Got my Magcharger up and running again!!!!

[ampdude]

Thanks to Fivemega, he was able to send me a charger and new Ni-Cad battery. I even got the old NIMH battery working again. Question here... this is something I remembered and always bothered me. Why is it brighter with the Ni-Cad than the NIMH stick? Old battery or less internal resistance? There is a noticeable difference between the two and I test out the voltage as the same on both when they are charged. Now I remember why I wanted the Ni-Cad vs. the NIMH despite the supposed capacity difference.

 

[alpg88]

yes, lower IR, voltage sag.

I also noticed power tools batteries that were converted from nicd to nimh did not work the same way, power loss was noticeable

 

[ampdude]

yes, lower IR, voltage sag.

I also noticed power tools batteries that were converted from nicd to nimh did not work the same way, power loss was noticeable

Good, then I'm not going insane yet. I think I noticed the same thing with power tools as well, especially cordless drills.

 

[ampdude]

The NIMH pack has already dropped 0.3V since I charged it yesterday. Just what I expect of this crappy battery chemistry.

This is why I do lithiums and Ni-Cads.

 

[Monocrom]

Main thing is, it's working again.

 

[ampdude]

Main thing is, it's working again.

Yep, yep, got my old honey back.

 

[konifans]

I like using the Magcharger with 2 X 32700 Lifepo4 (6500mah). It works very well for the stock bulb, or higher wattage 6V Halogen bulbs. And it should be safer than Li-ion.

 

[ampdude]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to stick with what I have right now, but in the future I might go that route.

 

[Lips]

I like using the Magcharger with 2 X 32700 Lifepo4 (6500mah). It works very well for the stock bulb, or higher voltage 6V Halogen bulbs. And it should be safer than Li-ion.

Koni
Do you use the systems regular charger for the Lifepo4 or charge them out of the light?

 

[konifans]

Koni
Do you use the systems regular charger for the Lifepo4 or charge them out of the light?

Charge them out of the light.

 

[LRJ88]

The NIMH pack has already dropped 0.3V since I charged it yesterday. Just what I expect of this crappy battery chemistry.

This is why I do lithiums and Ni-Cads.

It's not uncommon for NiMH cells to charge to 1.5v and then come to rest at 1.4V, if it's dropped 0.3V thought you might want to check your end of charge voltage and make sure something isn't off there.

*edit*
I went back to check the archives, if the charger works as mentioned here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/maglite-charger-voltage.421419/ post #2, there's a risk that it doesn't jive with NiMH batteries, they require a smarter charge termination and not just harum skarum shoving power into them.

 

[ampdude]

It's not uncommon for NiMH cells to charge to 1.5v and then come to rest at 1.4V, if it's dropped 0.3V thought you might want to check your end of charge voltage and make sure something isn't off there.

*edit*
I went back to check the archives, if the charger works as mentioned here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/maglite-charger-voltage.421419/ post #2, there's a risk that it doesn't jive with NiMH batteries, they require a smarter charge termination and not just harum skarum shoving power into them.

I know, I'm just saying they suck.

 

[LRJ88]

NiMH cells suck if abused, same as all cells. If your charger isn't meant for use with those cells it's the charger at fault.

 

[Ocelot808]

It's so cool to see this. It was the Magcharger back in 1986 that utterly blew my mind with its focused throw ability that cast my mold as a flashlight nut.

 

[ABTOMAT]

The Magcharger was an amazing light for its time. Even 20 years later it was arguably the best duty light until LEDs took over. Something that might surprise you is how many small changes there were in the 1980s. It went through a lot of revisions until the model was more or less standardized for the next decade or two. By the way, if anyone reading this has an example of an original-original Magcharger bulb I'd like to see it. The first few thousand appeared to have used bulbs that were sealed at the tip.

 

[ampdude]

The Magcharger was an amazing light for its time. Even 20 years later it was arguably the best duty light until LEDs took over. Something that might surprise you is how many small changes there were in the 1980s. It went through a lot of revisions until the model was more or less standardized for the next decade or two. By the way, if anyone reading this has an example of an original-original Magcharger bulb I'd like to see it. The first few thousand appeared to have used bulbs that were sealed at the tip.

I still use it over LED's to this day. I still carry a Surefire E2e.... I don't know if that makes me crazy or not, but I don't like blinding blue light. I like to be able to see what the hell I'm looking at.

Surefire C3 with a P90 was always my go to working security as well..

 

[Monocrom]

Surefire C3 with a P90 was always my go to working security as well..

SureFire C2 in black with P61 lamp for me when I worked security about 20 years ago. My first ever SureFire.

 

[ampdude]

SureFire C2 in black with P61 lamp for me when I worked security about 20 years ago. My first ever SureFire.

You rule dude. I had to go through a lot of buildings though, so I needed a P90... something with longer runtime and ran cooler than a P61.

 

[Monocrom]

Only had to check one building, but it was the S&P building at the haas end of Manhattan island. Nice little skyscraper. Only reason we needed hand-held lights is that whoever originally wired the place, screwed up royally! Imagine showing up on a floor, dark as hell. You click on the nearest light-switch, and a portion of the floor numerous yards away lights up.... While you remain standing in pitch-black darkness. Whole place was wired like that. An impressive-looking Ivory tower.... from the outside.

 

[ampdude]

Yuck... that's why I always keep two lights handy on me. That must have sucked. I always have an E2e at the ready. I'm an old school asshole, but it always seems to work. Why change if it works?