Maglites

[Mercyfulfate1777]

Mr fixer is a very kind knowledgeable soul for sure.

signed!!!!

 

[bykfixer]

Golly bykfixer, I've read a ton of your posts but you responding to me feels like an honor!

I still want a plain aluminum mag, but can't for the life of me figure out which one I want. I'm all black except a few minimags, and a pewter led solitaire.

Mr fixer is a very kind knowledgeable soul for sure.

signed!!!!

(Popeye voice) Garsh!!

People at my work think Ima a weirdo, and the wife n I only speak in months without the letter R, so you guys get to hear me yap, yap, yapping about flashlights.

Nah seriously I just try to pay it forward all the stuff I learn here in plain speak that even my dog understands...

Which results in her flopping over, eyes all glazed over like 8 day old road kill.

Thanks for the compliments. The honor is mine.

Your voice counts as much as anyone elses here need-a- light.
Silver Solitaires make great 2am nature call bedside table lights and the polished alluminum is easy to find in tinyest amount of light. Ironicaly my bedside table Solitaire is black. lol

 

[Str8stroke]

I got bored at Home Depot today. Wife was picking up garden stuff, I accidentally ended up in the flashlight Christmas Clearance sector. I scored the Maglite Combo pack ML25LT 2C & 3C for $20. If y'all are interested in getting some, check your local HD. Fun lights.

 

[Offgridled]

I got bored at Home Depot today. Wife was picking up garden stuff, I accidentally ended up in the flashlight Christmas Clearance sector. I scored the Maglite Combo pack ML25LT 2C & 3C for $20. If y'all are interested in getting some, check your local HD. Fun lights.

Done

 

[maglite mike]

Done

just bought 3 combo sets. Comes out to $10 per maglite. I'll keep one set and give the rest away.

 

[wjv]

.
dunno what everyone is doing with their "car lights" that they need to be that ugly big and heavy.
for me a "car light" is 1*CR123, like 4sevens Atom and such
(because that light usually sees no use at all - over many years)
:thinking:

Three weeks ago the wife and I came upon a two car accident that literally happened 90 seconds of so before we got there. It was late at night on a road where the speed limit is 45, but most people are doing 55. One whole lane was blocked off. So I spent the next 15 minutes directing traffic until the police arrived.

Al I had was my Olight S1 baton. A nice light, but very floody. something with more throw would have been far more effective. The next week I bought a ML25LT Maglite. 3x'C' cell, low end Mag, but it has a solid couple hundred meters of throw.

 

[harro]

My first ever post in ' Incans ' , and as i only own 1 incan, that probably explains it. Does anyone know how to date a Maglite by the S/N? I have a 5D Mag in the standard glossy black. I remember buying it i think in the late 80's or early 90's, but i'm certainly not sure on that. It has a glass lense and 140 lumen dropin conversion that retains the focus, and i still have the original Krypton bulb and plastic lens somewhere. The s/n stamping is pretty average but is readable, 5D001448300.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers,
Mike.

 

[bykfixer]

You have the 1 million, 448 thousand, 300th 5D made.

I realize that sounds like a wise crack, but it's not. They started at or near zero and went chronologically. I have S/N 000000071 ML25 IT and 000004133 of a 3D VareBeam. I don't say that to brag, but to show they start somewhere around zero.

They made a whole, whole bunch of flashlights in the 80's and 90's. Knowing which year the 5D was introduced would help, then knowing total ever produced could lead to an educated guess of its particular year made.

 

[irongate]

My first ever post in ' Incans ' , and as i only own 1 incan, that probably explains it. Does anyone know how to date a Maglite by the S/N? I have a 5D Mag in the standard glossy black. I remember buying it i think in the late 80's or early 90's, but i'm certainly not sure on that. It has a glass lense and 140 lumen dropin conversion that retains the focus, and i still have the original Krypton bulb and plastic lens somewhere. The s/n stamping is pretty average but is readable, 5D001448300.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers,
Mike.

Send a email to the link below with your number and he will tell you what year it was made.

[email protected]

 

[bykfixer]

Do tell IG. Is this a Mag guru? Perhaps a stamper at Maglite?

Details man, we crave details....

 

[LiftdT4R]

On Mag's website you can also use their contact form and they'll get back to you within a couple business days:

http://maglite.com/contact-form/

You have a newer style incan because it starts with a D whereas the old ones just start with a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to specify the number of cells but not type. I believe they changed over in the early 90s. I want to say 93 or 94 but I don't know the exact date. Mag will for the most part even tell you what day the light was made on.

 

[LiftdT4R]

You have the 1 million, 448 thousand, 300th 5D made.

I realize that sounds like a wise crack, but it's not. They started at or near zero and went chronologically. I have S/N 000000071 ML25 IT and 000004133 of a 3D VareBeam. I don't say that to brag, but to show they start somewhere around zero.

They made a whole, whole bunch of flashlights in the 80's and 90's. Knowing which year the 5D was introduced would help, then knowing total ever produced could lead to an educated guess of its particular year made.

That is awesome and I am super jealous!! The lowest Vari-beam I've seen is a 12,000 serial and I always figured that would be towards the later end of the production range because they weren't very popular and there weren't that many produced. Do you know a lot about the Vari-Beams? I picked up one recently, a 3D, 12,000 range serial and the knurling is very odd on it. I'm trying to find out what's up with it.

 

[bykfixer]

Don't know much about Maglites in general except what I've read here.

It seems the VareBeam was a line created to drum up sales from a blue collar market during the early years. The Maglite was a black cop light. And it seems the blue color and silver bezel were chosen for easy spotting at a distance inside crowded and dimly light garages of the auto mechanic shop at the time. Mine came from such a shop in California. It is severely sunfaded on one side from sitting in the office window. And it has issues from being disassembled with vice grips to remove stuck batteries that left a nasty coating on the inside. It's a someday project to bring it back to life in a stock platform. With all the ugly at least it does not bare the scars of being used as a hammer. lol.
It's 2133 not 4133...

Why they chose vertical lines instead of the diamond pattern for grip is beyond me. But when eBay shopping it does make it easy to spot the fakes.

Back in the old days the serial number began with the number of cells it seems. At least that was the case with the VareBeam. Mine does not have a panther on the bezel, nor does my solitaire sized Marquis.

Nowadays they have a letter to indicate cell size.

You can compare the 'panther' on Mags and you'll note on the older ones it is a bit squashed looking compared to the modern ones. I have some late 80's mini mags with the squashed panther. But the have the R, not TM for what that is worth.

 

[Need a Light?]

Yeah, the pre-letter serials started with cell number. I have a couple dozen mags, and it holds true for the old ones. Though I dunno about the S/N on my magcharger-charger

I have such a soft spot for mags, maybe because I was born in CA and Ontario was the last place I lived as a kid before moving to VT?

 

[harro]

Tks for the info, guys Good stuff.
I had no idea how their numbering system worked. The 5D was pretty self explanatory, but i didnt know if the numerals was simply that, ie, the 1,448,300th 5D off the line, or whether they denoted something else.

 

[Offgridled]

Yeah, the pre-letter serials started with cell number. I have a couple dozen mags, and it holds true for the old ones. Though I dunno about the S/N on my magcharger-charger[emoji14]
I have such a soft spot for mags, maybe because I was born in CA and Ontario was the last place I lived as a kid before moving to VT?

Yep I agree with living in CA we all grew up with mags. Now I have plenty moded ones . A true flashaholic has surefires and mags

 

[tab665]

Yep I agree with living in CA we all grew up with mags. Now I have plenty moded ones . A true flashaholic has STOCK surefires and mags

fixed it for you

 

[LiftdT4R]

Don't know much about Maglites in general except what I've read here.

It seems the VareBeam was a line created to drum up sales from a blue collar market during the early years. The Maglite was a black cop light. And it seems the blue color and silver bezel were chosen for easy spotting at a distance inside crowded and dimly light garages of the auto mechanic shop at the time. Mine came from such a shop in California. It is severely sunfaded on one side from sitting in the office window. And it has issues from being disassembled with vice grips to remove stuck batteries that left a nasty coating on the inside. It's a someday project to bring it back to life in a stock platform. With all the ugly at least it does not bare the scars of being used as a hammer. lol.
It's 2133 not 4133...

Why they chose vertical lines instead of the diamond pattern for grip is beyond me. But when eBay shopping it does make it easy to spot the fakes.

Back in the old days the serial number began with the number of cells it seems. At least that was the case with the VareBeam. Mine does not have a panther on the bezel, nor does my solitaire sized Marquis.

Nowadays they have a letter to indicate cell size.

You can compare the 'panther' on Mags and you'll note on the older ones it is a bit squashed looking compared to the modern ones. I have some late 80's mini mags with the squashed panther. But the have the R, not TM for what that is worth.

So I've noticed that at some point in the serial though the knurling must have changed because I have later serials that have the diamond pattern knurling. I've also never seen a C Cell with the Solitaire (vertical) style knurling.

If you don't mind me asking, where the heck dd you find a Marquis at? I've been on the hunt for one for a while but I doubt I'll ever come across one.

 

[Need a Light?]

fixed it for you

Speaking of stock mags, I used my 2D with nicd and a 2v1.2a bulb last night, plenty of light to try and see the screaming fisher cats with!

Nice white beam that would go an easy 50-75 yards.

NiCD and d cell incan mags are some of my favorite "outdated" tech

 

[Offgridled]

fixed it for you

That funny.