Manufacturer:- www.tnccustomproducts.com
Purchase Price :- $179.95/£106.67http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Size:-mm long, mm Diameter
Weight (With Batteries):- 122g (4 1/4oz)
Battery Type / Qty :- 2off 3V CR123 Lithium or 1off 18650 4.2V Lithium Ion or 3.2V Lithium Saphion
Battery Life :- Not Known (Manufacturers Figures)
LED Type :- 1off Luxeon III LED bin
Rated Output:- Not Known
Estimated LED Lifespan:- Over 100000 Hours
Colour :- Aluminium
Working Temperature :- Not Known
Lens Material :- Glass with antireflective coating
Optics :- 17mm Reflector
Electronics:- MJ Design 13 Super Converter II 1000mA Drive
Body Material :- Aluminium
Finish :- Type III Hard Anodise Natural Finish
Seal Type :- 2off O-Rings
Depth Rating :- Not Known but Rated Water proof
Manufacturers Guarantee:- 1 Year

This light arrived before the TnC Key-Lux and has been in use for a few months now. The main reason I bought it, apart from the fact that TnC manufactured it was the ability for it to use 18650 size cells. More on this later on but for now lets cover the light itself.

The Hyper-Lux III is machined from what looks to be a large single billet of aluminium. This is due to the integrated head design that is part of the battery tube. This has got to be expensive to produce as a lot of material is wasted during the machining process.

What are the benefits of this type of design then? Well there does not need to be a further join on the body of the light to let water in. Plus the light should be stronger and lighter than a joined head design would have been. I also gives a unique smooth curve between the body and the head that looks really good. The light is machined to TnC usual extremely high standard that we have now come to expect from all of their designs.

The tail cap is the only part that you would normally need to unscrew from the body to change the batteries. The tail cap contains a standard 'Kroll' clicky switch to operate the light. As you can see in the pictures the hard anodise finish does not match across the body and tail of the light. This is possibly due to different type of aluminium stock being used for the different components which will give different results when anodised. It does make the light look kind of different though, and does not affect the operation of the light!

The tail cap also provides a guard for the switch preventing inadvertent operation and also doubles as a handy stand to allow the light to be stood on end in candle mode.

The glass lens, reflector, LED and electronics are inserted through the front of the light and sealed in behind a custom bezel locking ring. This is sealed with an O-ring and should be water proof. Getting at the above components would require the special tool to remove the locking ring but as the LED will last many years of use this should not be a problem.

The electronics are a Mike Jordan design 13 Super Converter II running at 1000mA. These are all put together by hand by Mike himself so you really are getting a hand made light as far as the electronics go. I don't know all of the working details on the electronics but I do know that they are designed to work with the 4.2 V Lithium Ion and 6V 2off CR123 cells so it may be a buck boost type of regulator. I will correct this if I find out more.

The 17mm reflector give a good central hotspot and outer corona that is even and free from any artifacts. The throw is decent as well with the beam easily lighting up my garden shed. So good for outside use. Perhaps for walking the dog.

I have used this light different types of cells that it will accept. Many people will use the standard 2 off CR123 cells giving a nominal 6V supply to the electronics. But the light will also accept 18650 cell which are not so common. 18650 cell come in several types and are most commonly found contained in the battery packs for laptop computers. They are normally of the Lithium Ion chemistry and this does present some issues for the unwary user. So a bit of advice is now to follow.

Standard 18650 Lithium Ion cells when removed from Laptop battery housings or supplied loose can be Hazardous to the user if strict precautions are not followed when using the cells.

Please note that Lithium Ion cells cannot be charged in NiCd or NiMh chargers as they have a very specific charging profile that must be followed exactly. So a specialised Lithium Ion charger must be used. These are now commonly being provided to the Model Aircraft markets so do research there if you are interested.

There is an alternative to the Lithium Ion 18650 and this comes in the guise of the Valence Saphion 18650. This has a lower energy density that the best Lithium Ion cells but more than makes up for this in the advanced safety aspects that it offers the user .

Cell specifications are as follows :-

Saphion IFR 18650
Nominal Operating Voltage:- 3.2V DC
Capacity :- 1300mAh
(Constant C/2 Current to 3.65 Volt Limit, then constant Voltage(3.65V) with floating taper to C/20, then discharge at C/5 to 2.5V)
Diameter :- 18.3mm
Length :- 65mm
Weight :- 38g
Charge Temperature Range:- 0 to +45DegC
Discharge Temperature Range:- -20 to +60DecC
Storage Temperature Range:- -40 to +45DegC

The advantages of the Saphion are as follows : -

High Performance
Safe/Stable Chemistry
High Rate Capability
Extraordinary Cycle Life
Long Service Life
Environmentally Friendly
Flexible Form Factor

Though for this particular application the Safety / Long cycle life are probably the most important.

The safety aspects are probably best covered directly by Valence themselves so here is a link

http://www.valence.com/saphion.asp

The safety Videos are also well worth a look

http://www.valence.com/SafetyVideo.asp

As you can see from the pictures the output is not as great on the Saphion cell as it is on the two CR123's but the Saphion can be recharged and use several hundred more times which soon makes up for the difference in output. If the electronics is optimised for the lower voltage higher out could easily be achieved. They almost lend themselves to direct driving a Luxeon III LED due to the output Voltage of 3.2 Volts nominal right in the middle of the Luxeon voltage range. I hope people take this idea further as it has a lot of potential.

Dealers

www.tnccustomproducts.com The Manufacturers website

More info this and other lights here

www.candlepowerforums.com