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The Wolf-Eyes 6 Volt D26 3W LED is an LED lamp assembly
designed to fit in Wolf-Eyes
6V lights, Pila 6V lights, and Surefire 6V lights that take
a P60 module.
Body:
The body of the of the lamp assembly consists of an
inner spring, a removable outer spring, a brass contact/heatsink
area, a metal silvered smooth reflector, a 3 Watt LED
bulb, and a driver circuit inside the base. The assembly
is already set to the optimal focus point and cannot
be adjusted. The reflector has no texture to smooth
out imperfections in the beam, but the focus is such
that the beam is very clean as-is. The outer spring
is used for Surefire lights and newer Pila lights, and
is removed by sliding it downward off the assembly for
Wolf-Eyes lights.
Output:
The white light produced by the LED
bulb is a little higher color temperature than
a daylight white light source. In practical use it
pretty much appears as a pure white
light. The beam has a bright and surprisingly tight central
spot, minimal corona,
and a wide dimmer spillbeam. It produces smooth output with
no only very slight artifacts around the central spot which is
another big surprise considering that it uses a smooth reflector.
Beam at one meter at target center
Runtime Plot:
This lamp has about a two hour
runtime to 50% on two 123A cells in a Surefire C2 with
about 1 hr. 20 min. of fully regulated output initially.
In the runtime plot you will note a couple of dips
in the output between 15 and 30 minutes. The recording
meter only takes a sample reading every 30 seconds,
so the meter only captured a few of these dips, but
they were fairly frequent. In a polymer flashlight like
the Surefire G2 the light output dropped after about
3 minutes and remained there - see the additional graph
below.
 
Runtime
completed with "Titanium"
brand batteries. More information on runtime plots is
available HERE.
Here's what I think is causing this unusual behavior:
In a high output LED flashlight, heat is the enemy.
Unlike an incandescent bulb which emits excess heat
out the front end of the light in the form of infrared
light, the head builds up behind the LED where it can
be difficult to get rid of. To solve this problem, the
heat is frequently conducted to the metal body of the
flashlight where it can then escape to the environment.
This is why high output LED flashlights get warm.
To protect the LED in case it does start to overheat,
some lights have a thermal limiter built it. When the
module reaches a certain temperature, light output is
reduced until the temperature drops to a "safe"
level.
It seems that this module does have a thermal limiter
that reduces output when the module heats up too much.
My IR thermometer was reading about 120 deg F. at the
head of the light when the LED was cycling high and
low. So the question remains; why does the thermal limiter
activate when the module is installed in a metal Surefire
flashlight?
When using the module in a Surefire light, or a newer
Pila light, it requires an outer spring be placed against
the brass heatsink at the base of the module for electrical
contact. As a result, the brass heatsink is not touching
the body of the light directly and thermal transfer
to the body of the light is reduced. In a polymer light,
the body is a poor conductor of heat, so the situation
is even worse and heat builds up quickly in the module.
When the module in installed into a Wolf-Eyes light
the brass heatsink should be in direct contact with
the flashlight body which transfers more heat away from
the module than the spring can. This should allow it
to stay on at full power without the thermal limiter
activating.
Runtime
completed with "Titanium"
brand batteries. More information on runtime plots is
available HERE.
Batteries:
Two 123A cells power the lamp. I
would recommend Titanium
brand cells for $1.00 each (here's
a review) or BatteryStation
or Surefire
brand cells for less than $2 each. I would not recommend purchasing
these cells at retail stores since they cost $10 a pair
or more in most retail stores!
What I Liked: Great output, good
runtime.
What I Didn't Like: Thermal limiter
kicks in when used in polymer lights, or lights requiring
the use of the outer contact spring.
Picky Little Things: None
Conclusions: Nice upgrade for your
Wolf-Eyes 6V lights, provided the external spring need
not be used. I wouldn't recommend it for the newer Pila
or Surefire lights unless you enjoy having your light
blink high-low every 10-15 seconds after being on for
a few minutes. I do like the level of output, the concentrated
central spot, and the regulated runtime of the module.
In these aspects it's a real winner, I just wish it
had more cross-platform usability..
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