and enjoy the whole thing.

Pushing an XM-L2 all the way to the limit without burning it up is difficult with buck drivers that fit inside a maglite, read the HX-1175b thread for some info on poofing emitters. That’s probably one of the reasons OL recommended sticking with 1s Li-Ion or 3/4s NiMH. Notice that he also did not recommend DD, he specifically recommended a linear driver and he recommended 3 amps (which is not close to the “limit”). That leads into another thing…

The questions you are asking are not “mag build” specific, they are really just broad flashlight questions… batteries, drivers, etc. Nothing makes the Maglite special except for it’s size (and build quality). Jumping in to the deepest part of the pool is just going to land you a bunch of burned parts and a lot of dissatisfaction. The Mag builds you saw with little explanation as to the parts don’t really need explaining - they are self evident based on the components (batteries, LED, driver). Take a look at the information on HKJ’s website about batteries and drivers. Take a look at the information djozz has posted here as well as potentially the information Match posted earlier in order to learn about emitters and their limits. Most of djozz’s relevant threads are titled “crash testing”. This is the relevant XM-L2 thread.

Comfychair pointed out that for a 1s build you might consider going a different route. There are build threads around for other things, such as C8’s or HD2010’s. Maybe consider doing some learning there?

While I’ve never had a stubby Mag, I no longer see the allure. If it’s not a full 2D or 3D I’d just as soon go with a different host.

EDIT: You may later find that led4power’s LD-1 driver is a good alternative for linear drivers, but it’s not available for sale yet!