Turning a Spyder into a 72 Lumen Flame Thrower

[ElektroLumens]

Recently, I saw a fellow CPF member's Dorcy Spyder flashlight, converted to use a Luxeon Star. I dedided I had to have one. Of course, I couldn't buy one, I had to make it. I decided to show a few pics of how I am doing it, in case a few other CPF people might want to try it. This light will not be for sale, so don't ask.

Here's a pic of the Spyder, pre-flame-thrower:

And here, in pieces. Note the 3W Luxeon Star emitter (TW0K, of course) epoxied to hand made heat sink disc:

Here's a detailed shot of the hand made, perfectly round heat sink with the 3W emitter, not wired up yet. The sink fits in the flashlight snug. I'll add details later of how to wire it and put in a resistor:

To be continued . . . . . . . .

 

[Jace]

[ QUOTE ]
perfectly round heat sink with the 3W emitter

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL!! That made me chuckle! Good luck with your project.

 

[BLU3_SHOCK]

This i know is going to be nice. Are you going to use a optic if so what type are you going use. what is the bin of the luxeon star

i know i used the word going a lot.

 

[Sigman]

Certainly looking forward to the next episode!

 

[Hoghead]

Wayne,
I'm glad to see you found time to play /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
standing by /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[Icebreak]

Dern Skippy!

standing by also /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[lambda]

Hi Wayne,

Good to see you back here with another cool mod. The Dorcy Spyder looks like a great host; that's a light I've not seen in person as no store here sells them.

Your heatsink looks like it should tame the 3W's heat easily, even if run at more than 3W .......

 

[PhotonBoy]

It should be called the "Clark Kent" Flamethrower. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[ElektroLumens]

[ QUOTE ]
BLU3_SHOCK said:
This i know is going to be nice. Are you going to use a optic if so what type are you going use. what is the bin of the luxeon star

i know i used the word going a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to use a Fren LP optics. The bin # of the 3W is TW0K.

Wayne j

 

[ElektroLumens]

[ QUOTE ]
lambda said:
Hi Wayne,

Good to see you back here with another cool mod. The Dorcy Spyder looks like a great host; that's a light I've not seen in person as no store here sells them.

Your heatsink looks like it should tame the 3W's heat easily, even if run at more than 3W .......

[/ QUOTE ]

I was told they are sold at the Price Club. Well, I couldn't find one at the Price Club in my area, so I bought a few on eBay. Plenty of them on eBay. Not cheap!

I purchased two. I'll make one for someone else as a gift, and the other one for me. I'm not making them to sell. I want a super powerful small flashlight. I have the McLux, which is almost always on my belt (JollyRoger gave it to me.) But I also want something brighter.

Wayne j

 

[ElektroLumens]

[ QUOTE ]
Jace said:
[ QUOTE ]
perfectly round heat sink with the 3W emitter

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL!! That made me chuckle! Good luck with your project.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, it's very round. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Making these kind of heat sinks with a hack saw and a file is not easy. Just a few thousanths of an inch too much file off, and the sink is junk. Has to fit in tight, and be round enough not to distort the roundness of the body so the head will screw on easily. Note in the photo of the flashlight body that the inside lip has the anodizing sanded off. This is to complete the negative ground, and to give better heat sink qualities.

I've been trying to decide how much resistance. I'd like to go direct drive, but am afraid it will get too hot with prolonged use.

Wayne j