Fenix E0 - Not potted?

[roberttheiii]

Am I missing something here or is the Fenix E0 not potted and still susceptible to a direct hit of the LED causing lights out? I ordered 10 E0s to give away as Xmas gifts and I have already given away 3 others to friends and family, now I'm questioning if I gave them ticking time bombs of unreliability. I'm not convinced either of these lights need a lens for LED protection, that said, if we're not protecting the LED I think it should at least be able to take a pretty solid hit from one of the various items I keep in my pockets. My personal Arc-AAA P ought to be capable of this since my understanding is the internals are a little ball of glue.

Regardless of whether the E0s are still not potted and if this will work last night in a reliability concern driven fit of flashaholicism I ordered 10 grams of Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive. Has anyone else syringed some epoxy into the little hole that I believe is on the back side of the light engine? If so, to what degree of success?

I realize this will prohibit any modding but the sorts of people I'm giving these lights to won't be looking to mod, they'll be looking to have a bomb proof flashlight on their keys, in their cup holders, or in a few cases lost in six inches of bilge water (read frozen over the winter) for two years only to be found when they finally replace that spotty bilge pump.

Thank you in advance.

 

[matthewdanger]

Wow, this is the first I've heard of this. I will be watching this thread.

 

[roberttheiii]

Matthew - See this thread http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149747 specifically #15 and #22. That thread is somewhat dated, so perhaps the problem has been corrected, but I won't know for sure until I have an E0 in hand an take it apart.

 

[Oddjob]

I have had my E0 on my keys for about a year and a half and it is still working fine. It's been dropped many times, the highest drop was about 5 feet onto concrete. It's also been dropped in puddles. I have not fully submerged it for any length of time but it has been wet. It's been more than adequate so far (although I am waiting for my ARCs to be delivered). I have read of some E0 failures but for the most part it seems it is a fairly reliable keychain light.

 

[Illum]

I have heard from a few invididuals [including carrot ] mention the E0 bezel not being potted and the LED can be pushed into the head and causing intermittent contact.

however on the other hand there are E0 users that claim the head is in fact potted, so I'm not sure if its just a bad batch or what:thinking:

 

[nerdgineer]

One reason I prefer the Fenix E1 over the E0. I used to wish my old Arc and Peak AAAs had glass over the LED....

 

[roberttheiii]

Some are potted!?!?!? That I hadn't heard, that would be lovely news. In terms of the E1, I'm sure it is a lovely light, but the 20 hour run time is key with the E0, also the E0 is so inexpensive it is perfect for gifts.

 

[carrot]

Some are potted and some are not. My latest sample of two new ones are both potted. The LED is surrounded by an o-ring inside the bezel and I would be more comfortable using regular epoxy instead of something possibly electrically conductive, which may hamper the function of the circuitry. You may wish to take the light engine out of the head, coat it in epoxy and then shove it back inside the head, but you may get excess glue leakage if you are over-enthusiastic with the epoxy, so be careful.

 

[roberttheiii]

I'm a total newb to the concept of potting, but, I thought I was making the correct material choice with the arctic alumna because it should both dissipate heat and not conduct (as opposed to the Silver). I couldn't find any specs on just regular epoxy's conductivity, such as devcon, I'd much prefer to use something like that because it would be cheaper and I have lots of it! Actually, I have even more West System. Anyways, if the lights I'm purchasing are already potted then, w00t w00t, I'm in the clear! That said, I don't love the whole LED sealed by a rubber gasket, I'd prefer it were just glued in there and that was sealing out the elements. Is it an awful idea to just inject something through the little hole in the bottom until its topped off inside? I never need to disassemble these lights, I'm giving them all away. If anyone knows the conductivity of something like devcon or west epoxy, let me know. I'm not sure heat dissipation is such a big concern.

 

[Illum]

I couldn't find any specs on just regular epoxy's conductivity, such as devcon, I'd much prefer to use something like that because it would be cheaper and I hate lots of it!

I dont know of any epoxy that is conductive....and to my knownledge some epoxy are actually thermally isolating. I use arctic Alumina everywhere, only grudge is that it isnt transparent:ironic:

 

[IcantC]

So how can I tell if my E0 is potted? Mine has been exposed to water a few times with no problems at all... So far...

 

[Marduke]

From what I have heard, the early E0's were not potted, but after some negative feedback, they were potted. Not sure if they come from the factory like this, or maybe customer-minded folks and certain Fenix distributors (ie. Fenix-Store) are potting them themselves before selling them. Mine came from Fenix-Store, and is potted.

If you are worried, you can put a clear epoxy over the front of the LED, making a kind of epoxy protective lens.

PS. Mine was purchased within the last 6 months.

 

[Marduke]

So how can I tell if my E0 is potted? Mine has been exposed to water a few times with no problems at all... So far...

There is a dark depression/hole on the circuit board in the head which will look like it's filled with epoxy if it's potted.

 

[Illum]

There is a dark depression/hole on the circuit board in the head which will look like it's filled with epoxy if it's potted.

try lightly poking the LED...if it moves, might want to do something about it