Cheap flashlight with SureFire beam

JoeyL

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
256
Location
California
Hi folks

Al's thread about what is good about Surefires and what is not got me thinking about a project which I completed.

The beam of most Surefire lights is what really seems to set them apart from everything else. BUT, the run time is almost never more than a hour. A big disadvantage for long outdoor projects or camping or hiking.

So, I thought-Why not put a surefire assemply in a cheap 6 volt light of some kind...

I finally settled on an old Eveready 8AA double barrel. The rated life of batteries should be about 5600 maH, and with a current draw of about 1000 maH on the R60 bulb, I theoretically should put out for 4 hours with good quality light before dimming.

I hate wasting batteries, so I ran a trial with only 4AA's in one barrel, and it ran for 2 full hours before getting really dim.
The first hour was very close to original whiteness. (I used a new E2 as a comparison)

Even then, the beam was good shapewise and very usable despite being yellower.

The lens assembly has a big and little spring. It turns out the big spring just happens to fit perfectly onto the central lamp holder of the Eveready (pictures below).
The whole thing fits in the flashlight head without modification except pulling out the old reflector, pretty easy).


Once this bulb burns out, I will try the P61 but I think it might be too hot for the plastic assembly to handle. What do you guys think?
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The wiring is easy. I can describe it to anyone if interested.
 
Sorry.
The pictures don't come over.
I'm not very good at posting these.
If you like, use this link to look at them: http://community.webshots.com/user/joeyl69

One drawback of this project, as simple as it is, is I'm not sure how easy it is to get these 8AA DB's. Office depot was selling them 2 years ago for 9 bucks on clearance. I haven't seen them since...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JoeyL:
I hate wasting batteries, so I ran a trial with only 4AA's in one barrel, and it ran for 2 full hours before getting really dim.
The first hour was very close to original whiteness. (I used a new E2 as a comparison)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Check the voltage over the next test run and you will see that you are well below it's rated voltage after a pretty short time (maybe after half an hour).

But you may use NiXX cells with good results.

And I would not call a DoubleBarrel a 'cheap' flashlight.......
(they are very expensive around here)
 
Very nice....I like to see project lights. I've thought about doing the same thing only based upon a mag-light.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> The rated life of batteries should be about 5600 maH, and with a current draw of about 1000 maH on the R60 bulb, I theoretically should put out for 4 hours with good quality light before dimming.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You won't be able to get the 4 hours you predict if you're using alkaline batteries. Alkalines only live up to their rated ampacity if they are drained by a low current device. I think I read that it's based on a 20mA draw. You're running at 1000mA so the internal resistance of the batteries will cause your voltage to drop off rapidly. NiMH and NiCd batts are good at providing high current, but have a lower voltage to start with and can be damaged by any device that doesn't have a low voltage cutoff at about 1V per cell.
 
Thanks for the input and advice!

The light did run for a long time on the
alkalines. What I believe is true is the drop in voltage. Since I did it at night, I did not notice that the beam became dimmer with time. I repeated the trial with fresh AA's, one set of four. It ran the full two hours, but on regular comparison with a fresh set of lithiums in an E2, it dimmed quite a bit by the 90 minute mark.

I tried PeLu's advice and used 4 NiMH AA's, rated at 1600 maH. The amperage was higher
at 1200 ma with a brighter beam. They easily ran 80 minutes, again with some dimming, but not nearly as noticeable.

When I get a 2nd set of NiMH AA's, I will try all 8 and see what happens...
 
kbOrrg,

I tried to fiddle with a MagLight for this idea, but I couldn't figure how to do it
without destroying the switch area. There is no easy way to mount the P60 assembly in a stable fashion. If you figure out a way, let me know!
 
Just revisiting an old topic here.

Is it possible to use this very same idea on a flashlight that uses 4AAA's? Do the AAA's possess enough 'juice' to power a surefire lamp?

YC
 
Hmmm...
My instinct tells me it won't be very bright, only because the high current drain would make the internal resistance of the AAA's cause a significant voltage drop and therefore a dim output. If I get time, I'll try to rig something up to test this.

On the other hand, I tried running the setup with 8 NiMH AA's. I ran them for 3 straight hours on Halloween night taking the kids trick or treating, and the beam was still strong by then. I'm pretty happy with this and it didn't take much work!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JoeyL:
Hi folks

I finally settled on an old Eveready 8AA double barrel. The rated life of batteries should be about 5600 maH, and with a current draw of about 1000 maH on the R60 bulb, I theoretically should put out for 4 hours with good quality light before dimming.

The lens assembly has a big and little spring. It turns out the big spring just happens to fit perfectly onto the central lamp holder of the Eveready (pictures below).
The whole thing fits in the flashlight head without modification except pulling out the old reflector, pretty easy).


Once this bulb burns out, I will try the P61 but I think it might be too hot for the plastic assembly to handle. What do you guys think?

The wiring is easy. I can describe it to anyone if interested.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have a 8AA Double Barrel I bought off eBay pretty cheaply awhile ago. I was thinking of a LS mod, or maybe 24 Nichia white LED's. (So many flashlights, so little time, and money...)

But since your idea looks pretty simple, and reversable, I'm interested in giving it a try; so any wiring details would be appreciated.

BTW: what's the difference between the R-60 SF lamp, and the P-60 lamp, which I happen to have as a spare for my 2 6P's? Lower voltage? Or lower current draw, for the Nicads?

I like the idea of using 8 AA NiMH batteries; they are cost effective in the long run; but not if they don't put out enough voltage/amerage to give a decent amount of light. A yellow SF beam is not all that great, even if it runs for 4 hours.

You might look at my post on the Princeton Tec Surge, of 11/3. I'm using all of my AA NiMH cells in it, and it give a good beam of light, with decent color; not quite as white as new alkalines, but very good. I haven't done a burn time test on it yet; just haven't had the time.

But my 8AA DB has been gathering dust, and it's ready for some useful mod. It's too neat to not put into some sort of project. It's going to be a long, dark winter....

Thanks for the wiring info....
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I've really enjoyed this topic. It got me to thinking though. I've had my E2 running on the LED head I had made for it. Its been running for the last couple of months off a dead set of batteries from my wife's E2. She had left it lying around where the boys could play with it. They had a good time.

I got to thinking that maybe I could make another bulb for it using a cheaper 6volt bi-pin plugged into a home made base.

Does anyone one have any ideas for a bulb and where I could obtain it???
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JoeyL:
kbOrrg,
a MagLight ...... how to do it without destroying the switch area. ....... If you figure out a way, let me know!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Guys, you missed my query about this in an earlier topic. Chris M revealed all, (may his fluffy Welsh sheeps never stray).

Remove the Mag-Lite's switch cover. The switch button has a hole through it, which reaches way to the other side. Use a small Allen key to turn the securing screw, back it off a turn or two only, and then the whole thing, lampholder and all, will easily push out--> towards the tailcap end.
(Forgot to say, remove batteries and tailcap first ! )
Easy to replace too.

I had some initial difficulty locating the screw's Allen key aperture, I think this is because there were burrs caused by dodgy machining. But basically, it's simple.

lightlover
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by K Horn:
.......... a dead set of batteries from my wife's E2. She had left it lying around where the boys could play with it. They had a good time.
..............
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmm, sounds like them boys is trouble ......
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