Experiments with Thrunite TN31

Thrunite TN31 modding

Original throw about 95 kcd (with my under-reading luxmeter)

First experiment: XP-G2 3D with copper SinkPad

Throw about 1.6 x original, about 150+ kcd

Ceiling bounce 0.75 x original, about 800 lm


I didn't want to ruin the near perfect 3D NW tint, so the emitter has still it's dome intact.

Hotspot is now significantly smaller and brighter, but there is still some usable spill. And, more importantly: Tint is great for photography. Needless to say that I'm happy with this mod. :)

Second experiment: XP-G2 1A de-domed with copper SinkPad

Throw about 2.4 x original, about 220+ kcd (almost on par with my modded TF X6)

Ceiling bounce 0.70 x original, about 750 lm

Tint is significantly warmer than the original. Happy with this mod too.

Next experiment could be a domed & de-domed XR-E2 1A on SinkPad. Hmm.. Maybe I should order those emitters.

I might try also some de-domed XM-L for reference. Maybe even a XM-L2, let's see.

This thread will be updated with all experiments. Please stay tuned..

Thanks for reading. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about these mods.

_the_. You know your going to get asked for beam shots. What amperage are you running this at and did you have to tune the reflector to get rid of any rings? Thanks.

Can’t wait to see the results for dedomed XM-L and XM-L2 on an already good thrower!

Sure. I know this thread is useless without pics. ;)

This was just an emitter swap, so the turbo is still something around 4A.

No adjustments for reflector - it performs pretty well, as can be seen in these white wall beamshots. Some artifacts around the hotspot, but significantly less rings than in usual throwers.

Beam profile (f/5, 1/100s, ISO80, WB:Daylight)

Beam compared to SF-MPP1 (f/5, 1/100s, ISO80, WB:Daylight)


Increased exposure (f/5, 1/50s, ISO80, WB:Daylight)


Beam compared to Jacob A60 (f/5, 1/100s, ISO80, WB:Daylight)

Awesome!

Can we get some outdoor beamshots as well please :slight_smile:

The SF-MPP1 and Jacob A60 will be good comparison references

If I want to change my stock XML LED of the TN31 flashlight which XML2 LED is a good substitute ? There are different kind of XML led available on the market.

I like very much the cold white of the stock TN31.

XM-L2 U2. Highest bin and cool white.

Yes. But the original tint didn't look like 1A to me. It was a bit warmer.. For a non-tint-snob 1A would be good though. ;)

And buy it with copper star, preferably SinkPad. The original star is big, heavy, and made of copper. You don't want anything worse than that.

Reflowing the new emitter to the original star is also a good option.

Great Info! How'd you get the TN31 open? Heard it was difficult - glued maybe?

Dedomed XP-G2 sounds like a great option, can't wait to see the results.

Glued, yes. But opens up quite easily with two of these:

You have to wait for de-domed XP-G2 results.. I just destroyed one when de-doming it (which was weird: bond wires are intact, but the led doesn't light up), so I'm not in the mood of trying with another - at least without further thinking / investigating why it failed..

I got a similar strap wrench I used opening the 7G9 which was LockTite'd, but it wasn't so easy, had to use a heat gun and a vise and still screwed up the aluminum housing somewhat from the torque in the vise - cut right through the layers of Gorilla Tape. Your wrench looks better though, and having two has got to be a better approach then one and a vise... Thanks!! May be giving it a go at some point.

Ohh, bad news about the XP-G2, ouch! Did you use gasoline? Only tried it once and it worked well, but on a XML U2.

I opened mine by using boiling water and diping it inside a bag for about a minute and strap wrenches

No, heat. Still not sure what went wrong. I was happy with the looks of the emitter, but decided to test it before soldering it in and it just didn't light up.

I need to consider gasoline for the next one, at least if I can't figure out what went wrong with this one..

It's funny, not much info around on mod'ing the TN31 or other big name brand lights, but maybe it makes sense because the buyer of those lights wants power/quality out of the box, and even as a modder, I have 2nd thoughts of opening up an expensive device. My 7G9 with an XM-L2 U2/SinkPAD is brighter than a TN31 and throws about the same, and now that I got my hands on a TN31 and see how bigger the reflector is, there is definitely more potential there, as you are starting to see.

I have 20mm copper SinkPads. I hope they are compatible with the TN31.

Sure they are. But you need to center it by your own. The original "star" is 32mm x 2mm.

Here's my two attempts for de-doming XP-G2

1.

2.

Yes. They look "ok", but don't work => failed hard, need to buy more of these (and wait)

LFMF: Next time will be gasoline, most probably. :)

Think maybe the heat method de-soldered the emitter? You probably thought of that. Could try reflowing one for the heck of it.

Those look much better than the ones I dedomed and they work alright, strange...

2nd experiment added.

Note that the emitter might not be 100% functional*, but the results are still good.

(* I managed to break it during de-doming and fix it with conductive paint. Now how's that for frugal? :)

I used Bison Electro (quite expensive, but lasts "forever" in my use):

I prepared the emitter by scratching the positive metal visible near the bond wires. After that I added a small drop of paint next to both bond wires, making sure they connect to the positive plate.

Then I allowed the paint to dry properly (24h) and tried the emitter.. And it worked!

Next task was to reflow it to SinkPad:

That will work until I get next XP-G2 to try de-doming again. :)