at some point I would like to put together a tri edc light. I have zero experience doing this and cant find much information that I can understand.
I would like to do titanium and if possible under $300. I would like something that is capable of 3000 lumens for a few seconds. I have a couple questions and as they are answered im sure ill have many more.
1. when you buy a host, what is included with this and what else is needed to complete the light?
2. it seems to me that inside a host goes an mcpcb and a driver. how are you able to know which driver will work with which mcpcb?
Your toughest part will be finding the titanium host. Also keep in mind that titanium doesn’t shed heat very quickly, so you will be limited to only a few seconds of max output, like you said.
For the insides, I’m assuming you plan on a 1*18650 host? If so, have a look here:
Yeah good luck with Ti.
Buy a Convoy S2 or S2+ host in your color of choice.
Parts are readily available to convert it to a Triple. I like the Titanium Grey.
When you commit to a host we can help with parts choices.
Thats not an easy one either. I have been looking myself.
Found a few reasonably priced on Ali under the Hedeli and Yupard names. No good pics of the internals. So I just bought a few to try out. Have 3 on the way.
I have yet to build a triple, but I believe the BLF X6 / Eagle Eye / Astrolux SS (the stainless+copper S2) makes a nice triple/quad host and has a bit of mass and heat sinking. That SS is sharp looking, might be worth a look.
Honestly, don’t buy one. It has a floating pill with a spring under to hold ALL the parts up into the lens bezel. No heat sinking to the body. And it will look nothing like my pic. A lot of work went into sanding and polishing it.
You can actually push the lens in with your finger. Spring will give some and you can push the lens in 3-5mm. Bad design…
Can you push the lens in with your finger? Not at all waterproof. I pretty much explained the flaws I see. Very bad heat sink with the floating pill. Absolutely Not triple worthy. I would not use a FET driver even with a single emitter. The floating pill will also have current limitations. I have a few other SS on the way to check out but they took almost a week just to ship out.
Sorry mate i just seen what you wrote now i think i was typing the same time as you! Yea i get what you mean its not the best it just looks okay i guess. I have never had a P60 style drop in i thought they are built like this? Mines nothing special as a build i wouldn’t Direct drive it for sure.
I can’t understand why someone would want to make his FIRST mod ever…and spent 300$ in it !
Why don’t you start with a standard S2+ triple ? You’ll have the 2500/3000 lumens you’re expecting and make all the mistakes needed to learn this hobby…for something like 70$
Then, buy whatever titanium host you’ll find and choose the correct tint (yeah, the first won’t make you happy), the right driver (everyone will recommend the A6 BLF 17DD, yet I don’t really like it) and the correct optic (10507 might not be your cup of tea, maybe you’ll like a more diffused beam)…
Usually a host listing will include what size driver and mcpcb to use butbut not just post a link and someone here can probably fill you in. The two main ways to get 2000 lumens or more is by using multiple parallel LEDs or by using a 6V led. 6V LEDs require 2 cells since there aren’t yet any high current hoist drivers that run on one cell.
I just got a tri ecd in the mail today. It is 2000 lumens and runs on an 18350. It’s the best looking light I own now. I am not really impressed with the output of the triple led light though. I am thinking of changing what I’m going to build to be a single led pocket thrower. This triple is extremely bright at 10” on my hand but at a couple hundred feet it isn’t very visible.
Yeah, if you’re after throw, then I’d go for a single emitter. Especially for your first build.
My first build was a Convoy C8 with XP-L HI and a 3A Qlite, all from Richard (RMM / Mtn Electronics). I’d recommend starting with something basic and inexpensive like that. Or perhaps upgrade to a FET+1 driver instead of the Qlite.
Or if you want something more pocketable but still with some throw, try a S2 (not S2+) with a smooth reflector and similar emitter and driver as I mentioned for the C8. It has a removable pill, which will be easier to work on compared to the C8’s integrated shelf. The shelf is better for heat management, but the pill will be easier to learn modding on.
Probably the first thing you learn is the striking difference between the lumens needed for a powerful flood beam vs a powerful thrower. If you’re looking for a good pocket size thrower the Brinyte B158 is a good choice. A bit smaller head than a C8 but with a decent aspheric zooming lense. If you want more similar in size to the 18350 tube light triple your collection should probably include a 14500 SK68. Neither one will hit 2k but both are potent throwers. If you don’t like square die throwers that use aspheric lenses then you probably need to look at lights with large reflector size/die size ratios to get a really tight beam. Among the jacket pocketable the C8 is a worthy candidate as is the D80. . Slightly larger but worth it in terms of output is the Small Sun Zy-T08 with its twin side by side 18650’s. I hope your wallet is well fed, even buying budget lights it can add up quickly.
Ohh good call on the B158, RBD. To date, my favorite aspheric. I’ve build 3 or 4 of those so far, and have 4 more on order. A B158 with an XP-L HI (or dedomed XP-L V6) and Richard’s FET+1 is a beautiful thing. Very smooth and tight (unlike, say the UF-1504 which seems to have way too much play in it’s zooming motion).
Most of those lights are a little big. The sk68 looks to be a really good size however. Are they pretty easy to mod? It looks like it throws around 250 meters. How hard would it be to get it over 400 meters?
I was looking at the TX25C2vn and really like the specs on it.
SK-68’s are fun and pocketable but the design is limited for heat because of the way the bezel encapsulates the part which contains the pill. A current bump is certainly possible with a mod to a DTP copper star and a more potent driver. Since most come stock with a 1.5V boost driver that maybe/maybe not survives 4.2V cells it’s not uncommon to change both. Most seem relatively simple to mod, I have one I eventually plan to hack myself, they’re cute little buggers with plenty of bite. 2000 lumens isn’t in the cards for 3-4 minutes though. Not 3-4 seconds either without lengthening the tube for more cells.
Slightly smaller than the ones I mentioned above but still bigger than the SK68 is the Eagle Eye X5 which has a nice SMO reflector. I’m a bit conflicted on it since the head is much larger than the tube so it’s not as edc friendly. I’d be more inclined to favor a chopped Minimag with an Ahorton lense to get throw without the bulge from an X5 or ripping my pocket on the fins of the SK68. Modding both the internals and the host itself really opens the door on imagination and is why I stick around.
