One way of solving the parasitic drain in Fandyfire Rook

I'm thinking you could also use High Temperature Kapton Tape (used often on military electronics). It happens to be available at FastTech:

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002621/1195404-high-temperature-heat-resistant-kapton-tape-polyim

What a nice solution!!
Less is more!
Maybe now this light woth some 14500’s is interesting for me too…

I used electrical tape, but it has come off a couple times. Is the kapton tape more sticky than black electrical tape?

I know electrical tape is really meant to be stretched and wrapped, so it is not extremely sticky when just applying a small flat strip.

The drain on the Rook and Queen models is known and has been measured on other threads. I forget the exact number… but I killed a set of 3 Tenergy LifePO4 AAs rated at 400mAh in less than a month. I know these are low capacity, but still pretty unacceptable to me.

I think the way the OP did it is also nice because it might reduce a small amount of wear on the light. Lights like this one and the Skyray King can wear in the area that the battery tops rub on. I would still like to find a similar solution (rather than electrical tape) partly for this small added benefit.

For now, tape strips in a “Y” shape will due…

bump up the old thread just to thanks The Last Katun for the great idea.
simple and neat solution, thanks man! :slight_smile:

I just got my Rook yesterday.

Here’s my attempt at the lockout. I’m trying some nail polish for the 3 dead spots. I was kind of sloppy, but this was the first time I’ve ever used nail polish (I am a guy that doesn’t use that stuff, until now). I don’t know if it will hold or not. I wonder if a Sharpie would work or would it wear down over time?

I tried various tapes (in the Y pattern), but they all seem to peel away. I didn’t wait too long after putting the tape on before I tried twisting everything back. Maybe giving the glue in the tape more time to set would have helped?

I let the nail polish set overnight for it to really harden. Even after a few hours it was still kind of tacky (I lightly pushed my fingertip into it and it imprinted). Also make sure you clean the area before putting on the nail polish to insure good adhesion.

If the nail polish doesn’t work (I think it may get chipped over time), I am going to try some tape again. Full coverage, except cut-outs in between where I have the 3 nail polish spots.

I think you could probably use a dremel and carefully sand/grind down the three spots on that conductive ring for a really permanent fix.

Tricky part is trying to line up where those three spots should be. If you’re out a bit, I can see that you could end up running on 1 or 2 batteries instead of all 3 at once. Maybe someone could make a template that we can printout and cut to help align the dead zones. The narrower the dead zone, the better.

Remove tailcap from the Rook. It is thread locked with some red epoxy.

Remove the contact board form the battery tube. This gives you a clean shot of the contact board and exactly where the batteries touch when fully engaged.

Taking a Sharpie, because a pencil doesn't leave easily seen marks on the contact board, stick it into the battery tube and trace out the contact areas on the contact board.

It will look something like this...

Take off the battery tube and your contact areas are clearly marked and perfectly centered.

With the contact areas clearly marked, we can apply some nail polish to the contact board onto the areas where the cells don't make contact when the tube is fully tightened. Prior to coating the areas, you may want to scratch up the surface with a dremel stone (held in your fingers, not using the rotary tool) or small file so that the nail polish has more to stick to. Follow up by cleaning the surface with alcohol and a Q-tip. Not doing so can allow the paint to come off easily. Your end result should look like this:

I used an IR light to help accelerate the hardening of the nail polish. I used white polish for 2 reasons. First is because unlike clear polish, I will be able to see if it chips or wears away with use. The second reason is I already had it from filling the engraving on my handgun.

Once fully dried and cured, reassemble your Rook and enjoy your non-parasitic draining torch! A 60 degree twist will fully and securely lockout parasitic drain from the electronically switch driver. Special Thanks to "The Last Katun" for the incredibly simple idea that inspired this. Truly brilliant, he is! Saved me a ton of hassle form doing an OL style tailcap lockout mod. :beer:

EDIT: If the nail polish comes off (and I have a feeling it will, even with the roughed surface prep) I will repeat with a thin layer of epoxy instead of the polish. It should work far better.

Very good work johnny. Those pics are very helpful.

Awesome idea Katun! Nice tutorial Johnny. Just got my Rook a couple days ago. Thanks guys.

Tried to follow the OP idea, it was harder than it looked..trying for 20 minutes without satisfaction.
Then the thought just came out, instead covering the whole board and make an opening for battery connection, it's easier to just cover a small area which the battery should not contact.

I using thin clear tape. The thinner yet stronger adhesive is better.

Here it is, just like the OP idea and perhaps most quick in applying :D

Yep. I think we’re all going with the idea of just covering the small area which the battery should not contact.

The OP’s method works okay, but it’s more fiddly when trying to figure out where the battery will contact — just not convenient if you need to the flashlight from lock out mode.

I’ll have to try and find some thin tape (any recommendation where to find) and give it a try. You got some nice cutting work on your tape. I’m going to wait and see if/when my nail polish comes off - so far it’s holding up.

@bgyen, just use an ordinary clear tape that available on the stationary store. 3M usually has strong adhesive.

Best quick-fix idea ever !

Found this from our lab:

Place them on when the body is on full counter-clockwise position so that you know when to stop for no parasitic drain.

Yes it is sticky and will not move on repeated turns.
:beer:

Just received this light today. Any recommendations for removing the tail cap on this? I tried with my hands at first and then even tried a rubber jar opener. No go :frowning: Strap wrench? I’ll have to buy one or 2 I guess from Harbor Freight.

If you can't get it off with your bare hands then strap wrenches are your best bet.

You could try what they do to get a TN31 head apart. Seal the body in a plastic bag and then put it in boiling water for a couple minutes. It's worked for me on my TN31. It was still hard to break loose. Strap wretches kept slipping. So I just used leather gloves and a whole lot of grunting.

These are great ideas and thanks for starting this thread The Last Katun!

Looks like I may have to finally grab that FandyFire Queen that this parasitic drain problem was preventing me from getting.

Wonder if this would work on lights in the same genre such as the EA4 and others? Even though they have lockout features, this might do away with the small parasitic drain they do have.

Another method for the rook or Queen: > simple and reliable Rook Tail-cap Lockout mod.