Well add me to the list of people that only gets units that were lathered with glue. I've now opened both a P1 and a P3D and neither one went down without a fight.
The P1 only got scarred a little around the slug key-holes but it was a battle. Since it was an internal connection it wasn't so much a matter of grip, as the spanner set I used fit quite nice coupled with a strap wrench. When I realized it was heavily glued I went for high heat using flexible heaters taped right to the head. It was hard to tell if it helped much at all but it was a pain working with a piece of metal so hot. Problem was that even with a good fit in the key-holes, the metal is so thin that the force it took to budge it would mangle and round off the edges making further attempts harder. I finally managed to get the slug out far enough to file a new set of key-holes and wore them out by the time it finally came out. It wasn't like it "broke free", but a laborious effort of reheating, getting a good grip on a too hot to touch head, and trying desperately to not damage the thin metal using the required force to turn it.:scowl:
When it did come out it was painfully obvious why it was so difficult. Lathered would really be the best word to describe it. Regardless it ended up no worse for wear. No visible damage on the exterior, and interior now has some character with no ill effects otherwise.
The P3D on the other hand is pretty much toast. (Well the pill section anyway) I tried almost all the tricks I read about on it and nothing could even crack that initial seal. I even had the luxury of not worrying about the finish on the head as I had planned on polishing later. As long as I didn't get teeth marks on it it was fine. Nothing worked.
I had been trying combination of two strap wrenches and my vise to no avail. I could actually get the light end to grip in the vise covered by thick rubber bands, but the smaller strap wrench would eventually slip, disintegrating the rubber bands in the process. Well I figured if I could get the smaller end in the vise and use the larger strap wrench on the end of the head I just might get enough leverage. Even being as careful as I could be, the force I applied on the wrench torqued the head off axis a little and it bent. Not horribly, but more than I'd ever be able to live with.
With that done I just grabbed my cobra pliers and the battle was over. This light as well was completely lathered and not a single thread was left without glue. The emitter was not spared either in this glue-fest but I've done enough damage for one night and will save that for another time. Looks like I'm in the same boat as others here and need a new pill section for my P3D.
From what I can see with a 17x loupe, there is no seam to unscrew the slug from the pill which may be the reason qip broke his pliers. My guess is you'd have to dissolve the glue holding the board up under the emitter and push through one of the tiny holes to dislodge it. There is also the positive battery contact that could be unsoldered but I can't think of anything being hidden under there that might help removing the board. If anyone has any insight to this matter to help me salvage what's left it would be most appreciated. Otherwise my curious nature will eventually get the better of me I'm sure.
With the inconsistencies in difficulty to open most Fenix lights, it makes me curious to what exactly their policy is, written or unwritten, to the use and reason for the adhesives. To me, anything more than a dab of thread locker would be to discourage disassembly. While I can understand this logic with the hopes of bigger profits, I truly believe it would serve better to offer upgrade paths vs the purchase of new lights, but I guess that's a discussion for a different forum.
I didn't get a chance to try the heater hose trick and that was going to be my backup had I not bent my light. It sounds like a great idea and you can bet I'll have it at hand if there is a next time. I'd recommend it to anyone else that seems to have a heavily glued Fenix and other easier means have failed.
Cheers,
Eidolen
In the market for old, beat up P3Ds.
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