Successful heatsinking for the MAG 3W upgrade?

[Splat_NJ]

Quick edit: my querry pertains to the 3W MAG upgrade for the 3D MAGlite. Long-time reader here, tried searching for info but didn't find any recent advancements. I'm not a big Maglite fan but with their 3W LED upgrades I might unretire my Mags from the kitchen drawer. I'm good with electronics, circuitry & soldering and look forward to the challenge but I'm sure that there's others here more apt at tackling this than I. Has there been any successful heatsinking done for the 2D or 3D Maglite 3W LED upgrades? It's seems to be a 2-steps forward, 1-step back deal with these things due to the power reduction due to the heat. I can get my hands on the upgrades for just under $13/each but was wondering if it's worth it. Thanks.
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Splat

 

[Cydonia]

Someone once suggested stuffing steel wool down around the Mag D bulb post to bridge the gap to the outside body for heatsinking :shrug:

Off topic, but for C size mags there is a nice solution here.

With MagLED's you can replace the Luxeon LED with an SSC P4 too. I've done it on two 3 cell Mag modules. I love the results. MagLED module is cheap... small, "temperature protected" (saves its own skin from frying, unlike that TerraLux!) and allows quick swap out for (dimmer long running emergency) other LED drop in's. But I still think the best thing you can do with em' is swap the LED

 

[Splat_NJ]

Well, I just got done tonight with my 3D Mag 3W led upgrade that includes a homemade heatsink. I wish I took pix but to sum it up, I used a 3/4" brass garden hose barb fitting and a 3/4" steel washer. Soldered, then epoxied with Loctite Extreme, the washer to the fitting. The washer had to be sanded down ever so slightly to fit snug in the Mag's tube for heatsinking, as well as grounding the bulb. Dremeled the fitting for the set-screw to retain the focusing. Added Arctic Silver 5 to the inner wall where the washer/heatsink would be. Modified the grounding strip off the switch-housing and wedged it between the washer and the Mag's tube wall. Cut down the Mag's plastic tower, epoxied the heatsink to the Mag switch-housing. Inserted batteries, screwed the head and tailcap on and fired her up. WOW! Now that's a spicy meat'a'ball'a!!! :twothumbs The focusing works fine, no rattles, blinking or any other problems. Ran her for about 7-8 minutes and she didn't appear to dim. I would expect the LED to heat up enough for regulating itself down in that little time, but more testing to follow. Can't wait to blind everyone at work tomorrow.

 

[DUQ]

Dude; you need to post a pic of this setup......please