a way to lighten my 6 D Mag?

[Rusty Joe]

I have a 6 D Mag and I have set forth to hopefully replace one or more of the batteries with dummy batteries in efforts to lighten it because it is so darn good as a baton.

Is there a way to lighten the thing and yet retain the brightness? Would the lightening be significant?

I'd like to replace the incandescent with the terralux, but how would that work with dummy batteries? If I replaced, say, two batteries with dummies, would I need to use a drop-in bulb for four?

Where in San Antonio can I get dummy D batteries?

 

[StarHalo]

Use a drop in that will support 7.2-9 volts (most of them) and power it with a 2D/6AA battery adapter, with four D dummies. You'll lose a lot of runtime, but the weight will be reduced *by at least half*.

 

[Rusty Joe]

Use a drop in that will support 7.2-9 volts (most of them) and power it with a 2D/6AA battery adapter, with four D dummies. You'll lose a lot of runtime, but the weight will be reduced *by at least half*.

Cool. Can you explain how to do what you just said and where I can get what I need to do it? Also, bear in mind, I am too much of a mechanical invalid to actually modify the light.

 

[M@elstrom]

Yes you'd need to use the Terralux drop in specific to that many cells (unless you opt for Nimh cells then you'd need to recalculate based on specs)

Dummy cells? I made some years ago from appropriately sized wooden rounds with a bolt through the centre (cheapest solution) :thumbsup:

 

[Sgt. LED]

There are also D size li-ion's to think about!
:thumbsup:

 

[StarHalo]

Cool. Can you explain how to do what you just said and where I can get what I need to do it? Also, bear in mind, I am too much of a mechanical invalid to actually modify the light.

No modification needed, you start with a drop-in, which usually involves just replacing the bulb; the two big names are Malkoff (http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=1) and TerraLux (http://www.batteryjunction.com/maglite6c.html). Malkoffs are higher quality but notably more expensive (and usually sold out).

Then you just have to supply power - I'm not seeing any D dummy cells in stock anywhere, but six individual 1AA-to-1D holders would work fine (http://cgi.ebay.com/8-PCS-AA-TO-D-B...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50)

And that's it, you've got a whole new flashlight :thumbsup:

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

+1 for useing 6x 1 AA to 1 D adapters, this will drasticly reduce the weight, and be an easy mod.

 

[Rusty Joe]

No modification needed, you start with a drop-in, which usually involves just replacing the bulb; the two big names are Malkoff (http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=1) and TerraLux (http://www.batteryjunction.com/maglite6c.html). Malkoffs are higher quality but notably more expensive (and usually sold out).

Then you just have to supply power - I'm not seeing any D dummy cells in stock anywhere, but six individual 1AA-to-1D holders would work fine (http://cgi.ebay.com/8-PCS-AA-TO-D-B...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50)

And that's it, you've got a whole new flashlight :thumbsup:

Ok, so let's say I use the Mag-LED 3 D cell drop-in for simplicity's sake (I already have one of those). How many 1AA-1Ds do I need to complete my set-up?

And as you described doing, what would the run-time be? And which terralux would I get? The one for 6 D cells???

 

[Yoda4561]

Aren't nicad D-cells fairly light? you could run 6 of those + an LED dropin or proper voltage bulb.

 

[StarHalo]

Ok, so let's say I use the Mag-LED 3 D cell drop-in for simplicity's sake (I already have one of those). How many 1AA-1Ds do I need to complete my set-up?

A D-cell and an AA-cell have the same voltage, so it's a 1:1 exchange. Put 3AAs in a 3D Mag and it'll work just as it did before, a lot less mass but less runtime also.

And as you described doing, what would the run-time be?

Depends on what config you're using, plus some other technical math that goes into how well AA batteries discharge vs D cells. But it'd be notably shorter, probably ~1-2 hours.

And which terralux would I get? The one for 6 D cells???

Your two main TerraLux choices for a 6D Mag would be the single-emitter MiniStar5 (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html) and the insanely bright three-emitter TLE-300 (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-300.html). Which you choose depends on your application; if you need a real-world everyday-use light, go with the MiniStar. If you just want to see how ridiculously bright you can get your Mag with a no-mod drop in, get the TLE-300.

I use a TLE-300 in a 2D Mag that uses a pair of 3AA/1D adapters, this setup is very compact, light, and blazing bright.

 

[Rusty Joe]

I would like the 6 D Mag to have some decent weight. That's what gives it the "oomph" as a good baton. I use it in my security work, but 6 D cells are too heavy, so I was hoping to keep the 3 main D-cells and use dummies to enable me to switch to the brightest 3 D Mag LED drop-in with it while cutting some of the weight from the additional 3 D cells. But I guess the 6x1AA plan works as well.

So, I'd just get the D cell cases for the AAs and drop in the terralux for a 6 D Mag and then that'd be all? Would the run-time be only 2 hours like that?

 

[etc]

Yes, there is. Get a Surefire with Malkoff.

 

[StarHalo]

I was hoping to keep the 3 main D-cells and use dummies to enable me to switch to the brightest 3 D Mag LED drop-in with it while cutting some of the weight from the additional 3 D cells.

You could do this using a fabricated spacer - something that is the size and shape of 3 D cell batteries that would just pass along the current. M@elstrom's bolt-and-bobbin design mentioned above is a cheap and dirty way to do this.

So, I'd just get the D cell cases for the AAs and drop in the terralux for a 6 D Mag and then that'd be all? Would the run-time be only 2 hours like that?

Yes, I don't know of any objective runtime test that's been done on that specific configuration, but ~2 hours would be reasonable (~1 hour with the TLE-300.)

That's what gives it the "oomph" as a good baton.

An LED drop-in makes it an even better baton. The most effective way to strike using a Maglite is by holding the tail and swinging the head - the Mag's headpiece (the curved part between the battery tube and bezel) is a very heavy and solid slug of aluminum. This is also the quickest way to blow out the bulb, since the filament can't withstand heavy shock - not a concern with an LED.

 

[Rusty Joe]

I use a 4 D most of the time simply because it is lighter but still has the weight and dimensions to do tremendous damage upon impact. But rather than by the 5 D, I was thinking of just lightening my 6.

So won't the 1AAx6D make the thing too light? The weight of the 4 D felt right to me, but then the length of the 6 D should compensate for the lightness of the new lighter batteries, right?

 

[mr.squatch]

I just replaced my monster lithium's with 5 lipo 18650s in my 6d 21v+ squatchablaster. omg I missed this light. And now... it's LIGHT too. woot! I don't really see an advantage of having a 6d unless you need the capacity. If I were to need a 6d for whomping power and wanted a reliable lightweight, bright light, I think I'd do a 2x lithium C with spacers and push a rop low or hi bulb.

g

 

[qwertyydude]

You could just run 6 AA batteries in 6 AA to D adapters. That'll just about be as light as it gets.

 

[Rusty Joe]

Will it work to have 3 Ds and then 3xAA in D adaptors? That way, I have some compromise in weight.

 

[mr.squatch]

no, d's and aa's are not to be mixed together. Not to mention that'd be the equivalent of a 9d mag in voltage. hehe.

edit: if you mean single aa's in d adapters, same answer no, different answer on voltage lol

g

 

[Guy's Dropper]

A 6D Maglite is not supposed to be light. It is a 6D Maglite for cryin' out loud: it is intrinsically heavy. The effort expended to lighten the light significantly would be a waste of time, but that's just my opinion.

If you really want to make it significantly lighter, you should replace the D cells with AA cells. Of course, you need to find some way of holding them in place. If you are going to do this, expect a shorter runtime.

 

[worldedit]

You can make your own dummy cells. Take a AA to D adapter and solter a wire in it.