Cheap Luxeon 2D Parts America

[VegasF6]

Anyone know anything about this light? I bought it today at my local Checker Auto. Couldn't pass up the price (16.99) but lets say I am less than impressed with it's output. If it is a Luxeon as claimed I am guessing it is a very old one, not the K2 or better. I figured even if I didn't like it, it would make a great host for a cree or rebel or something but so far, no luck even getting it apart. I have only had it for a few hours and I GUESS it is better than a stock mag, but not by much. It is called the Big Roc Tools 3W according to the website, but as you can see, the packaging calls it ProXone.
http://www.partsamerica.com/currentsales.aspx You have to click on your store to download coupons and see it.

I have uploaded images here: http://www.box.net/shared/es4qjzmogk
I didn't know of a better way to do it, let me know if you can view them ok.
Also, sorry for the image quality, I haven't posted a flashlight review before and am not very versed at things like step down exposures and such.

I really hope to find the Brinkmann 3 Watt 2D somewhere local before I decide to keep this light or not, but so far no luck.

 

[Nitroz]

That looks alot like a Garrity Ozark trail 2D flashlight. If the reflector is as deep as it looks, that light would be a killer Cree host.

The LED look to be the older luxeon, so a Cree or Seoul LED would double or more the output of this light.

 

[kramer5150]

I was able to unglue a Nuwai light with a hairdryer. Just heat the thing up for a minute or 2 and unscrew the head with a bench-vise and vise grip. Wrap the light in dense cardboard to protect it.
A Seoul emitter looks a lot like that old luxeon, might be as simple as a 1-to-1 swap if you can get it open.

 

[VegasF6]

Yes, the reflector is quite deep. According to my rough measurements it is 46.59MM or 1.834 inches. You are right, this sight shows a Garrity Ozark Trail and it looks nearly idendtical. Except, I think this Garrity is an incandescent. The grip is slightly different maybe.
http://darkgear.com/mrbulk/fbgdhistory.htm
Those battery adapters look very interesting as well. An easy way to get 9 volts into this thing, or better still 7.2 with eneloops. Any idea where adapters like that might be availible? They certainly look "cost effective"
As far as boiling it or hitting it with my heat gun to attempt to break the glue, I may do that. But, I am worried about the switch assembly. It looks like the head would screw off in the expected place, much like a mag, and the led module and switch will stay in the body. The reflector is also apparently glued into the head, but I suppose it can stay there as long as I don't melt it. I will take a rubber strap wrench to it tomorrow.

Assuming this is direct drive, 3 volts or so, what are my options? Would a rebel 100 run ok on that voltage and increase output significantly?

 

[Nitroz]

You could always use a cheap Deal extreme regulator, and run 3 C batteries with a Cree LED replacing the Luxeon.

 

[VegasF6]

Well that super glue is some good S**T ain't it? I couldn't wait for the strap wrench, it is at my neighbors house which would mean tomorrow. So, I took at it with a couple big pairs of channel locks and got it apart. Scuffed it up some under the rubber grip area, but that won't show. So, it looks like this will be a very good canidate for an upgrade as soon as I figure out what I am doing. The heatsink is massive, very impressed with it.

Sorry to be such a noob but this will be my first mod. Are you saying 3c's will fit in place of 2d's?? That's good news. Which cree would run well off of 3.6 to 4.5 volts? I suppose a Q5 or P4 with a buck boost circuit would be the way to go?

Is it possible to run 2 lions in there? I think they have C size one's, something like 26550 or similar to that. Is there a D cell size as well?

I was trying to research make a 2D ROP with 2 Li-on cells and was unable to find anything (except manufactured battery packs such as Kaidomain offers) so I assume that this doesn't work?

Oh, I forgot to mention, look at the pictures again, I added shots of the guts.

 

[VegasF6]

I haven't figured out how to get the star and regulator out of the heatsink short of destroying it. Persevere.

 

[DanU]

Bringing this thread back from the deep... PartsAmerica.com (aka Advance/Checker/Schuck's/Kragen Auto Parts) is having a massive clearance sale and has these listed for $3.77! This is an incredible steal. You can order online and pickup in the store. I just bought two and plan on modding them with the SSC P4. This will make some terrific stocking stuffers for family members.

 

[DanU]

Update on my mod:

The flashlight is easy to disassemble. The bezel just screws off and the reflector falls out. From there, you need to use needle nose pliers as a pin spanner wrench to unscrew the pill from the body.

The Luxeon star is glued into the pill with some mild strength thermal glue. It's easy to pry off with a small flat blade screwdriver. I replaced it with a Seoul P4 star and used JBWeld to glue it in.

The driver board is not very efficient, but that's to be expected for a low cost boost circuit. I measured 5W of power consumption (2A at 2.5V). Assuming 3W output as advertised (and the brightness agrees with what a Lux III driven at 3W should put out), this is only 60% efficient. The diameter is 17mm, which is a common size for drivers. I'll try doing a driver swap with a more efficient driver from DealExtreme.

A Cree MCE or SSC P7 mod should be pretty easy. The pill is a large slug of threaded aluminum, and has excellent thermal conductivity to the rest of the aluminum body, so it should be able to handle the heat. Just change the driver, and use those 3AA to D adapters for 7.2V.