# just ordered a dry 3xml 5mode cw from intl oudoor! :)



## jmpaul320 (May 18, 2012)

looking forward to this one... i have now bought 4 lights this month! haha

also picked up 3x aw imrs 1600mah


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## 51coronet (May 20, 2012)

Those cells may be a low capacity for the dry IMO but at least you have modes to alleviate that. I have a dry 4 mode low, med, high, turbo. It's a nice budget light, you get plenty of lumens per $$. Most of the internals are generic stuff you can find easily at DX etc. if anything fails on you. Beware the light does get hot rather quickly on high modes.


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## jmpaul320 (May 20, 2012)

yeah, the 2000mah imrs were out of stock at lighthound, and i figure this isnt exactly a "high runtime" light to begin with due to the fact of the heat it generates... low runtime is ok for me, i usually carry my tm11 in my backpack with 4x 3100mah redilasts which lasts FOREVER on low mode hehe

tm11 for go, dry for show


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## 380long (May 20, 2012)

Thinking about getting one myself! Let us know how you like it?


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## jmpaul320 (May 20, 2012)

will do... once it arrives i will post beam shots along with my other lights ive been accumulating


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## Luminater (May 21, 2012)

DO NOT use fully charged IMR cell with DRY at turbo mode, you will fry LED.


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## jmpaul320 (May 21, 2012)

Luminater said:


> DO NOT use fully charged IMR cell with DRY at turbo mode, you will fry LED.



when would turbo be safe? 4v or less?

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


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## 380long (May 21, 2012)

Protected 3100mah 18650's would be ok to run this light, wouldn't they?


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## jmpaul320 (May 21, 2012)

380long said:


> Protected 3100mah 18650's would be ok to run this light, wouldn't they?




the spec says to run unprotected cells


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## TEEJ (May 21, 2012)

jmpaul320 said:


> the spec says to run unprotected cells



?

I ONLY use protected.


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## jmpaul320 (May 21, 2012)

TEEJ said:


> ?
> 
> I ONLY use protected.



on cn quality goods dot com it says power supply : 3x unprotected

im not sure if this is required (perhaps a more knowledgeable member here can clear this up)

the description on intl outdoor dot com does not specify


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## Luminater (May 21, 2012)

At turbo mode It's directdrive.
I want to explain more but English is not my native language.
You can find a lot of thread of DRY @ BLF with my beamshots.


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## 380long (May 21, 2012)

TEEJ, Does your Dry run on turbo mode with protected cells?


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## spc smith (May 21, 2012)

Hey Teej,

I also would like to know if your batteries run on direct drive. BTW, thanks for sparking my initial interest in this dry 3 xml light seeing as I dont have the money for a nitecore tm11, I decided to get the well reasonably priced alternatve: dry 3 xml.. so far I'm quite happy about my klarus XT11... Now let's see about this dry...

SPC smith


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## yifu (May 22, 2012)

The reason why it recommends the use of non-protected cells is because the current draw is around 4A on my earlier version, which can trigger the protection circuits of some protected 18650s, especially the older, lower capacity ones. I've use OEM Sanyo 2600mAh cells without any problems.


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## trevordurden (May 22, 2012)

jmpaul320 said:


> on cn quality goods dot com it says power supply : 3x unprotected
> 
> im not sure if this is required (perhaps a more knowledgeable member here can clear this up)
> 
> the description on intl outdoor dot com does not specify



My interpretation of this is that the driver in the flashlight is NOT protected. This means that the flashlight will happily keep drawing power even when it is unsafe to do so, as opposed drivers which do feature protection which will stop drawing power when it is unsafe. Lights with a protection circuit and a protected battery is like having 2 kill switches.

It is up to the user or the protection built into the battery to shut off the light when it is unsafe. It doesn't mean that you should use an unprotected battery.


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## RedForest UK (May 26, 2012)

+1 on not using IMRs in the DRY. They have too low internal resistance and will probably fry the LEDs. I also recommend protected panasonic 3100 based cells, probably Orbtronic if you're in the US or Callies Kustoms. The main reasons it says for using unprotected cells are the one mentioned above and size issues in the batterry carrier, if you can fit protected cells in and they're decent quality then you're good to go.


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## jmpaul320 (May 27, 2012)

i ended up getting 6 sayno 2600 unprotected cells for now along with an additional battery carrier, they have good reviews for the money on BLF and were only $48 shipped from hank at intl outdoor... i will be curious to see how many amps on turbo these cells give at the tail cap... ive read that more current for these xmls is actually counter productive... i plan on trying some other cells in the future and seeing what i get for output... but now its a long wait for sing post to ship the items to me


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## Alland44 (May 27, 2012)

jmpaul320 said:


> looking forward to this one... i have now bought 4 lights this month! haha
> 
> also picked up 3x aw imrs 1600mah



Me and a mate just did the same.
We each ordered a torch today.
I have been reading about the turbomode and are a bit worried now !?
Can this torch destroy itself, if you do not take care ?

We bought it on the same site as you. 5 mode version. And I have seen warnings about this turbomode. One site says 20 seconds in turbomode and another says that the torch automaticly shifts modes, when driven to hard.

We have ordered 3000 Mah trustfire 18650 batteries to make this torch work.


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## RedForest UK (May 27, 2012)

I find even the Sanyo 2600s can be overkill at full charge, pushing close to 5 amps. Anything above 4.3 makes output start to drop from my experience. They will be able to maintain high current throughout the discharge though which is a bonus.

Be very careful measuring tailcap current on the DRY. I blew the driver on it twice doing tailcap measurements. I'm not sure how exactly but reports on BLF say that it is very prone to do that for some reason. I have (since getting my 3rd driver and fixig it again) decided simply not to risk anymore tailcap measurements on the DRY full stop.


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## jmpaul320 (May 27, 2012)

RedForest UK said:


> I find even the Sanyo 2600s can be overkill at full charge, pushing close to 5 amps. Anything above 4.3 makes output start to drop from my experience. They will be able to maintain high current throughout the discharge though which is a bonus.
> 
> Be very careful measuring tailcap current on the DRY. I blew the driver on it twice doing tailcap measurements. I'm not sure how exactly but reports on BLF say that it is very prone to do that for some reason. I have (since getting my 3rd driver and fixig it again) decided simply not to risk anymore tailcap measurements on the DRY full stop.



thats good to know... maybe i wont measure it then since its well known how this light performs with many different cells...

thats why i got the sanyos, cheap reliable and maintains current throughout discharge

i might try panasonic 3100 protected at some point but mostly just want the dry to be a showcase light really


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## TEEJ (May 27, 2012)

spc smith said:


> Hey Teej,
> 
> I also would like to know if your batteries run on direct drive. BTW, thanks for sparking my initial interest in this dry 3 xml light seeing as I dont have the money for a nitecore tm11, I decided to get the well reasonably priced alternatve: dry 3 xml.. so far I'm quite happy about my klarus XT11... Now let's see about this dry...
> 
> SPC smith



Yes, direct drive ballz to the wall on protected cells, Callies Kustoms in this case. TurboBB measured it at 3,300 lumens at PF18 in that configuration (With NO conflagration).


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## Alland44 (May 28, 2012)

I have now seen a video on youtube. Direct drive is not recommended for a long time. Nor is high !? (Only if you live in the arctic areas  )
Could anyone guide me to use this light safely ?

I am a little scared over this buy now.




Forgive me for my english, which not is my native language. It`s hard to understand the technique language you are using in here, beeing a Dane. Also, if I am not doing things in the right manners, in here, pls tell me. I am a noob, no not really anymore, but a beginner


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## jmpaul320 (May 31, 2012)

my dry 3xml is here... less than 2 weeks from singapore!

running 3x aw 3100s until my sanyos get here... the 3100s BARELY fit.. and i mean barely i had to cram them in the battery holder

i also have a second battery holder coming so maybe it wont be quite as tight? im almost nervous taking the cells out of it...

low mode on this light is seriously enough for almost everything... medium and high are fun... turbo is ... well just insane... heats up fast... i ran it for only short bursts <20 seconds because i was on fresh cells (was reading 12.66v after charging)

the lanyard supplied by intl outdoor was a little flimsy and fell apart, but that isnt really a big deal to me, ill just make another one

edit: just ran on turbo for 5 minutes infront of my 6000btu airconditioning and it stayed 'relatively' cool lol



Alland44 said:


> I have now seen a video on youtube. Direct drive is not recommended for a long time. Nor is high !? (Only if you live in the arctic areas
> 
> 
> 
> ...



just use good quality protected panasonic cells and only run on high or turbo in short bursts especially when fresh charged cells are used... just be careful youll be ok


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## Alland44 (Jun 8, 2012)

jmpaul320 said:


> my dry 3xml is here... less than 2 weeks from singapore!
> 
> running 3x aw 3100s until my sanyos get here... the 3100s BARELY fit.. and i mean barely i had to cram them in the battery holder
> 
> ...



Then I`m glad that I bought Panasocic 3100 Mah for this light. Haven`t received them yet but have tested the light with china batteries. I`m not to impressed and I can keep turbomode for ever.

Thankyou for the answer


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## bshanahan14rulz (Jun 8, 2012)

Please be careful with running turbomode for long periods of time. The risk in most cases is to the LEDs. I left my DRY on medium for the plumber working under my house. I walked him out after he installed the water heater, and I took a shower, went and got some mickey-D's, came back, and remembered to go grab my light and turn it off. It was too hot to hold for more than a few seconds at a time. I unloaded the cells and let it cool off, nothing seems to have been damaged  

I'm using old, but cycle count matched sanyo UR18650F (the classic 2600 cell) harvested from a lightly used laptop battery.


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## rufus001 (Jun 8, 2012)

Nice torch. Medium is plenty for seeing way ahead while walking the beastie and high is very impressive. Only use Turbo for cooking food.


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## jmpaul320 (Jun 9, 2012)

i have been having good results so far with 3x aw 3100s

they are quite tight in the battery carrier (i bought 2x carriers, one seems to fit better than the other with protected cells)

i used the sanyo 2600 unprotected cells and the light seems to get hotter quicker... sticking with the aws for now


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## bshanahan14rulz (Jun 14, 2012)

Sanyo cells generally have very low IR. Your turbo was probably more turbo with the sanyos. 

This weekend I got to light up the ruby falls cave with the DRY. The entire cavern was lit up with a pale, even, neutral white, while before, the tour guide's maglite put what looked to be an orange piece of lint floating in darkness. 

The way they present the falls is very cinematic, so I hung behind and waited for the lights to dim for the next group and lit up the cave before our group left and the next one came in. 

Also, the philips LED wall washes were nice. I think I admired the lighting and the hiding of the lights almost as much as the natural calcite crystals and features.


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## jmpaul320 (Jun 14, 2012)

the dry runs better on the protected aw 3100s.
does anyone have the neutral version? beamshots?


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## Alland44 (Jun 17, 2012)

What about these imr18650 batteries ?
Would that be a good investment for this light ?


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## RedForest UK (Jun 17, 2012)

Alland44 said:


> What about these imr18650 batteries ?
> Would that be a good investment for this light ?




*No.* Too low internal resistance leading to too high current and overdriven LEDs which will die on you very quickly.


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