Mag I.D. for 3AA cells

[robk]

I built a 6 AA cell adapter to fit into a 2D Mag, using an old 10 year old Mag for sizing (see photo).

Since this was for a new 5W mod, I went out and bought a new Silver colored 2D Mag. They changed the I.D. of the barrel! The battery pack won't fit the new Mag. In the old Mag, there was very little clearance, but it fit snugly, bith diameter and length. But with the new Mag, no way. I don't have a caliper that reaches deep enough to check the barrel. Could they have done this to eliminate battery rattle? What a pain, now I have to start from scratch.
Rob

 

[lemlux]

The Brinkmann D lights have a wider ID, and you should be able to use this pack in one of them. Your flexibility options in the Brinkmann head is less than with Mag, however.

 

[robk]

I'm not familiar with the Brinkmann D flashlights. (But I do have a 2AA legend coming in for a BB400). Is there a lot of aluminum in the head? I was planning on using one of Elektrolumen's heat sink in it, I believe they are 1.90" dia.
Thanks,
Rob

 

[Reaper]

robk,

Are you going to just drop in the BB400 in the Brinkmann 2AA Legend with no other mod's? If so, then you should have no problem with heat. I've got a BB400 Q3L that I ran for an hour straight that didn't even get warm. I do however have JB Weld in the head threads so no can monkey around and damage the light module. You should be happy with that set-up. I also use a Brinkmann for my Opalec, but it's a 3AA model though.

 

[zmoz]

I have heard the newer mags are smaller...I have a 2D that I got in December that still rattles. It also fit's 4AAs, but that's without any kind of holder.

 

[robk]

Reaper,
I've got 3 BB400's in minimags, and 2 home-made "sandwiches" (ZLT) that work great. I just thought I'd try a Brinkmann for a change, instead of a minimag with Kroll tailswitch. I also epoxy the threads on the heads so no one rotates them. My ZLT's are running at about 440-450 mA, so they do put off a little heat. The minimags get warm, but it hasn't been a problem yet.

zmoz,
I'm thinking I may just make a "battery pack" by soldering the cells together without any plastic holder, and shrink wrapping them. I can charge the pack at constant current without a problem, but it would be a timed charge instead of a delta V detection charge. It just p*sses me off that the adapter I made doesn't fit a new Mag. Maybe I'll go with 2 D cells and a DC-DC converter for that 5W coming in. Just haven't found the right IC to do the job yet.
Rob

 

[Pellidon]

I did notice that the head on my late 1980's 4D was larger than the heads on the new units. It actually slipped over the body threads without contacting them. So it seem that some slimming of the bodies may have been done. I wonder if it was caused by the switchover from paper wrapped carbon batteries to the thinner wrapped alkalines that caused battery rattle to become more of a pain. If I can remember back that many years, those batteries were snug in the tubes.

 

[LEDmodMan]

You're not the first person to find this out the hard way, others have made the same mistake. If you do a search, you'll find the new ID listed in the mods threads.

 

[lemlux]

It's not only the old carbon zink batteries that don't fit in Mags. Lithium 3 V D cells don't fit Mags either.

I purchased some surplus LiSo2 battery packs a few months ago that I've disassembled into individual 3.0 V 7500 mAh D cells. These fit into my Brinkmann and Nordic D cell flashlights and into my Coleman Combo light.

 

[JSWrightOC]

I find the converse is true for the AA minimag. I have an old (circa 1985 or so) AA minimag that has a smaller ID than the newest of the minimags. This is a problem, as I cannot fit my NiMH AA's in the old..but alkalines fit just fine! Hmmmm...