Quantumstate
Banned
I have a couple of ideas to improve these L*D CE flamethrowers. I'll share one, and ask for advice on the other.
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I think glow-in-the-dark epoxy goes with flashlights, like wine goes with weed. This company makes good quality luminescent powder in a number of different colors, but I suggest green (12 hours) or blue (6 hours), as they glow the longest. The powder is cheaper than you'd think.
All you do is put down your two components of epoxy however the mix instructions say, and then add 25% by volume of glow-in-the-dark powder to it and mix well. Best results with transparent epoxy.
Before you put it on your flashlight it should be cleaned well. Use an old toothbrush and 92% rubbing alcohol (drug store). You will probably want glow-in-the-dark in the recessed areas of the handle, like groves along the length, or rings around the diameter. Maybe around the end button and inside the bezel ring.
When the alcohol is completely dry, apply the epoxy with a toothpick or a painter's brush. Clean off overpaint with alcohol-soaked toilet paper. Level the epoxy by going over it with a hot hair dryer, and let cure.
There's another company which makes what seems to be more effective luminescent paint. But it needs larger crystals (25-35um, which would be a bit rough) to give a glow time of 83 hours (!), and you have to buy their paint by the kilo ($50).
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I've been looking for a flashlight with a wider beam, as my primary use as a real estate broker is to poke around in dark basements. I don't need to burn a hole through the trees. I've failed to find a floodlight with the Cree XR E element, so I'll make me one out of the X0D CE.
What it needs is a concave lens, to spread the hotspot. Probably doesn't need to be a deep lens, as the hotspot just needs to be doubled in diameter, or so. I don't know how to calculate this, so it's trial and error.
It would be best if I could replace the existing lens with a concave lens. So here are my questions:
- Is there a lens in the L0D CE?
- If so, is it possible to disassemble the head and replace the lens? How is it waterproofed?
- If not, can someone measure the aperture of the L0D CE with a micrometer, to give the exact diameter? It'll be in the ballpark of 12mm. And can you please measure from the bezel tip to the existing lens? (depth)
If there is an existing lens, and it can't be removed, I have in mind gluing the concave onto the existing. Can someone recommend a glue? Cyanacrylate?
Does anyone know whether the L0D CE comes in aluminum-color? Anyone know which seller would honor my request for a Q3 flux binned L0D CE, or better?
Naturally the lens would need to be glass (due to the heat), and naturally all this muggering would void the warranty.
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I think glow-in-the-dark epoxy goes with flashlights, like wine goes with weed. This company makes good quality luminescent powder in a number of different colors, but I suggest green (12 hours) or blue (6 hours), as they glow the longest. The powder is cheaper than you'd think.
All you do is put down your two components of epoxy however the mix instructions say, and then add 25% by volume of glow-in-the-dark powder to it and mix well. Best results with transparent epoxy.
Before you put it on your flashlight it should be cleaned well. Use an old toothbrush and 92% rubbing alcohol (drug store). You will probably want glow-in-the-dark in the recessed areas of the handle, like groves along the length, or rings around the diameter. Maybe around the end button and inside the bezel ring.
When the alcohol is completely dry, apply the epoxy with a toothpick or a painter's brush. Clean off overpaint with alcohol-soaked toilet paper. Level the epoxy by going over it with a hot hair dryer, and let cure.
There's another company which makes what seems to be more effective luminescent paint. But it needs larger crystals (25-35um, which would be a bit rough) to give a glow time of 83 hours (!), and you have to buy their paint by the kilo ($50).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been looking for a flashlight with a wider beam, as my primary use as a real estate broker is to poke around in dark basements. I don't need to burn a hole through the trees. I've failed to find a floodlight with the Cree XR E element, so I'll make me one out of the X0D CE.
What it needs is a concave lens, to spread the hotspot. Probably doesn't need to be a deep lens, as the hotspot just needs to be doubled in diameter, or so. I don't know how to calculate this, so it's trial and error.
It would be best if I could replace the existing lens with a concave lens. So here are my questions:
- Is there a lens in the L0D CE?
- If so, is it possible to disassemble the head and replace the lens? How is it waterproofed?
- If not, can someone measure the aperture of the L0D CE with a micrometer, to give the exact diameter? It'll be in the ballpark of 12mm. And can you please measure from the bezel tip to the existing lens? (depth)
If there is an existing lens, and it can't be removed, I have in mind gluing the concave onto the existing. Can someone recommend a glue? Cyanacrylate?
Does anyone know whether the L0D CE comes in aluminum-color? Anyone know which seller would honor my request for a Q3 flux binned L0D CE, or better?
Naturally the lens would need to be glass (due to the heat), and naturally all this muggering would void the warranty.
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