Lux Pro MAX 2D LXII. HELP!

killer cougar

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Completely new to flashlight modifications but thought I could fix this one. Coworker gave me a LuxPro and I'm pretty sure the driver or LED is dead, so the plan is to replace both. My problem is what works with what and what would make this a good construction inspection light preferably on 2Ds. If pictures are needed let me know and I'll figure that out.

Thanks,
Brian
 

DrafterDan

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Hey Brian,
Welcome! I had to look this up, was not familiar. https://luxproflashlights.com/max-2d-lxii.html

Do you have soldering skills or mechanically handy? The first thing is to take it apart and see what the guts look like. Most common drivers are 17mm diameter, and the LED boards are commonly 20mm. See if what is in there is anywhere close. Post some photos and then we can help you with options
 

killer cougar

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Hey! Thanks for the quick reply.

I have only found one post anywhere that uses this light/body and he went all out. LED, driver, lens, reflector, batteries, ect. As for soldering skills and mechanical stuff I consider myself decent enough. I can do just about anything except weld. Don't quite trust myself with that yet.

Measured the pill and the driver is 20mm and then lips down to 18.5mm. The LED is 20.5mm. The reflector has two size options it appears. One is abut 4mm with the white adapter and the other is 7mm without the white adapter.

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-Brian
 

DIWdiver

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Just some thoughts from an experienced member to a new one...

If you can buy a brand new light for $25, it's not worth it to fix an old one, especially if you value your time. If you are looking to improve it, that could be a different story.

If you chew through a lot of batteries, it could be worth it to install a 32650 or 26650 LiIon cell instead of alkalines. You'd get increased run time and recharge ability. By the time you throw out 10 alkalines (two at a time), you could have bought a LiIon. After that the LiIon is free for a long time. If your alkalines last 6 months to a year or more, you should probably ignore the rest of this post.

These cells are longer than D cells, so two don't usually fit in the stock light body. Fortunately, one is usually a little better than two alkalines. If your light has an enormous spring like a MAG, you may be able to modify it to accept two of these cells, which would enable huge performance improvements.

There are xx600 cells that are the same length as D cells, but they often represent significant compromises over their xx650 bretheren. Note that the '60' and '65' represent the length in mm, while the final '0' indicates a cylindrical cell. It could be worth it to look at cells like this if you want extreme performance in a body that can't handle the longer cells.

If you want to improve the light output, the increase in runtime gets much more significant. Alkalines suck in high-output applications, where LiIons excel. "High output' for an alkaline is anything that will drain the battery in less than a few hours of use (this is very subjective). Looking at the Coppertop datasheet, for 2W out of the 2 batteries to get 300-ish lumens (optimistic to the extreme) the D cells will give you about 6.6W-H each, giving 6.6 hours of runtime, assuming 100% driver efficiency. To run just 4W, the D cell output drops to 1.5 W-H each , giving you only 45 minutes of runtime! You would have expected a bit less than 3.3 hours, but the increased load destroyed the alkaline's capabilities. Most LiIons would barely notice this difference.

Alkalines have their place. There are a number of them in my house. They are NOT in flashlights that I use very often.
 

DIWdiver

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Okay, looked at your pics. Nice job. (My previous post was started in the afternoon and finished in the evening without checking to see you had posted pics.)

You do have the huge MAG type spring, so you may be able to cut it down to accept two xx650 cells if you want to.

The pill (object in the second and third pics) looks awesome and easy to work with. It also looks like it has a good thermal path that would support a brighter LED.

To run with 2 alkaline cells you need a boost driver. It will have an input voltage range of something like 1.8V to 3.0V. It may claim to drive a 2W or 3W LED, or it may specify an output current of around 700 mA (or both). You'll want it to fit the same way in your pill, so you want it the same diameter (duh).

If you want suggestions for use with LiIon cells, let us know.

As far as the LED, I'd probably be looking at a neutral white XPL2 premounted on a star board. I'd guess yours is a 20mm star. That should work well with the existing driver, and has room for significantly increased output.
 

killer cougar

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Great info and thanks for the replies.

I've done some more reading after your easy explanation of LiIon batteries and think I will go ahead and improve/upgrade this thing. I already have digital chargers for my lipo batteries and LiIons don't seem too expensive. I was able to put in an extra 6mm spacer with 2 D cells, without cutting the spring so the 26650 cells should fit without an issue. If I have this right I will need a 7.4V driver and matching LED on a star board. This light will mainly be used for overhead inspections on construction sites with limited lighting and during hurricanes/general purpose. Any LED suggestions? It looks like I can fit flat LEDs or domed since I can remove the white thing out of the reflector.
 

killer cougar

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DIWdiver

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That driver should work well with one or two LiIon cells, but I wouldn't expect it to work well with 2 alkalines. It doesn't explicitly say, but I'd bet it's a buck type driver, which means it cannot drive the output voltage higher than the input voltage. Two alkalines, even partly discharged, will be well below 3V, and thus won't drive a white LED very well. It's possible the driver will simply shut down below 3V, and won't work at all.

The MT-G2 is a huge emitter array, and available in 6, 9, or 36V versions. The only way it would work with that driver is if you use 2 LiIon cells and the 6V configuration. That configuration would give you around 1800 lm, but you might have significant overheating issues. Because of the large emitter surface, the relatively small reflector will give you a large hotspot with diffuse edges, and a lot of spill.

Maybe that's what you want, but I would shoot for a single-die emitter with a smaller area. This would give you a tighter, crisper hotspot and less spill. It would also allow you to use the driver you mentioned with a single LiIon cell, and probably save you a few bucks too.
 

DIWdiver

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Obviously that combo should work well. For one or two LiIons. Still no go for alkalines, for the same reason as before.

The hype they show about the XM-L2 was true some years ago, but there are better LEDs out there today. Still, XM-L2 isn't a bad device, so that wouldn't be a bad choice.
 

killer cougar

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Is it possible to hold a 16mm driver in a 20mm hole with solder? Found quite a few XP-L / 3.7V driver combos. Only pertinent is the drivers are all 16mm or 17mm.
 

DIWdiver

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I don't have a good feeling about that driver. There's no inductor on it, which means it's not a proper switching driver. There's no heatsink on it, so it's not a proper linear driver. There's no sense resistor either. I think that means it's some kind of hack that puts a lot of stress on both the battery and the LED, and is not very predictable in performance. Definitely it would work only with one LiIon cell.

As far as holding a smaller driver in a bigger hole with solder, it's certainly possible. How practical it is will depend on the tools, skills, and parts that you have. If it were me, I'd probably make an adapter ring from brass, which could be either soldered or swaged into the hole, and into which the smaller driver could be installed. If that ends up looking like the best solution for you, I might even be persuaded to make you one. You'd have to cover postage.
 
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