Heatsinking the TerraLUX TLE-300m EX

Hi there
I am new and have only modded one m@g (a 2D>6AA + TerraLUX TLE-6EX) and i am now modding my currently useless 6D.

I am making a 6D m@g (yes i know its huge but it was a present and i may aswel use it) running a terraLUX TLE-300m EX off of 7 1.2v rechargeable NiMh c batteries to save a little weight at the disadvantage of losing run-time.

Anyway i have read about people putting artic silver (?) heatsinking inbetween their dropin and the body of the m@g, i was wondering if this is worth the money and time and if so how would i go about doing this precisely without making the dropin itself unfittable.

Thanks, Joe.
(forgive any spelling mistakes please i can't get spellcheck going on this computer)

For long-term reliability and less drop in lumens due to heat I would say its necessary. On mine I used Ceramique (non-conductive) on the outer edge of the bottom of the drop in as well as on the threads of the body tube (thicker application). If you only apply thermal compund to the head area a lot of heat is trapped and has nowhere to go. By putting thermal compound on the threads of the body you increase the surface area of heat dissapation.

I did notice that whoever assembled my dropin at the factory didn't use enough thermal compund between the bottom side of the PCB and the black aluminum heatsink base. You can easily find out by removing the three philips screws. Without good thermal contact via thermal compund a lot of heat was trapped and didn't have anywhewre to go.

Thanks for the reply, i've heard of people filling the whole space around the bulb housing or the colomn that hold the dropin with the stuff, would this be a good idea? I dont mind if it makes the m@g unuseable with other bulbs i dont intend to change the setup.

Edit:
Pictures?
i dont know if you can post them here or private message me them, otherwise ill give you my e-mail and you can send them, that is if you would go to such an effort!
it would be apprechiated, thanks Joe.

Since I can't hotlink images from elsewhere I'll send you a PM. As for using thermal compound on the inside of the battery tube where the dropin would go I don't think it would be the best idea. If I remember correctly there is a sizeable gap between the battery tube and the side/bottom of the dropin when assembled. Thermal compund like Arctic Silver and Ceramique isn't meant to be used in thick applications.

The way I assembled mine was to dissasemble the head first and clean the threads on the battery tube and head. You want to remove any type of lubrication on the threads. Isopropyl alcohol and paper towels/qtips work well. Next I applied Ceramique all over the threads of the battery tube. Make sure not to apply too much like onto the o-ring. Next screw the head all the way down back onto the battery tube. Apply thermal compound on the outer ring on the bottom of the dropin, just enough to cover like half the thickness of a sheet of paper. If you want to you can apply thermal compund on the inside of the head where the bottom of the dropin touches the head. Screw the dropin back in and then screw the lens/bezel back on and you should be good to go.

I'd recommend wearing latex gloves while screwing the dropin down. This prevents the oil on your fingers from getting on the optics.