Screw-ins are better. They conduct flashlight killing heat to the host quicker, or should, if properly designed.
I'm basing the above on experience (as in, not good) with a FryRay 3800 3X XML-T6 drop-in. The failures are documented well on this site (and others), so buyer beware with this model.
That's all I'm going to say about it, or I'll start bashing a vendor of this model as well.
I've got a copy coming from lightmalls. They do offer checking of the flashlight before sending it out, as i mentioned the potential DOAs, low output and other issues that plagued i think some 20 users here and CPF. At least they 1-1 exchange with their HK/SZ main distributor is easier than for us (ie unhappy customers).
Like the TM11 "incident", i counted 6 problem Nitecores which lightjunction shipped out and they counted a couple more in their inventory, and that's a 260 bucks light. I know it's never easy to charge a low price and still offer testing esp for "volume", but that's the way it is if you wanna do volume. (maybe when biz picks up can hire a temp staff or something).
I'll do a write-up with measurements, it should come pretty fast, seems like Singpost has expanded operations to HK (merger with 4px or something)
They have a couple of lights that are competitively priced, so it could be a good alternative to DX. Prices should be lower soon.
So far so good, emails responded fast by lightmalls. I also told them to stop their bots, so i think BLF is safe.....so far so good. :)
I like it, but unfortunatelly my SkyRay 818 wouldn't give up so I guess I'll have to pass for now.
Now also at Manafont
So, what do you guys think from the pictures at Manafont? Is that a threaded dropin? And what about the "3A" current rating? Would this be dimmer than a Trustfire 3T6?
it looks like the TR-1200 drop in, it screws into the bezel with a few threads but there is no other contact with the head, i dont think it will handle heat well.
it is a very nice looking torch but beacuse of the drop in i dont think it would handle long runs so we might be stuck with the TR-3T6 is not a new designed host or will not win any modleing contest but it does good, im not sold on the dry,s yet either...... so ill wait
My 818 was a big disappointment; arrived DOA. Fixed it, and it is underdriven and purple.
I wouldn't trust the drop-in in the original post.
If it is underdriven, then maybe it will survive.
I'm curious how this light plays out.
EDIT: The center (+) spring, and the outside (-) spring look incredibly cheap, as does the entire drop-in. If you will notice the negative spring end that contacts the flashlight body has no extra coilbound turn wound on it, for rigidity and "fit and finish".
I'm not trying to bash the light, I just calls 'em like I sees 'em.
They could have (at the least) cleaned-up the drop-in threads for the shot at MF.
She's pretty as a princess on the outside, but lift up her dress, and the soiled knickers are hard to hide.
Just sayin'...
Hmm...
And what about the 3A spec on this new Uniquefire? How does it compare to the Trustfire?
What is the size of the dropin on all these 3 x XML lights?
i dont have one so i cant say much but if it draws 3 amps it will suffer from heat and heat sag as there is very little contact with the head going from the pictures compared to the Trustfire TR-3T6 even the description for the UniqueFire 3900 says it can not be ran on high to long ? we know the TR-3T6 has a good driver (buck + boost with constant current) with a soild screw in and it will handle long runs, but the UniqueFire 3900 looks good with its stainless steel bezel.
the heads on the UniqueFire 3900 and the Trustfire TR-3T6 both are 55mm wide and the TR-3T6 screw in is just over 50mm wide (top) and just under 45mm long (deep) the reflectors on the TR-3T6 are 17.30 mm deep and 22.50 mm wide aprox
hope that helps
Actually with the threads (no matter how little), the drop-in to host heatsinking should be good enough esp with the help of HS compound. Look at the DRY and rev 0 of SR3800, the LEDs are just on like 2mm thick aluminum, and the DRY heats up quick for heat dissipation from host-to-air. Threads means "enough pressure and minimized gaps" and it really helps the HS compound.
But if you are talking about that free-floating drop-in used in the Sky Rays previously, then that is just asking for trouble once past 3 mins on high. Unless you have great skills in wrapping the drop-in with pretty thick alu sheets (think alu foil is just good for XP-G).
I am saying this because i just received the Dereelight CL1H, i was initially afraid of heat issues due to the XM-L drop-in, but putting it to the lux meter test and the heat sag is below 10% past 5 mins, plus the host gets hot pretty quick, plus the temperature diff between the P60 and host's head is less than 15 deg C temp difference, puts my fear to rest. Now the Ultrafire XM-L in a Solarforce L2P is a totally different animal - this you need to wrap like crazy and preferably not with aluminum foil (too many broken interfaces).
Well at least once that heat gets transferred to the host, the somewhat aggressive grooves on the head certainly helps with the heat somewhat. That's gotta be double the surface area of a SR3800. My experience with the TF-3T6 and SR3800 is that it helps somewhat esp with some breeze.
Not sure how much current is it drawing, i need to wait for my copy to arrive from lightmalls. Its supposed to be tested before sending it out, i don't supposed it's drop-shipped from China because i ordered at 2AM and it got sent out before 4PM the next day and it's a HK tracking number.
Currently, no triple XM-L can handle full bore runs for 1 hours other than the TK70 (tested a lot of times by many users), and even then you'd need to be in a pretty cold condition. It rises from 30 to 45 deg C in 10 mins.
Please do let us know 2100 when you receive this. I am seriously thinking about getting this one.
Yea, definitely. Testing lights is part of the hobby at least for me (I like to tinker with stuff this way even with other hobbies), carries as much joy as using them. LOL!
the drop in looks like the same set up on the TR-1200 a few threads at the top of the drop in that screws in to bezel, while the TR-1200 runs ok on long runs with current draw of 2 amps or under, the middle where the emitters are and driver end of the drop in runs very hot, thats why i mentioned it thinking if this one draws 3 amps with the same style of drop in it will run hotter one would think.
thats why i like the TR-3T6 so much where the heat is genirated there is lots of threads that contacts the side of the head on the inside and the screw style drop in, touch,s the head in a few places and it makes it good for transfering heat
also i know my TR-3T6 will do full bore runs on high for an hour at night while moving around or on a bench with a desk fan going, but an owner of a TK70 i know his kicks down in brightness in turbo mode with in a couple of mins and so does some others ive seen on the net, but vid,s of yours it does not seam to kick down.
The kickdowns of the TK70 are due to a faulty driver int he first batch it seems. Just send back for a full warranty 1-1 exchange. Somewhat similar to the first batch of Nitecore TM11.
The DRY is also good, the driver is actually not in the same cavity. But seriously the DRY in turbo makes a heck lot more heat. I have not seriously gotten to mistreat it after frying my SR3800's driver. (LEDs still good and efficient since day 1). I did run the DRY in turbo for 10 mins, 4A tailcap. The head got to about 55 deg C at - 20 deg C with very low windspeeds (1-2kph) in the freezer. That is to say it would probably do 80 deg C if you are at 55 deg C....think it will fry.
Come to think of it, this is my 8th triple!
ill pass the info on to my mate he brought it in the usa so return shipping will hurt and we have to pay a inspection fee now to ship to the usa wtf.
im not sold on the dry over driven it will run to hot, the diffrence in a xm-l from 2.4 amp to 5 amps is 200 lumen,s of so if you have 3 over driven xm-l,s its an extra 600 lumens but heat sag will quickly suck away the extra lumens so there is only a very short gain in brightnes befor heat sag kicks in.
if i cant run it for atlest 30 mins full bore on the brightest setting im not so keen, call me crazy i still belive the TR-3T6 is a better option ok not as bright as the fry ray or the dry but it will last longer and can do full bore long runs to me the dry is a gimmick to get people to buy it is runs to hot over driven and priced to high.
just my thoughts
A CW DRY does 250 ceiling bounce on the meter, and 280 in the cold (to take advantage from say low 3A to 4A)....I used ice at 0 deg C and it could get up to 300 (lets say that the host head is maintained at 5 deg C). A SR3800 rev 0 (non drop-in) does 160. A TF-3T6 does 130. A TK70 is 215-220. Not saying that you said it, anyway a SR3800/818/850 does not do 2.4A to the emitters. You can easily see that TK70 215-220 bounce = 2200L ANSI OTF. A DRY gives ~ 900L diff more in turbo. This has been well tested and is pretty accurate because it is a relative figure. I get the same figure with my SR3800 rev 0 modded to DD (no driver at all <- one day i will plonk in the DRY 3-mode DD driver).
- To maintain the host head at 5 deg C and get 3000 lumens OTF, the ambient needs to be -75 deg C, or probably -30 deg C with 10kph wind or -15 deg C with 20kph wind? Not sure but that's for Starleaf/Peteybaby to try out. I can't put a fan in my freezer.
- I will measure what's the OTF lumens of the uniquefire 3900 and various aspects.
- Forget about any specs on the sites.
- I do not recommend running at 5A for the XM-L to take advantage of any lumens output no matter how inefficient it would be, unless you are in Yakutsk -50 deg C experiencing a blizzard. People often mistake the 5A figure, maybe because it's printed on CNQG website or the tests does that. You already reach a really output level even at 3.5A and while it is plateauing out it's really "not that bad".
- The DRY has a high setting, and from what i measured the output is like 170 with fully charged batteries. This is the SR3800 output, and hence will run as hot. Further down the discharge curve it will eventually hit 130 and run as long as hot as the TF-3T6. The TF-3T6 can take 3 cells, but that's long! I agree that it is expensive for the spec, but there is a unique set of characteristics in the DRY that some can pay the extra dollar for it. It cannot go bad at all and will last you years (at least enough to last till the next new Cree emitter), because you can get spare switches / drivers for not much money. That said the TF-3T6 is very reliable for me as well.
- The issue for my Fry Ray 3800 is because i have full bored it testing batteries for over 20 times. I tested my NCR18650, Solarforce 2400, TF Flames, XTAR 2600 in it.
- I have tried dry ice before, there really is "meat" up there.
im looking forward to your thoughts on the 3900 as its a nice look torch
I am worried that the SS bezel may not conduct heat to the alu host as well....but heck I have been accustomed to the DRY (easily capable of getting hot much faster) plus there is always medium for high-efficiency runs. :)