Here’s an update on my flashlight mod.
I feel a little silly having a post just for a cheapo flashlight mod, given the other post devoted to the awesome flashlight mods that occur daily here on BLF: What did you mod today?
But for those that are interested, thank you for letting me indulge in your time.
I have come up with a design that I think will work.
In regards to the thermal transfer, here’s my solution. It’s a brass nut that just barely fits into the flashlight head.
Once I modified the existing driver and used the existing LED, it’s very close in length to the original plastic pill.
There is enough room between the nut sides for the wires.
The 1 outstanding issue I had with this flashlight was with the retaining nut. It is thin, hard to put into place, and even harder to remove. Very frustrating to work with! So I went to my local hardware store for a replacement. They didn’t have anything even close and suggested that I contact the manufacturer of the flashlight. Very funny. It even broke while I was at the store since it was very brittle. Argh!
This was a deal breaker for me. If I’m not able to have a suitable retaining nut for the flashlight, it didn’t seem worth spending any more time modifying the flashlight, let alone spending any money on it.
Rather than just throwing flashlight into the garbage, here’s how I spent 2+ hours making a retaining nut.
Success! Much, much better than the original.
And, does the flashlight still work after all this?
Yes! Now I’m awaiting my new parts and will post an update once I’m done.