I have 3x lower resistance springs (I replaced the springs to get better spring tension), and it makes a visible but in real life quite irrelevant difference.
If the Q8 will be used in real life, I would not for one moment think of bypassing the springs, they are an extra safety feature against accidentally inserting batteries reversed (btw, the positive contact ring will prevent reversed contact as well for most batteries that have wrappers that bend around the negative pole), and the extra output resulting from the bypass is produced very inefficiently (close to the flattest part of the current/output curve), so at disproportionate cost of heat and runtime.
At these output levels the difference between batteries or by-passes will not be noticeable unless you have 2 lights side by side.
I generally step down my narsil lights until my eyes just start to notice the light getting dimmer. I find this can end up being almost 1/2 the max output but vastly improves the overheating issues and battery life.
You need 4x the light in order to appear 2x as bright. When at the ~500 lumen level, 100 lumens makes a difference. At the 5,000 lumen level it is not noticeable.
This is why I'm throwing #'s out there. As an example, maybe cell type makes 8%, maybe bypass makes 8%. 8% by itself is not noticeable, but is 16%? But an 8% bump on top of an 8% bump is actually 8.64%, so things can pile up. Or for example if we skimp 5% bumps all over the place, 5%'s add up.
For the spring bypass's, you will get marginal gains anyway over the stock dual springs. Also we haven't seen the new ThorFire dual springs, but based on the description, I'm hoping to see less loss's over the prototypes (made the inner spring more robust, etc.).
I just like that the bypass's and resistance mods put the light into the 6K level, least on my PVC lightbox measurements. XP-L2's of course would be another decent bump.
Thanks for the reminder about the springs being there for safety. I had forgotten that. I intend to give one as a gift and I won’t set someone up with potential danger by bypassing a safety feature.
I'll use GA cells for actual usage in almost all my 18650 lights, but I only have a limited amount of them because of the cost. GA's are a great combo of capacity and decent power. The deals going on the 30Q's is just too tempting to pass up. On trails, the Q8's lower levels are are used almost all the time, but I do like the max output for seeing across, and lighting up open fields. It's just really nice to have such a extreme wide range of output levels in your hand, about instantly accessible. The 5K to 6K capability I definitely use -- best way to see a complete open space, like fields, in one shot - no need to scan the light across the field, just point it in the middle. This also means you cut the time down you need it on max. I find I'll frequently use max for short bursts.
I've bypassed springs in a carrier before, and from a short, a thin trace on the carrier melted off - no big deal, easy to fix, actually easier than fixing a spring. I don't think the spring is the only fuse in the circuit.
Since I recently blew a high current LG cell (=dead now, 0 V, probably an internal fuse blew) from a short in my mod, with lots of heat and smoke coming out of the battery tube upon opening, I have gained some extra respect for li-ion cells. Personally I don’t mind the springs as an extra fuse that blows fast and at a relatively mild current.
The ‘master’ in me immediately screwed the tailcap back off the moment there was no light when there should have been light, knowing that a short was a possible cause. That has saved me a few batteries already and possible vent events. But I was too late for this cell, it just simply went dead.
Happened to me once, it was a 13x2700mah pack of Sanyo AA in series inside a bored out Maglite 3D tube, the machining inside the tube was not smooth and causing the tube to rub against the battery wrap causing short. Awesome heat!
I blacked out a whole ship :student: dont mess with 440 V rails XXX amps when you are not a electrician.
But i was the engineer and so 99% of the ships problems was my problem, so ground faults on several 230V rails was my problem.
And so was Jerry Rigging the cable in one of the generators, and i am pretty sure in spite on me making a big note in the engine journal that generator had my temp work in it when the ship sank 1.5 years after i left it.
Maybe I shouldn’t have laughed, but the picture in my minds eye was just too funny. I think I took it in the way you wrote it Sparky. I hope no lives were lost.
Sadly 3 lives was lost as i recall, went down in the Mediterranean sea in bad weather.
2 Pilipino and 1 Danish officer if my memory serve me right, most likely the engineer as we are manly men that do not abandon ship.
I should perhaps say i do not have the engineer education, i am just used to do their work while they are reluctant to leave the air conditioned control room.
Plus i dont shy away from a personal challenge.
Anyway was a little ship, and a diesel engine are the same if it is car sized or train size or the size of a bungalow, same principles apply.
Most of my 3.5 year apprenticeship as a machine worker at Danish railroads i was wrenching on the trains instead, was okay being hunched over a lathe or a mill get boring but i was good at it so was often relocated to make room at a machine for a less skilled “kid”
But electrics not least AC have never ben my strong side, DC i have often worked with in relation to work and hobbies.
