Vinatage Light Bulb

21Wolf

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Jun 6, 2017
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Hello, all, this is my first time posting, so please let me know if this is in the wrong section.
I have a 1920's Yale electric vintage light that I bought on eBay some time ago, and since I have received it, it has used 2 bulbs. In my first attempt to see if it worked - since it came with no bulb - I pulled the entire LED assembly out of a Mag that had burst alkaleaks sealing it shut, and taped it onto the front of the bulb socket. Sure enough, it was very bright, but the beam was terrible, since the light was nearly touching the lens. Currently the light has a no-thread LED out of a dollar store light pressed into the e10 base, with the spring from a pen making the center contact. This has a good beam, but it is very blue.I was wondering what the brightest e10 bulb would be that I could put in this light, both for 3x NiMH D cells, and 3x LiPo 32600 cells (3.7 volts nominal per cell, 4 volts max, for a maximum 12 volt bulb voltage). I would much, much prefer incandescent, since I have found them to have much more pleasing colours, as well as feeling more "proper"for this particular bulb.

- Regards, Wolf
 

sgt253

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Aug 17, 2004
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875
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Try Reflectalite. They have nice products on their website. Many have used their products with great success. Best.
 

Minimoog

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Jan 13, 2005
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771
Sadly Reflectalite are pretty much out of all E10 bulbs now. The brightest they did in this fitting was the GH44 6V 10W halogen which ran SUPERBLY from 6 x NiMh. I have that in a Ever Ready from the 1920's too, using the FiveMega 2x6AA holder (2 sets of 6 AA in parallel). White light, super useful and the brightest E10 bulb made. Runs hot, but vintage torches are metal and so work fine. The FiveMega 2x6AA holder also has a charge socket to allow the whole pack to be charged in one go! So pick up the GH44 (old stock still in some online bike shops) and the FiveMega 2x6AA holder (or equivalent) and you will have a light you will love to look at and use!
 

21Wolf

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Jun 6, 2017
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Sadly Reflectalite are pretty much out of all E10 bulbs now. The brightest they did in this fitting was the GH44 6V 10W halogen which ran SUPERBLY from 6 x NiMh. I have that in a Ever Ready from the 1920's too, using the FiveMega 2x6AA holder (2 sets of 6 AA in parallel). White light, super useful and the brightest E10 bulb made. Runs hot, but vintage torches are metal and so work fine. The FiveMega 2x6AA holder also has a charge socket to allow the whole pack to be charged in one go! So pick up the GH44 (old stock still in some online bike shops) and the FiveMega 2x6AA holder (or equivalent) and you will have a light you will love to look at and use!

Thanks for the advice. Just ordered 5 of them from the U.K. Cost me a pretty penny Canadian, but it should be worth it. Going to be running it off of some strange battery I found in somebody's dead battery bin :laughing:. It's 5 NiCd cells in series, the length and width of 3 D cells. 6 volts, 2.5 Amp-hours. "Intec ESR4EE3060". Should be the perfect power source.
 

Minimoog

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Jan 13, 2005
Messages
771
Thanks for the advice. Just ordered 5 of them from the U.K. Cost me a pretty penny Canadian, but it should be worth it. Going to be running it off of some strange battery I found in somebody's dead battery bin :laughing:. It's 5 NiCd cells in series, the length and width of 3 D cells. 6 volts, 2.5 Amp-hours. "Intec ESR4EE3060". Should be the perfect power source.

Sounds like a plan. That bulb is my absolute favourite if wanting a wall of light with fat hotspot. They do a PR version too and that's a real upgrade in Maglites. Just make sure your pack is fully and evenly charged as 1.6 Amps is quite a pull. You will be running it at rated so no problem with blowing it, but it can take 6 rested cells too for a pure white beam.

Keep us posted!
 

21Wolf

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Jun 6, 2017
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I've finally gotten around to charging the battery since I got the bulb. I don't have a charger, so I had to sit there with a model railway throttle and a multimeter for a few hours to do it manually. The beam is great, and the bulb is very bright. Thanks for the suggestion. I will post photos when it gets to nighttime here.
 

Minimoog

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Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Messages
771
I've finally gotten around to charging the battery since I got the bulb. I don't have a charger, so I had to sit there with a model railway throttle and a multimeter for a few hours to do it manually. The beam is great, and the bulb is very bright. Thanks for the suggestion. I will post photos when it gets to nighttime here.

They really are great bulbs for vintage lamps aren't they? Glad they are working for you too. I find with charging unknown packs that if I just charge with 0.5 Amps and wait for the pack to start warming up then it means they are done. Don't forget to take a photo of the light to share here.
 
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