Copper Maglight Heatsinks?

Hi all! I'm impatiently waiting for some parts to come for my Streamlight 20X build, so I got to thinking that I have a couple of 3D Mags lying around... Hmm. Copper! That's the ticket! I've made some copper core sinks in the past that work well. Why not go the whole way?


I figured that since I'm making one for myself, I might as well see if anyone has done it before. I did a search on copper Mag heatsinks and didn't get much beyond an old thread where U_235 offered them then got sick and it looks like the whole thing fell through. By the looks of that thread there may be some people here that would want one, so I will make some more if there is interest. I'm buying one foot of 1 3/8" copper, so I might as well make a few.

Here are the measurements that I use when making 3D Mag sinks:

Body ID = 1.345" Machining the sink to this usually gives a decent sliding fit. 1.346 is sometimes too tight, but not always. Mags vary a bit...some sanding (or hammering) may be required if your Mag is tighter than most.

Body Depth to switch = 1.645" I would make them up to 1.500", though that leaves no room for a driver. I would ask that you tell me the length you want.

I am willing to drill holes, machine a pillar/pedestal on top or leave it virginal for you to do as you like.

I will drill and tap all of them for a 10-24 set screw so the sink is height adjustable.

Here is an example of one in aluminum. Plain top, no holes, 1.5" long.

An example of a pedestal. It was one of my first attempts. I gave it to a friend.

I do not have any C Mags, so I would need measurements to make any for those.

So, where this stands right now is that I am gauging interest as to how many would be interested and what you would want for holes, pedestal, length etc...

I am thinking price will be in the $40.00 range plus shipping. Let me know what you think. Questions are welcome.

I would be interested in a pedestal one with a 17mm driver cut-out. Price seems good :slight_smile:

I don't care much for maglights anymore, but this may change my mind.

Ok. Seems not to be much interest. I'll just order one foot of copper and make one for myself, Edeekos and maybe one extra. Leaftye, let me know.

Edeekos, let me know if you want one for sure. If so, this is like Burger King. "Have it your way."

How tall and what diameter pedestal do you want?

What overall length?

I assume you want holes for wires. What size would you like them?

17mm driver pocket depth? (In case you are stacking extra 7135's). If you don't have a preference, I'll leave enough room to double stack them in there for future upgrade ability. Mountain Electronics is selling them pre-modded with extra chips on them now you know.

Ordering copper now.

Copper would be the ideal heat sink for a MT-G2 heater. I built one 2D so far with a rebel reflector and direct drive from 2 20R’s, I can tell you that it puts out a much better beam and more lumens than a 10 amp 4 xml skyray kung in my opinion.
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Copper in this size is not cheap at all, much less all the machine work that goes into making one of these. Buckets price is very reasonable to me. If you want to play with a MT-G2 in a Maglite, don’t let the opportunity slip away. I very seriously doubt you will ever see that price again.

bucket check on ebay for copper ? i found a 1-1/2 by 12 inches long for $60 shipped few months ago ?

Damn. I just looked and found 1.5" diameter for $44.00 a foot. Too late this time. Darnit.

Not sure of depth, don’t have a caliper to check. Plan is to do a 1D/32650 mag with an xml2 and QLITE with 16x total chips. Would like to retain the factory focusing ability, so the pedestal would be needed, with holes drilled for wires. Would like the sink to be a tight fit for the best heat sinking to the body. You would know better than I would as far as all the sizes go.

Let me know if ya plan of going through with it all, I’m definitely game.

I would DEFINITELY be interested.

The chunk of metal you end up with in there is just so damn huge and has so much contact area I don't think there'd be any performance gain going from aluminum to copper.

Though, I guess you can't completely discount the placebo effect - if your brain tricks you into thinking it's brighter only because you know what's inside, does it matter what the light meter says?

I assume the extra 8 chips are evenly stacked evenly on both sides of the board? Also, you will need to sand a 16mm star down to fit the hole in the reflector. (Just making sure you know.)

The copper should be here by Wednesday or Thursday. I'll PM you my Paypal before I start machining.

Yeah, +4 chips in/+4 out. And yeah, I planned on using a cut down 16mm Sinkpad, as they have 2 sets of solder pads on them. I’m assuming the pedestal is gonna be sized for the incan reflector?

Cool. The pedestal will be close to 15mm (diameter). H22A uses 14.5mm, but I think that's a bit smaller than it needs to be. No sense giving up surface area for heat transfer unnecessarily.

Yes, Incan reflector. My understanding is that the Rebel reflector can just sit on the star and be focused well, thus people wanting flat tops instead of pedestals.

The Mag LED reflectors work so so much better it's not even funny!

I have a couple rebel reflectors sitting here, I got from there. I may just cut up one of these, and give it a shot. Never messed with them before.

+1 on what comfy said. Once you go Rebel you don’t go back.

Also, these reflectors from FT are similar in dimension and way cheaper since the price of Rebel reflectors went up five-fold three-fold last year.

Anyway Bucket you’re offering a good deal on these custom heatsinks :beer:
If I was modding lights presently I’d be down for one. Maybe this summer I’ll be back at it.

Thanks for the link Slim, I might grab a few of those and see how they do.

any update on these?

I'm waiting for delivery on the copper. Hopefully it's here Friday.

Just to clarify. I ordered the copper Monday evening. It has never taken more than two days to get orders from the supplier to me before. Sometimes it has been next day. So, I was comfortable with saying Wednesday or Thursday. Apparently, the severe cold has slowed UPS down a bit, so Friday it is.