Heat sink tips ??

[Robocop]

i am preparing too swap the emitter on my TW4 and thanks to fellow member Owen I have a nice WXOS ready to solder in place. This is one of my favorite lights however it is also one of my hottest running lights.

I really want to get this right as I know the 5 watters make much heat and as such the heatsinking is crucial. So any tips to follow when doing this? Should I use heat sink paste or maybe thermal epoxy? Should I lightly sand the heatsink base to ensure good connection? Any tips would be appreciated as I would hate to ruin this beauty. By looking at the factory set up it appears as if SF simply used a very thin layer of heat sinking paste however I have not yet removed the factory emitter.

 

[scott.cr]

Use as thin a layer of thermal transfer compound/epoxy as possible. The heatsink mounting surface should also be as smooth as possible, preferably mirror finish.

When you apply the compound, apply to both the heatsink and the emitter. If you apply to only one surface, there may not be 100% contact and you'll have an air gap (which does not conduct heat very well).

If possible, when you apply the emitter to the heatsink, give it a twist to help squeeze out any air bubbles.

 

[Robocop]

Well later tonight I plan to swap the emitter and hope it all goes well. It does seem as if the factory emitter is only held down with soldering of the leads and I wonder if pressure is added when it is all screwed together ensuring a good contact with the heatsink. We shall see as this is one of my most used lights and I do hope to have the same performance after the swap.