Surefire M3

[rwolfenstein]

I used to have a Surefire M3 and since either lost or sold it. I cannot remember either, however what happened to all of them?

 

[ampdude]

I have them all. And you'll have to fight me in a steel cage to get any of them back!!!!

 

[thermal guy]

I love mine. I have a tad customs in one and it's great beam.

 

[rwolfenstein]

I have them all. And you'll have to fight me in a steel cage to get any of them back!!!!

Irony is, I am assuming that I sold it (mistakes were made). I will perhaps be on the hunt again. I felt like it had the perfect beam and the nice thing was you could drop LED towers in them.

 

[thermal guy]

Oh idk. With SF bulbs the beam is anything but perfect. Oblong horribly.

 

[letschat7]

I would have got one but I can't find the bulbs for sale anywhere.

 

[rwolfenstein]

I would have got one but I can't find the bulbs for sale anywhere.

I found one on the bay thats in almost brand new shape. The only downfall is that they left some cheap 123s in it and one of them exploded at the end cap. Nothing a brush with vinegar cannot fix. (its how I fixed my E2LAA).

 

[thermal guy]

I would have got one but I can't find the bulbs for sale anywhere.

Oh they're out there. Plus lumens factory has a bunch.

 

[rwolfenstein]

Oh they're out there. Plus lumens factory has a bunch.

Ironically Lumens Factory also makes LED tower drop ins.

 

[ampdude]

Oh idk. With SF bulbs the beam is anything but perfect. Oblong horribly.

Sometimes it can be. Never was a huge deal to me.

I would have got one but I can't find the bulbs for sale anywhere.

That's odd, they only made around 8 quadrillion MN10's for the military contracts. And Lumen's Factory is another option.

 

[rwolfenstein]

So I got the M3 in the mail and it shows that one of the lithium cells got so hot it burst and cooked in the inside of the tailcap. I have never seen that before. I was able to clear out a lot of the gunk with a borescrubber and some light vinegar. I even found out that the original MN10 bulb was not burnt out and still works like its supposed to. I am gonna gut the tailcap and install a mcclicky set up.

 

[thermal guy]

That's a pretty rare to happen.

 

[rwolfenstein]

That's a pretty rare to happen.

I thought it was odd myself. I mean the outside of the light is solid and looks brand new. However inside you can see the cook marks where the 3rd battery got hot and exploded. Unless it caught fire. I have never had cr123s do that, but I also only use surefire or streamlight branded batteries.

 

[thermal guy]

can you say what brand it was?

 

[rwolfenstein]

can you say what

It was a bay deal that I got, didnt come with batteries so I have no idea what brand.

 

[sgt253]

I thought it was odd myself. I mean the outside of the light is solid and looks brand new. However inside you can see the cook marks where the 3rd battery got hot and exploded. Unless it caught fire. I have never had cr123s do that, but I also only use surefire or streamlight branded batteries.

Sorry to hear about the condition of the light that you received. It sounds like it was probably left on and forgotten about to the point that one of the cells reversed its charge and vented with flame. In any event, sound like your making it a worthwhile tool once again with the addition of the McClicky. Best of luck.

 

[rwolfenstein]

So here is the update, I took the guts from a z41 tailcap for my g2 nitrolin to use for the guts for the M3 tailcap. As it would turn out, the z59 clicky tailcaps dont want to activate the bulb and it turn on reliably. I have no idea why. So I had tested the tailcap from my g2 nitrolin on the M3 and it came on properly. Luckily the z41 tailcap was pretty simple to take apart without causing damage and once it was fully assembled in the M3 tailcap, let there be light!

 

[choombak]

I would have got one but I can't find the bulbs for sale anywhere.

I have a few MN10s and a MN11 if you are interested. Shoot me a PM.

 

[letschat7]

Now will have to see about sourcing a new one.

 

[Alaskantinbender]

So I got the M3 in the mail and it shows that one of the lithium cells got so hot it burst and cooked in the inside of the tailcap. I have never seen that before. I was able to clear out a lot of the gunk with a borescrubber and some light vinegar. I even found out that the original MN10 bulb was not burnt out and still works like its supposed to. I am gonna gut the tailcap and install a mcclicky set up.

I just picked up a Z2 with the same problem. The tail cap was in sad shape. I put in a clicky mod to replace all the parts. The P60 still worked but was covered in corrosion so I tossed it away. I didn't know we had the same corrosion problems with the newer batteries.