Oh I think it’s great to see how they perform under harsh conditions. It’s just that ZL’s are notoriously difficult to work on. I think he is going to be testing his skills if he has to replace the driver on that puppy. I think the UF-T50 will be much easier to work on and get back into working order. Thicker material on the T50 will make it easier for him to clean up or grind out gouges and nicks in the body and allow for more artistic license. ZL bodies are crazy thin and will be tougher to clean up damage to the body.
Once said and done, I'd rather have a shiny new SC600 working as intended, knowing that it'd withstand anything I'd put it through. It just hurts to see it abused more than I'd ever put it through just for poops & chuckles. :p
Either way I eagerly await the outcome of the tests and rebuilds. This is fun! :bigsmile:
Well, if either of the lights make it to the third round, then mkett39 should take care of them for good. Running over a thin wall light with a tractor trailer should render the light a total loss. There’s a difference between a repair and trash can. I know the difference and I will doing the final disposition. If they are salvageable, then they will be fixed as good as possible, but if the lights have been mashed out of shape or flat as a pancake, they will see the pit of never ending darkness (that’s what I threaten my flashlights with, when they don’t want to cooperate). If at any time the batteries in these lights melt down, blow up or leak all over, then don’t bother to send them on to me. I won’t touch a Li-ion if it has leaked into the light. Sorry, but Lithium leakage is something I will not play with. Other than that, I will do my very best if there is anything left to salvage.
I will take a risk and call it UF-T50 since I have had one failed H51 but 0 failed UF´s so far 8)
If I should foresee something, I would say that ZL´s driver gives up.
Of course, the idea is to push and test these, not doom them to the pit of never ending darkness. Before this thread even went up, mkett39 suggested running them over on a surface that has some give Here’s an example of that with a steamroller: http://youtu.be/km_rodQCs2M?t=1m17s Trust us :Evil:
Tests performed so far: bury in snowbank overnight, leave lit underwater in basement sump for one hour, wash with laundry in washing machine twice, on heavy cycle both times, dry in dryer for 40 minutes, bake in oven at 200 degrees F for one hour. Both lights survived but one clearly did better than the other — so far, that is! But which one?
Remaining tests: freeze overnight (lit) in blocks of ice, defrost and boil with eggs for breakfast. Then off to scaru!
Stay tuned — details and pictures will be posted just after the giveaway closes, probably on Friday.
I’m assuming you will take the battery out, but it’s still dangerous. The flashlight is basically a sealed container, with no way to let air escape. When you reach boiling temperatures, the cylinder may vent violently (small explosion) sending boiling water everywhere.
Just a friendly warning. I’ve been scalded by boiling water before… not fun.