Picked up two super cool probably 1960s flashlights in the thrift store last night. I already have adapters so I can fill them with NiMH AAs. Is there a drop in LED "bulb" to make them really practical or should I just buy some incandescent replacements and then leave them on the shelf to be decorative?
2D cell LED replacement?
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I figured this would get more replies... anyway, I ran to Ikea on Saturday for some AA NiMHs (never do this this close to Christmas; next time I'll order online for pickup rather than actually go in the store), dug some 3xAA to C cell adapters out of my battery box, and picked up the NiteIze "4005778 High Power LED Upgrade Bulb for C/D Flashlights, 74 Lumen Bulb Pure White" off that certain river themed e-commerce site. Put all that in the Bright Star after cleaning it all up. Works great. Can't tell whether it is preferable to my very early LED Mag-Lite or not (haven't been able to do a side by side because while playing around I managed to insert one of the cells backwards so I have to wait for them all to charge up again), but for an emergency light to hang by the front door it's fine. So, there's one option for a drop in that replaces the original bulb. Amazingly, both lights worked with their original PR2 bulbs after a good cleaning; apparently the bulb contacts in the Bright Star were keeping it from working originally and there was some light corrosion inside the tube from leaking cells that I scrubbed out. The tailcap spring in the Eveready needed to be cleaned as well, but that light appears NOS and unused after a quick polish.
The only other real option other than the Nite Ize that I saw was the Dorcy "30-Lumen 3-Volt LED Replacement Bulb (41-1643)" has anyone used that one and have any opinions? I'm guessing if the lumen ratings are comparable the Nite Ize is the better choice.
Anything else I should be looking at? Everything else I found searching was the usual Chinese "brands" that I'd never heard of, although the reason I'm posting is in case one of them is really putting out a superior product.
(sigh) now my $2 flashlight is a $30 flashlight, not sure it's really better than a brand new $30 flashlight, but it is cooler looking...
The only other real option other than the Nite Ize that I saw was the Dorcy "30-Lumen 3-Volt LED Replacement Bulb (41-1643)" has anyone used that one and have any opinions? I'm guessing if the lumen ratings are comparable the Nite Ize is the better choice.
Anything else I should be looking at? Everything else I found searching was the usual Chinese "brands" that I'd never heard of, although the reason I'm posting is in case one of them is really putting out a superior product.
(sigh) now my $2 flashlight is a $30 flashlight, not sure it's really better than a brand new $30 flashlight, but it is cooler looking...
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It is for sure cool looking. I like that project. Beam shot?
Bright Star made some mighty fine flashlights back in the day. And the Eveready Captain is also a nice old flashlight. Good score(s).
I've used both the Dorcy and Nite Ize LED bulb modules and the Nite Ize is a little brighter but not by leaps and bounds.
One thing to watch for with vintage flashlights is parasitic drain. In other words if you store it a few months the batteries may deplete. Not all old lights do it but it does happen with slide switch lights sometimes. Perhaps check the state of charge on your batteries monthly for a couple months.
And I reccomend Eneloop cells because they definitely hold a charge a good long time. You can buy kits with batteries and C sized adapters at the big river or at electronic stores stores like some Best Buy stores.
Best regards for your new project(s).
I've used both the Dorcy and Nite Ize LED bulb modules and the Nite Ize is a little brighter but not by leaps and bounds.
One thing to watch for with vintage flashlights is parasitic drain. In other words if you store it a few months the batteries may deplete. Not all old lights do it but it does happen with slide switch lights sometimes. Perhaps check the state of charge on your batteries monthly for a couple months.
And I reccomend Eneloop cells because they definitely hold a charge a good long time. You can buy kits with batteries and C sized adapters at the big river or at electronic stores stores like some Best Buy stores.
Best regards for your new project(s).
The nite ize drop-ins are pretty good, I usually go with the 55 lumen version for floodier lights and save the 74 lumen model for Mags where the tighter focus takes advantage of the extra 19 lumens. These have decent tint, can be used with 2 to 6 cells, and have very good runtimes (especially the 55 lumen).
The dorcy drop-ins are ok, with long run times, but not near as good, with these you need to match the bulb to the number of cells - either 2 or 3-4 and the tint is not that great.
The dorcy drop-ins are ok, with long run times, but not near as good, with these you need to match the bulb to the number of cells - either 2 or 3-4 and the tint is not that great.
Maybe I will order the 55 lumen Nite Ize for the other flashlight then to compare.
I know I promised beam shots but I ended up on the phone with two different friends last night; both are looking for jobs and I had to be supportive, encouraging, etc.
I have to admit, the Bright Star while a little beat up would be my choice of the two. The Eveready uses a plastic thingy to retain the bulb that I can see as being a weak point, although it's lasted far beyond its design life already. The Bright Star uses a threaded Bakelite (?) piece instead and if and when it does fail could probably be repaired with something like PC-7 or JB Weld. The Bright Star also has a clip in the tailcap for a spare bulb, a nice touch, and I like the Off-Momentary-On switch better than the Eveready's Momentary-On with the button shrouded. Other than that they are very similar. I'm assuming they came from the same person, otherwise why would two very similar things be in the same place? The Bright Star shows signs of being used regularly while as I said the Eveready appears to be completely NOS so maybe the previous owner shared my opinion. How they ended up thrown in a mixing bowl at Value Village I don't know, but I guess most people don't share my proclivity towards taking near-antique things, fixing them up, and using them. (I just cooked a pork chop in a 100 year old skillet last night that I finished restoring on Sunday...)
As to the parasitic drain, I can check that with a meter, although I would expect that given that I've flushed everything clean with QD there isn't any conductive gunk in the switch mechanisms. For cells I am using Ikea Ladda 2450s; for $2 apiece that's half of what I can get Duracell Ion Cores for and I have an Ikea on my way home from work. I don't even know anyone that stocks Eneloops besides Micro Center now that Toys R Us is no more. I've had good luck with the Laddas in remote controls; this is the first time I've put them in a flashlight so we will see how that plays out.
Sounds like you are old hat at this. 
^^ Lowes also....... Sometimes.
I couldn't find them, and apparently they couldn't either as I ordered one online for store pickup and they canceled my order. None showing at any Lowe's even far away from me. It's suggesting stores 40 miles away and it'll take just as long as Amazon
pc_light
Enlightened
Your local Ace Hardware's likely to have a couple of upgrade units in stock.
I don't have a local Ace Hardware I wish... I've ordered one direct from Nite Ize; UPS hasn't picked it up yet though so who knows when I will get it. It's going to be busy the next few weeks anyway so I apologize in advance to everyone eagerly awaiting beamshots...
I wish... I've ordered one direct from Nite Ize; UPS hasn't picked it up yet though so who knows when I will get it. It's going to be busy the next few weeks anyway so I apologize in advance to everyone eagerly awaiting beamshots...
I agree with xxo about the Dorcys. I had one that was rated for 3-4 cells. There was no improvement over incan for brightness with three cells, I wouldn't even use it. But there was a dramatic improvement when placed in a 6 Volt unit. Certainly either way you'll get about 8X runtime.
IIRC there was a bit of a hole in the center of the beam, kinda a halo effect (of course that might be the reflector, and not the LED).
Dave_H
Flashlight Enthusiast
Dorcy 1-2 cell (30 lumen) and 3-4-cell (40 lumen) LED drop-ins are still out there but apparently overpriced on Amazon. I see them available for $4 each at a hardware chain in Canada. They are sub-1W and cool white; not the greatest but OK. One was retrofitted into old Ray-O-Vac metal 2D flashlight. Beam pattern, brightness and tint were different from original, but OK.
I have found these in some cheap plastic/rubber 1D and 2AA flashlights. Not wanting to toss a perfectly good light I swapped the bulb for an 2.4v incan. and gave the light away.
30-lumen contains a boost circuit as it can run from single cell but lower brightness. 40-lumen behaves like a simple dropping circuit.
Dave
I have found these in some cheap plastic/rubber 1D and 2AA flashlights. Not wanting to toss a perfectly good light I swapped the bulb for an 2.4v incan. and gave the light away.
30-lumen contains a boost circuit as it can run from single cell but lower brightness. 40-lumen behaves like a simple dropping circuit.
Dave
You can ebay cheap dropins that are likely the same as the Dorcy ones that although unimpressive work about as well as others have said as the original bulb on new batteries and can work when incans dim to near nothing they will still be bright enough to be useful. Personally I wouldn't pay more than a few dollars for a drop in if I didn't already have extras now. A cheap way to get a 2 cell dropin is Rayovac makes a cheap plastic 2AA LED light for about $2 with HD batteries in it that uses a dropin. The one issue with these dropins is the point of focus on them can make them not work well with some lights well leaving sometimes a black hole in the middle or more of a flood than a spot for a reflectored light so YMMV. Non focusing incan lights are not guaranteed to have a nice beam with these dropins for sure. I've bought a few for $2 off Ebay in the past but the price and shipping has gone up considerably I think.
Slow follow up... 55 lumen drop in showed up yesterday, but I've been cleaning up so haven't really had a chance to play, and I'm working today... what I can tell you is that they apparently use the reflector a lot more than I thought. The Eveready Captain looks GREAT with either drop in, whereas the Bright Star has a bit of a donut hole. Now the latter had a yellow, hazy reflector when I got it and I polished it up some with some Nevr-Dull, am hesitant to go more aggressive however, what say you?
