FW3A optics issues Announcement Carclo optics Arrive

Just curious, do you mean 18650 cells?

14350 wouldn’t fit in this light… just making sure.

If you have a friend who vapes, they might be willing to let you try their charger or one of their cells in your charger to figure out which is faulty.

I’m old. Any friends I have either gave up smoking altogether or never did.

Yes, oops they are Sony VTC6, 18650.

It was a long shot, but worth a suggestion as some aren’t aware of the overlap in cell usage.

Good luck friend!

Is it possible the batteries were so flat upon arrival that they would need like 5 hours to even register 1% charge?

Well what do you know, there was a glass disc hiding in the box! So I dropped it into the front of the unscrewed head, but now the head doesn’t screw all the way down. There are also 2 O-rings…am I supposed to install those somewhere too? If it’s just glass pressing against the optic, not sure how that makes it waterproof.

You have to replace the optic with a carclo one in order to use the glass lense. It won’t work with the lumintop optic.

And the o rings are extras

Thanks, so I guess this means I definitely waited for 1.5 months for no reason.

So in the even he actually sends the Carclo, which I doubt he will, I drop the new optic, install the glass, and it screws together perfectly? Again, I don’t see how this makes it waterproof.

If you have the new optic and a glass lens, you’ll have to get a carlco optic to replace it before installing the glass lens. The new style is a 2 in 1 and incompatible with the glass lens.

The original Carlco is a 10511, but they have different versions that make more throw or more flood. Get whichever one suites your preference, or get one of each to try them out. I’ll see if I can find a link when I’m back at a computer.

I believe there should be an o-ring between the bezel and the glass or 2 in 1 optic. If you installed a carlco and the glass, you don’t need an additional o-ring between the glass and the optic.

On the cells, they should have some charge (never over discharge a li-ion cell!) as shipped. The ones you have should be wrapped in green, and have exposed metal at either end. The side with holes is the + end and the flat side is the -.

Another test I thought of is to put one into the light. If it lights up, then the issue is likely the charger.

Remember to insert the cells from the head (LED) end for this light, and not from the tail (switch) end so you don’t have to reassemble the tail.

Thank you. The kind folks over in the chargers sub forum actually made me realize there was a black sticker covering the end of the batteries. They work fine.

Not sure what you mean 2-in-1. All I know is, with the optic and glass together, it doesnt screw closed all the way.

Do try the optic it came with. It’s probably dark in NYC now. I think you will really like it. I’ve swapped back and forth, and the difference is really negligible. If you don’t compare side to side you won’t notice. By the way, which emitter did you choose?

There are two versions, one with a separate lens and optic (the glass part is the lens, and the Carlco 10511 is the optic), and one with a combination optic & lens (the new style that was in your light when you got it). I was referring to the second type as a 2 in 1 above.

By most reports, the style you got is very good, however I haven’t tested it personally.

I would say the throw is very nice, sort of a mix between a flood and a spot. Very smooth. No hot spots.

So the carclo has a thinner disc that the glass sits on? Or are the feet shorter to make space for the glass?

It’s a sweet light, no doubt, but I really wish it was a medium to dark charcoal grey like the Lumintop pics instead of a light bluish grey.

Check the little baggie in the box… mine came with the gen 2 optic installed and a carclo in the little bag. I do like the beam from the gen 2 better, but like the protection of glass over carclo better.

Yeah all I got in the baggie was the glass. And the gen 2 optic is too thick to accommodate both the optic and the glass.

What I’m confused by is the fact that I waited 1.5 months for the light because ostensibly I was supposed to be getting the optic that works with the glass.

I think the extra on the newer style optic is on the side where the lens goes. I believe that end is thicker and has a larger circumference so that it can replace both the lens and the optic.

Some days my FW3A looks grey, some days blue. They are working on a titanium version that might fit the bill… a bit more expensive though.

There will also be a polished titanium and copper one coming at some point (better thermals than titanium alone) as well.

The Copper ones are HERE!

Copper FW3C

Thank you Glennac! They sure do look nice, I’m excited for mine to arrive.

Above I was referring to a version made of titanium and copper. I think there is a picture around here somewhere.

Edit:
Here is a picture -

The stock Lumintop optic is really not that bad. I took some measurements for comparison. The stock Lumintop optic produces rosier tint than carclo + stock glass lens. It loses some lumens compared to clear Carclo optic because it is not a clear throw optic. The diffusion reduces output slightly but not as much as a Carclo 10509. If I weren’t able to get my hands on UCL lens, I would actually prefer the Lumintop optic over Carclo + stock lens.

On Neal’s site, for the FW3A optic trits, he has a few images showing the color choices.

For instance: TRITIUM COLORS.

In the list, there’s only one “BLUE”. Yet, you can see 2 blues here. 1 - light blue, 2 - dark blue. Which one is it?