My XML2 BTU 'super' shocker arrived today

Brad, I know that question wasn’t meant for me, but just curious why you would hesitate on getting a BTU modded. For money reasons or for the hassle I can understand. But it sounds like your concerned with resale value.
This is the way I see it -
My stock BTU - 2880 lumens and 125K in throw. That was before they had the AR lens. Great numbers yes. It did loose lumens pretty good though, with about 10-15% loss (keeping it on turbo) in 20 min run time.
My modded BTU - 3670 lumens and 181K with XM-L2’s on copper and UCL lens. Both tests with Keeppower 3400mah protected cells. And now the power stays VERY well. Haven’t done a long term test again, but it actually gains power for a good minute or so.
AND keep in mind this light was built by one of the best modders on our forum - Tom E. He goes through the trouble to polish heatsinks with 2500 grit paper and other minor things like that. He does this to make excellent heat transfer and peak performance.
So how could a light that performs roughly 25% better than stock and has MUCH better heatsinking and power holding ability be less value than a bone stock light?
I’m sure as I type this, Tom E could easily start selling his quality modded BTU’s for $150 at the same time Ric is selling his stock ones for $99. Ric would sell more I’m sure since $150 is more than many are wiling to pay for any light, but I would be willing to bet Tom would have more light orders than he could handle.
Not knocking the stock BTU - I’ve always been a big fan of them. Bone stock they were the best throwing and high power light on the market. The TK75 was its only competition. Now the much more expensive RC40 has passed the stock BTU on power, not throw though it appears. But modded they are more powerful and now have quality to match some of the best lights out now. And it matches or beats the top dog RC40 in power and KILLS it in throw.
It’s a win win in my eyes. You might be totally happy with your stock BTU - many are. But if you want more, don’t hesitate to get it modded. You won’t regret it.
Hope you don’t mind me butting in with your questions for jmpaul.

Yeah the BTU is definitely my next target. Thanx manxbuggy1! :slight_smile:

I forgot that I’ve seen beam shots of both the Terminator and the BTU already together with other very bright lights. That was rdrfronty’s post on your trip to Big Bend. The BTU indeed leaves the Terminator behind. :wink:

you won’t regret the upgrade :slight_smile:

Had mine given the steroid treatment by Tom E. about a month ago.
For those of you smiling on your $99.00 purchase, get it to Tom and get a evil grin from ear to ear.
He also did my HD2010, that thing now is a 100k monster. It doubled from the 50k stock throw.

Okay, so I buy a BTU (very high on my list), and I want to get it modded as per this thread (and a few others too) -w parts and labor, what are our fellow BLF members going to charge for the upgrade? And I realize that there is no profit in this for most guys, just doing it for the love, so not everyone who wants it done is going to be able to make that connection through one of these threads.

Why doesn’t anyone get it modded with xp-g2s? Maybe even dedomed. Wouldn’t you get like 400kcd with a good sized hotspot?

Also, am I the only one who wants to put dedomed xpg2 in the skyray king? I inquired about having it done once but was told it wouldn’t work. I’m thinking 1200 lumen 75kcd coke can.

Each are built to your specs. Maybe try PMing one of the builders to discuss your options and prices.

vinz got 375k if i remember correctly just by de-doming the xml2s and making a minor focus adjustment

for those of you with the tom E mod, how long can you run it on turbo before it gets too hot or unsafe conditions?

mine starts becoming slightly warm to the touch after 1-2 minutes, warm after 4-5 minutes and hot enough that it should be turned to medium after about 10

this is in ambient (70 deg F) room temp

Well I may just get mine upgraded. We will see. I would at leat like to see what it does stock. And if I decide to upgrade, I know where I will get it done. But I would like to play around with it to see what I think.

Maybe if you can tell the difference between Turbo and High the upgrade would really change things. But other than that it’s kind of bragging rights. But then again, the Shocker itself already has more output than most lights. I say go for it, except it might retire a few lot of your lights to the shelf.

I really wanted a tk75 for a while - my modded shocker was around the same price of a new tk75

that in no way means that i will not be buying a tk75 though - i still want one LOL

Well I don’t think any light in my collection will compare to the TK75 for quality and beam. It’s still my favorite. No question about it. I like my TN31’s for throw. But I’d pick the TK75 in a heartbeat over a TN31. I would just about pick the L3 Illumintion K40 over the TN31’s. Feels better in your hand and is lighter and throws almost as good.

Even before Tom modded my BTU, I did a 21 min video keeping it on turbo the whole time. Its posted in my BTU vs TK75 thread. It never got over about 120F or so. Did loose about 350 lumens in that 21 minutes, though it had no cooling. It even had an insulator ring on the head many many times for putting it in my lightbox, so the heat was even greater I’m sure than normal use.
So if it handled it bone stock in those conditions, a MUCH better heat sinked and copper based version that Tom does will run without any issue well past the 18650’s are dead. It might get a little hotter handle and head now due to the better heat dissipation, but its a non issue as far as damage is concerned. And with all of its mass I don’t see it getting too hot even with all his heatsinking.

thanks for the run time update fellas. now thats what im talking about. a high output modded light that can be ran on turbo for a decent amount of time!

thats what i missed about my tk70. crazy output and throw and i never had to worry about turning it down to a lower mode because of heat issues.

ive been looking for another light thats 3000 lumens and up and in a shorter form than a tk70 but can be used on turbo for long periods.

the tm26, terminator, tk75, btu shocker and maybe a couple others were considered but either lacked a bit of throw or brightness lumens made it a no go.

but now, this modded shocker sounds like the light ive been looking for to replace my old tk70! cant believe its so damn heavy though for the size.
i also remember it looking very big. there was a picture somewhere here where it was placed next to the other comparable lights an this shocker looked huge.

It is quite heavy and beefy - but I still find it manageable to carry on walks etc… its a really great all around light - great throw, spill, and heat management

It’s pretty beefy. But that also helps with the heatsinking, especially once modded. Here is my BTU along side some of my favorites for size reference
Left to right - Quark Mini X, Eagletac D25C Ti, Eagletac TX25C2, Skyray King, OSTS TN31mb, Maelstrom S18, BTU with XML2’s, and SR90 with SBT70.

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very nice.
is there a beamshot floating somewhere with a comparison of the srk and the btu shocker xml2 at very close distance.
like even a indoor shot, or outdoor in the 25 feet or so range?

i would like to see how bright and floody it is vs a king.
this would defintetly help in making my decision.

3 left!…uh oh

Dude you need to buy one! We have several comparison shots of a stock Btu vs SRK and it is still an impressive difference. I am sure fronty can do a comparo shot after it gets dark with his hot rod BTU vs SRK.