S&W FL10 Rechargeable conv to 5watt LED

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gifHas any one converted a Smith & Wesson FL10 5 cell Nickel Metal Hydride to a 5 watt Led??? I have one and think it would be a great rechargeable LED flashlight!!!! Does any one know HOW!!!! Thanks for the help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

I sent an FL10 head to Mr. Bulk to ask him if he thought he might be able to / interested in placing a 5W and a BB700 in the head. He's in the very early stage of considering, but I don't think he'll want to proceed. A key question seems to be whether the switch assembly can remain in service if some of the plastic bulb socket is dremmeled / drilled out to make room for the BB700.

Dat2Zip has already advised me that he is too busy to contemplate this mod himself.

Worst case, I suspect that the FL10 bulb can be drilled out of the LA when dead and that an Ultra Stinger bulb could be epoxied in as a brighter replacement.

My friend just bought one of these since he is going into the police academy. Are the made of metal? I haven't yet looked at his. Also anyone got any idea on the volts it puts out?

aluminum head with aluminum lamp assembly smooth reflector.

Body is a one piece 6V aluminum skinned sub C battery pack.

Relatively compact size and inexpensive close-out pricing makes conversion an interesting proposition.

As Dano has noted, the exposed battery charging bottom at the base makes shorting while in use a conceivable possibility.

lemlux thanks for the info. There are 5 cells at 1.25volts each, so 6.25volts total it shows 7.09 volts turned off and 6.85 with the light on. How many volts do you need for a 5 watt?? Maybe a good 1watt with some sort of resistor would work?? I have a couple of heads so a guy could change them out????

Hi Dpr:

I have the FL7 which is the same basic conmfiguration but with a shorter battery pack. It appears that the FL10 and FL7 heads are the same size but the FL10 has a different bulb rated for the higher voltage. The FL7 battery puts out about 4.5 volts. I'm going to try my first mod with a 1W LS. It's true that there isn't enough room to put a resistor in the head, I'm going direct drive on the LS. I'll be using a thin heat sink and plenty of thermal epoxy to bond the emitter to the flashlight head and hope it will survive the overdrive. If all goes well I should have all the parts I need by the end of the week - I'll let you know how it turns out.
Joel

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dpr said:
lemlux thanks for the info. There are 5 cells at 1.25volts each, so 6.25volts total it shows 7.09 volts turned off and 6.85 with the light on. How many volts do you need for a 5 watt?? Maybe a good 1watt with some sort of resistor would work?? I have a couple of heads so a guy could change them out????

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Don,

Those specs sound ideal for a 5W direct driver. What's the amperage capacity of the batteries?

Charlie:

NiMH sub C batteries are typically designed for high current, so 2C should not be a problem at something like 1.1 V per cell. The S&W design is about 5 years old so sthe capacity of the batteries is probably < 3000 mAh.

I doubt whether the 6.85 V that DPR measured will continue for more than a minute or two until the "surface charge" dissipates. The 7.09 V or 1.42 V per cell is an unsurprising no-load reading for a freshly charged NiMH battery.

hmm fl7 for 1 watt, and fl10 for 5 watt... Who's going to be the first to try??
Oh and will 30mm optics fit in there?

Has any one built a FL10 or FL7 LED conv???? I now have both and would LIKE TO MAKE A 1 WATT AND A 5 WATT. NEED HELP!!! THANKS

Don,

I've done the FL7 with a 1 watt LED and it totally rocks! I liked it so much that I'm converting another one for use as my nightstand flashlight. I'm waiting for some thermal adhesive to be delivered before I can finish the second mod. I WAS able to fit a resistor in the head and use 30mm optics, all of which I purchased directly from ElektroLumens web site. I don't have any tools to speak of but was able to do the mod with only a drill, vise, soldering iron, epoxy and some thermal adhesive. I'll post pictures of the second mod when I can borrow a camera. If you need immediate help you can always e-mail me.

Joel

Joel,

Thanks for the info!!!!!!!!! Did you use a resistor? What size? Thanks!! Any run times??

WOW! 30mm fits! How much brighter is the 1W over the stock bulb? I know the FL10 is pretty bright and has a perfect smooth spot beam.. wonder how it compares to 1w/30mm?

Well... the 30mm doesn't actually fit. I don't have any great tools like you guys so I just used epoxy to glue the 30mm to the front of the bezel. The 1 watt is basically the same as a Blaster II because it's pretty much the same thing except for the FL7 smaller form factor.

But at least the 30mm will fit inside there somehow. How did the FL7 stock look compared to it with 1w/30mm? is the 1W brigther?

When I'm able to post pictures in about a week I'll show beam shots comparing the two. I think the stock bulb is brighter but VERY yellow (maybe I'm just used to LED lights now and I like them better). My main objective was to have a relatively small rechargeable 1 watt LS flashlight with a decent run time. I've had it on for 6hrs at one stretch and it was still running strong and not hot at all... it's my favorite light now and I use it most every day.