LED conversion for 4-C Mag Lights?

[Gearhead Jim]

Right now I've got five of the 4-C cell Mag Lights in my cars, house, work, etc.

The basic construction is great- rugged, convenient switch, can be used to pound tent pegs or emergency impact weapon. But by today's standards, the illumination is awful: dim and poorly focused. Battery life is short.

Does anyone make a drop-in LED that can solve these problems?

Thanks!

EDIT: Malkoff makes a LED conversion that should fit, but they cost $75 each and are out of stock anyway. Also, their conversion apparently retains the adjustable focus feature of the original light; the focus is really crummy with the incandescent bulb, wonder it if works better with the LED?

 

[CouchTater]

This may be what you're looking for;

http://batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html

I have a 4C on the way, eventually I'll probably try a Terralux. In my 4D, I have Maglite's basic $20 LED drop-in. Not great, but better than the basic incandescent in terms of beam quality. Substantially better sidespill, which is great for investigating those bumps in the night.

I suspect to get both high output and a great beam, you'll need both an aftermarket LED module and a textured reflector. You might also want an improved lens;

http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php

Rather than a textured reflector, you could try their diffusion film on a lens.

 

[Timson]

Or.....Sticking with the Teralux drop-in theme you could go for one of these for even more output (500 - 600 Lumens) and fixed focus.

You could power it by 4 standard C cells (Alkaline or Ni-Mh), but it would be much better if you dropped in 3 protected 18650 li-Ion cells instead.

.................................................


Just realised these only fit D sized Mags - Sorry.

For similar money you could buy the parts to make your own multi emitter drop-in instead - if you're so inclined.


Tim.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

This may be what you're looking for;

http://batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html

I have a 4C on the way, eventually I'll probably try a Terralux.
...

The website at Battery Junction indicates that their LED conversion IS a Terralux. Or did I miss something, again?

Maglite claims to sell their LED conversion at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Ace hardware, Cabelas, and Bass Pro.

But it also sounds like the Battery Junction/Terralux unit might be better, can anyone give a comparison?

 

[stitch_paradox]

EDIT: Malkoff makes a LED conversion that should fit, but they cost $75 each and are out of stock anyway. Also, their conversion apparently retains the adjustable focus feature of the original light; the focus is really crummy with the incandescent bulb, wonder it if works better with the LED?

IMHO, the $75 is really worth it when you get the Malkoff, the only thing is it's always out of stock. The crummy focusing you mentioned I assume is the rings? LED will improve that, but not too much. I suggest you replace it with stippled or orange peel reflector.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

... The crummy focusing you mentioned I assume is the rings? LED will improve that, but not too much. I suggest you replace it with stippled or orange peel reflector.

And I'll bet you know where I could get one. :thumbsup:

The science of how that would work, without seriously reducing overall illimination, is beyond me. Any help?

 

[stitch_paradox]

And I'll bet you know where I could get one. :thumbsup:

The science of how that would work, without seriously reducing overall illimination, is beyond me. Any help?

hey Jim, the OP (orange peel) or stippled reflector can be bought at the BST section here or at the CPF market place. I think Malkoff has one at his website and there are other CPF memners who custom made them, if I'm not mistaken Fivemega has one. I'm going to look for the links.

Once you change the reflector from smooth to OP or stippled, you change the light output as well. IMO, the light lost is insignificant. Smooth reflectors are great for long distance illumination because it focuses the all the beam into a throw, where as a textured reflectors smoothen out the irregular beams of light, creating a more even pattern of light.
You can also try to use a UCL lens to help gain light output. but since using LED drop ins like the malkoff I see no use for textured reflectors because the rings are barely noticeable.

 

[Gunner12]

The Malkoff will be the brightest and best built, it also has a good heatsink so the LED doesn't over heat.

The Terralux will be a good priced good output drop-in.

The MagLED drop-ins are ok, decent output and good runtime. It is quite possible to swap in a current gen LED too(double the output for the same runtime).

As for the reflector, texturing will smooth out the rings when the light is defocused, but you will still get rings and holes.

KD has some here, Fivemega also makes some, and Malkoff also had some.

 

[sabre7]

The website at Battery Junction indicates that their LED conversion IS a Terralux. Or did I miss something, again?

Maglite claims to sell their LED conversion at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Ace hardware, Cabelas, and Bass Pro.

But it also sounds like the Battery Junction/Terralux unit might be better, can anyone give a comparison?

I have tried both the Mag and Terralux dropins. I took the Mag drop ins back. Mag is about 75-80lm, Terralux 140lm. Terralux are noticeably brighter, look to be better made, and have a whiter, more natural tint, no problem focusing with either.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I have tried both the Mag and Terralux dropins. I took the Mag drop ins back. Mag is about 75-80lm, Terralux 140lm. Terralux are noticeably brighter, look to be better made, and have a whiter, more natural tint, no problem focusing with either.

With 5 lights to change, I'm interested in price. But if the Maglite LED is only about 75-80 lm, that's barely better than the Surefire G2L in my pocket. OTOH, Gunner12 referred to new vs old on the Maglite LED's. The part number I got from Maglite for the current (pun?) LED is SH34DCW6J, I wonder if it's brighter? brightguy.com lists the complete 4-C LED Maglite as having 24,800 cp/122 lm, not sure if the current drop-in LED is equal to that. It should be, but...

 

[Stereodude]

The genuine Mag LED drop in is pretty good if you swap the LED for a SSC P4 U bin LED (which requires a little bit of effort). link

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I'm a "plug & play" guy due to time issues, but thanks for the tips. Maybe some day.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

This evening I happened to be in Home Depot, and bought one of the gen-u-ine Maglite LED modules. After installation I compared it to an otherwise identical Maglite with the incandescent Krypton bulb, and my Surefire G2L. Fresh batteries in each. Illuminating trees and other objects at the back of my yard, 50 yds away. Observations:
The Maglite LED is brightest, followed by the Maglite incandescent, followed by the G2L.
EDIT: The current 4-C cell Maglite with LED is listed as having 122 lm. Comparing my drop-in module to my 80 lm G2, I'd say the Maglite drop-in is also about 122 lm.
The Maglite LED focuses much better than the incandescent. Still not as good as the fixed-focus G2L, but still a big improvement.
The Maglite LED is a much whiter light than the incandescent, of course, and also noticeably whiter than my blueish G2L. But it still suffers from the same poor color rendition as the G2L. Both of those LED lights make everything look like a black and white movie. The lumens are greater than the incandescent, but my ability to pick out individual tree branches and other objects in the woods at 50 yds is about the same. Looking at a tree only 5 yds away, the incandescent is actually superior.
I'll keep the Maglite LED because of it's presumed ruggedness and greater run time, and the much better focus. When I upgrade my other 4 Maglites, the Terralux will be a big contender.

Thanks for all your suggestions.