Review: Tank007 E09 3-mode 1x AAA/10440

Sweety_Shaw · March 30, 2012, 1:25am

Aha~thank you for your support! i like your squirrel picture.

Sweety_Shaw · March 30, 2012, 1:39am

I really like this light! Thanks for all your insight and encouragement!

Aha~ behalf tank007 thank you.hope you can give more support for us .

Sweety_Shaw · March 30, 2012, 1:43am

kreisler:

Dear Tank E09 users!, *FYI*

Tank007 Co. did re-testing of the runtime data, this time with normal Eneloop AAA cells (like i did). Not surprisingly their new test results coincide quite well with my measured runtime data. The new runtimes are posted on the product webpage. Also note that from V2 on the LED is now the XP-E R3 (instead of XP-E R2 in the V1). Because of these webpage updates and the changes in V2, i will edit the OP accordingly to the benefit of Tank007 Co.'s reputation. It seems that XP-E R3 and XP-E R2 have about the same runtime performance but i will check on that and also refine the runtime measurements. Let's get them as accurate as possible.

I must admit that to me, Tank007 Co. and this particular product are becoming a real satisfactory user experience!!

Kreisler,you are so friendly!

Sweety_Shaw · March 30, 2012, 1:52am

hi! Kreisler: serial number is different of each item.it’s showed each product is unique.

Sweety_Shaw · March 30, 2012, 1:57am

yes,our E09 have memory. one mode stay above 3secs.

saypat · March 30, 2012, 2:37am

maybe Sweety from Tank007 Co. knows more?

hi! Kreisler: serial number is different of each item.it's showed each product is unique.

and there you have it, the full explanation of the serial numbers! I'm relieved.

aoyue2702 · April 12, 2012, 12:13am

kreisler:

a little personal update:

i have been knowing that my home-made insulator (the square-cut adhesive foil, as described in the OP) was being eaten by the flip side of the aluminum reflector. how? by the unsealing, re-sealing, unsealing, etc, of the 2-part head. it was a matter of time that the eaten foil would quit functioning as working insulating layer.

today, running the E09 with Protected Ultrafire 10440's as always, during its use on Hi mode the light went off, all of a sudden. my first thought was that the Ultrafire protection circuit had tripped. I checked the cell with my DMM and voltage was 4.0V. So i placed the cell back into the torch, still no light. However, i did notice that the head was heating up and the rest of the system too (body, cell, my hand). So my second thought was 'oops i might have fried some IC parts of the PCB' or maybe even killed the LED itself.

Only then was my third thought: "d*mn kreisler, first check if the light still works after having removed the upper head part (with the glass lens and aluminum reflector)!". I had to get two pairs of pliers to finally unseal the 2-part head. And? Light was back on!!

The same old problem (with V1) had occurred: the flip side of the aluminum reflector was creating a short circuit on the LED star. Luckily the short didnt fry any IC parts of the PCB. It also meant that that my square-cut insulator wasnt working any longer (and apparently i didnt expect this to happen at this point of time!).

So i cleaned the LED star (see below pic for the eaten insulator hehe), cut out a new insulator, and fixed the problem:

( click to enlarge! )

This time i am thinking that the following procedure is preferrable to the originally suggested method:

1. take the adhesive foil (with the non-sticky backside paper on it, see above pic)

2. drill a little round hole of the size (diameter) of the XP-E LED dome, e.g. by perforating the backside paper with a sharp pointy object (e.g. DMM leads/probes), then boring the hole with a decapitated Q-tip (cotton bud; has the diameter of the LED dome!!). leave the Q-tip stuck in the little hole.

3. with the blade of a utility knife (carpet cutter) cut the foil snippets (originating from the perforating and subsequent boring operations) along the Q-tip's circumference such that you end up with a clean perforated foil: a little hole with the LED dome's diameter!!

4. now, with a fine pair of scissors, cut out a round shape (circle!) with the hole as center (see above pic). our aim would be to cut out a circle with diameter 4.8mm, see why:

This is quite challenging. If your cut diameter is 5.5mm, then that should be fine too.

5. remove the backside paper of the adhesive foil. the trick now is to let the adhesive side point in direction of the reflector (and not in direction of the LED star!) and to place the foil onto the LED (the dome fits through the little hole, hopefully hehe) and not try to place/stick the foil into the 4.8mm circle of the reflector. the foil wouldnt stick there unless you actually managed to cut out a precise 4.8mm diameter circular foil.

6. in horizontal direction (not vertical direction!), slowly screw the one head part (with the glass lens and reflector) onto the other head part (with LED star and the non-sticking "insulator"). The insulator will finally stick to the flip side of the reflector and hopefully not tear apart through ("be eaten by") the rotating movement of the screwing/sealing operation.

7. check if your light comes on when everything is fully tightened. it should, if the round-cut insulator is functional and working! your E09 is now freshly reinstated and "sealed". Leave it like this, dont be silly and unscrew the upper head part (e.g. for mule mode operation), until the E09 "dies" (again).

The reason why my copy of the E09 could "die" again is because of the material of the round-cut insulator. I use adhesive foil (X-Film, Made in Germany, see above pic) which isnt heat-resistant but melts/fails after some time at high temperatures (e.g. Hi-mode with 10440's). Maybe in future i will stop using foil or adhesive foil. White sheet of paper (again round-cut with 4.8mm diameter, with a litte hole in the center) could do the trick too me thinks. The advantage of using foil instead of paper is: adhesive foil is flexible and, like rubber, a preferred material for sealing purposes.

Anyway. It's some fun to maintain our beloved E09, clean the disassembled parts, exchange parts (from a 2nd or 3rd copy), repair a "died" E09, easily check the LED status (the LED flashes when you touch the + - cables on the LED star with your DMM!!), and reassemble the head. This way i have the feeling that we could keep this flashlight alive forever!!

Longevity?? Guaranteed!

nice post. thanks.

kreisler · April 12, 2012, 12:44am

thanks for thanking ;)

FWIW here a bigger picture of the eaten square-cut insulator. as you can see, the foil is torn on the left side ...

... and was not covering the LED dome area symmetrically: Most of the adhesive foil was drawn (by the rotating movement of the reflector, during the sealing operation) to the right. The foil was insulating "one-sided"-ly.

i was aware of the broken (torn) foil. And today my E09 got a new foil. This time circular cut, cha! ;)

saypat · April 18, 2012, 6:09pm

I don't remember being aware of a color choice. Maybe someone posted some pics, I forget. Any chance you can post some pictures? My EO9 is one of my favorites, used it last night in checking the battery and alternator on my truck, don't need more light than this. At ~ $14, can't be beat.

Sigster · April 19, 2012, 3:51am

You mean with a breast-mount ?

Or what is a tit-version ?

-S

kreisler · May 23, 2012, 11:05am

quick update, Dinodirect sells the gungray model now:

sorry i got no news when the anticipated V3 will be available..

fran82 · May 23, 2012, 11:23am

Thanks kreisler. I ordered it a few hours ago. I think it is the V3 version....

fran82 · May 23, 2012, 11:25am

Hmmm... kreisler... do you know if the gray gunmetal version also comes in the metallic box?

kreisler · May 23, 2012, 11:29am

hola fran, it's definitely not the V3, please trust me on that. i work for ..etc haha.. lol

yes, it comes with the metallic box (tin box), and it can be seen from bit.ly/greendino

afaik Tank007 Co. needs to sell off the V2's first before they tackle the V3 production.

gearjunkie · May 23, 2012, 1:10pm

Does it come with the keyring in the picture? The keyring looks like a clone of the Freekey keyring, http://www.fenixoutfitters.com/freekey-press-to-open-keyring-preorders-6512-expected-arrival-473.

EDIT: The link has been updated to the correct one.

fran82 · May 23, 2012, 11:53am

kreisler... what are the main differences between V2 and V3? I cant remember............

kreisler · May 23, 2012, 11:57am

yeah, comes with the keyring in the picture. (and there is no lanyard, paracord, or wrist strap included!)

kreisler · May 23, 2012, 12:12pm

fran since the V3 hasnt been produced yet i cant tell for sure what the (many/few) differences are in detail, sorry. the V3 is planned to have a longer body (battery compartment) in order to officially host Protected 10440's. for this to realize a new rear spring needs to be sourced by Tank007 etc ..

Tank is aware of the low PWM but i dont expect any changes here. In V2, Tank put some green glue on the threads of the 2 head parts so that users wouldnt accidentally unscrew the head parts (and thereby tear off the aluminum reflector from the LED board). So V2 features a sealed head, and i dont expect any further improvements in V3. In any case I advise all owners to "improve" the insulation between the LED board and the aluminum reflector on their own!

V1 had a XP-E R2 emitter, V2 (and V3) a XP-E R3 emitter. I will use my old E09 heads on the body of the new V3.

fran82 · May 23, 2012, 12:24pm

Why about the heads? Why you will use old heads in the new bodies? Do you prefer the R2 over the R3?

kreisler · May 23, 2012, 12:36pm

i have heads with R2 and R3 emitters, and their reflectors are as perfect as it can get (the E09's are 12US$ flashlights so nobody can expect Fenix-quality reflectors!!).