C-cell maglite notice

[Benm]

Looks pretty good to me, though cameras rarely do the things justice.

Gutting it t use as a host seems a bit of a waste, though it's not even that expensive.

Perhaps the led modules could be re-purposed if you can apply them somewhere that provides enough cooling.

 

[RedCowboy]

I thought about making a lunchbox light, like the old 6V lantern with the handle on top with a big heat sink and maybe jacking up the current, but the throw is great, it feels solid, and it even remembers the mode you left it in, so I will keep it for now and find another host.

 

[GSS]

I am amazed how much throw it has, it lights up the houses across the creek behind my backyard and the trees behind them, my camera sucks, but this light is much better than I expected, I am going to have to find another host, this is too cool to tear up.

My camera simply does not do this light justice at all.

A tiny bit off the cuff but did you ever use that bird washer for its intended purpose or was it always your burning post

 

[RedCowboy]

LOL, yes that was a bird feeder made out of a old tether ball post anchored in a tire filled with concrete, with a pair of pressure treated 2x2's supporting some 5 gallon bucket lids that was used as a bird feeder when we had indoor cats.

Our cats loved to sit in the window and watch those birds, it was too far for them to jump and we used a cup on a long stick to put bird seed on it, and those cats would make all kinds of sounds watching those birds eat, they wanted to catch them so bad.

I would rub the kittys head and ask, whatcha looking at kitty? Do you see those birdies? Those cats would chirp like birds, merrowp merrowp mrow, it wasn't designed to tease the cats, it just worked out that way, but the birds knew the cats were watching and I swear they seemed to enjoy teasing them.

Pretty soon it will be burned in half, I can get an open flame kernel with a focused corrected nubm44, but that green treated wood just wont stay lit on it's own. If I fire past it I hit my own yard from that 2nd story window so it's a safe target.
One day I will have a laser that can obliterate a 2x2 like that in a single shot. :lasergun:

 

[GSS]

This is too funny and had no clue how much work you put into it and how high it actually is.:beer:
Oh those poor kitty's just watching those cocky birds just teasing them, my cat barks like a dog when she want's my attention to play so I can imagine the funny noises they make.
Youv'e must of seen the kitty's dreaming about catching those birds while their napping, their legs twitch and their mouth moves. This sure is nature at its best and don't be surprised one day when you come home and your indoor cat has a bird in its mouth as a gift for you
Oh yeah i'm sure your also dreaming the day you can burn that post down!

Edit: you ain't kidding, that post has taken a beating, its pure laser art!
Did you thank kitty for the gift?

 

[RedCowboy]

It's a test medium of sorts, once it's burned to charcoal it's hard to burn through that layer, so more power is needed. Until then I just rotate it.

YES I have been presented with the dead bird gift, center of hallway, mostly de feathered, gee thanks kitty, I'll get the shovel.

-----------------------edit------------------------

Oh yea, we would pet the fur off of our cats, they were well loved.
They had climbing poles and overhead ramps, spoiled they were.

 

[Benm]

Hehe, looks like you're already doing a decent job of slowly hacking that pole into pieces. Perhaps there is some flame retardant in the impregnation though, untreated would would probably not be mechanically strong when charred like that.

 

[RedCowboy]

The treated wood takes more pumped in energy to reach a chain reaction that's self sustaining, it may even need other material to sustain it because it goes out much faster than the same size pine, normally I can bore a hole through anything by ever widening the front to let the ash fall away until a cone shaped hole gets all the way through, but this treated wood gums up and is stubborn to ash, it hardly smolders or glows when the beam is removed, but I have not really tried to cut it, just used it to test seconds to a flame kernel with a warm laser vs a cold laser, the cold laser puts out more energy.

This M-140 starts a chain reaction in this clothespin, but the clothespin gets thicker as it goes so it starts to go out when I move the beam to the other stick, if it was pressure treated it would go out right away.

Now the NUBM44 makes very quick work of the clothespin ( not shown in this video ) as always more power is a good choice of a solution.

We have come a long way from these, but they are still fun.

 

[Benm]

A long way for sure, i remember it to be a pretty amazing feat to light a cigarette from a laser beam out of something homebuilt. The A140 and M140s certainly changed that challenge quickly (and wear goggles, don't smoke kids, yadda yadda).

 

[Pman]

I agree, don't smoke kids lol

Was that the brightest rated light that you had looked at Red? I was thinking how did you get it so quick but then I realized I think that was a California seller. What does your wife think about all of this stuff?

That wood is a good motivator/goal. I don't think it will ever self sustain burn. Maybe you should line up a few different things so if you get frustrated you can take revenge on them.

 

[RedCowboy]

That was just the one with 7-10 day shipping (Stateside), all the rest were from China and 5+ weeks on the shipping dates.

Also 48 dollars delivered is about the best deal for the TrustFire 12T6, I had it out last night comparing to my brightest MX-900 and it just blows it away in brightness, distance of visible throw and area illuminated, it makes the MX look puny, I know there are better lights for a 3 digit price tag, but for 48 bucks I will enjoy it and make a host out of it later when I get an even better light.

They gave the reflectors a cylindrical start and I think that gives a longer throw as any side emissions would bounce to the reflector and then straight out, they worked it out pretty good for what it is, I really like how thick the host feels for later repurposing.

p.s. I burn so much stuff, I also do some wood burning "art" for fun, it's all good, I am ready for a lot more power though.

 

[RedCowboy]

The handle is 1 3/8 inches wide the head is 3 1/4 inches wide and with 3 cells it is 12 1/2 inches long overall, it's battery tube is much thicker than a Maglite, The head unscrews above the fins and at the bezel, but it is well heat sinked and I don't want to tear it down yet until I get another, but I do like it as a host for later, these types of lights look to be thick and will make good hosts.

 

[Benm]

Looks like a sturdy design with decent conduction along the length indeed.

I wonder what the thermal conductivity of the entire unit actually is - perhaps something to measure

 

[Pman]

Probably a dumb question but the front lens must be glass. It is cool looking and I can't say I'm not tempted to buy one. I'm curious as to how bright it would in comparison to a 75W HID.
Did it come right apart or did you have to work at it?

 

[RedCowboy]

It unscrews freely and snugs down solid, the machining is well done.

It is a glass front cover and I took it out, but the reflector did not want to come out easily so I did not force it. It is attached with a screw from the back sandwiching the reflector, diode board and a solid aluminum backing plate that spans the diameter of the head it seems.

It does unscrew at the top of the fins, but I only gave it a 1/10 of a turn then tightened it back as I don't want to break the wires until I get another, it's enjoyable at night.

The driver appears to be sinked at the spring board and the diodes are held with a Philips head screw in a sandwich pulling the reflector back and sinking the diodes to that aluminum disc that spans the head no doubt in the front, not a bad job of heatsinking really.

I'm sure that disc pops out, will update later.

This will make a good host for a pair of NUBM44's, I wonder how hard I could drive the diodes with the reflector sandwiching the diodes to a copper backing and a finned heat sink? 300% sounds about right.

 

[Benm]

A finned heatsink -inside- a tight enclosure usually doesn't do that much, there is nowhere for cold air to flow in or warm air to flow out.

With a host like this, i think the best strategy is go get maximum thermal coupling between diode(s) and the wall of the torch. A round aluminium plate that fits tightly would do just fine, as long as it's a few mm thick.

The outer surface of the host is what ultimately limits how much heat you can dissipate for a given temperature rise over ambient, nothing will change that (unless you install a fan or something).