Help modding Mag6C to throw like Surefire6P

bee-man

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I have an old school Surefire 6P for home and a Maglite 6C for my car. I was content with my Maglite until I stumbled across this forum. Since I absolutely love the smooth beam/throw of the Surefire 6P, what do I need to convert my Mag6C to emit a similar style beam? Does someone make a drop-in lamp/reflector assembly that throws a better and brighter beam than the Surefire since I have 9volts of alkaline power to play with?

Tried searching with no success...
 

Icebreak

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Welcome to CandlePowerForums, bee-man.

The search function here doesn't go as deep as easily as it used to but it works fine for 6C. Use the advanced option, key word 6C, highlight this forum and you'll get several hits.

Here is one.

You might want to slide right past NT's post. I think he may have been razzin' me a little, all in good fun I think.

Sometimes a fresh thread on a previously discussed subject is good because more "known good" modifications have been experienced. So, IMHO, your thread is valuable.

Mag6Cs are no longer in production. Who knows when they can no longer be had. They are one of my favorite hosts for a modification.

Stick around, bee-man. This is a darn fine board.
 

nickz

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I have been running my 6D mag with a 3854 low output BIG D SLA bulb on standard alkalines for a few days now(ROP bulb set). I am not sure if the C's would handle this as well or not, but I am very happy with it. Very bright and very white. Combine that with a HOP (heavy orange peel) or any of the stippled reflectors (LS or HS) and you will get a nice smooth beam similar to the surefire. HOP would be more throw and a less perfect beam, followed by LS(light stipple), and finally the HS(heavy stipple). The stippled reflectors sacrifice throw for a nicer beam and more flood although the HOP would provide a nice smooth beam also with better throw.
 

JimH

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Here's the recipe:

Mag 6C with a WA1111 bulb, 6x5500 mAh NiMH batts, SMO reflector, mineral glass lens.

Result:

700+ lumens out the front end for well over an hour.

This light will blow the socks off any Surefire you have, and it's rechargeable.

If you really want it to throw like a 6P, we can always make it a lot dimmer :laughing:
 
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Templar223

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nickz said:
I have been running my 6D mag with a 3854 low output BIG D SLA bulb on standard alkalines for a few days now(ROP bulb set). I am not sure if the C's would handle this as well or not, but I am very happy with it. Very bright and very white. Combine that with a HOP (heavy orange peel) or any of the stippled reflectors (LS or HS) and you will get a nice smooth beam similar to the surefire. HOP would be more throw and a less perfect beam, followed by LS(light stipple), and finally the HS(heavy stipple). The stippled reflectors sacrifice throw for a nicer beam and more flood although the HOP would provide a nice smooth beam also with better throw.

Nickz:

Standard alkaline batteries are really over-driving that bulb big-time and they are certainly suffering from voltage sag. I expect that you've encountered substantial voltage sag with the alkaline batteries and that's why you haven't flashed the bulb yet.

You've got the right light platform... put some NiMH D-cell batteries in there and you'll have a stable platform for long run times... upwards of 160+ minutes or more!

I've got the 6D Mag with 7Ah NiMH and I'm very happy with it running the ROP low output lamp with a stock reflector and lens. Yeah, it's bulky as I'm sure you've found too, but it makes a great light for search and rescue-type applications. The only downside I've found is that it takes three days to trickle charge the batteries with my Sanyo charger. I'm contemplating a second set of batteries if this becomes a problem for me.

John
 

nickz

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I knew the 6D alkalines were pushing it, but with the voltage sag seems to be fine so far. If I flash this bulb I will likely not put another one in as this was just something to do with the LOLA leftover from my ROP. I will likely not invest the extra cash into 7 nimh C cells for it as I rarely ever use it.
 

cratz2

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From looking at your post, I'm not 100% sure exactly what you are asking...

Any 3-6 cell Mag will out-throw the Surefire 6P hands down. The beam isn't super smooth and you don't get that nice well-defined hotspot like you do with the 6P, but as far as actual 'throw', Mags are still very impressive.

If you want that smooth type beam and large hotstop and are generally happy with the actual brightness of the Mag, you can 'sputter' the stock reflector using $1 of clear acrylic spray paint and you'll likely be VERY happy with the result. The smooth Mag reflector maximizes throw without considering those ugly beam artifacts. The stippled type reflector of the Surefire does it's best to have the smoothest beam possible and it does a very good job, but there is a cost in terms of throw.

If you aren't so much of a do-it-yourselfer, there are aluminum stippled reflectors available... I think they are listed in the Group Buy section and offered by fivemega. If you want one, I'd try to get in fast as oftentimes his reflectors sell out very quickly.

Next issue is the actual brightness. The 6C is actually a pretty bright light Actually, I've never even held a 6C, but have used the 6D. But in a form factor as small as a 2D, you can use multiple NiMH AA cells and an adapter to get better brightness. Most of these mods require several other things though... aluminum reflector and glass lens that won't melt, a bi-pin adapter of some sort since the brighter bulbs often aren't PR-base like the stock Mags, and if you want to use the best and longest-running NiMH cells, you need to have an adapter(s) that allow to use the AAs in place of the D cells. You also are likely to need to have the inside diameter of the body of the light bored out to accept that highest capacity NiMH cells.

If you don't mind using the somewhat exotic LiON cells, you can also run different bulbs in a 2C Maglite with a stippled reflector. One of those is my next project.

It can be a lot of work, but sometimes the results are nothing short of outstandingly impressive. There is even a light called the USL that is so bright and so hot, that it will light paper on fire almost instantly! But keep in mind, there is usually a tradeoff between brightness and runtime and a lot of folks that use their lights often don't like only having 15-30 minutes of runtime on a set of cells.

There are other smaller lights that are very impressive. The 6P, first of all or the similar but cheaper G2. The Brinkmann Maxfire available at Target and Walmart for under $20. The Streamlight TL-3 which is my current favorite (and can be used with rechargeable 17500 LiON cells) and the recently reviewed Wolf Eyes light. You can read about all of these at www.flashlightreviews.com
 

bee-man

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Holy shmokes, the ROP sounds crazy!!!

Cratz2:
I suppose the Mag6C can throw farther, but as far as a useful beam at 20-30yds, the 6P is just too nice. Like you mentioned, maybe it's all the artifacts and dunkin donut holes & rings that annoy me.

Even though I don't have a Surefire 9P, I'm assuming the beam must be "better" than the 6P because of the higher voltage; therefore, I was hoping I could get comparable/better performance with a modded Mag6C with A LOT better runtime (w/o using rechargeables). Thanks for some of the smaller light suggestions, but size is not an issue since this is my car light (protection?).

Thanks to all for some of the suggestions and ideas. Since I prefer to stay away from rechargeables, this is my plan:
1. Try the acrylic clear spray mod.
2. If I screw it up, or am unhappy with the beam then buy a stippled reflector.
3. If still not happy, buy and try a new bulb. I would try the #3854 or #3853 but I don't think it will work well with alkalines. Any other suggestions?

Hope this works...
 

firefly99

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cratz2 said:
If you want that smooth type beam and large hotstop and are generally happy with the actual brightness of the Mag, you can 'sputter' the stock reflector using $1 of clear acrylic spray paint and you'll likely be VERY happy with the result.

After applying the acrylic spray paint on the stock reflector, would the paint react from the heat of the bulb and release toxic vapour ?
 

cratz2

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Well, I've used the sputtered reflectors on the 4x123+KPR118 bulb mod which is about as bright as you can get without going to the WA superbulbs and I've not noticed any toxic vapors... Sputtering is a well established mod and no one has reported anything dangerous that I'm aware of. Of course, sputtering the stock reflector gives no added heat capabilities so it's not like you should be using them with 1185 or 1274 bulbs.
 

Niteowl

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Welcome to the CPF bee-man!

Set a little time aside and check out Warhoggie's Poor man's Surefire perfect beam thread. I'm pleased with the results I've gotten and it even made a stock 2C usable for in the house. I recommend using Mag's xenon bulbs if you want to keep it cheap.

Good luck and keep a tight grip on your wallet! :poof:
 
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Yooper

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bee-man said:
...I would try the #3854 or #3853 but I don't think it will work well with alkalines.


I ran a #3854 low output (11W) bulb in a factory stock Mag 6D on alkalines for a while. Nice and bright, no problems - it was MUCH brighter than a Mag 6 cell Xenon bulb. The alkaline batteries seem to have enough internal resistance and/or voltage sag to not overdrive the bulb too much. I never ran it for more than a few minutes, though, so I don't know if the factory Mag plastic reflector can hold up to the heat of a longer run. This bulb is at the edge of being too hot for it.

I wouldn't sputter the reflector with acrylic and use this bulb - probably too hot. The Mag 6 cell Xenon bulb would probably be ok with a sputtered reflector, though.

Sean
 

beakman

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For a really simple increase in brightness that will work with alkaline cells, just try running a 5-cell krypton bulb (KPR112) instead of the standard 6-cell bulb. While not as bright as some of the other mods mentioned, it should be noticeably brighter and whiter than the standard 6-cell bulb, the bulbs should be relatively easy to find, and it's cheap. Sputter the reflector if you like to smooth out the beam, and you're good to go!

the beakman
 

KevinL

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Tape a Surefire P90 to the bulb post of the light. Runs great on 6 alkaline cells.. no kidding. Electrical characteristics are a perfect match, you get an integrated reflector, and all the beauty of a real Surefire beam.
 

bee-man

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KevinL:
You know, I actually thought about that, maybe even a P91 assembly. The challenge would be to make the integration look nice.:thinking:
 

InfidelCastro

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cratz2 said:
From looking at your post, I'm not 100% sure exactly what you are asking...

Any 3-6 cell Mag will out-throw the Surefire 6P hands down.


For sure. My 2C and 2D's with xenon's easily out throw my G2. They even do with the stock Krypton bulbs. This is of course because of the larger and smooth reflector that the Mags have.
 

edakoppo

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JimH said:
Here's the recipe:

Mag 6C with a WA1111 bulb, 6x5500 mAh NiMH batts, SMO reflector, mineral glass lens.

Result:

700+ lumens out the front end for well over an hour.

This light will blow the socks off any Surefire you have, and it's rechargeable.

Two questions:

1) Does this require a new bulb socket or can the stock unit be used?

2) Can this or something similar be done with a 5C? (M*g has discontinued C-cells above 4 cells long, I've only got one 5C handy, but am trying to track down some 6Cs).

Thanks!
 

cratz2

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The WA bulbs are all bipin requiring a different bulb holder unless you want to pay to have the bulbs 'potted' for use in the stock holder. There are two popular choices for bipin holders. The Kui switch mod thingy or fivemega's PR to bipin adapter. Both work fine.

Kiu option.

fivemega option.

Also, with the ROP build, you don't need the bipin adapter at all but you are only left with two real bulb choices while with the bipin builds, you have 200 lumen bulbs and 1200 lumen bulbs and LOTS of stops in between with different cell arrangements.
 
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