Surefire 9P

[tombear]

A while back I picked up a Surefire 9P in a sale and although its a wonderfully well made bit of kit I only ever used it when I knew I would be out only for a short period due to the way it ate batteries.

It now seams that there are various mods/replacement parts you can get to make it more economical to use but to be quite honest the science part and jargon is beyond me.

Could some one please recomend me a repacement "bulb" that will get say 10 or 12 hours out of a set of 124s (?) so I actually start using it? The Surefire made part to do the job and kick out 80 lumens is a bit pricey at full whack.

Thanks

Tom

 

[saddler]

One of my local supermarkets sells the Duracell 123's for £3.49/2

Every time I go in I buy another pack

My 6P is the same though, so I could do with a LED conversion for it but like yourself am unsure of which to go for

Jon

 

[ArkAngel]

LED upgrades aren't cheap if you get a good one.

Over on British Blades or Candlepower Forums there is loads on info on what's best to stick in a 9P and 6P for that matter.

Once you have gone LED they have a much higher tolerance for voltages so you could swap to rechargeable 123's (shove them in a old fashioned incandescent bulb you will blow it)

A bit of an outlay in money but then no more worries about hitting the 'on' switch!

I use a 6P with a 235lumen (VERY bright) Malkoff LED module. 2 rechargeable 123's give me about 90 minutes of light.

 

[helixpteron]

I buy my CR123 batteries from The Photon Shop, here, as I get quality batteries, good service and prices, post free.

I have no connection other than as a happy customer!

 

[Nice65]

For a cheap led conversion try DealExtreme. They do dropin modules for 6P and 9P for around $10 delivered (not always quick). Your 3 battery 9P should run for ages with an led in it. If you choose a 5 mode then you can run it at a lower brightness for increased runtime.

Single mode Cree R2 (very bright) here

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11836

Can't find you a multi-mode one, but I'm sure there must be one.

Ah, when I say ages, I don't mean 10-12 hrs. Impossible unless you have a low mode.

 

[FoxyRick]

The 9P is a great, high quality host for adding a new module to. The length (as you know) allows 3x CR123's or rechargeable RCR123's if the LED can take it.

Make sure to buy 'protected' lithium ion rechargeable cells. Li Ion cells can be killed if discharged too deeply, and can explode if overcharged or overheated. The protection circuit helps prevent this.

If ordering from kaidomain or dealextreme, keep your order below $25 to avoid customs fees. Postage is included in the price so if you need to spend more, just do multiple orders.

A Malkoff drop in is as good as it gets. I've just got a 400+ lumen warm tint LED module (M60W MC-E). It gives an amazing flood of light, with excellent colour rendition, unlike the cool-blue LED's usually encountered. That might be a bit pricey though if you aren't a flashaholic like me. Malkoff does a range of less expensive dropins. They will give you a better beam quality, and build quality, than anything from dealextreme.

Dealextreme do some very cheap ones though, with the added benefit of the multiple modes available by repeatedly pressing the switch...

Whatever dropin you look at, make sure it works with the voltage range of the cells you plan on using.

3x CR123's = 9V initially
3x RCR123's = 12.6V initially, this drops fairly linearly as power is drawn down to 8.1V when drained

A final thought: I always use rechargeable lithium ion cells in my lights, but carry primary cells (standard CR123's) for emergency backup. Rechargeables don't have as much energy as primary cells so might run down quicker than you expect. The CR123's have a ten year shelf life so can live in the bottom of your pack without an issue. Mine do.