Just snagged this little gem for a great price at target and did I am really digging it so far. Retail on this thing was 25.99 and seeing it marked on clearance for 17.99 mad me buy it, Got it to the register and found out they hadnt tagged it for the final reduction and got it for 8.02 ! Heres the Lamp
I love that it accepts 4D cells for excellent availablity and runtime. It utilizes an XP-E emitter, unknown bin likely a low bin though, that happens to be WARM WHITE! Love the color with the shade on since it cools out the beam a bit, without the shade it is very warm(like it more without the shade actually).
Only issue I see is the chincy heatsink as it is just a wafer of aluminum bolted to plastic. I ran it for about 45min while eating and checked it after finishing to find it pretty damn hot. I dont think it is so poor the LED will suicide but it will Heat Sag a TON with that poor of a heatpath.
Here is where I look for assistance. I want to keep the emitter for budget reasons but it is soldered to an itty bitty board that is epoxied to the sink. Only salvation I see it desoldering the emitter……
Should I add to the heatsink or replace it?
That small rectangle is the only flat portion on the heatsink.
You could possible stick something like these onto the metal if only to add more metal to dissipate the heat?
A bit off topic, but DX seems to also be selling these shims which looks pretty good if you don’t want to use coins. Yes, I know, the only question with the shims is how much copper is actually in them? Answer - I have no idea.
It looks like you can increase the thermal mass of that lantern, but, what would it do for you? It will just prolong the inevitable: that the heatsink will become heat saturated. There’s no thermal lab out from the inside, is there? You need to get the heat out, not add mass to slow the process down.
I can see taking a chunk of aluminum, stick it in the lathe, cut some fins into it for surface area, and reflow that emitter onto a larger MCPCB, but, if its just going to be stuck inside a plastic case the the fins aren’t needed.
The stock heatsink looks like steel so its way less than good for even basic heatsinking. Replacing the stock plate w/ a decent aluminum copy would be a major improvement. Adding a few holes would aid air flow even inside the lantern. If you can find a way to add holes for airflow, and you wouldn’t need large holes, the emitter would likely outlast the lantern.
I modded an old Coleman incan lantern with an XP-G and drilled some small holes under an overhang at the top and bottom so that it would (theoretically) act as a chimney. I turned down and finned a piece of alu rod as the heatsink and it doesn’t warm, as far as I can tell, even after being on for an hour at 700mA.
I agree with PCC though, unless you can find some way to create a heatpath to the air outside the lantern, adding mass is just going to delay the inevitable.
that’s a really cool lamp. I’ve been looking for a deal like that for awhile - cheap, uses Ds, not too big, easy to add heatsink.
too bad there’s no target within about 40 miles of here
probably not a good solution for you if you want to stay strictly budget, but I’d slap an xm-l on one of these, ditch the fan, give it three modes (.6, 1, 2A) and it’d be one heck of a lantern…and still be under ~$30…
Excellent point on the cenvection deal….I can very easily drill some holes in the shade, base and top. That way its not just stale air in there.
Those little copper shims and dissipators look great but this heatsink is dished. I cant really flatten it either without breaking the LED or its pad.
Any ideas on keeping that little emitter? I love the tint and there is no reason to make it brighter. Even though I am REALLY tempted! I would love an xm-l in there, but I bought this bugger for runtime in case of power outage or the occasional camping trip.
The heatsink is aluminum though not steel, and it really does soak up the heat quickly.
