SF interchangeability

mister_wilburn

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Jul 13, 2009
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What I would like to do is make an E2D that only takes one battery. Is such a thing possible? Without having the E2D in my possession, I don't know if the head and tail caps will fit on my E1B.

I am new to this forum, and realize that this may be common knowledge, but despite my attempts at searching the site have been unable to come up with an answer.

Thanks.
 

zven

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Sep 12, 2007
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Bay Area, CA
The heads and tailcaps on all SF E-series lights are compatible and interchangeable. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that lamps, LED modules, etc. tend not to be compatible with both the one- and two-cell formats. If you're looking to put the tail and head of an incandescent E2D onto your E1B's body, you'll have no trouble fitting the parts together, but you'll want to get an E1E lamp (MN01, I think) as well, since the E2D's lamp (MN02?) won't run on the 3V of a single cell. And although this setup would work just fine, the lamp for the E1E only puts out about 15 lumens, while the lamp for the E2D puts out about 60.

The same principle applies to LED heads as well. To my knowledge, their one-cell heads are not designed to handle the voltage of two cells (so your E1B head couldn't go on your E2D/E2DL body). And SF's two-cell LED heads (such as that on the E2DL) don't light up on a single primary cell. So if your intention was to stick with LED on this E1B lego, the head from an E2DL wouldn't cut it.

Then again, the above really only applies to stock parts from SureFire, and using only primary CR123 batteries. You could certainly look into rechargeable options, which might allow you to run the E2DL head on the E1B body. You could also look into something like a black annodized KL4 with crenelations (for related info, look up the "TW4"). Or you could go fully custom, and send an E2D head to someone for modding to an LED of your choice, as well as your desired range of voltage input (i.e., what battery setup you intend to use). Oh, and if you do want incandescant, I believe there are a few aftermarket lamp assemblies that put out more than SF's 15 lumens.

Anyway, there are many options, and the short answer to your question is "yes". Do look up the TW4, though - I'm fairly certain a number of people out there have set up lights very close to what you're looking for.
 

mister_wilburn

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Jul 13, 2009
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Thanks for the quick response.

What you said makes a lot of sense (well parts, I'm a bit new at all the technical lingo.)

If possible, I would like to stay with LED lamps for this thought experiment, so no need worrying about incandescent lamps.

After thinking it over a bit, what I would like is an E1D, without sacrificing the lumen output of my E1B, or its dual output LED feature.

So is it possible to get the crenellated bezel onto my E1B, and possibly the tailcap too?

I searched the two phrases you suggested, but didn't find a crenellated bezel.
 

Size15's

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Aug 29, 2000
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If you purchase an E2DL you can use it's crenelated clickie TailCap on the E1B body. This TailCap is not sold individually although for a short time a long time ago the Z68 was crenelated rather than fully shrouded like it is today. A SureFire dealer with old stock may have one. It's in a clear plastic bag so getting a photo of it before you purchase it should be possible.

I believe that the E1B bezel and the E2DL bezel are essentially the same base construction with different styling. It is possible to break the seal and unscrew the front of the bezels and I assume it is possible to simply swap the bezel fronts so the crenelated style is on the E1B back.
The front of the bezel contains the TIR optic. The LED and electronics are contained in the back of the bezel.
 

Viper715

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Feb 28, 2009
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Missouri
If you use rechargeable 3.7V lithium ion in the E1B body you can put a E2DL LED on the E1B and it will work almost to full brightness although not in good regulation at least on mine it is very bright for the first 15min and then begins dimming slightly over the course of 30-40 min till there is only the low mode but I like the flexibility of the two lights to swap heads. I sometimes use the E1B on the E2DL with a dummy cell just for kicks.
 

zven

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Bay Area, CA
I believe that the E1B bezel and the E2DL bezel are essentially the same base construction with different styling. It is possible to break the seal and unscrew the front of the bezels and I assume it is possible to simply swap the bezel fronts so the crenelated style is on the E1B back.
The front of the bezel contains the TIR optic. The LED and electronics are contained in the back of the bezel.

I hadn't thought of this before - that would be a very neat solution.

Out of curiosity, do you suspect all SureFire's current TIR bezels could swap in the same manner? Or perhaps only the E-series bezels (i.e., not the L1 and LX2)?
 

Size15's

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I don't know this for a fact, or from experience but I think the front ends containing the TIR optic are the same.

I'm hopeful that we have members who have tried or have experience taking these bezels apart who can share their comments, perhaps even photos!
 
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