dorcy 220 lumen

[Icebreak]

That's cool. Your own unique mod that performs better than you figured. Sweet.

 

[Richie086]

After reading this thread, I had to jump on the band wagon too. I just ordered one direct from Dorcy and got the 15% off and free shipping. I'm sure it'll make a great addition to my collection for $42.49 delivered. I'd like to upgrade the lousy NiCad battery as some are doing here once I recieve it. I'll keep an eye on this thread for some ideas. Thanks.

 

[Richie086]

Just received my Dorcy 220 lumen flashlight today with a spare Ni-Cad battery. I can see I'll be using this flashlight often. I'd like to know if there is a way to recharge the spare battery without having to place it inside the flashlight, anyone?

Thanks Spectrak for originally posting about this flashlight. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Richie

 

[Icebreak]

Richie086 -

I did about a two minute Google search and didn't find a charger. Maybe the guys in the Batteries Electronics Included forum here might know.

Have you had a chance to put it through its paces? We had heavy fog last night. The column the beam made was impressively high. I'm glad your initial take on the Dorcy 220 is good. Mine is still plugged in all the time and nothing is getting hot. Right now the flashlight and the wall wart are both cold.

Pretty cool light and for $42.49 not bad at all.

 

[Ryanrpm]

Maybe someone would be kind enough to compare beamshots of this Dorcy to the newly favored 4W Husky from Home Depot?:popcorn:

 

[Richie086]

Richie086 -

I did about a two minute Google search and didn't find a charger. Maybe the guys in the Batteries Electronics Included forum here might know.

Have you had a chance to put it through its paces? We had heavy fog last night. The column the beam made was impressively high. I'm glad your initial take on the Dorcy 220 is good. Mine is still plugged in all the time and nothing is getting hot. Right now the flashlight and the wall wart are both cold.

Pretty cool light and for $42.49 not bad at all.

Hi there IceBreak,

My Dorcy was on the charger for it's initial 12 hour charge. I got up at 3:00 AM in order to remove that first battery and place the second spare Ni-Cad inside the flashlight to also be fully charged. So I haven't had a chance to actually use it yet. I can already see it's going to be a pain trying to keep two batteries fully charged that have to be inside the flashlight in order to be charged.

Also, likely due to the 4.8 volt of this Ni-Cad, I wasn't able to fool my PowerEX MH-C801D into charging it. I think it would be smart for me to certainly go with a different battery as others have.

Lastly, as you pointed out, the charger and battery remain completely cold even after being on the charger for 12 hours. I actually had to verify using a multimeter that the battery actually did charge fully, which it did.

Immediately taken off the Dorcy charger, the battery voltage was 5.62v. After the battery was sitting for three hours not installed in the flashlight, the voltage stabilized down to 5.48 volts.

So the question is this; is it safe to leave the Dorcy plugged into it's charger 24-7? I know some here do and ideally what I'd like to do. Perhaps others may chime in and see what they think of a 4.8 volt Ni-Cad sitting in the charger at 5.62 volts 24-7.

I really love the look and feel of this beautiful flashlight.:twothumbs

 

[Richie086]

Maybe someone would be kind enough to compare beamshots of this Dorcy to the newly favored 4W Husky from Home Depot?:popcorn:

Hey Ryan,

I was thinking the exact same thing. That would make for a really interesting shootout:twothumbs

 

[KD5XB]

There are a couple of beamshots on Page 1 of this very thread, although not with the Husky for comparison.

Earl

 

[Richie086]

I was doing a runtime test today and found the stock Ni-Cd 4.8v 700mah battery easily allows the flashlight to shine for it's rated two hours. The flashlight was fully charged, but had been removed from the charger for the last 24 hours.

I actually let it sit for 2 hours 10 minutes before I decided to terminate the test. The battery voltage (no load) after the test was 3.29v.

The head was a little warm after the first hour, but was back to room temperature after two hours. Also, after two hours, the visible light output was easily about 60%-70% reduced, but the flashlight was still producing a very good amount of light in a dark room. Again, I'm really liking this flashlight more and more.

 

[Richie086]

Just got a new lens from flashlightlens.com in today's mail -- it's just a start -- a good friend of mine calls me a "mad scientist"! Guess that means I'll have to find more potent mods soon!

Earl

Hey Earl,

Can you tell me the size and part number for the glass lens you purchased from Flashlightlens.com to replace the easily scratched plastic one on the Dorcy? Thanks.

 

[KD5XB]

Sorry for the delay, I was driving the truck cross-country.

I believe it's the same as a 3-D Maglite. In fact, I am 95% sure it is, but my computer died since I ordered it, and I lost my email archives when it did.

 

[Icebreak]

Richie -

I just tried a Flashlightlens 52.1mm Mag UCL I had on a hotwire. The diameter was perfect but the depth didn't allow the bezel to completely cover the O ring on the head. It does cinch down tight though. I've had a couple of mods, the original ORB RAW comes to mind, that were like that and the light was still splash proof. I'm only guessing but this light seems to be what I'd term "rain proof". If Earl thinks it's good to go like this, I'd go with him on it. After all, he's using it for business and deals with the elements constantly.

I used the Dorcy tonight for a practical purpose. I just had it with me in case I ran across a good dark spot while out and about. The auto parts guy and I were discussing something under the hood. The spill was plenty for what we were looking at. The parts guy used it to point out what he was talking about. "Nice, really nice." is what he said.

- Jeff

 

[KD5XB]

Actually I'm not much of an authority on weatherproofing -- I tend to keep the Dorcy IN the truck, but use my Jetbeam for working outside.

That being said, I'm not at all sure there is any problem with a slightly thicker lens in there. As long as you're not using it for a diving light, it should be fine. In my admittedly non-expert opinion, of course.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

 

[Richie086]

Richie -

I just tried a Flashlightlens 52.1mm Mag UCL I had on a hotwire. The diameter was perfect but the depth didn't allow the bezel to completely cover the O ring on the head. It does cinch down tight though.- Jeff

Hey Jeff,

That's the information I was looking for :twothumbs

I wanted to measure the diameter of the original plastic lens to make sure I was going to purchase the correct size replacement lens but the battery in my digital caliper was dead and the reason I posted the question. I'll place an order for it in the morning. Thanks again to you and to Earl.

 

[Turbo DV8]

Hey Ryan,

I was thinking the exact same thing. That would make for a really interesting shootout:twothumbs

That Dorcy beam looks real tight. I have the Husky 4W, which also focuses the beam real tight. But at 1A drive current to the Dorcy LED, I'm guessing it would throw more, since as I recall, the Husky doesn't even quite pull 1A at the tail cap.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

The only thing holding this light back from being great is the fact that it has a reverse clickie. This light should definitely have a forward clickie like the Husky.

 

[Richie086]

I placed an order for the lens. I was able to get a new battery for my digital caliper and found the thickness of the original poly-carbonate lens to be 1.0 mm thick. So that would be the difference between the original and the maglite glass lens. If anyone finds a dealer that sells them at 52.1 mm X 1.0 mm. Please post the link. Thanks again folks for posting the link.

 

[Richie086]

I'm not at all sure there is any problem with a slightly thicker lens in there. As long as you're not using it for a diving light, it should be fine. In my admittedly non-expert opinion, of course.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Hey Earl and Jeff,

Thank you guys for recommending this lens upgrade :twothumbs

I received my lens today. It's a perfect fit and even cleaned up the hot spot making it even more uniform.

It made a great 220 lumen flashlight even better. I certainly recommend anyone to make this upgrade.

 

[ernsanada]

I just found this thread, I did not now about it.

I just a review of this light at Dorcy Rechargeable Cree XRE Review.

I have some outdoor night beam shots and lux numbers. The Dorcy almost is right up there with the Dereelight DBS V2 Q5 3S and Tiablo A10 R2.

Dorcy Rechargeable Cree XRE @ 210' or 64 meters

 

[ltiu]

Two 17500's fit into the compartment with a little room to spare. I am guessing 2 X 18500 would fit in there easily but the voltage would be high.

This looks like a direct drive light with probably only a ballast resistor in series to the light path, so I don't know if we could run it off 2 3.7 to 4.2V batteries without killing it. It was his and I didn't want to find out the hard way and possibly kill it.

Would rigging a 2x 18500 "in-parallel" work? You'd have to wire the batts to be insulated in-between and have flat metal stips strung up from the contacts.