3D Mag LED drop in's??

[Lightguy27]

Hello everyone,
I recently aqquired an old beat up 3D mag and was wondering what the best bang for the buck LED drop in is. I was originally looking at either the Mag LED module, and the one from Night IZE. And I saw theTLE-6EXB TerraLUX MiniStar5 SSC P4 U bin LED upgrade for 2-3 C/D cell Maglites from Battery Junction for 25 bucks. So the Question is.

Which is the better and/or brighter drop in, the Mag LED, the Night IZE or the the terralux?

And do you know if there is such a thing as lithium D cells?

Thanks a bunch!!
Best regards,
-Evan

 

[Marduke]

The TerraLux is brightest. the NiteIze is very dim, as it's only a 10mm LED. And there are lithium D cells, both primary and rechargable, but both are very expensive.

Edit:
1000 posts, oh how the time zips by...

 

[JamisonM]

Depends on what you're wanting from the drop-in; battery life over brightness or brightness over battery life. The terralux will be the brightest, but also have the shortest runtime. The magled won't be the brightest, though not the dimmest either, but will have very respectable runtime. The nightize will be the dimmest and longest running drop-in.

 

[Lightguy27]

Depends on what you're wanting from the drop-in; battery life over brightness or brightness over battery life. The terralux will be the brightest, but also have the shortest runtime. The magled won't be the brightest, though not the dimmest either, but will have very respectable runtime. The nightize will be the dimmest and longest running drop-in.

Well I guess that would be more interested in brightness, to a point. How long will the terralux run on 3D's and is the output fairly regulated? And where can you get D's in lithium, not worried about the cost, want to cut down on weight. I am basically just looking for an extremely bright light for quick yard searches and such. If I could get say 200 lumens out the front for only 20 mins. of burn that would be fine.

 

[Marduke]

lithium D's operate at a different voltage than alkaline, 3.7v instead of 1.5v. In a 3D mag, you would need a 7 cell bulb. And, rechargable lithium D's run around $40 each. With this sort of setup, you'd be better suited building a hotwire setup than LED. You can buy non-rechargeable D's, but they are also expensive, and meant for low-current applications. If you want tons of brightness out of a Mag, look at a ROP setup, or a Malkoff dropin.