Modded: Small Sun ZY-T13 3.2 Amps or Sunwayman T40CS Clone

Modded readings scroll down!

I am going to talk about the Small Sun ZT-T13 from Manafont, I first learned about this light by reading BLF member POK here I liked the looks of it, it is very much like the Sunwayman TC40CS but at a fraction of the cost, want to know how good is it? Read on.

Light as pictured on Manafont

The light came nicely wrapped in very thick bubble wrapping, I am sure there were no dings or chips during shipping, but the light did had some small chips in the anodizing, so I assume they were there from the factory.

The best match to compare this light is going to be the Eagletac M3C4 XM-L, they have to my eye the exact same reflector in size and depth and produce the same hotspot and throw, although the Eagletac is brighter!

Small Sun ZY-T13 on the left, Eagletac M3C4 XM-L on the right.

Now lets have a look at the internals
The light comes apart very easily the only hard part was getting the reflector out since the aluminum crown is smooth, I had to use a strap wrench to open it, I wasn’t planning on doing it but there were debirs and lint on the reflector, and it kind of bothers me so I went ahead and opened to clean it, it also had two small smudges of what appears to be grease or something on the reflector, which I do not plan to use any chemicals to clean, since we all know how that goes :frowning:


A look at the tailcap

Disassembled

A look at the business end, the reflector was kind of off center, but it centered up nicely once I reassembled it

Removing the head to take a look at the led

The round star is about 1 inch round and has some white thermal grease underneath the reflector presses down on it and keeps it in good contact with the heatsink, It works as it should because I can feel it getting warm right away when in use. and seems easy to mod if need be, the tint is nice, I would say it is just a tad warmer than 1C, my guess is 2B or 2C there is no green tint on it at all!

Now at the other side

The plate unscrews easily and you can get access to the driver, I forgot to take a picture of the driver so I will use the one from the other thread, credit goes to viffer750 for it.

I also found that if I remove the white centering ring the reflector gives much better throw, here is a pic compared to the Eagletac M3C4 XML, I forgot what order I had them before so now they are reversed from the previous beamshot

Eagletac M3C4 on the left and Small Sun ZY-T13 on the right

The hotspot is now about 30% smaller than the Eagletac, not bad!

The light has an on / off switch at the tailcap, it is a forward clickie, the head switch controls the modes, the modes are HI / Mid / Lo / Strobe / SOS, it does not have mode memory and always comes on at high.

Current measurements at the tailcap

Hi 0.90 amps or approximately 1.80 amps to the driver
Mid .44 amps or approximately 0.88 amps to the driver
low 0.09 amps or approximately 0.18 amps to the driver

This light has enough room inside to accept any length of protected 18650’s on the market with no problems.

The driver has 2 resistors that may be tweaked to get more current, If someone can give me tips on what resistors to use, I might try them

The light has square threads, comes with all orings but I am not planning to do a waterproof test, the tailcap does lock out with 1/3 turn from fully tightened.

Overall I would recommend this light, specially for $24 compared to $100+ of the T40CS

Thanks for looking!

(thanx for your effort! :slight_smile: )

Dude, if Eagletec is on the left of the last photo, than Small SUn is a lot brighter :slight_smile:

SO wich light is brighter?

Also, can you pls tell me is your MM good, are oyou confident about it? Because 0,9A on high seems to little to me.
That would be really crappy driver for such a fine host-.

I think you didnt tell anything about a switch - is it good?

Can someonetell whats the diammter of the driver??

nice man! how is the PWM of the other modes? if this light can be tweaked with resistors to give 3a it will be a great light…it still looks like a damn good light stock, but at 3a it will be amazing…

Its a blasphemy not to give it at least 2,8A

Shame about 0.9A draw. Also lack of mode memory otherwise boot switch can be used as “tactical” momentary fwd clicky. Small sun’s traditionally been crappy (I have 3-4 of their lights that’ve been disappointing), but seems they’ve improved and this is a good deal if it holds up.

Nice review,for how much it costs,not a bad deal.I still haven't got mine yet(blah!!)and I'm eager to mod this sucker.How about the electronic switch,is it as smooth as the real deal?

the multi meter I am using is a craftsman, so fat it has been accurate for what I use it for, it is a shame it did not have last mode memory, the clicky feels solid and very audible, the side switch feels like a Mr. Bulk dragonheart or a solarforce skyline I switch.

hopefully someone can find out how to mod it changing resistors, more pics when it gets dark, Any particular things you all want me to check?

sent from mobile

Alex,
I have one that should be here this week, can you show me a picture of the top after you removed the white centering ring.

Thanx

CAn ST50 3,4A driver from dx can be installed in it?

It seems light is good, but driver is major screw up - what a shame. But at that price, even with new driver this would be good overall price

Are you sure? :expressionless: Veeeery big diff, IMO, after removing ONLY that ring :open_mouth:

Thank for the review, Alex :wink:

Ok, I’m back home

Pounder, On high there is no PWM, on Med and low there is, it is undetectable by traditional methods (Shaking the light vigorously) but if you put it pointing at a ceiling fan you can barely see it, in regular use you would not notice it.

Rikr, here is a picture of the led with the centering ring removed

Ecig, I think if the resistors in the driver can be tweaked this might be a more powerful light, I’m not an electronics expert, but I sure can solder like one! Need someone to lead the way, It could fit a 1/8 or 1/4 watt resistor with no problems.

SashiX, Don’t be fooled by the camera phone, it tends to over expose bright lights, I had to dial down the brightness of both lights, the Eagletac is brighter on high, but the Small Sun ZY-T13 without the centering ring gives a more concentrated spot, that is the difference, I took another pic, just to make sure which one is which the lights appear on the pic, Eagletac on the left and Small Sun ZY-T13 on the right.

The driver in this light is about 23 - 24 mm and has 2 “ears” that help it keep the side button centered with the side rubber boot.

Any more questions?

AlexGT

When you remove that piece is there any chance the reflector is going to short out by hitting the wires? Can you please take an outside beamshot please.
Thank you for all your time and pictures.

I don’t think the wires can short because the reflector is raised in the center so the edges do not touch the led board, you could always put something to cover them if needed.

Will take pics outside later

Thank you…

I haven’t read this yet, but thanks In advance. I was hoping someone would review this! :slight_smile:

On to the reading…

thanks on the PWM…high PWM is acceptable…it looks a lot brighter than the eagletac…looks like it`s on medium…

Both lights were not on high, the Small Sun was on low and the Eagletac was on the second from the lowest setting, the cameraphone tends to exaggerate the contrast, but both beams were about the same brightness but the more concentrated spot tends to look brighter, on high the eagletac is brighter (For now!)

ahhhh makes sense…

Took some pictures outside, the phone’s camera is not very good so you might not notice much difference, someone has to tell me how to do the mouse over thing to compare pics!!! Please!

Distance to the fence 140ft.

Eagletac M3C4 XM-L on Max

Small Sun ZT-T13

Thank you for info and beamshots :slight_smile: