Insight x2 led conversion- anybody interested?

[Joe Smith]

I'm in a tricky situation with my old reflector. I can't get it out and boiling it to remove the glue also stripped off the reflective coating. The glass lens broke as well.


So unless I can get it separated and fit the new reflector I'm done for.

 

[nathanschmoekel]

That is a pickle!
I only see two ways out for you.
#1: buy a new bezel and use my grinding method instead of boiling it.
#2: core out the bezel you have with your dremel and try to fit the supplied LED reflector into the bezel. You should be able to scrounge a new lens from a maglight.

Third option??
It might be worth a phone call to Insight to see if you could get an unasembled bezel from their tech department. Then you could just pop in the LED's reflector with the new stock lens and glue it up.

here is Insight's phone# 877-744-4802.
this is a link to the bezel...costs less then $30 shipped. http://www.insighttechgearstore.com/x2-and-x2l-bez22.html

 

[eddienyr]

I used a pair of those rubber mats that help you remove lids from jars. I heated the bezel in water removed it and used the rubber mats for grip and a set of pliers(very carefully on the mat to unscrew the lens bezel). Worked like a champ

 

[nathanschmoekel]

Is the lens retaining part of the bezel actually threaded? How hot was the water and how long did you soak it? Aparently there is a limit to how much heat the reflector coating can take.

I might attempt to switch to the terra-lux reflector...the beam patern is cleaner than the modified stock reflector. Thing is I don't want to screw up my reflector coating trying. What I have now works way better than the original bulb, do you think it's worth the risk for me ,just to get a less segmented light pattern?

 

[eddienyr]

"I boiled it for about 2 minutes. I also dremeled the original reflector out of the bezel and used the terra reflector. Sorry for the late responce been really busy

 

[anubismp]

I just picked up a x2l and would like to pay someone to get this mod done as I'll just totally screw it up. Especially the mod where you can engage the light and laser separately.

 

[WILSON]

Tagged for future reference. What a GREAT idea!

 

[nathanschmoekel]

I want to add a few notes on batteries and runtimes to this thread as it pertains to this mod.....

I decided to get brave reciently and try a rechargable lithium battery in my light. As some of you may know this can be dangerous because the full charge voltage of these batteries is somewhat higher than the standard non-rechargable types. The risk is that you fry the electronics...not really a cheap option in the case of an X2L.

Can it be done? yes...and no.
The light will not explode with the rechargable battery. My light is surviving just fine.....HOWEVER The LED gets too hot too fast. My runtime before thermal shutdown is about 5 minutes. The big bummer is that now that I have been using the rechargable battery, going back to the non-rechargable results in almost no light what-so -ever??? Some sort of dammage has been done to the LED circut, but I don't know what....It still works great with the rechargable battery, so I am going to just stick to that untill I decide to replace the terralux LED. The laser is unaffected and continues to work the same either way.

Technical Data: I am using a charger that has two voltage settings, I am using the lower setting which stops charging the battery at 3.8 volts. The high setting charges to 4.1 volts and that would definetly fry things. Just for reference, non-rechargable lithium battery voltage is ~3.25v fresh from the box, but drops to 3.0 the second you put a load on it. The Terralux LED will give tactical light down to about 2.4 volts, at 2.0 it becomes useless. The laser continues to function well below 2 volts.

I also had a chance to do this mod for someone else, which gave me the oppurtunity to compare light output of a new LED with a standard battery VS mine with the rechargable battery. NO DIFFERENCE!!! I was shocked....I guess the regulator circut of the LED is good at it's job.

Runtime with the Terralux LED and laser on the standard lithium battery is 45 minutes at max output plus an additional 30 minutes of usable bright light, then another 20 minutes where the output diminishes quickly. I tersted this by running my X2L in 1/2 hour spurts with 15 minute breaks to let it cool. I have never had a thermal shut down with a standard battery.

Bottom Line: Hell of a trade off...Don't go rechargable unless you can deal with a light that only works for 5 minutes before it quits.

 

[Kegs]

I tried this conversion with my lights and ruined one of the terralux bulbs and two bulb bases (my original and the spare) trying to get it to work.:mecry:

I learned a lot from my trials and more recent posts though and I'm going to order a couple more bulbs and try it again. The bezel is ready to go - that was the easy part for me.

I wasn't careful enough sanding the cover off the terralux bulb and wound up hitting the leads with the dremel - next time it will be a piece of cake and I should be able to do this conversion quite easily and quickly.

I think the conversion is an excellent idea and I know enough that it will work awesomely. Seriously - I have no idea why insight hasn't made the X2L LED conversion by now.

:twothumbs to the person who came up with this idea!!!!

 

[nathanschmoekel]

Due to the fact that you already killed one, you probably figured this out already, but.....when grinding the ring/ edge of the terralux base the best method I've found is to grind at an angle away from the circutboard, just grind around the bottom of the base. When enough material is removed from that bottom edge the remaining ring will freely slide off from the top. This method removes the risk of cutting too deep and gouging the circut board, it's also faster because you don't have as much material to remove.

You will still need to remove a fraction of a mm from the circut board to keep it from friction fitting itself into the X2. Wiith the ring gone this job is easier. Trace a line with a majic marker around the edge to reference how deep you are grinding. Use the lowest rpm setting on your tool to reduce over grinding, the plastic grinds away very quickly. Remove material untill the bulb assembly slides freely in and out of the light body, a little looser is better than tight...it will not move with the bezel screwed on.

My reccomended tool for these tasks is a "large" red stone grinding drum...the ones for sharpening lawnmower blades. The green stone tools foul with aluminum too quickly, but are a little nicer to use on the circut board part. Avoid the paper sanding drums, they are just not up to this task.

 

[Kegs]

Well, I got it done...though I do not believe my battery is fully fresh (I need to replace it), it's quite bright - WAY brighter than it was...A little wide of a beam though, and I've got the l.e.d. as far forward in the insight bezel as I can get it.

Next step is test it on my G29 with some double tap 200grain XTP ammo. :naughty:

If it holds, we'll know it's solid after that.

Once I get a fresh battery, I'll be back here to compare it to my TLR1 and a couple of other high output 3v flashlights (including the minimag with the same lamp assembly in it).

I did not do any soldering by the way! The way I positioned the lamp assembly, there is no need for a second o-ring...it seats exactly as stock. :thumbsup:

If anyone wants pics or further information - just ask - or register and ask...I have been lurking on this thread quite a while before I registered and made my first post.

 

[nathanschmoekel]

Kegs, how did range day go? Did you score a fresh battery yet...and how does it compare to your "TLR1 and a couple of other high output 3v flashlights (including the minimag with the same lamp assembly in it)." Still digg'n it??

 

[Joe Smith]

I haven't posted for a while because I more or less abandoned this project but have an update. I found the light in a drawer, and emailed Insight. They sent me out a new bezel at no charge! Now, chances are I will NOT modify this, and either sell the light towards a streamlight. Or I could find some way to make the LED reflector fit into the mangled bezel. Either way I would like to have the option of switching back to the bulb in the future so I like the way you guys set some of these up.

Option 3 is buy a TLR-1 and find someone to upgrade the emitter, if possible.


~B