how to upgrade old Surefire E1L ?

What can I do to upgrade my old Surefire E1L ? (The pre-Cree, pre-2-levels one.) :candle:

- Get a KL1 head?
- Upgrade the LED?
- Send it to milkyspit?

cat said:

What can I do to upgrade my old Surefire E1L ? (The pre-Cree, pre-2-levels one.) :candle:

- Get a KL1 head?
- Upgrade the LED?
- Send it to milkyspit?

Click to expand...

Get the new KX1/KX2?

cat said:

What can I do to upgrade my old Surefire E1L ? (The pre-Cree, pre-2-levels one.) :candle:

- Get a KL1 head?

Click to expand...

What you have at the moment is a KL1, so unless you are using one of the very early KL1s (the ribbed/finned design) then buying a KL1 won't be an upgrade. The KX1 has replaced the KL1.

Regards,
Tempest

Thanks.
KX1 http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/carfnbr/293/prrfnbr/24503/KX1-LED-Conversion-Head
45 lumens and 3 lumens low. I think mine's 30 lumens. [?] So I'd get...45 lumens - which is not much - and a low Low, which I wouldn't use (given my current use of my lights), and I've have an old head to use as a paperweight, or send it to someone who'd pay the shipping. hmm. But at least I might use it. ...Maybe I should just sell it for whatever I can get, and use the $66 for something else.

If you can open up your KL1 you can easily put in a new led, and perhaps a new driver board. Would be a lot cheaper than a new KX1.

Surefire sells the KX1 head for $66, but I've gotten a few on The Marketplace for $25 to $35. You do need to specify Cree, or you may end up with what you already have

And the KX1 can be single level (2007) or dual level (2008). FWIW, the older heads, before the TIR optic & Cree emitter, give a nice, floody beam. Pretty useful for closer work.

Thanks, everyone.
I think I bought mine in 2006. It's an optic, the hotspot is a square/rectangle, not a floody beam.
Getting the head for $35 would be ok, otherwise putting a new LED in myself would be good - I think I could manage that.

nice mcr reflector with SSC P4 ! :ironic:

Which diameter? I wonder if it would fit - I wouldn't like to try to cut the reflector.
I saw some SSC P4 somewhere today, two different diameter boards - I suppose the smallest would be right.

You could get an E to C adapter from TNC products, fit a bezel from a 6P then get a P60 Q5 LED drop-in.

That sounds good. It would allow other [HA III] heads instead of the 6P head, and I've been wanting to get a Malkoff drop-in for a G2, so I could get 2 while I'm about it.

cat said:

What can I do to upgrade my old Surefire E1L ? (The pre-Cree, pre-2-levels one.) :candle:

- Get a KL1 head?
- Upgrade the LED?
- Send it to milkyspit?

Click to expand...

What are your requirements? Do you want a multi-mode light? If so, what modes? Do you require more output for the max mode?

If you want a simple (though a bit pricey) path to high output, then simply get the OpticsHQ E2 LED upgrade:

http://www.opticshq.com/page/Optics/PROD/Flashlights/FL-TLS-TX2

Then power the new head with one 3.7V RCR123A cell, such as the ones from AW (Lighthound is one source).

If you also want Lo-Hi modes, you can get a McE2S tailcap:

http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_56_58&products_id=963
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_56_58&products_id=556

The question I can't answer is what resistor value to select. It depends how low you want your Lo setting to be. Apparently, however, you can go into the guts of the 2-stage switch and change the resistors yourself, so you shouldn't be stuck with a product that doesn't fit the bill.

Thanks. More options.
I checked out the TnC adaptor, and other related parts, but the problem with that and the opticshq head option is that it ends up costing $100+, money maybe better used for buying a UA2 or something. So maybe I should try replacing the LED.

If you can open the head, just swap the stock LED with the SSC P4. You can get double in brightness. And stock square beam will be changed to round shape.

If you don't like the optic beam, then replace the stoc optic with McR20-S reflector.

The problem is terrible work of 'open the KL1 head'.

Has no one suggested Milkifying it?

I have no Milkyspit products yet but if I was trying to upgrade an old KL1 head he's the person I'd talk to.

The KX1 dual-output is really nice. Becoming one of my favorite lights.

brunt_sp said:

You could get an E to C adapter from TNC products, fit a bezel from a 6P then get a P60 Q5 LED drop-in.

Click to expand...

Like these?
Black E1e with 6P head via a TNC E2C adaptor with a M60 dropin whilst the HA-NAT setup has a M60L dropin instead. Each runs on 1xRCR123 and they're very bright for their size. Even though they are more pricey compared to changing out the head to a KX1/2 head alone, it's the flexibility of the setup that I was after and together with a pair of 6Ps (no LAs), a KL4 and KX1 head I can have 4 complete lights at any one time. Just another idea for you.

Just get a KX1, yull be amazed at the output..I love mine. Opening up a KL1 head is no easy task, Surefire uses this evil locking thread compound that only comes out with heat and muscle. It can be done, Ive done it, but these new heads are good enough to make it not worth the effort..

In case you still want to try just replace the emmitter with a Seoul, it will fix the square beam and give you decent throw. Or if you want more flood, replace the optic with a McR20 from the Shoppe. Good luck.

Can you put a KX1 head on an E1B?

fresnorich said:

Can you put a KX1 head on an E1B?

Click to expand...

Yes.

All of the electronics of the E1B are in its head. The body and tailcap will function fine with a KX1.

Regards,
Tempest