Mag-Charger, urgent advice PLEASE.

lightlover

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
1,901
Location
London, UK (Parallel Universe)
UK price for a 240v AC and 12v DC Mag-Charger, ( close your eyes now, if you're of a nervous disposition ) ~$210.00
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I may be able to get a clean, hardly ever used one cheaper
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but it will still be quite expensive. Have to make a decision in the next few days.
I do definitely want one, so don't all say I should invest in a Sure-Fire instead - that's top priority for the near birthday future
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Forgetting about any purchase costs, I'm asking about things like :

- actual usage lifetimes of lamps

- the run-time of the fully charged battery

- any memory effect I should worry about ? - apparently the advice is to run the battery down once a month
or something.

- How can I do that without using up the lamp, is there anything I can connect or use to drain it ?

- is it Intrinsic Safety ?

- while charging from the 12v or 240v socket can it still be used without disrupting or slowing the charging process?

What experiences have people had with this model, any comments at all, whether technical or not, would be helpful, and gratefully recieved.
Please post . . .

Thanks,

Lite-Lover
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I don't have answers for all your questions but I'll help with what I can.
-The run time of the battery when fully charged is about an hour.
-I think that the lifespan of the bulb is about 30 hours.
-Don't worry about the memory effect with the battery. It's not likely to happen with the way a flashlight is used. Running it down completely can acutally cause damage. Recharge it as soon as it starts to dim. The only way you'd have to worry about the memory effect would be to constantly recharge it at the same point, like rechargeing it after exactly 33 minutes of use every time you used it.
-I'm assuming that by "Intrinsic Safety" you mean safe to use in hazardous or flammable environments. I don't believe that it is, but I could be wrong.
-Do not use it while it is in the charger. The charger was not designed to be a power supply as well and eventually will damage the charger.

It's a decent light, bright, but with the rings and dark spots found in all focusable lights. It's pretty rugged too, but the lens is made of glass so it will break easier than the plastic of the normal Maglites, but the high heat of the bulb would melt those.

Is that a local price? Is it possible that it might be cheaper to order one from the US (at about 100 USD), and pay the shipping?
 
You are forgetting that we have a B@$d@rd Import Customs Tax and Duty level in the UK which on US$100 (£70) would slap about 27% on the value above £18. Basically, the UK Government charge $25 for a $100 value import.

Nice.

Still, that's still about £60 ($90) less...

Al
 
There are two for sale on E-Bay...one does not ship outside the US but the other one might. They are around $80. There is some info there which may be helpfull. How would the wizards of taxes know if you ship one in anyway...X-Rays...?
 
If you are buying something & importing it, I think the shipper has to state the value of the good. Or, Customs will tax you on the insured value...

They can (and do) open parcels to check - specifically DVD shaped parcels because FACT doesn't like Region 1 discs being seen by the British.

Back on topic;

Maybe you'll save enough to make any import duty and postage of little importance... (I made that call before and saved 15% of the English retail. Another time, I saved almost 25%...

Buy from the USA!

Al
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Unicorn:
It's a decent light, bright, but with the rings and dark spots found in all focusable lights. It's pretty rugged too, but the lens is made of glass so it will break easier than the plastic of the normal Maglites, but the high heat of the bulb would melt those.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is that really true?? The Streamlight SL-20X has a polycarbonate (lexan) lens and has the same amount of candlepower as the MagCharger, and the SL-35X also has a polycarbonate lens and puts out approx. 40,000 CP.

So how come the Streamlight's do not have a lens-melt problem and the MagCharger does?

Greetings,
Velcro
 
So how come the Streamlight's do not have a lens-melt problem and the MagCharger does?

I meant the normal plastic lenses in the regular alkaline powered Maglites. I don't think that these would handle the higher heat produced by the Magcharger, or a Streamlight SL20 or SL35.
I have seen 2 Stingers that had bubbled lenses though. Not a common occurence, but it can still happen rarely.

A shipper sending goods from the US overseas has to fill out one of 2 Customs forms, depending on the value of the goods. On that form the value and a brief description of eash item has to be written, as well as whether it is merchandise, a sample, a gift, etc. I think that gifts have a lower tax than merchandise, most of our UK customers wanted their packages to be marked as gifts. And Al is right about UK Customs opening packages to check. The store I used to work at would get calls all the time from our UK customers to verify what we had shipped them because their boxes had been opened.
 
Thanks Unicorn,
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Size15's,
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KenB,
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Velcro,
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keep them advices coming guys.

Very informative on rechargeables and importing info.
( Might try the auctions option if this buy doesn't work out. )

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I'm very surprised at the short run time though, thought it was much longer
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Is the power / weight / size ratio average for this kind of unit ?

Anyone know how many lumens or candlepower it is ?

And the Mag-charger has never been mentioned in the forums, why is it unpopular among Flashaholics ?

Lite-Lover
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Hmmm...ok, how about this...Dear Mr.xxxx, thank you for leaving your 12 PM x2 ultra SureFire light with us on you recent visit, it came in handy and the children were able to see to eat during the ever increasing power outages (this might be good for light`s from California). We feel it is no longer necessary as we have puchased our own for the hospital and are returning it to you. Many thanks, St Mary`s Childrens Hospital...wish you and your family well.....Would you still pay tax to the state...er...country...er...Queen?
 
Thought I`d jump in here about import tax (sorry- no magcharger here yet soI can`t help there).
I`ve had many parcels sent from the States now in the past year, mostly sent by private individuals (from ebay and containing antique light bulbs and xmas lights which were declared as such on the customs form or label). Tempting fate a bit here (but assuming noone at customs reads these boards), not one of them had ever had any additional taxes and charges added to.
However out of a relatively few orders from online companies, many had been charged for, including my Photons, some christmas lights and a recent order of more LED lights. The packages carried company labels and a detailed list of what was inside and its value. Isuppose it`s all down to pot-luck if you get charged or not because not all were, in fact in one case I made 2 purchases from the same company at different times, one got taxed and the other didn`t.

Who knows what goes through the minds of the customs people? But even if you do get unlucky and are charged every time, it is still normally cheaper to buy from the States than it is to buy here- we get overcharged for so much in this little island of ours......
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I don`t understand, do you pay income tax there? Or property tax? Or sales tax? If not, maybe it`s a way of compansating. I say we all surround the Island and blast the Queen with our light`s untill she gives up the duty tax...on tourches anyway.
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Here follows is a rant... (unusual for me)

We pay every kind of tax you can think of and some you can't!!

Our Constitutional Monarchy appoints a Government led by usually a Prime Minister with a majority from the "democratically" elected Members of Parliament. While Her Majesty has the Ultimate Control, it's very unlikely she'll ever have to use it, let alone command her Armed Forces to remove a Government by force (which I think is about as bad as it can get). The only Police force that isn't under her control is the Met which answers to the Home Secretary (I think). [One reason for having an hereditary Monarchy as Head of State is that anyone wanting to be elected to the job is by that very "want" unsuitable to hold the ultimate power to reset the Government - have you read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?!]

Anyway, our taxes through various means are controlled by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and not the Queen. It's the population that "voted" for this Government, so we're only got ourselves to blame!!
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I think the high customs taxes used to be used to protect us from smugglers etc. Since direct taxation is no longer widely used in the UK, we have little faith in where and how our taxes are being spent.

Part of the problem with import duty etc is that people are popping across to the Continent to buy cigarettes and alcohol, and bringing it back to sell on without paying import tax or VAT, so it shows that over taxing promotes illegal black market activity which goes hand in hand with more nasty crime, which costs us more money to police and clean up after.

One day, I'll put it all to rights!
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Where this leaves Flashlights etc being imported [from the USA] is that usually, the official parcels get taxed, and the personal parcels are not bothered with.

It's still cheaper to buy and import though because the economies of scale are against us.

End of Rant.

Al
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well...i have a magcharger, and think it's a really good lite. It's not too popular because Streamlight cornered the market on this type of light many years ago with the SL series of lights. The magcharger uses the same 1/2D cell battery pack as a SL-20 series light, has a focusable beam, and uses a bi-pin bulb (number GE-78723). Run time is about 70 or so minutes, and durability has been excellent.

-dan
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lite-Lover:
Thanks Unicorn,
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Size15's,
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KenB,
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Velcro,
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keep them advices coming guys.

Very informative on rechargeables and importing info.
( Might try the auctions option if this buy doesn't work out. )

[QB]
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I'm very surprised at the short run time though, thought it was much longer
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.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Around 90 minutes of runtime per charge is average for flashlights in this class.

Is the power / weight / size ratio average for this kind of unit ?[/QUOTE]

In this class (fullsize rechargeable aluminum flashlights) it indeed has average proportions. For instance, the Streamlight SL-20X measures 13" (32 cm) and weighs 1.9 lbs. The MagCharger also measures 13" (32 cm), though I do not know what it's lbs is. I assume it's also around 1.9.

Then there is also the Streamlight SL-35X which measures 17.5" (44 cm) and 2.8 lbs, which takes the term "fullsize flashlight" to another level
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Anyone know how many lumens or candlepower it is ?[/QUOTE]

30,000 candlepower.

Greetings,
Velcro
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Velcro:
In this class (fullsize rechargeable aluminum flashlights) it indeed has average proportions. For instance, the Streamlight SL-20X measures 13" (32 cm) and weighs 1.9 lbs. The MagCharger also measures 13" (32 cm), though I do not know what it's lbs is. I assume it's also around 1.9.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I better put it this way: including the battery the MagCharger weighs 900 gram, the SL-20X 860 gram and the SL-35X 1270 gram.

On a different note: when I look at both the MagCharger and the SL-20X, the MagCharger looks more bulky, whilst the SL-20X looks a bit thinner, though they have the same proportions. Did anyone else notice this too?

Greetings,
Velcro
 
Velcro
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Checked the Streamlight site. If the Magcharger and SL20X have about the same spec / performance, I would choose the Magcharger on it's looks.

But the body switch on the SL20X looks interesting - whatisitandhow . . . ?

Really, I'm looking for the versatility of focus_ability and principally,a neat beam in spotlight mode.

Does anyone know if the Streamlight Digital Dimmer tailcap would work with the Magcharger ?
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Dano
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What were the reasons for people choosing the Streamlight over the Mag
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Thanks,

Lite-Lover
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Ps, Size15's - Our Gracious Majesty is known to be a prudent consumer. Which means a Gold'n'diamonds MAJ-charger ( including a REAL sapphire crystal lens ) yes, but costly Sure-Fires - " One is not amused "
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lite-Lover:

But the body switch on the SL20X looks interesting - whatisitandhow . . . ?

Really, I'm looking for the versatility of focus_ability and principally,a neat beam in spotlight mode.

Does anyone know if the Streamlight Digital Dimmer tailcap would work with the Magcharger ?

What were the reasons for people choosing the Streamlight over the Mag
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Thanks,

Lite-Lover
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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

First - The switch on the SL-20X (and SL-20XP) is integrated with the charging contacts. When the light is properly inserted into the charging sleeve, the switch is hidden, and cannot be activated. It's a simple rubber-covered push-button switch.

Second - While the SL-20X(P) is a neato-mosquito light, it just plain won't unfocus. A spotlight is what you have all the time. If you want an adjustable beam, quit looking at the SL series.

Third - No, the Streamlight Digital Dimmer tailcap won't fit on a MagCharger... the barrels are different sizes. Nice try, no dice.

Fourth - In my case, I chose the Streamlight over the MagCharger because of availability. That particular day, there were no MagChargers in stock.
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