the outside base of the convoy s2 has machined ridges going around it. I have heard of people wrapping the drop ins with aluminum, but would it help to fill these gaps with foil to eliminate air pockets and make body contact. I was thinking about cutting thin ribbons and wrapping them in the gaps until they were flush. thoughts?
It won’t change anything because reflector has nothing to do with heat transfer or anything. It just reflects light from the emitter.
My feeling is that they increase surface area, hence greater heat dispersal. I think that’s why the S4s shed heat so well, with the grooves being exposed to atmosphere.
A heat sink is fine, in so far as it draws heat off the immediate device, but ultimately the heat needs to dissipate to atmosphere. Once the heat sink is ‘loaded’ so to speak, you’re back to square 1. A completely encapsulated heat sink only buys you a bit of time.
Bottom line? I don’t think filling the grooves will help, but it probably wouldn’t hurt much either.
ok I just thought that since they are surround by the body, eliminating the
gaps, making more contact with the body, and making more mass would help in handling heat.
joel, if the outer diameter of the reflector rests on the heatsink, then wrapping the reflector with foil for example so it would snugly fit inside the head would help a little. If however the reflector rests on the insulator protecting the LED alone, then it’s not going to help. I honestly can’t remember what it does.
I put it all together tonight. I ended up not doing foil or using the bow-tie shaped plastic piece around the emitter as it seemed
to prevent the reflector from sitting down properly and the beam didn’t look right. thanks guys for all the indo