Good morning everyone. I recently acquired a Solarforce L2 and two drop ins. Both are XML2-U2s, one 3 mode, the other 5 mode. I dedomed the 5 mode, hoping for a little extra throw, but got nowhere. My plan is to get another host eventually. I want one for pure throw(smooth reflector, maybe aspheric lens, extended body for 2 18650s), the other for general lighting.
My question is, could I reflow an xp-g or xr-e to the stock star, or would I need to get a board specifically made for the emitter? I feel comfortable reflowing the emitter using the stove, or soldering iron. On the other hand, noctigon and sinkpad stars look to be the beez knees for solving heat issues(which i’m not currently having) and I could get the board with the emitter already soldered.
Between the xp-g/2 xr-e, which would make for the better thrower in my setup, or could the xml be made to throw like crazy?
I’m looking to get the best throw I can get without buying a whole new flashlight. So the shopping cart is going to look something like this:
28mm aspheric lens
Smooth reflector
16mm noctigon or sinkpad
Xpg2 or xre in the 6-7000k range(possibly already on the board)
Which emitter will give the best throw? I could go all out with an mt-g2, but I think that would wind up being more work than its worth.
Xpg2 r5 1A at 3 amps with a dome and an aspheric is a good thrower in a p60. Xpe2 is nice as well. Keep in mind the beam is very small and not all aspheric lenses have the correct focal length.
I got mine from dx and it works awesome.
Edit: don’t forget to black out reflector. I used a couple coats of krylon black matte. Worked great.
Just an FYI you can’t simply replace the glass with an aspheric lens and have it work, the aspheric has to be an exact distance from the emitter to be “zoomed in”, to close or to far and it won’t work right. Do some searches of P60 aspheric’s, there is a kit that was available but I don’t know if it still is.
I know you don’t want a different light but even with a properly focused aspheric a P60 still isn’t much of a thrower, why not a C8? Cheaper anyway.
If you’re going to have a few p60 hosts make one an aspheric. They throw a much tighter beam than a c8, they don’t reach as far, and are pretty fun to have around.
My p60 aspheric is in an unbranded l2p with a l2p head and l2t bezel. The l2t bezel sticks out far enough to cover the lens and still let the light head stand perfect.
I’m not using it right now because I’m trying to make it into a double aspheric p60. I’m a procrastinator when it comes to my own builds.
If you’re looking for a budget thrower go for a c8. P60 aspheric is pretty fun though.
I want to get as much throw out of the p60 as I can within reason. The XML seems to be the best for lumens, but not so good for throw, is this because of the die size?
Can someone answer my question of which between the xpg and xre would be better for throw. I’m going to get a second host from solarforce while they’re on clearance, just to tinker with.
XR-E is old. An updated XR-E die is found in the XP-E2. The XP-E2 can achieve the highest surfaces brightness at the lowest current. It won't be putting out a lot of light compared to an XP-G2 or XM-L2.
To be very specific to your question, the xpg will have better throw than the xre and the xpg has a much cleaner beam. The p60 reflector is very small and shallow so your not going to get a whole lot of throw out it, you need a larger and deeper reflector for throw. For a p60 drop-in the xp-e2 would probably give you the most throw.
Thank you. You’re the only one to actually answer what I was asking. I’m not going for any records or anything special. I just want to push what I have a little, just for my own fun.
There are a few l2’s that are on sale. I was referring to the battery tube or body by itself for $2.99 http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product_detail.php?t=FA&s=16&id=102
If you go through the accessories, you’ll find a few items at cheap prices. I don’t know if they’ve always been that way or not.
I answered pretty specifically about what you were asking. Your post #2 indicates that you would benefit from doing more research.
Your continued insistence on comparing the XP-G and XR-E really hamstrings any attempts to get help. The comparison does not make sense.
Those are the normal prices. While you can save about $1 by purchasing the L2 as a tube ($2.99), tail ($3.49), and head ($3.99) I would be hesitant to do that myself. Buying it as a whole costs $11.50 and means you’ll get parts from the same generation (good anodizing and machining matching). The L2M only costs $10.99, getting you even closer to the cost of buying the parts separately - maybe take a look at that.
I wasn’t comparing anything. And it doesn’t matter if its new or old. I asked which would be best for throw. Xpe, xre, xpg/2, doesn’t matter which has the highest lumen output or rating. Just what would work the best in the setup I’m going for. People like you are the reason so many get turned off from places like this. Someone asks a simple question and you have to be the all knowing god of everything and avoid just providing a simple, easy to understand answer. I’m not looking to become a led guru, or have the newest flashiest parts. I just want to tinker and see what I get. If by asking which emitter would be the best choice for increasing the distance the beam reaches and would be the easiest to match with an asperical lens, I was misleading in anyway, i apologize. It was not clear in the rules of the forum that everything had to be pinpoint precise in asking questions in order to get an answer that wasn’t condescending.
I understand there are quite a few different emitters available, XM-L, XM-L2, XP-E, XP-G, XP-G2, XR-E, XT-E. And then there are different bins for each. I want a 6-7000k color/temp range because I like a cooler white beam. The 28mm aspheric lens is what fits(may not need it now, if you see the beam shots i added a couple posts back).
Xpe2 in an aspheric makes a laser of a beam (in a p60) if my phone took decent beamshots I could show you the difference between 3amp xpg2 r5 1A and Xpe2 r4 1c in an aspheric p60. I’ll try this weekend when it’s rainy and dark. Then you’ll have something a little more tangible to go on.
That’s kind of what i’m going for. The head of the l2 has pretty long threads, which would lend well to zooming in and out to focus the beam when needed.
I took the lens from my busted sipik clone and sat it in the reflector from my spare drop in. It happened to fit perfectly in the reflector and at an almost perfect focal point for the xml2. I finally just blacked out the reflector with a sharpie temporarily.
You were asking the forum members to compare for you. Same thing.
I told you the XR-E was old because it’s relevant : advances since Cree stopped updating the XR-E have rendered it superfluous - other LEDs are now better for both total lumen output and what you think of as throw. Your stated goal is to “get the best throw I can get without buying a whole new flashlight”, so an XR-E is not the best option. Instead of typing all that up, I simply said that it was old…
and then I brought up surface brightness of more relevant LEDs, some of which had already been suggested. The brighter the surface the more throw you get. If you didn’t understand what I meant you could have simply asked. When I brought up surface brightness in response to a question about throw, I assumed it would be reasonably clear that I was trying to help out with that question.
Tinkering is fine, but you’ve already been told the cheapest way to get throw. Being ornery won’t make a P60 thrower any cheaper or more effective.
I don’t think it’s fair to demonize those of us who asked for details [in order to give you better advice! people who ask questions like this one rarely post all of the relevant info in order to get the best answer.] or those who posted information you didn’t understand. Asking vague questions is bound to result in requests for clarifications, warnings, or answers which lean towards theoretical. The exact same thing happens when you walk into a performance shop IRL and ask vague questions.
If you didn’t search up the gear Cereal_killer was referring to, I’m fairly sure he was talking about ahorton’s 27.2mm aspheric lenses and spacers. Illumination Supply has them in the US.
It’s worth pointing out that you will need to make a change to the “normal” P60 aspheric build in order to get focusing the way you are talking about. Normally the big spring on the pill is left in place, this causes it to ride forward along with the head/bezel assembly as you unscrew it - so focus does not change.
Ok, you’re acting like I was saying that any of the led emitters were similar in any way. Whether old or new, the emitters still function, they are still sold, and they can be compared one way or the other, correct? It would have been beneficial to just answer the question in the simplest form. For example: “X emitter would be the best choice in a p60 for throw”, “y emitter is older and would not be an efficient means of getting the desired result”, “z emitter would work, but is not the best choice”. But instead, you just gave a vague, meaningless answer of “its old”.
In real life, asking a vague question gets a conversation started, and usually if someone responds the way you did, and a few others, I inform them that they just lost a potential customer(have done it in gun shops, auto parts stores, and have never had one follow me out, continuing to talk down). And now, you’re just wasting time instead of trying to help.
