I just read this review last night and couldn’t resist the idea of well formed square threads on stainless steel for under $15, so I ordered one from TMart.
Is it really the heat that makes the output droop, or is it that the 14500s can’t sustain the output? Does the current droop also? I don’t think I have the right meter to measure the current.
It appears that, the threads being well cut, the heat should conduct through the pill threads, the body and the zoom threads into the head fairly well, since it only has to cross the thickness of the stainless. There are then little fins on the head. Heat getting to the little fins along the body is another matter.
Stainless steel is a poor conductor. The stock version of the light wont drop much, because its not that bright out of the box. Driven at about 1.5A if I remember correctly. A true pocket rocket if you throw in a better driver and use IMR cells.
Mine came from Tmart. The wonders of a US warehouse. It is indeed nice. It is a bit brighter than an UltraFire SK68 with a much less bright throw spot. Not nearly as bright as my 18650 XM-Ls. But the SM-L is more efficient than an XR-E even at low output, so the heating and battery life should not be bad. The low mode is nice and low.
The machining is very nice, as described at the top of this thread. But the bezel and tail cap fit on the threads of the body no tighter than the 68s.
Added: There may be some logic to this unusual configuration. The small size, relatively large output and steel body are less of a thermal problem with the XM-L than they would be with an XR-E or XP-E, because it is bigger and therefore does not get as hot at the same current, and even less so at the same light output. The heat transfer through and out of the pill is the same, but the difference between the pill temperature and the junction temperature must be smaller.
Its certainly an interesting light, though for me would be a rather large investment as I currently have no 14500 cells, nor the means to charge them (Well I suppose I could jury-rig one in a single 18650 charger with a bit of foil on the - end, but thats not a very good idea to do).
still the light is reasonably priced, that having to buy 14500 cells and a new charger isnt that big of a deal.
That means you either have to use AAs in your Sipik 68 clones, or else you don’t have any.
dont have any yet, everything I have is 18650 or 26650 based right now (Was done for logistics reasons) But I havent felt much like prepping much since Chloe died. I’ve pretty much given up on logistics, and just buy whatever looks neat, or tickles my fancy for modding these days. (Hence why I’ve started playing around with 32650’s, and building XM-L lights out of old Ni-CD packs too.
The small magnets at Fasttech and other dealers are both good and cheap.
With some stacked on the end of a cell you can charge 14500 and 16340 cells in the 18650 charger.
I would think charging current would be a much bigger issue than just getting the battery to physically fit in the charger.
Thats right. .5 amp is good for 14500 and 16340. .75 amp is not bad. Even 1 amp is used by a lot of people I think.
I would not charge the AAA size cells at above .5 amp myself.
0.75A is maximum for regular 14500s. But I'd use IMR cells in flashlights like this anyway.
the charger in question puts out 75oma to each socket. It’s the lowest output charger I have (Other than those ‘joke’ chargers that come free with some lights). My “good” chargers are 1000MA, and I have one thats adjustable from .7a to 1.5a (18650/26650/32650 combo charger)
Who was Chloe?
My charger says 1 amp, 4.2 volt, constant current constant voltage, and suitable for 18560 and 14500.
All I can say is mine gets hot… and quite quickly. IIRC mine was pulling 1.82 on a fresh Trustfire Flame. Not the most massive output I admit, but in flood mode it was brighter than any of SK68’s on 14500’s.
Throw was evidently less due to it being an XM-L, but it wasn’t as bad as some claim.
My only real criticisms of the light are the next mode memory, PWM on low and the overly cool tint to the XM-L.
In all honesty due to how hot it got I really wouldn’t want to drive it any harder as I personally think it would become rather useless. It also falls out of regulation quick enough as it is too.
Thanks to Nightcrawl I’ve actually swapped a Nichia219 into my Z8. I retained the stock driver so it still suffers the next mode memory and the PWM on low. But the tint is much improved. It’s lost some lumens too in flood mode, although it probably throws slightly better now, although not much in it.
It still gets hot too, very hot, although maybe not quite as quickly as before.
Overall I love the look, form factor and size of the Z8. And the tint improvement and high CRI offered by the Nichia has meant I use it even more now.
It is indeed high nickel austenitic stainless steel, such as 18/8, like good spoons and forks. It looks the same as another bezel that I think is aluminum, but it is very weakly attracted by a magnet.
It just occurred to me, maybe, why the clearances are as large as those of an SK68. It is another result of the stainless steel. The thermal expansion coefficients are different. The choice of stainless, for strength, finish and corrosion resistance, for the body and bezel, and of aluminum, for heat dissipation and more rapid machining, for the head and tail means that some parts shrink or expand more than others when they get cold or hot.
Now when I go to Weather.com to get the forecast, I get flashlight adds. Right now mostly from Tmant and mostly for the TrustFire Z8. It hasn’t helped them, because I ordered my second Z8 from Alibaba.com for $ 13.47 and free shipping.
Mine reads only 0.91 ampere with a cell that reads 4.25 volts open. I am using the thin stock leads on my cheap multimeter that seem to have around an ohm resistance, and the cheap cell has no brand name on it. An UltraFire three mode Sipik 68 clone reads 1.1 A with the same cell and meter. Perhaps the current falls off with lower voltage faster in the Z8 than in the Sipik. I may be losing around a volt in the leads.
That should read “Mode Memory:
No(must be off for @ 3 minutes)
After something like 3 min., the two I have come on in high mode.
I finally took the head off my second one. Got it back together except that I broke the O-ring between the body and head. Where I put it looks like the picture. Will look for a replacement.
Anyone know how to get that O-ring? My local hardware stores have various diameters but none as thin as that. It’s been a long time since I worked in a lab. where I could pilfer one. I don’t even know how the sizes are described.