I have an old Surefire E1e with a burned out bulb and would like to convert it to a led. I have seen a few replacement heads for $60 and up, but I am looking for a cheap alternative. Is it possible to remove the burned out Zenon bulb and simple solder a led in its place? I don’t mind a single mode light and I would like it to have a long runtime so I am thinking under 100 lumens, maybe 40 to 60? Any suggestions? Thanks
Nobody can help me
I have a few Surefires (G2,Z2,6P) I have modded but they all take the P60 dropin. The E series does not take the P60 dropin. Ive never seen or read about a direct mod to replace the bulb although it is feasible but not pratical. You basically would have a direct drive light that would get hot very fast and loose charge very fast. There are three solutions that im familiar with. First the E to C converter. This converter allowes the use of the P60 dropin on your E1 body but you also have to replace the head (Bezel). Its not a cheap alternative 3 things to buy converter, head ,and dropin. Bought my Converter on Ebay Lumens Factory for about $20 Overready sells them for $32 the rest I already owned. Second there is also a Veleno E series dropin $75 nothing else to buy. Third lumens factory led E series replacement heat $20-$50. I hope that helps a little. As for nobody helping I dont think youre being ignored, its just the Surefire is not as popular on this site. My first question was about a Surefire and nobody responded LOL. For chinese lights this place is awesome and the group members are very helpful, if you dont want to spend allot of money do research on this site and you can get something that will match that E1 for way cheaper.
Probably best to buy another bulb while you look for solutions. Watch the Used sales threads you might find someone selling a cheaper led conversion kit, a few were made in the past. I think you asked your question also on CPF and i think probably got the complete range of answers there. To just wire in an led look at what is called Direct Drive lights.
Unfortunately the small head reflector combo on the e1 gives little space to work with. I think gi.lumens gave a great summary. The LF head replacement might be the simplest quick solution. Check ebay for deals.
Thanks guys I guess I will just look for something to replace it. Mabe a single cell AA
On a side note, i tried to buy a new old stock 6Z with the original batteries, box and manual. Old surefire logo too! $50. It was in southern California and I’m in Oakland. He wouldn’t ship. Too bad. That would have been a cool collector light 
No trouble finding a substitute, these days many AAA lights would be more capable than the E1, but the E1 has style.
You might want to look at Limintop Tool AAA, coupon on this site right now for cheap. Or the AstroLux A01. Then you can look around. For inexpensive AA look at the JetBeam Jet 1 MK, probably a coupon on this site for a deal on that one as well. The Jetbeam Jet u is also a great AAA light. The two JetBeams are twist activated though rather than simple tail switch. Lots of options in AA or AAA.
Hang on to your incan E-series.
Tad Customs E-series Bi-Pin Socket
Various lamps for different cell setups available there, too.
But you want LED? If you’re not too particular, trimmed and shaped 5mm LEDs will fit in the socket such that the beam is focused properly. There have been a number of aftermarket options for E-series for a long time, so I am suprised at the dirth of suggestions. LED towers and LED heads are still available from Lumens Factory’s eBay store, if not lumensfactory.com . More recently, though now unavailable, is Oveready’s 30W Triple-V Wasp.
Nichia 219B is as good as LED is now for color rendition, yet still lacks the ideal color curve output only seen in incan. LED’s won’t be around much longer, either, and incan is coming back sooner or later. The reason is that the only reason to use LED is it’s (currently) higher efficiency over incan. But LED at 15% efficient is fast approaching it’s theoretical maximum efficiency, and will probably be there by 2020. Then LED won’t get any more efficient, and the better they make LED phosphors to match the sun’s spectral curve, the less efficient they become. Incan is only maybe 1% efficient, but theoretically, at least, incan can be at least twice as efficient as LED’s theoretical maximum. Just tinkering with this idea, they made a lamp about half as efficient as the best LED’s. Imagine what more well-funded R&D could do for better and more efficient incan lighting. When the costs come down enough, and we get sick of LED lighting, LED flashlights will become as odd as incan flashlights seem some now.
So hang on to that E and probably look for more.