As long as the driver could take it, I suppose that you could run either a separate driver for the MT-G2 or run one driver with the XM-L emitters wired in three groups of two, 2S3P if I'm not mistaken. However, the levels may not be ideal.
Some will probably chime in here and note that the TR-J18 is already pretty floody... but this is BLF, sometimes we do things not because they are practical, but just to see if they can be done!
The heat is the only problem.
But I don’t use my flashlights very often - mostly just my SK98 @ NW @ Nanjg 2.8A to find stuff in my apartment
This light will be on under 10 Minutes per week - I just like to have a extremely bright light.
@18sixfifty:
Have you tested this driver with this LED or are you assuming because of other problems with it?
My problem is, that I have no MT-G2 here - I would have to order one and I don’t have any other flashlight where this could fit - so it’s a 22$ risk
But then I have them in parrallel - which means both get 1,5A @ up to 30V, but the one string needs ~20V, the other one max. 7V
Or am I stupid?
From the pure theoretical data it just has to work - voltage and current are perfect for this driver.
Other thing: If I would use an extre driver just for the MT-G2 - which one would you choose?
I have 3 KingKongs in the back, so around 12,6V at the max.
The KD Driver hat 3 Modes - any chance to make a slave driver for that?
Sounds like a good approach for dealing with heat. I, too, plan to build a light or two where High can only be used for a short period of time. It's nice to have all that light available in case you need it. In my case, I will just use the lower modes for extended use and to cool down.
18650, Does that driver have a record of freezing on high running at 3 amps like the OP intends?
Yep it’s difficult to use a parallel/series style with different LEDs.
The problem is to guess which LEDs get which current…
So I am even more exited to see how it ends…
I have read also some post about this driver doing not what was advertised, I guess in one of the 9xt6 threads…
I have had four of these drivers I killed two of them. One with a 3xMT-G2 it was freezing up on high and then simply went dead. The other one I killed running a 9x the same way. I’m guessing you could get away with running one MT-G2 with no problems but toss in an extra 6 emitters and I think you will run into problems. I also killed two other IO drivers that use the same protection on the 3X. The 9amp one and the 3or4 emitter 5amp one.
Now granted it might take less power to run 6 XML’s and one MT-G2 but from my experience with this driver I wouldn’t bet on it.
I’m not saying don’t go for it. If it was me I would probably try it and see what happens. If it does work I would use it very sparingly.
I’m not sure what driver I would use as a slave because I haven’t used any smaller drivers on my MT-G2’s it would have to be a three mode driver that takes three cells obviously.
You could check out this thread on MT-G2 drivers and ask for advice on that thread.
Good luck I look forward to hearing your results. It sounds like a really fun mod.
So, I got the 4 KingKongs and the driver
But:
With 6 XM-Ls, the Low-Mode doesn’t work. Just flashes one time, then nothing.
It’s the “9 LED Series” driver, so I guess, the driver can’t supply the needed voltage, because it can’t reach that far down.
I ordered the MT-G2 today. I’m very curious, how this LED is and if it will work how I wish it.
If it doesn’t work, I still have one very good LED for some other flashlights to mod.
What about wiring the xmls 2P3S where both parallel groups feed into the mtg2? That would give a effective Vf of about 13.5v. I wonder if it would be safe to direct drive such an arrangement with 4S KK's.
I tested, how fast the flashlight gets hot and after ~1 Minute, it went off.
When I opened the Head, a little bit of smoke came out. So the driver is gone to meet it’s maker
I will try to get my money back for this shitty thing and than I will go for the LED Sender Xtreme R.2
Just one mode - but with PWM-in, so maybe an option.
This thing won’t have any problems with the 6 XM-Ls and a MT-G2 when I got it.
No, I will have to cut it a bit - the original pcb is 16mm.
To your pictures:
I have 3*26650 KingKongs - and I don’t understand what these pictures want to tell me
I would need the driver from a MTE SF-15 and mod it - usually, those lights have strobe or/and SOS - which I don’t want
Whoa, I admit it (albeit under duress), yours is much longer than mine. Looking real good. Best wishes on driving it. You are now in holy grail territory (i.e. quest for a reliable high current driver).
Wow, gotta see how this works out for you Felix. Got my J18 with 7 XM-L2 U2 1C's on SinkPAD's. But a MT-G2 in the middle with the 9X LED driver would be real interesting! Theory is it should work I suppose for the voltage demand. Let me know what you are planning on doing for thermal padding or potting on the driver - I tried Fujik epoxy instead of the pad it comes with, but not sure bout it.