Tritium vials behind Sun Drop lens

Now that's some cool and techy looking light now !!! :thumbsup:

That looks really nice and the lens helps so much..
X/BillyD..

Guess I'll have to wait till you post before I reply..
I think Greta has unknowingly provided us with some fun.. lol

cool idea.... i must steal it for myself...hehehehe

Cool pics :thumbsup: I did the same with both of my SunDrops. I put orange trits in the regular SD and yellow ones in the SD XP.

Hi guys,

I've posted this in Cool Fall section, but thought some here might like to know that 1.55x5mm tritium vials fit perfectly in the Sundrop head.

They fit nicely right next to the square led emiter. I potted the vials with Norland adhesive but here I'm pretty sure many other options are viable. Just one drop is enough.

The vials are slightly taller than the emiter but I checked and there is plenty room behind the lens, and they don't make contact with the back of the lens.




Cheers!

Very cool
I want to try it pn mine
Thanks for sharing

May I ask who you got those colored/sized tritium's from? That looks really nice and classy, I want that!

yeah looks really nice...

I got the vials from B@rt on the marketplace

Yeah, I supposed after doing a search at the marketplace, however he is out of green and yellow unfortunately for me so I guess it would have to be some orange tritiums... what color would you go for?

I would wait for the much brighter green ones!

It may take some time but the light will wait on them.

He still shows some 2x10mm vials in green and blue: $12.50 each. These are just slightly larger diameter (0.018"), so the 2mm may work as well as the 1.55mm. The longer length means that the vial would project 2.5mm more (on each end), or 0.098".

I think they would fit without a problem.

I have orange trits on my Spy (as you can see) and I find them awesome. The reds could be cool too, but less bright and they are slightly pink (depending on how your eyes are color adapted at this time)

You need to check what is the clearance between the MCPCB of the LE and the saphire lens. I checked before I mounted the vials but I don't remember how much room was left.

Thanks for the replies, I guess I will wait a bit and have fun with the light for a while before doing any customizations, hopefully something good will be selling in the marketplace!

:laughing: to tell you the truth, I couldnt resist and went ahead and ordered a pair of these trits in orange. I hope they arrive well. Anyway, is it hard to install them? What type of glue/cement do you guys recommend? This is the first time I will install some of these... :sweat:

I'm hesitating because of the intense heat generated right next to the emitter. NOA61 (Norland Optical Adhesive 61) has a max operating temp of 125°C (257°F) ... I don't have a way to spot measure directly next to the emitter, but if anyone else can, that info would be great.

Most instant CA adhesives top out at 200°F, like the Devcon/Permatex line.

Masterbond EP30HT is rated for 400°F, clear, two part adhesive. I'm waiting on a callback with pricing.

That's the coolest thing I've seen since the discovery of tritium for flashlight. :twothumbs: tino

precisionworks said:

I'm hesitating because of the intense heat generated right next to the emitter. NOA61 (Norland Optical Adhesive 61) has a max operating temp of 125°C (257°F) ... I don't have a way to spot measure directly next to the emitter, but if anyone else can, that info would be great.

Most instant CA adhesives top out at 200°F, like the Devcon/Permatex line.

Masterbond EP30HT is rated for 400°F, clear, two part adhesive. I'm waiting on a callback with pricing.

Click to expand...

A temperature spot measure would be a great assistance to us trying to find an alternative to Norland, not because of the price, but because of the limited availability. Im kinda worried how I'm going to cure the trits in place now that I've ordered them... Are there any widely available SAFE alternatives to the Norland? I dont think they would have to be crystal clear for this use cause the drop only covers to lower part of the trit (I would guess?)... Much appreciated...

From what I found, the Masterbond EP30HT looks like the best bet for high temp. It is NOT optically clear like NOA61, and would not be the first choice for installing in the piston end, where the adhesive covers the top portion of the trit. On the MPCB, where only the bottom of the trit would be glued, the EP30HT should be "clear enough" to work without problems.

Assuming I got the correct LED out of the catalog, the maximum operating temperature for these LEDs is ~85°C so the Norland should work fine.