Maglite 2D LED, How many lumens?

MrGman

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Is "pathetic" a number? Maybe 50 lumens on a good day. Just remember it has good run time.
 

snatiep

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The reason I'm asking is I bought two of these 2D maglite LED's at an after Thanksgiving sale for $14 a piece. I also bought a couple of the 2AA minimag LED lights for $12 a piece.

I was thinking of returning them to fund a Fenix TK20.

What do you think?
 

Cydonia

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If I were you... and could return them... I would do so. MagLED's are ok - but need a lot of work to make great.
Like swapping the LED and making sure the LED won't pop off when the light is dropped - by using epoxy to hold it in place.
There are more efficient "battery vampire" options (like this one) for a Maglite to turn it into an extreme run time machine.
 

sweetlight

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The reason I'm asking is I bought two of these 2D maglite LED's at an after Thanksgiving sale for $14 a piece. I also bought a couple of the 2AA minimag LED lights for $12 a piece.

I was thinking of returning them to fund a Fenix TK20.

What do you think?


I was in Home Depot the other day and I'm pretty sure they were selling a package deal. One AA minimag and two smaller mags for a total of $9.99. So I would at least return the minis.
 

Gunner12

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It starts at around 50 lumen and 6800 lux but quickly drops to half that in 10-15 minutes. Good runtime though.

If you want to upgrade them, check here.

The TK20 will have less runtime(2AA has much less capacity then 2D), around the same throw, much more output, a warm tinted LED, and a low mode. But the Maglite is easier to upgrade, has much better runtime, and a narrower beam(bigger reflector). Choice is yours.
 

MonkRX

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:caution::shakehead
50 lumens is about right, but drops to less than half in 15 mins due to overheating.

Lets clarify the bolded word for a second. The MagLED doesn't overheat. It has built in thermal regulation that automatically lowers the current going into the LED as the temperature rises. This built in thermal regulation helps prevent overheating (and as far as I know, it works quite well - at least it prevents any real destructive overheating.).

Unfortunately, the Maglite Head/body is NOT well suited to heatsink LED's in PR bulbs. Because of the poor heat path from the LED PR bulb to the body, the MagLED heats up quickly. The rising heat triggers the thermal regulation, and the thermal regulation lowers the LED's output.

In almost all cases, a Maglite with MagLED drop in will drop to 50% output within 10-15min. It doesn't matter if you're in the middle of a desert, or in Alaska. Any enviorment (short of blowing some coolant onto the MagLED itself) will cause the thermal regulation to drop output.

If you'd like to know more, Newbie ran some tests on the MagLED, if I remember correctly, he even uses some sort of coolant on the MagLED to test the thermal regulation:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=119665

So while you might be getting 60lm when it first fires up, after 2min you're probably left with 40lm, and after 10-15min, it'll be down to like 30lm.
 

metlarules

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The reason I'm asking is I bought two of these 2D maglite LED's at an after Thanksgiving sale for $14 a piece. I also bought a couple of the 2AA minimag LED lights for $12 a piece.

I was thinking of returning them to fund a Fenix TK20.

What do you think?
I would return the minimags and 1 magled 2d. That way you would still have most of your money for the tk20 and you would still have a great house light.
 

sol-leks

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You might want to consider that 3c lowes taskforce light:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/175576

I don't own one but it sounded like it had a pretty good balance of power and runtime at a low price. Since you were already willing to go with a 2d light, it seems like size is not that big an issue with you. I feel like the rayovac 3c 4watt light might also interest you, heres the link for that one:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/173383

of course it all depends on what you are looking for. Would you rather a smaller light with a better tint and less run time or something bigger with more run time. I personally would go for the tk20, but I've heard good things about both these lights as well
 

Grog

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I was in Home Depot the other day and I'm pretty sure they were selling a package deal. One AA minimag and two smaller mags for a total of $9.99. So I would at least return the minis.


The three-pack was a standard AA minimag, a AAA minimag and a AAA solitaire. The OP had the LED AAAs which for $12 is not a bad price. I got one at lowes when they had their $10.?? sale but they are usually $20 or more in most retail shops.
 

Henk_Lu

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The TK20 is a great outdoor light, if you use it in a forest, you will be very happy with it, we just love ours!

The runtime is not an issue if you use rechargeable, you just need to have enough spares with you.

I modded my Maglites with "normal" Cree-Dropins that start at about 200 lumen and work at about 170 afterwards, according to the grman engineer who builts them. They are made of brass, so I suppose the heatsinking is better than with a stock MagLED.

As we bought 2 TK20 to leave the Mags at home, I can only recommend that to you too, unless the weight and the size isn't an issue to you, then get a Malkoff! :D
 

22hornet

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If I were you... and could return them... I would do so. MagLED's are ok - but need a lot of work to make great.
Like swapping the LED and making sure the LED won't pop off when the light is dropped - by using epoxy to hold it in place.
There are more efficient "battery vampire" options (like this one) for a Maglite to turn it into an extreme run time machine.
Hello,

I've been interested in this Terralux TLE-1 as well (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-1f.html) but information and reviews are rare. Can someone tell more about it? Is it regulation flat? And what about output and runtime?
I guess it's only some 25 real lumens? is it actually better than the Maglite dropin?

Kind regards,
Joris
 
Last edited:

Cydonia

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Hello,

I've been interested in this Terralux TLE-1 as well (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-1f.html) but information and reviews are rare. Can someone tell more about it? Is it regulation flat? And what about output and runtime?
I guess it's only some 25 real lumens? is it actually better than the Maglite dropin?

Kind regards,
Joris

It appears to be a buck boost arrangement driving a Lux I at low current.
25 real lumens sounds about right. They claim 40 or something silly :duh2:
If someone could do a current draw test of this drop in it would answer a lot of questions. Like run time. I would guess a current draw of not more than 200ma which would result in extracting a large percentage of the capacity of an alkaline cell which means long lasting. The other drop in's, sold under the Nite Ize name, using the large 10mm LED run a long time. Check this recent time plot here. At first it was assumed this graph was for the TLE-1F until he corrected it and showed it was for the old 10mm Nite Ize not their Lux I module.
 

KiwiMark

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The reason I'm asking is I bought two of these 2D maglite LED's at an after Thanksgiving sale for $14 a piece. I also bought a couple of the 2AA minimag LED lights for $12 a piece.

I was thinking of returning them to fund a Fenix TK20.

What do you think?

If you can return them for a full refund then do so.

If you want to mod a 2D Maglite then buy an incan version - they are cheaper and if you are going to throw away the bulb to put in a third party LED or whatever then why pay more for an LED?

I think a Fenix TK20 would be way better than a stock Mag LED.

Remember:
It is a widely held misconception that Maglite makes torches, most on CPF realise that they just make hosts that some unenlightened people use as torches. I quite like the 2D size and shape - a very nice host indeed.
 

Light Sabre

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I have all the following and measured the currents with a DVM:

TLE-1F: 2D 475ma, 500ma
TLE-1F: 3D 290ma
Old NI 10mm: 2D 86-120ma
Mag incan: 2D 860ma, 880ma
Taskforce: 2C 1.1A
Husky 2D 1.4A
Mag LED 2D 1.4A (when first turned on)
Mag LED 3D 530ma (when first turned on)

TLE-10 2D 130ma
TLE-5 2D 132ma, 145ma
 

jzmtl

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I think mags are great househood light, and everybody should have one. Upgrade it with SSC emitter and they are very bright and runs forever on lowly alkaline batteries.
 
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