i was a bit bored earlier and noticed my horribly-focused hotspot Tank007 E09 sitting on the top of the fridge collecting dust,
Picked it up, and gawked at the tiny, way too cool-white, XP-E emitter and thought…… could i ?
… So the mod began.
I have a bunch of XM-L U2 / Neutral White Emitters on 16 mm Stars in a parts organizer,
…So i grabbed one & went to work.
Edit:
as the heads on these use glue on the threads, i heated it up with hot water, clamped the lower part in a vise using hard rubber strips ( about 1/8 inch thick) to protect it, then wrapped the head with a strip of hard rubber, using curved-jaw pliers, then gently began working it loose without damaging it or scratching the anodizing.
Once i got it apart i cleaned up the threads with a brass brush & added a little silicone grease.
- First i removed the tiny XP-E star from the E09 head, and traced its tiny star out on the back of the larger XM-L star, then filed the 16mm star down to the same size as the original size for the E09. Using a Dentist magnifier, i carefully cleaned off some paint on the copper trace near the emitter to solder the leads to, and cleaned up where i filed the star’s sides so to make sure the edges of the copper traces did not short to the aluminum star. I then drilled out the original reflector to accomodate the larger XM-L emitter dome, and made a new insulator spacer from a thin piece of mylar film. (from Auto window Tint sheet)
and added new thermal paste,
… and voila !
…an XM-L U2 Tank007 E09 that has a much larger and smoother hotspot & floodier spill,better color tint, and oddly the Low amperage dropped to 0.06 amps on low, giving this E09 an exceptional run time in “Candle Mode” with a custom diffuser !
I will test this light tonight for run time in the “Candle-Mode” low on a single AAA Alcaline.
This is now my smallest XM-L flashlight, and new favourite AAA micro light.
Your welcome
The difficult part was getting the XM-L to center in the reflector when i threaded the head back on.
After a million attempts, i got it close to center.
I am looking forward to the beam profile, the xml sits deeper in the reflector than the original xpe, potentially making the light even floodier (which is nice for such a close-up light)
I also wonder about that. I tried to open my Tank 007 E05 with freezing,hot water,force and nothing.Then I wrote to Tank 007 and they kindly said that the head is glued for water sealing and no one can open it.
The head was glued, i heated it up with hot water, clamped the lower part in a vise using rubber to protect it, then wrapped the head with a strip of hard rubber, used pliers, then gently began working it loose without damaging it or scratching the anodizing.
Once i got it apart i cleaned up the threads with a brass brush.
Very cool. Lately, every time I see your name I think mega, multi-DST headed, monster light. Took me a minute to accept that this was your thread. Very nice mod. I have some Tank007's and I love the knurling on them. Thaey may have to get the same treatment eventually. Thank you for sharing.
It inspires me too, but I am a bit afraid to work with these tiny parts, I have not good experiences working with AAA flashlights. My e09 is here, looking at me….
