Mag 2-D: which 'bulb'?

[Pierce the Night]

Mag 2-D: which \'bulb\'?

(I put this in the 'General' section to begin with by mistake – thanks to all who replied. How about some opinions from LED fans?)
I'm aiming for 'as bright as I can get for as long as I can get it' with a Maglite 2-D. I'm considering the LedCorp Professional Series III Luxeon Star LED 'bulb' or the Night Pearl. As for batteries, I've found a source of GP brand NiMH D-cells of 7,000 mAh or even 9,000 mAh capacities. What sort of brightness/run-time would you reckon, fellers? (And thanks.)

And any truth in the rumour that, following a quip by a crew-member who'd seen the scripts in advance, 'The X-Files' were always known as 'Guns'n'Flashlights'? (Actually, 'Guns'n'Torches - the joker was English.)

 

[John N]

Re: Mag 2-D: which \'bulb\'?

I just got my LedCorp Pro III bulb (4 cell/6v) which I mounted in a 2D Maglite w/ two "D" 3v lithium batteries.

I would say that the light output is similar to a standard 3D or so Maglite. It became fairly apprent tho that the biggest limitation in this set up is the reflector of the Maglite. Basically the beam is too narrow and is in serious need of stippling. As a result, it is a decent brightness, but it's just a concentrated spot. At the most wide setting, it is uneven.

By contrast, my LedCorp Turtlelite II has a nice, even, very usable beam. The T-II is dimmer, and quite blue compared to the Pro III. Interestingly, the T-II uses a std. PR2 bulb, in this case the LedCorp dual LED bulb. Putting the Pro bulb in the T-II works but the bulb position is too far forward to get good focus (yes, I know long term use could cause thermal issues). Playing with it I could get a reasonable beam but it would be difficult to actually build a good flashlight from the parts of these two lites (at least without a lot of sawing and glue).

Basically I was looking for similar properties -- I wanted a decently bright light with as long of a burn time as possible, and also I wanted long shelf life. Of course you could use the 2D version of the Pro bulb and get pretty good life, but IMO it's time to shop for another metal flashlight with a better reflector. The other issue I see is the voltage dropoff with the D cells which is part of the reason I picked Li batteries even with their high cost.

Results with this bulb (6v) seemed fine with (4) AAs, (2) 3V Li Ds, and (2) 3V 123A cells. I don't have a 4D maglite and based on my results I'm not likely to go get one.

I would estimate the run time of my (2) 3V D cell system between 50-75 hrs.

Interestingly, the Turtlelite II which uses (4) AA batteries lists a run-time of 65hrs. All in all, the Turtlelite holds it's own. I keep Li AAs in mine to get the shelf life I want.

Another thought might be to try to get an Arc LS head and see if you can stuff it in the head of a 2D maglite. If you could make that work it would have a decent reflector, voltage regulation to eek out run time from the D cells, and the high storage capacity of D cells.

Hmmm.

-john

 

[Pierce the Night]

Re: Mag 2-D: which \'bulb\'?

Thanks, John.

But lapsing into Pure Physics for a moment ... ..isn't the Mag just so pretty?

Pierce

 

[John N]

Re: Mag 2-D: which \'bulb\'?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pierce the Night:
Thanks, John.

But lapsing into Pure Physics for a moment ... ..isn't the Mag just so pretty?

Pierce<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I suppose.

I really liked the Maglite when they were fairly new, but I think they have not evolved with the world.

I've also had problems with them getting flaky over time, at least when they are used in unfriendly environments like in the car in a damp, cool environment like Seattle. I've found it semi-common that when I want the light I have to disassemble it and put it back together or whack it a few times. Of course it is nice that the mechanicals in them are fairly easy to work on -- pull them apart, clean stuff, maybe sand the contacts a bit, stuff it back together and your back in business for a while.

That said, I have more maglites than any other flashlite, including a 5D, some of which I purchased well over 10 years ago and they still work fine (in some cases w/some maint.).

I agree they look nice, but I'd say something like the Streamlight Ultrastinger looks nice as well. So do the Surefire products. Of course it does say something that after 10+ years, the Maglites don't look dated. I'm not so sure my SF M6 is going to do as well style wise. Of course, the M6 is a lot more impressive in all ways.

In any case, it wouldn't take much for Maglite to get their act together. They could even do it w/o actually doing much - select better bulbs, get a better reflector. That would make things quite a bit better. Then, they could go one further by adding a voltage regulator. From that perspective, just selling a better reflector and bulb would probably give the zillions in use a second life.

-john

 

[sunspot]

Re: Mag 2-D: which \'bulb\'?

John. I agree with you. Mag needs to improve on the mechanics of the torch, not just the pretty looks. I put a xenon bulb in my 6 year old 3D. Better output but only two clean focus ajustments. Super narrow and medium flood. Hey, maybe it's not so bad afterall.