Work in progress - KL3 gen 1

Gather App
Candle Power Forums

Help Support Candle Power:

schiesz

schiesz

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
1,380
City & State/Province
Lees Summit, MO
I just got enough parts to put togather my newest project, even if the head is not done yet (and the tailcap is the wrong color :sssh: ), I wanted to post a few pics. I love the shape of that old KL3 head.

I've swapped the emitter from the horrible batwing that was in it to a $1.25 tektite Lux III lambertian I got a little while back. As soon as I get some 1210 resistors in the mail i'll be trying to pump up the drive level a bit (or maybe a lot). I wasn't too keen on the optic, so for now its sporting a 20mm metal reflector. If I get a bit braver I may try to shave down a McR27 myself to go in there, but it'll be by hand since I don't have a lathe.

Flashlights048-1.jpg



Flashlights047-1.jpg


It is actually pretty nice just the way it is right now, but it will be getting some upgrades soon.

I took a few beamshots of it at the stock drive level. The KL3 is on the left, UX1K FLuPic Aleph 1 on level 10 on the right.

*EDIT* I just tested the draw on each, and the KL3 is drawing 400mA, FluPic level 10 380mA, so this is a pretty good comparison for drive level.

Flashlights049.jpg


Let me know what you think.

schiesz
 
Last edited:
Looks Great Schiesz!

You'll have to post some beamshots when you get it tweaked how you like. Those heads do look great, they just need a little help with the stock optics and emitters.

Cheers,
V
 
Wow! Significant improvements over the stock already, IMO. It doesn't at all resemble the "bluish flood" of the original. Those original KL3s really are attention-getters with their alien appearance. Like I said in the PM, it's great to see that thing go on to realize its potential, and I don't have the know-how to do it. Great work and thanks for the update. :twothumbs

V
 
Yes, the tint and beam pattern of the original was pretty bad. When I first shined it on the wall I thought, "Wow, that is horrible! They didn't put a batwing emitter in there did they?" It was fairly dim, very blue with very yellow rings coming from the optic. I'm pretty new to high end flashlights and have been spoiled by our current LED options.

Well, they sure did put a batwing in there, and even the tired old lux III I replaced it with made a huge improvement. This is my last high dome left from a purchase of 9 from Tektite, and I had been using it to test battery configurations and amperage draw without a heatsink, and it shows. The dome is slightly cloudy and looks like it has little hairs in it. I'm not sure if thats from thermal damage or what, but its not too pretty. Unfortunately, it was all I had on hand when I got the head and had to try something besides the batwing.

When I get the 1210 resistors and get the driver out of the head, i'll probably replace it with a ubin or at least a decent T. The emitter swap was very simple.

I'm just amazed at the potential of this first gen KL3.

I'll keep posting as I progress.

Thanks,

schiesz
 
I'm recently back on the flashlight "scene" and am blown away by the advances that have been made over a relatively short period of time, by modders and the flashlight industry in general.

Please do keep us up to date with your progress. If there was that much improvement with a beat up lux, imagine the possibilities with a choice lux and some experimentation with different reflectors.

Cheers,
V
 
I haven't gotten the head open yet to modify the drive level, but I did manage to get a McR27 to fit in there today. Since I have no lathe, it was done by hand, and it still needs a tiny bit of adjusting, but it is coming along. At least it fits now.

Flashlights-1.jpg


Flashlights006.jpg

I think it looks much better to have a reflector that fills up more of the head. Much better now than the original optic or the 20mm metal reflector is was using previously.

Now, once I get the back of the head off and solder some resistors, and replace the current lux III with a u-bin i'm all set. I have all the parts, just need to get the back unscrewed.

schiesz
 
schiesz - What's the ring around the original optic? Is it plastic or rubber? Is it easily removable (you removed it to fit the 27mm reflector right?)?
I too love the design of the old KL3 head...it just looks mean. If I had the money, I'd pick one up to modify (tho, I suck at modding, so maybe I'd have someone else do it for me). I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
How much drive current are you attempting to mod the driver to source?
 
The ring is rubber and it pops right out after you remove the lens. I plan on changing the drive to the 700-1000mA range. Removing the front is easy, its the back side that is giving me a hard time.

schiesz
 
So if I don't want to change the drive current, then the modding is easy?
How hard is it to remove the front lens? Is the lens plastic or glass?
What is holding in the reflector when it replaces the optic?
I have an SXOH that'd be great if I left the drive level at 400mA.
Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Thanks schiesz. Sounds like modding is more of a PITA than I thought. An IMS reflector sounds like it won't work w/o needing shaving. I have no equipment.
 
I don't have an IMS27 right now, but I'm sure you'd have to cut off the legs and shave down the top at least a little. I just used a file on the McR27 to get it to fit. It did take over an hour with the file, but thats all I had to use.

schiesz
 
I'm still wondering how easy it would be to do this with an IMS27. The legs (once sanded down) might actually add some stability instead of having to use the spacer that's shown in the other thread (thanks for the link!). My main concern with the IMS27 is whether it can be sanded to 25.5mm as Chop mentioned the OD needs to be. The stock OD of the IMS27 is 27.8mm...2.3mm seems a lot off...I don't want to destroy the reflector (tho, they're cheap).
I'd like to up the drive current, but honestly scared to damage a new, expensive head by me trying to heat and open up the bottom end. I'm looking forward to your progress...please take lots of pics! I wouldn't mind running the stock 400mA, but with a head like that, it almost seems like a waste not to drive the LED hard and let the large head get the heat out.
 
Reading this and the linked threads makes me appreciate the work you modders do. Really. I don't have anywhere the expertise nor the time. I bought a Chop KL3 off of the B/S/T threads here and absolutely, positively love it. I now have a much deeper appreciation as to what went into assembling this beauty.

:goodjob:
 
Man, I still haven't gotten into the back of this KL3. I can't get the thing to unscrew, and am just scratching the heck out of the insides of it now! I made a tool out of a steel seatpost like descibed in an earlier thread, but now my prongs are just bending. I can see the beginnings of melting around the positive terminal that is encased in plastic from using the heat gun. I might have to just put a SXOH in there and be happy with it, this is getting to be too much trouble.

schiesz
 
Okay, so I got another KL3 head, in black this time, to build for my sister. She said the output from the KL3 was okay stock, so I figured dropping a SX0H in there would be all I needed to do.

After using the SX0H with the stock optic, it really increased the brightness a lot and the beam was just too wierd with the optic, so I trimmed down a IMS27 to fit it. It just needed the end shaved off, pretty much right to the point where it goes from an angle to basically straight.

Now, comparing this to my flupic Aleph 1, I REALLY like the results. It looks like I am going to skip the bias mod and just drop a SX0H in my head also.

I would post a pic but my three year old seems to have hidden my camera...

schiesz
 
Last edited:
schiesz - any idea how many lumens the SXOH mod with IMS27 makes? Can you do a bounce mode test against some other stock lights for comparison? Stock is about 30 lumens on the old KL3 I believe. I'm very curious to know what it gets bumped to with the IMS27 and SXOH as I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Thanks.
JSR
 
I think its definately worth it to sand down the IMS27 to fit, and replace the batwing with a SX0H. Best $17 I ever spent on a mod, and the Gen 1 KL3 is a great looking host. I actually like the way the IMS reflects better than the McR27 in this application, the spot is not as tight or bright, but its a nice round even spot that throws well. I really don't have any stock lights at the moment to test against, I modify just about everything to some extent and recently sold a bunch of lights...and besides I shipped the one with the IMS out to my sister this morning before I found my digital camera.

I'd say the overall output of the IMS is even to the McR27, I just liked the beam from the IMS better. When you take off the end of the reflector like I did here all bets are off as far as how tight and bright the hotspot is going to be. The smooth IMS should throw better than the textured McR anyway.

Compared to stock, it is noticably brighter with the tint and beam being 3x better to my eyes. With the S bin driven at spec rated at 51-67 lumens, it must be 40+ lumens out the front, but probably not over 50.

I think the old batwings were usually Q bin or so, rated at 30-39 lumens driven at spec. After losses from the optic I can't imagine the old one was over 25 lumens actual output.

Of course with no way to measure and no real lights to compare against, all of my numbers here are meaningless. Its all Mark I eyeball ratings.

In summary, I don't think its putting out twice the lumens of the stock head. Despite this, when you add the factors of better beam, better tint, AND brighter output, I think the perceived brightness actually is about double. I highly recommend this mod.

schiesz
 
Note, when sanding off the end of the IMS27 to fit in the KL3, I had to take it all the way down to the point where the outside of the reflector has a radius where it starts angling back to the emitter. In other words, coming from the bottom, after the sanding was complete, there was no longer any point where the reflector stopped getting wider on the outside.

Of course, when you modify yours, I would constantly check the fit to be sure you don't take too much off.

schiesz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top