# Old style Pelican M6 2320... LED upgrade possible?



## Integr8d (Mar 2, 2012)

Hey guys. Just dropping in to get some info. I have an old style M6 2320 (I'll post the link at the bottom, for reference to the type of bulb that came with this light). I have a feeling that I'm probably SOL, in so far as hopes for upgrades. But I thought I'd ask around. And FWIW, I'm not really into breaking out the Dremel, blowtorch or jackhammer. A drop-in would be awesome though

Thx in advance!

Mike

http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pelican_m6.htm


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## Norm (Mar 2, 2012)

Have you tried to search CPF?

Norm


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## PCC (Mar 3, 2012)

Here's an aspheric mod that I did last year. It could have easily been done with a reflector instead.


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## Ctechlite (Mar 3, 2012)

P60 drop in will fit. The tube is then a little bit longer than a "standard" p60 host so you may need to stretch springs to make contact. There are many other possibilities but this is most likely the simplest.


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## david57strat (Jun 1, 2012)

Ctechlite said:


> P60 drop in will fit. The tube is then a little bit longer than a "standard" p60 host so you may need to stretch springs to make contact. There are many other possibilities but this is most likely the simplest.



I'm new to the forum, and I own two 2320 M6 Pelican incandescent lights. I'm wondering, if the standard P60 host, being longer, will work with a 18650 protected battery, rather than two CR123s, without modification of any kind to the light. Also, forgive the ignorance, but is the "standard" P60 drop-in, considered the one manufactured by Surefire (assuming they were the original manufacturer of this item - please tell me if I'm wrong), or an aftermarket brand? I.e., are all the P60 drop-ins pretty much interchangeable, by definition?

Thanks, in advance, for any help you can offer on this. I'd really like to convert both of my 2320 incandescents into LED lights, but I don't want to give up on output, and I'm hoping the use of a 18650 (if that's even possible) will make it possible to not have to make a trade-off in output, also benefiting from a longer run-time.


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## david57strat (Jul 29, 2012)

There are so many choices in P60 drop-ins, I'm not even sure which way to go. I've heard amazing things about Malkoffs, so I might look in that direction. That would be my first experience with Malkoff products, and I've heard nothing but positive remarks about them, so that might be one of the best bets.

Oh....the 2320 body will not fit the fatter 18650 or 16340 batteries, and I kind of doubt boring out the body would be cost-effective. Any thoughts?


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## Norm (Jul 29, 2012)

The OP posted and hasn't returned since posting his first post.

Norm


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## david57strat (Aug 1, 2013)

I'm reviving this thread. There may still be some Pelican M6 Lithium (Incandascent) users out there, who would like to convert their incandescent unit, over to a LED light, but are a little reticent about doing so. 

Since initially posting my inquiry on this subject last year, I had never really gotten around to experimenting with drop-ins for my two 2320 M6, and M6 LED, which I've had for several years. During this past year, I have purchased numerous lights, but was really disappointed with how low-perfoming my old M6s had become (by comparison); so they sat...and sat, with little to no use, as I debated whether to just gift them to someone who might enjoy them, as-is, or take the plunge and try and upgrade them, without investing more dollars than would make sense.

I had found numerous P60 drop-ins available on-line, at the Battery Junction website (where I've purchased some of my lights, and other goodies), and of course, other sites, including Malkoff (Thanks to the person who recommended Malkoff); but all the specs on the drop-ins that they carried, said they would be compatible with the newer M6, with "some" modification. Well, I had no idea what the "newer" Pelican M6s were, or what kind of modification they were talking about, and was admittedly kind of fearful about messsing with it.

I finally decided, after some more reading, to see if the stock drop-in that already came with a SolarForce L2T light that I picked recently (Drop-In Model LC-XML T6, rated at 820 lumens, from 3.7V - 8.4V), might actually work in one of my old M6s; and if so - with how much modification to the drop-in. Much to my surprise, the light module on this M6 _literally _is a drop-in. As you remove the bezel on the M6, the drop-in will literally fall out of the light. I read that some of the older M6 lights had threaded interiors, where you would have to thread the light engine in; but these are not threaded (Please see pictures below); so I guess that makes mine a newer one. The P60 drop-ins, for this light, literally _drop in. _The only modification I had to make, was to remove the outer spring from the SolarForce drop-in. 

That's it!

The length of the light engine (after removal of the outer spring of the newer drop-in), including the inner spring, appeared to be nearly identical to that of the stock Pelican 2324 engine that was originally there. The "modification" (chuckling) took must a matter of seconds, holding the drop-in in my left, and prying the spring lose, with my right, after unthreading the spring as best I could, first; and now the light works like a charm - as an LED light! 

Yessss!

Quick note - the M6 incandescent and LED versions I had, are completely interchangeable, drop-in-wise. Good news!

And now, after experimenting with different batteries, I found that the light will _now_ easily work with 2 CR123s, 2 RCR123s/16340s (yes -they work, if they fit - I tried some EagleTac 16340s, and they're perfect), or a 17650 battery, with no battery rattling, or contact problems. This particular newer drop-in was rated at 820 lumens.....yeah right (It's more like 400 OTF, if that, but it was practically free, so what do I care?). Now, I am ready to invest in some _real_ drop-ins for these lights, so I can actually start using them again . Might see about replacing the plastic lenses with glass ones.

I've got one more 2320 incandescent, and a 2390 (LED) light to upgrade; so now I'll make the investment in some other drop-ins, to make these old lights more usable, by today's standards - making an older Bronze AA Mini Mag, the only incandescent light I actually have left, to convert/upgrade.

On an unrelated side note, I bought a SolarForce L2N, with a custom Erik Kress drop-in (XM-L 7C, 5-mode - very warm, and very bright!), and that is about as close to warm incandescent light as I have ever seen - but in an LED, and with none of the headaches associated with an incandescent bulb - very nice! I know....that's another thread.





No tools were needed for this one! Flexible battery options (lithium primaries on the left, RCR123 (16340) lithium ions in the center, and 17650 lithium ion on the right. All work! Just be sure the drop-in accomodates the voltage specified on the batteries (The SolarfForce one is rated from 3.7 - 8.4 Volts).




Close-up of the the head - no threads, there. The drop-in on the right, is the old Pelican 2324 incandescent, which was rated at 74 lumens, direct drive. Run time on this was pretty terrible, and it got HOT, very quickly - typical of an incandescent.




Close-up of original incandescent drop-in and P60 SolarForce drop-in (with outer spring, removed)


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## david57strat (Aug 22, 2013)

I just tried a Malkoff M361 P60 drop-in in one of my Pelican 2320 M6 lights, and it worked perfectly. I only had to extend the spring a little bit, with a pair of pliers, and perfection! I opted to, ultimately, put the M361 in a more worthy host (I used a stock SolarForce L2T, and with the outter spring, added - perfect! So, it seems, the only adjustments that have to be made for some P60 drop-ins to work in the 2320s, is to remove the outer spring, and possibly extend the inner spring (gently), in order to match the overall height of the original 2324 incandescent drop-in.

Piece of cake


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## SDmtnbkr (Sep 27, 2013)

david57strat said:


> I just tried a Malkoff M361 P60 drop-in in one of my Pelican 2320 M6 lights, and it worked perfectly. I only had to extend the spring a little bit, with a pair of pliers, and perfection! I opted to, ultimately, put the M361 in a more worthy host (I used a stock SolarForce L2T, and with the outter spring, added - perfect! So, it seems, the only adjustments that have to be made for some P60 drop-ins to work in the 2320s, is to remove the outer spring, and possibly extend the inner spring (gently), in order to match the overall height of the original 2324 incandescent drop-in.
> 
> Piece of cake



This is GREAT information!! Thanks so much for putting in the effort to update this thread, I have 2 newer M6's that I've been trying to figure out if I could update and your responses on this thread were exactly what I needed!! 

So how is the battery life with the new LED's? And which light engine did you like the most for this light? Have you tried to see if any of the other lights bezel's and heads will thread on the M6?


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## bykfixer (Feb 20, 2016)

david57strat said:


> I'm reviving this thread. There may still be some Pelican M6 Lithium (Incandascent) users out there, who would like to convert their incandescent unit, over to a LED light, but are a little reticent about doing so.
> 
> Since initially posting my inquiry on this subject last year, I had never really gotten around to experimenting with drop-ins for my two 2320 M6, and M6 LED, which I've had for several years. During this past year, I have purchased numerous lights, but was really disappointed with how low-perfoming my old M6s had become (by comparison); so they sat...and sat, with little to no use, as I debated whether to just gift them to someone who might enjoy them, as-is, or take the plunge and try and upgrade them, without investing more dollars than would make sense.
> 
> ...





david57strat said:


> I just tried a Malkoff M361 P60 drop-in in one of my Pelican 2320 M6 lights, and it worked perfectly. I only had to extend the spring a little bit, with a pair of pliers, and perfection! I opted to, ultimately, put the M361 in a more worthy host (I used a stock SolarForce L2T, and with the outter spring, added - perfect! So, it seems, the only adjustments that have to be made for some P60 drop-ins to work in the 2320s, is to remove the outer spring, and possibly extend the inner spring (gently), in order to match the overall height of the original 2324 incandescent drop-in.
> 
> Piece of cake



The above posts caused me to put on my 'what if' thinking cap.

What if I used a leftover Malkoff'd Rayovac 2aa Indestructible emitter/reflector...or an M31W?

Well first you need a dummy cell ($2 at Battery Junction) and 2 pair of needle nose type pliers. One holds the spring near the emitter so you don't rip it out while you stretch the spring with the other pliers. 
The dummy cell keeps you from burning up the 3 volt type emitter. 





Thanks for the inspiration David. :thumbsup:


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## david57strat (Mar 2, 2016)

bykfixer said:


> The above posts caused me to put on my 'what if' thinking cap.
> 
> What if I used a leftover Malkoff'd Rayovac 2aa Indestructible emitter/reflector...or an M31W?
> 
> ...



No worries. I'm glad it all worked out


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