CRX, and anyone else who might be interested: I just took some rough measurements. The stack of 4 button cells (finally looked at what they are - LR44’s) measures about 21mm long. The inside of the host was very roughly measured to be ~28mm deep. With the 10180 in, the measurement to the back of the tube is ~10mm. I measured the total length of the threaded portion of the tailcap plus the uncompressed length of the tail spring, and it was ~12mm, so the springs are compressing just ~2mm with a 10180 inside. When fully compressed, the tail spring gives ~6mm of compression as it sinks into the tailcap and the top spring gives ~3mm compression. So, if you happen to have some 10250 cells, or if they happen to be easier/cheaper for you to get than 10180’s, you shouldn’t have any trouble fitting them in (without modding, I think). I don’t have any 10250’s to try, or I would.
Also, I’m charging up my 10180’s for a shootout. Getting ready for another beamshot because I realized two things this morning:
I didn’t make sure the cell I tested with was at full charge before taking the beamshots.
I also have a DQG Hobi that I could compare this to, since it uses a 10180.
Edit: Well, the zoomie light didn’t do any better with a freshly charged cell, and the Hobi didn’t have a tight enough beam to compare. So, no new pics today. Sorry!
Yeah, the original LED was a cheapie Straw Hat shaped “1/2-watt” LED. Those are actually never more than 100mA rated, so really about 1/3-watt total. Generously assuming 100 lm/w, you’d get around ~35 emitter lumens. If you look at my beamshots in the OP, it would be less than half the brightness of that dimmer looking one. Both of those beamshots were taken with the new LED, but the dimmer one was taken while using the 4xLR44 button cells that came with the light. The ~35lm light is plenty for most tasks in dark areas, if that’s what you’re wanting to know. It wouldn’t show up much in a well lit area, whereas the Nichia LED will make a really bright spot on a wall or ceiling, even with ambient lighting.
I’m sorry I don’t have a beamshot of the light before the mod. Maybe I’ll buy another (since I want to do this again anyway) and get that pic up for all of us to compare. I also don’t have an integrating sphere to measure actual output numbers. But, using a bit of relevant data on the rated performance of the LED’s themselves and a heaping helping of Guess-timation, I’d say the zoomie now makes anywhere from 6x to 10x the original light output. Hope this helps!
Hey Agro. I haven’t been around BLF very much lately. I can re-upload the pictures. But it might be a while before I get around to it. Google keeps changing their server settings or something. Those pics are still in my Google Photos, so the links should have been good. I’ll have to figure out what the deal is. Is there something specific you’re looking for?
