Pimp my light: U2

Ok, so my U2 is on it's way, and before I even get it, I want to know what upgrades I can give it.

1) I've heard that lenses are always an issue as far as not letting light through... can you update the lens?

2) Rechargeables: Ideally, I'd like to not void the warranty (which taking the plastic sleeve out for rechargeables apparently does)... so does this leave me with any other options?

3) Anything else that might, in some way, increase its wow-factor, power, looks, feel, or, well, anything else.

I know it's a sweet light as-is (fingers crossed to win the luxeon lottery), but I've enjoyed reading what people have done to their current lights, and wanted to know people's modding experience with this beast.

-John

jch79 said:

1) I've heard that lenses are always an issue as far as not letting light through... can you update the lens?

2) Rechargeables: Ideally, I'd like to not void the warranty (which taking the plastic sleeve out for rechargeables apparently does)... so does this leave me with any other options?

3) Anything else that might, in some way, increase its wow-factor, power, looks, feel, or, well, anything else.

Click to expand...

Pimped my U2 thread should give you some ideas. There was also a thread with a tailstand mod and a fix for the donut hole.

1. Lens - forget it, you'd have to take it apart, it's a convex lens, void warranty, etc...
2. 18650-size will work if you don't have the plastic sleeve. If you do, you can remove it or use Pila 600s. There's no guarantee li-ions will make contact with the head spring, and *do not* use a magnet to make up for the shortness.
3. Check out the GID mod on the thread. You can also add GID+epoxy ring to the tailcap (I did that too), and/or put some GID o-rings on the body/bezel.

1) Not without voiding the warranty; the head of the light is sealed with lock-tite and wont open without heating/force or both....BTW the lens seems very good so I don't know why you would try this....

2) I don't think tearing the insert out will void the warranty unless you somehow damage the light. If you don't want to try this you can use 17670 Li-ion cells. Pila makes cells of this size as well.
AW in the dealer section cells good cheap Li-ions (both protected and unprotected) and charger for these. Read up on possible dangers with abusing Li-ions in the batteries and electronics section.
If your light doesn't have the plastic insert or you remove it you can use 18650s or Pila equivalents. These have a lot higher capasity (longer runtimes) than the 17670s. AW sells these as well.

3) You might want a beamshaper/coloured filter, but these are pretty large and make the light unsuitable for pocket carry. They do protect the light and give usefull additional effects.
A large (thick) O-ring placed about where the clip is fastened to the light makes it easier to use in a sigar-hold or with a hand-gun if that is of interest.
A lanyard might also be a good idea.

Enjoy your light I love mine

Thanks guys~

I like the idea of the beamshaper - the F64 seems to be something I'd want to get for hiking, etc.

I really want to get some rechargables in there, but I'm afraid it may void the warranty... I just wrote Surefire asking if it does - I'll let everyone know.

I've heard that stretching the spring so it could fit the Pila's... I'm hesitant to stretch the spring every so often so the batteries would make solid contact - it seems like after a while, it could lose its, well, spring!

Thanks,
John

From the Surefire rep:

"No Surefire light can use the rechargeable 123 batteries as they have too much voltage and will damage the lights, using the batteries can void the warranty also."

Wow - well, that was helpful... wait, no it wasn't. They didn't answer my question if it would void the warranty if I removed the plastic sleeve.

So what do you all make of this? Is it just SF covering their rear ends?

I think that if SureFire were to state that rechargeable batteries were an option it would open up a whole can of worms, not least why SureFire haven't released their own brand rechargeable batteries & charger.

Bottomline: If you have to ask SureFire whether you can use aftermarket rechargeable batteries instead of those SureFire states you should use then the answer should be 'no'.

The answer to many questions is 'no' unless you know what you're doing.

If you remove a component from a SureFire that is not intended to be removed then if something goes wrong because you remove it then you're on your own I would have thought.

Al

They are referring to you using the 3v or 3.7v li-ion on a 1:1 basis. You can safely use a single li-ion in the place of two disposable 3v batteries.

As for the spring, it needs to be pulled out only very slightly.

no, you shouldn't use 2xR123's, that'd smoke the light. A single li-ion of appropriate size does work. Don't fiddle with the magnet, and leave the spring alone (if you stretch it too much you may compress the cell and

A real pimp would have it chrome dipped, right? Or maybe gold plated... :rock:

If you read up on dangers with using Li-ions and have a rudimentary understanding of electronics there is no real dangers in using the protected Li-ion cells.
If you don't want to tamper with the plastic tube just buy 2 protected 17670s from AW and a DSD charger (the light uses one at the time). Safe, cheap, but not as good as using protected 18650s.
The spring should not need to be touched at all, mine didn't. It is at the head end of the light and contacts the + pole on the battery.
Some people have had to pull it out 1mm or less and this should not damage the battery in any way. The + pole on Li-ions can take slightly more abuse than the - end.
If you aren't sure about the spring/battery part then don't touch it.

I really can't see how Surefire could make removing a tube in the flashlight body void the warranty on the other parts. Unless you use 2 Li-ions there should be no danger of damaging the electronics or other parts of the light.
You might want to check this with Surefire, but ask for a tech person and not a regular sales person since they probably won't know what an 18650 is...

IMHO Surefire aren't using protected Li-ions for a couple of reasons; one can't swap batteries freely from on SF light to another. The user has to know what kind of battery each light can use instead of just putting as many cr123s in the light as the tube will take. If you put Li-ions of the wrong size in the wrong light you either get a fried bulb, fried electronics, no light or little light.
Having a lifetime warranty and having users play with Li-ions can get very expensive fast.

Another reason could be that they make good money on selling cr123s..

Sverre

the guy who responded to your question was obviously uninformed of the available rechargable cells on the market- he assumed using 2xRCR123 (16340) sized cells... 8.4V fresh off the charger- which would in fact probably fry the U2... using a single 3.7V cell of larger proprotions should have no ill effects, and if you have to send it back for warrenty work, chances are, you can just tell them you have been using regular lithium primaries... because a single cell 3.7V 17670 or 18650 won't have any more potencial to cause damage than a pair of primaries anyways.

mdocod said:

the guy who responded to your question was obviously uninformed of the available rechargable cells on the market- he assumed using 2xRCR123 (16340) sized cells... 8.4V fresh off the charger- which would in fact probably fry the U2... using a single 3.7V cell of larger proprotions should have no ill effects, and if you have to send it back for warrenty work, chances are, you can just tell them you have been using regular lithium primaries... because a single cell 3.7V 17670 or 18650 won't have any more potencial to cause damage than a pair of primaries anyways.

Click to expand...

Surefire has a great customer service. Abusing the system only makes life more difficult for everyone.

Surefire has a great customer service. Abusing the system only makes life more difficult for everyone.

Click to expand...

if surefire is a system, then you as a respectable human being should appose the system and revolt against it because the system desires only for you to be a machine. eat/sleep/work. go machine. go. or you could comprimize and tell the system that you were using authorized batteries in your overpriced flashlight and get the repairs you deserve whether you were using the right batteries or not.

When uninformed customer servive agents don't know what their own products are compatable with, there is no abuse in telling that uninformed agent that you were using an approved method. Abuse is when you drive a 60 ton tank over the flashlight, send it back to surefire and tell them you dropped it.

Alright. I get the picture...

sorry... that was kinda hostile, but i think you understand what i mean when I'm drunk. hehe.... I've said it before in discusions about the U2, i'll say it again- If I could afford one, I'd have one.

:edit: but i'd but an 18650 in there!

Don't worry about. I guess I was expecting some form of uneasiness about the last post anyway. BTW I use a 18650 in the U2. For LEDs, I think its a whole lot safer running rechargeables on them. Especially protected ones.

Thanks for the input guys - just when you think you've spent all the money on the flashlight, you realize you can spend a boat load of money with a sheath, a lanyard, diffusing filters, color filters, rechargeables, a charger, a 60 ton tank to run it over with (mdocod - thanks for that), and then a bill for the eye doctor, since I've spent like 8 hours a day staring at my computer monitor in this damn forum!
-John

jch79 said:

I've heard that stretching the spring so it could fit the Pila's... I'm hesitant to stretch the spring every so often so the batteries would make solid contact - it seems like after a while, it could lose its, well, spring!

Click to expand...

I use an 18650 and I only had to stretch the spring once. After that it held its shape and made contact the battery OK. The only thing to watch is that there are springs at both ends - the one which may need stretching is at the front, not in the tailcap.

jch79,

I carry my U2 in the pocket of my work clothes and have chosen to "skin" it with a "slimline" F-70 beamshaper filter to protect the lens (F-7x series for 1.47" dia. bezels). Much!, much! slimmer and more friendly (and cheaper) than the FM64. I am embarrassed to admit that I have no experience with the "slimlines" in colors. I don't think very much of colored filters because they cut out such a HUGH percentage of the light output. I prefer the L1 low/hi output, colored LEDs.

Hope this helps.