6V "Lantern" Battery Lights - History? Anything good?

[Lynx_Arc]

idk, those 6v lanterns that use leds instead of bulbs, are actually worse than bulbs, they are not much brighter, since they are sealed, they are driven by relatively low current, and they do not throw as well as bulbs, and blue tint is pretty bad. they may have runtime advantage, but i'm not even sure they do overall, most led 6v lanterns have no regulated drivers, most of the time they only have resistors. so it uses few watts of energy just to heat up a resistor. But unlike bulbs, leds draw becomes smaller and smaller as batteries drain. with bulbs not so much. so leds will run longer but at reduced output

I never really liked the mediocre conversions to native LED 6v lanterns I've seen a few of them on with a handful of them and another looking like it had a single dropin I always thought having such a large lantern with a lot of power in the batteries with too little output and too much runtime was just not that great. I did see a single LED version that came out later that was D cell native I think it could use either 2 or 4 D cells maybe they run in sets of 2 cells in parallel.
As for the regulation back in the day these lanterns were mainstream.. even the LED models there were not any regulated LED lights out that I know of the lights that looked regulated was more of the battery itself than circuitry.
The wonderful thing about LEDs was sucking over 90% of the useful power out of batteries by continuing to give usable light from batteries that would have only given about maybe 60-70% of the power in incan lights before dimming and tint shifting to be unuseful.

 

[entendu]

I never really liked the mediocre conversions to native LED 6v lanterns I've seen a few of them on with a handful of them and another looking like it had a single dropin I always thought having such a large lantern with a lot of power in the batteries with too little output and too much runtime was just not that great. I did see a single LED version that came out later that was D cell native I think it could use either 2 or 4 D cells maybe they run in sets of 2 cells in parallel.
As for the regulation back in the day these lanterns were mainstream.. even the LED models there were not any regulated LED lights out that I know of the lights that looked regulated was more of the battery itself than circuitry.
The wonderful thing about LEDs was sucking over 90% of the useful power out of batteries by continuing to give usable light from batteries that would have only given about maybe 60-70% of the power in incan lights before dimming and tint shifting to be unuseful.

Agree, that the wonderful thing is the better use of the available power in the battery with the LED . The 1651 LED bulb I have is warm white (3000K) and is significantly brighter that the orginal filament bulb, (twice the Lux output). Running for extended time with the same tint and slowly reduced brightness was what I wanted. Haven't tried a lot of others except for some E10 LED bulbs in another vintage 6V utility lamp that I have.

Many of the LED replacements are cool white which as alpg88 stated have that blue tint which I am not to crazy for .

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Agree, that the wonderful thing is the better use of the available power in the battery with the LED . The 1651 LED bulb I have is warm white (3000K) and is significantly brighter that the orginal filament bulb, (twice the Lux output). Running for extended time with the same tint and slowly reduced brightness was what I wanted. Haven't tried a lot of others except for some E10 LED bulbs in another vintage 6V utility lamp that I have.

Many of the LED replacements are cool white which as alpg88 stated have that blue tint which I am not to crazy for .

CW LEDs is a crap shoot as some can be very white with unnoticeable blue tint that look fine others it is 6500k almost angry blue color. Personally a light that was once incan keeping it warm white makes sense to me even with a slight efficiency hit it will still give you a lot more output and sun time. I've considered modding one of these 6V lanternes with 18650s and a COB flood array with a driver that can put out 2000 lumens on high and a long run time of 30-50 lumens too. To me unless a light this large can do at least 500 lumens the extra battery size/capacity is wasted even though the runtime is insane the light can be replaced by other dim lights not worth modding that way.

 

[entendu]

CW LEDs is a crap shoot as some can be very white with unnoticeable blue tint that look fine others it is 6500k almost angry blue color. Personally a light that was once incan keeping it warm white makes sense to me even with a slight efficiency hit it will still give you a lot more output and sun time. I've considered modding one of these 6V lanternes with 18650s and a COB flood array with a driver that can put out 2000 lumens on high and a long run time of 30-50 lumens too. To me unless a light this large can do at least 500 lumens the extra battery size/capacity is wasted even though the runtime is insane the light can be replaced by other dim lights not worth modding that way.

Interesting Idea for a mod for a lantern. The flood array lamp I been trying is rated at 320 lumens, slightly below you minimum.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Interesting Idea for a mod for a lantern. The flood array lamp I been trying is rated at 320 lumens, slightly below you minimum.

You could also double the array if you have enough to power it.

 

[xxo]

Been trying to find out which 6 volt lanterns have the F cells. I know the RAYOVAC 6 v does, but do not believe they are being manufactured by energizer. The 808 c Rayovacs are available on E bay and some vendors but not sure if they are old stock .
The Energizer 529 maybe but not sure .
Does anyone know?

The Energizer 528-4D and 529 have 4 "3-350" cells (basically flat top D cell size) and weigh about 23.5 oz.

The Energizer 528-4F has 4 "3-361" cells (flat top F size cells) and weighs about 31.3 oz.

Current Duracell alkaline 6 Volt batteries often have 4 actual D cells inside.

Eveready's 1209 Super heavy duty has 4 No. 60 (F cell size) and weighs about 21.2 oz.

 

[entendu]

The Energizer 528-4F has 4 "3-361" cells (flat top F size cells) and weighs about 31.3 oz.

Thanks XXO . I have looked for those but have not found any yet. Not sure, if both types are carried by the same store. Maybe online ?
I did find a spec sheet for the 529 confirming your info about the 4 "3-361" cells .

 

[Lynx_Arc]

The Energizer 528-4D and 529 have 4 "3-350" cells (basically flat top D cell size) and weigh about 23.5 oz.

The Energizer 528-4F has 4 "3-361" cells (flat top F size cells) and weighs about 31.3 oz.

Current Duracell alkaline 6 Volt batteries often have 4 actual D cells inside.

Eveready's 1209 Super heavy duty has 4 No. 60 (F cell size) and weighs about 21.2 oz.

Likely the batteries that come with cheap lanterns are the 4D HD versions.

 

[entendu]

Likely the batteries that come with cheap lanterns are the 4D HD versions.

I was aware of the Duracell 6 volt having D cells . As for Energizer several sources I checked on line indicate the 528 is discontinued.
If the replacement is the 529, not sure if the product is listed the way XXO described at various stores.
On line they list the MAX Energizer 6 V or the Energizer 6V with no further description provided. If they were marked 529-4D an 429-4F it would be easy but have not found that . The data sheets I found are also undated so its not again clear which battery has the F cells and which the D cells. I do know that the rayovac 808 has the F cells but not sure where brand new ones are available as opposed to older ones available on Ebay.

 

[alpg88]

I noticed that 4d cells are mostly in metal wrappers, full size F cells are mostly in plastic casing, those are the ones i like best, cuz i can remove the cells and pack it with rechargeables.

 

[ZMZ67]

I still like the old 6V lanterns with an LED drop-ins. Output is modest but the potential run-time is appealing. The large size doesn't put me off for the way I use the lights and I like the 6V batteries even if they are being abandoned these days.The 6V are one of two types of alkalines I am willing to use.I don't have the leaking issues with 6V.Mostly, I think ,because it stays contained since it uses sub cells.
I don't believe I have seen anything but a few cheap lights that use 6V available lately. Energizer offered a decent Dolphin style LED model some years back but it didn't last. They sold it for just $10 but without a battery so I would guess it was largely passed over for the cheaper models that came with the battery.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Check thrift stores in your area as a lot of 2D and 6v lanterns show up at these places for a buck or so often with half depleted batteries in them. Some old small hardware stores may have old stock too. If I haven't said it already I highly recommend getting a 4D adapter. Even though D cells have less capacity than F cells it is easy to find them and the price for 4 of them is usually a lot cheaper than a 6V battery that has D cells in it. Some even come with a hidden compartment on the bottom that you can store things in like money, keys, matches, first aid supplies even spare bulbs or the original incan bulb when you upgrade to LED. If someone wanted to they could purchase a 3V LED dropin and a 2D holder and stuff a lot of extras inside the light for emergencies and keep it in a vehicle.

 

[snakebite]

Funny this came up.
I recently got a all american 108 for $0.99 at goodwill.
The surprise was a 4 d adapter with 4 powerex rechargeables in it.
They were still mostly charged.
It had a burned out bulb.
Dropped in a fresh kpr113 and topped up the cells

 

[letschat7]

Back in the late 90s I had a Rayovac lantern and was using it when the battery went dead. There was a fire people were cooking hotdogs in so I tossed it in thinking it would dissolve like a pop can would. A moment later a woman throws a walmart bag in it and as it melts the battery explodes. I thought it was funny because she thought the bag did that. It was perfect timing but in hind sight she could have been hurt.

I'd buy a NOS lantern if I could find something made somewhere other than British Hong Kong.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

One thing about using those 4 D cell adapters in 6 volt lanterns: if the lantern gets dropped or bumped, the D cells will slide sideways out of the adapter, and become an obstruction when you try to take the adapter out of the lantern. I had this happen to me. I found my old Dolphin Mk I, and tried to remove the 4D cell adapter. But because the D cells had slide off sideways a little, they hung up on the shoulders of the blow molded body. I had a devil of a time pushing them back in with a letter opener blade. Finally got the dang thing out. Vowed never to use that adapter with that lantern again. In fact, I retired the lantern.

The adapter can save you money, but put some tape around the cells before you slide it into the lantern, so they won't pop out.