Cool Tom. Looks like your going to be busy with a bunch of BTU’s now 
Hopefully its a little easier now that you have done a couple of them.
Anyway, anybody on the fence about modding your BTU - DO IT. A BTU is an awesome light - a BTU with XM-L2’s on copper Sinkpads, put together with expect care by someone like Tom = a BEAST of a light!!
Look at it this way - a BTU modded can have 30-40% more throw & still put out 5-10% more lumens than a RC40. And a BTU and all parts needed can be bought for about 1/2 the price of a RC40. And with this quality work like above, I dare say it has quality to match the RC40 too.
And not knocking the RC40 - it’s pretty much King Kong of the high lumen throwers on the market and being from Fenix I’m sure its an excellent light. But that light as a baseline shows just how impressive these BTU’s can be.
Spending some time now on the battery carrier, can't quite figure out the overall design some good points, some bad points. The springs look like high quality and soldered well in place, but they are so soft considering all the weight involved. I was thinking of replacing them all, but not sure if the springs I buy are really any better, they may be worse. I've seen the plating just chip off on some springs, like when you bend the top loop of the wide end. A TN31 or TK75 carrier is soo much more cleaner and tighter in design, though the stand-off pedestals and caps look high qual on the Shocker.
Two things though are definite: bend the top loop on the 3 battery springs, and add more solder to the base of all springs. I did the solder wick down the middle of the 3 battery springs, but didn't remove the springs to do it - was able to solder the bottom to the outside to get a solid connection to the base. Would have prefered removing the springs, but they had a pretty clean solder job on the springs so wasn't sure how easy it would be to remove them. Overall though with the spring mods, I got about exactly 100 lumens out of it, with KeepPower's or Pana PD's. Makes me wonder now if the 2 springs to the driver would have paid off mod'ing as well...
Tom E has pretty much done everything I have done, except I went a little further and smoked the driver 
I have much lower measurements, but the modded BTU is easily the brightest light I have, both in throw and lumen output.
I’ve heard people say it is too heavy or too awkward, but I’ve put it through the paces and it works well. The weight is no problem, side clicky would be nice.
Before:
After:
All polished up:
Clear view of the rings:
I smoothed the pill area as well. Once you get to 2000 grit paper, things take on a mirror-like finish. Very nice.
There are so many lights that I would have bought if they werent glued… including the TK70.
Just say no to glued flashlights! |(
That looks great Tom E. Did you buy those thin insulation disks or make them? Got a link or can you tell us what material you used? It sure looks a lot better than kapton tape.
I'm like 98% sure it's these in a translucent style: http://intl-outdoor.com/cree-xml-insulation-gaskets-10-pcs-p-463.html. They got the 3M trademark on the back. I cut out the center square hole to make it bigger, using a small cutting pliers. They came out in the pic looking like they were made to fit, but if you look closely, the cut out is more octagonal shape from a series of straight cuts from the cutters. I've used these before, come in real handy because of the 19mm diameter. Think I'll be ordering more along with some of those noctigon copper MCPCB's reviewed by PPtk.
Update: ordered more, ordered some of the noctigons at each size/type. Their springs look excellent quality - got a bunch of sizes, ordered more...
Anyone else do a tailcap reading across the switch?
I'm curious what others are seeing measuring amps this way, if you get in the neighborhood of 3.85A or not. I think one of the reviewers noted 3.6A on turbo.
I’m not sure if these springs would fit or not but I have used the ’’A” ones and they are very stiff. On a 5 amp driver it makes no difference to the current if the battery is resting on it or being pushed hard with the spring on the driver and tailcap measurements being taken.
Yes - I used these on one Shocker - makes a very tight fit for KP 3400's. 5 amp driver? Stock Shocker driver is supposedly 3.8A and the DRY driver is direct drive, so it's higher based on lumens/throw I got but didn't do a tailcap reading...
Ok guys you made me confused, so please help with few questions!
1. Doesent all BT shocker already come with U2 lens as stated on CNQG site?
2. Doesent all BTU Shocker already come with better lens as of lately then the old revisions? what lens are you guys using to mod?
3. What driver should i pick during my order, DRY vs BTU what are the pros and cons, does it really worth it to go for DRY?
4. I got some high end thermal paste, Artic Cooling MX-4, it beats Artic Silver for whole 2c, should i use this, instead of the stock - to mod the cooling, is it easy to replace the paste?
Thanks guys!
1 - XML U2, not XM-L2 U2 -- new generation of CREE emitter
2 - they always said AR lens but it wasn't an AR -- now it actually is what they say it is
3 - DRY has poor/low PWM's and cuts out of turbo after 2 mins, while the BTU driver has no PWM's (I think?), 3 mins cutoff from turbo. I believe the BTU will keep output more consistently as the battery drains as well
4 - Well, depends on your definition of easy, and if that's the only mod you do, probably not worth it -- much better to get those LED's on copper stars, SinkPAD or Noctigon
Thanks dude, can you provide me links where can i get the Leds (reliable site/seller i guess) as well as those Sinkpads? sorry i’m not moder my friend is, so this is all totally new to me, keep that in mind
So what i need is,
Leds, and sinkpads only to make this light noticeably better, also replace the wires in the flashlight with ticker ones? thanks!
best source for LED's for this mod: https://illuminationsupply.com/cree-leds-c-52_36/cree-xml2-bare-u2-1c-tint-6500k-p-279.html
Cheapest copper boards and best price: http://intl-outdoor.com/noctigon-xm20-copper-mcpcb-2pcs-p-713.html, or get 20mm SinkPAD's from VestureofBlood (BLF'er).
I use 20 gauge silicone, gotten off of eBay, but it's pricey - can't find a better/cheaper source though. You get like 30" of red, 30" of black for like $10 with shipping - way too much...
Thanks alot, are the LEDS cw? sorry im new to this stuff as i said, thanks one more time
Tom do you offer your modding services on the BTU?
Well, I have done a few for fellow BLF'ers, but really need a break - been buried in mod'ing every evening and all weekend, still need to work, and got other things going on, so afraid I need to turn new mod'ing work down for now. There's always the risk luming over my head and I've had some close calls recently, and diffculty keeping track of all on-going communication -- just a lot of time & effort, and it's been getting crazier and crazier...
hey completely understandable - just figured i’d ask
good luck with everything!
thats what happens when you do good work lol