CuTi TS10 goes rogue Turbo

[jon_slider]

PSA.. metal shavings..

Just received my CuTi TS10

When I turned it on it started at a low output of about 20 lumens.. after a few moments it suddenly went to Turbo. I turned it off and removed and inspected the head for any metal shavings that might have fallen between the pill and the head.

I found a large number of copper shavings, along with a rather long titanium shaving, collected in one of the grooves in the head. I could not see any shavings between the edge of the pill and the head.

I cleaned everything with alcohol, and relubricated. The problem did not reoccur

My guess is the metal shaving that caused the short was near the end of the body tubes, and it moved away from the contact ring on the pill, when I unscrewed the light. The metal shavings collected adhering to the lube in the copper head.

 

[Ocelot808]

Thanks a million for the heads up. I've got a CuTiTS-10 on the way and now will give it a thorough looking over. I have another CuTi light, a KR4, that had a bit of thread teething issues at the outset. Solved with a good cleaning and Nano Oil. Makes sense that there might be issues with mating hard and soft metal threads. Hopefully it won't be a continually occurring problem.

 

[jon_slider]

Since I had already read of another CuTi that went rogue, due to metal shavings, I knew what to look for.

fwiw, when I first screwed the light together, I could feel a sort of gritty notchy feeling, so I was not suprised to find metal shavings after the light went rogue.

that gritty notchy feeling is gone, I dont expect the issue to come back. I lubricate with Nyogel 760g, which is thicker and more thread filling than Nano Oil.

an an extra precaution, after lubricating the threads I worked the head and body threads against each other in both directions, without a battery installed. I then wiped out the lube and relubricated a second time..

So far there has been no more Rogue Turbo, and no notchy gritty feeling when screwing and unscrewing.

imho, the issue was a cleanig step was missed, on the copper head and Ti threads, after first mating the parts together.

Im actually really happy w the CuTi host.

btw, I encourage you to lower the ceilings. The firmware is set with ceilings that are too high, both in simple and Advanced.. I suggest resetting to level 110/150 which is about 430 lumens. I also disable Turbo in Advanced, so the double clic goes only goes to Ceiling.

I also recommend changing the Aux from High Bright to Low Bright as High Bright Aux has significant battery drain, that may only last a week.

 

[kerneldrop]

Can you put a non anduril driver in there and 3535 LEDs ?

 

[Ocelot808]

I really appreciate the tips, especially the Anduril settings. Setting the ceiling to 110 because of thermal issues? I presume you leave the 45 degree thermal limit alone.

Really nice photo of the light BTW. I really like the absence of branding/printing on the body. It was a coin toss between the CuTi or the Blue Ti. After seeing others photos, I wish I had gotten both.

Really great of you to note your experiences here. You are much appreciated!

 

[jon_slider]

no info on driver swaps

there is an aftermarket 3535 board made by _Master_Nate

> Setting the ceiling to 110 because of thermal issues?

yes.. Im not a fan of UnSustainable Turbo that steps down rapidly to less than 200 lumens

> I presume you leave the 45 degree thermal limit alone.

I raise it to 55C ;-)

That combination will hold above 400 lumens for the first 30 seconds, and after 60 seconds has dropped to 350 lumens. (and the head feels quite spicy when touched, but not enough to hurt my delicate skin)

I set the simple mode ceiling to level 90/100, which is about 230 lumens and is Sustainable indefinitely, especially if I hold the copper head to draw heat away.

 

[kerneldrop]

no info on driver swaps

there is an aftermarket 3535 board made by _Master_Nate

What's the diameter of the mcpcb and driver?

 

[Monocrom]

Kinda feeling good that I bought the standard black aluminum version.
I do have Ti, and copper lights in my collection from other brands. Unfortunate to hear that shavings were left inside the light.

 

[jon_slider]

diameter

17.8 mm across the inside of the head.. not sure about the exact pill diameter and mcpcb diameter.

 

[jon_slider]

I really appreciate the tips, especially the Anduril settings.

happy to share info and help answer any questions..

here is my TiTS10 cheat sheet to help me keep track of the settings I change:

 

[knucklegary]

"Chabuduo" .. Those are some real lousy lookin cut threads

 

[jon_slider]

after working the head and body threads together to clearance the thread contact surfaces

the main issue is that the copper head has a wide tolerance to the body threads, so there is wobble until reaching the O ring. But now that the body and head have been rotated back and forth together at every wobble angle.. things are pretty smooth..

 

[knucklegary]

^^ and look what a little TLC has accomplished 👍

Wurkkos,, are you watching!!

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I really appreciate the tips…
Really great of you to note your experiences here. You are much appreciated!

We have accord on on this.

 

[Ocelot808]

after working the head and body threads together to clearance the thread contact surfaces
View attachment 53014
View attachment 53015
the main issue is that the copper head has a wide tolerance to the body threads, so there is wobble until reaching the O ring. But now that the body and head have been rotated back and forth together at every wobble angle.. things are pretty smooth..

Hello Jon,

My CuTiTS finally arrived today! This one is my very first TS-10 and now I can understand the gushing popularity and enthusiasm over this gem. Just like the FWAA, only better.

Your Anduril 2 customization cheat sheet is above and beyond typical enthusiast goodwill: you deserve major kudos for sharing it.

The threads on mine were clean with the exception of a 10mm bit of titanium thread hanging off the end of the body, which I removed. No trace of copper shavings but I will Nano Oil and work the threads a few times to get a wear pattern, clean up if need be. Wurkkos QC needs a wake up call about these threads.

One thing that immediately alarmed me is the emitters shifted into an angry blue mode (implying imminent damage) on turbo (lvl 150?) activation so I disabled turbo straight away. I can see why for sustainability limit the ceiling to 110.

An item of concern is the e-switch button. Maybe just because it's new it seems rather stiff and requires a substantial push to work. It makes a weird squishy noise like it's working against rubber. This is a tiny nit pick of course only a bit of a pain doing those long click Anduril configs, otherwise it works just fine.

I have to compliment you on your choice of increasing the stepped ramp to 12 steps and halving the speed. I actually prefer this to the smooth ramp. Nicely done!

Overall I must finally admit to why the TS-10 seems to have amassed such huge popularity. It really is a fun light to use with surprising capability for such a small form. It's the VW Beetle of flashlights. One thing I'm ecstatic about is the complete lack of any branding or prints on this CuTi release. It gives the sense of a custom light even though it's much cheaper than a tank of gas. I really hope they keep this "naked" form.

Shout out to Wurkkos for a job well done and a standing ovation for Jon Slider as one hell of a good guy. Cheers Jon!


Big and Little Brother:
CuTi KR4 with 219B SW45K + CuTiTS-10

 

[jon_slider]

An item of concern is the e-switch button. Maybe just because it's new it seems rather stiff and requires a substantial push to work. It makes a weird squishy noise like it's working against rubber.

thank you very much for the kind words, Im happy to be of some help

my Ti TS10 tailbutton made a noise that I thought was from the metal on metal contact, of the Ti button rubbing on the Ti tail.. I removed the battery and spent a few moments clicking the button at various angles to wear in the contact surfaces

it IS normally a stiff button, double the pressure of a FWAA, which is what makes me comfortable carrying the TS10 unlocked

there IS a rubber cover over the eSwitch, the assembly is just these 3 round parts on the right: (the black part is the rubber actuator that provides both waterproofing, and transfers pressure from the metal button to the metal switch dome)

one failure mode Ive heard of for that switch is if the metal dome moves out of position due to one of its legs being outside its socket during assembly.. the symptom is that the switch does not work consistently, and feels like it has 2 stages as the little legs mash about on the surface of the board.

here is a view of the switch dome, you can sort of see where one of the legs goes into the board.

another possible switch issue is if the metal button has a large nub remaining on the bottom side, that preloads the switch so the light wont turn off.. you can see a small nub in that pic, that is not a problem.

The TS10 tailcaps are glued to the body tube, it is best not to try to remove the tailcap unless there is a problem. There is no switch retaining ring, the parts will drop out if the cap is removed.

 

[Ocelot808]

I was wondering if anyone has any detailed current draw data for the TS-10 on its various Anduril levels, specifically current draw at level 110 or 120.

I was considering the Vapcell F12 1250mAh cell for the TS-10 to maximize runtime but a has a CDR of only 3 Amps. It can provide more but with huge voltage sag, not worth it. The Wurkkos 900mAh included cell does not specify a current rating but it is reasonable to guess around 3C or just shy of 3A, so in that case the Vapcell might be ideal for longer runtime.

Any info would be very much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[cave dave]

Jon, What color is the button on the TiCu version? It would have been cool if it was copper!

Also how does the TiCu version compare to the Ti version. Does it handle heat better, step down slower or anything?
I have also lowered my aluminum version Max to 110 on advanced and 90 on simple and turned off turbo, and its plenty bright for my uses.

 

[jon_slider]

Any info

this review has some of those details

What color is the button on the TiCu version?

It is Titanium, also wished it was copper

the TiCu host can sustain about 225 lumens, the Ti host slightly less, the Aluminium host a bit more..

here is a chart, starting from Turbo, showing how the various metals respond to the heat build up:

those values are at default thermal ceiling of 45C, I raise mine to 55C

 

[Ocelot808]

Cave Dave,

The CuTi has a Ti button with concentric grooves, a nice touch. When running the higher levels, the copper head draws heat immediately from its sources, while the Ti body is very slowly warmed and stays decent to hold. The relative insulation of Ti works very well to provide usability at high levels. The copper may be too hot to touch but no problem holding the body of the light.

With my ceiling fixed at 110 and turbo disabled I'm really happy with the lights sustainable output. By far my fave 14500 light!