Mini Maglite 2 x AA Mod

[old4570]

Finally got around to doing something about my Mini Maglite 2 x AA incandescent . These things were woe full in stock form , I even tried the 3 x 5mm LED mod .

I had a spare Cree Q5 LED and decided to go Direct Drive , I also had a lens lying around so now its Q5 Lensed .

Power is from a single 14500 with a AAA to AA batt adapter modified to dummy cell , it will run on 2 x AA but output is a little low , the single 14500 really makes it hum .

Pictures Shortly !







As can be seen in the pictures , just a very simple direct drive mod .

 

[^Gurthang]

Nice mod, is that a copper "wiper" I see? What size was the pad originally? I've got several "Nite-Ize" modded 2X AA M@Gs and I've wanted to try a P4 or Q5 mod, thanks for the encouragement.

^G

 

[old4570]

Its a 15mm base .. And it just fits without any mods .

That piece of wire is crushed between the threads of the body and head for the negative contact . ..

I just squeezed in a reflector which seems to help with the throw a little .
A very nice light now .

 

[^Gurthang]

Okies on the 15 mm base. Looks like I could use 20 ga. magnet wire and TPF for leads. Looks like an order to SB for a Q5.

^G

 

[old4570]

Just a quick update :

As its direct drive , well was a little slow measuring the current , esp as its running on a 14500 , my bad , but appears to be right on 0.6A to 0.7A , which is right on target . I cant help but feel it may be due to the resistance from the dummy cell I made :laughing: , I thought there might be some resistance , but I really hit the bulls eye for what I wanted ..

Pure luck I tells you , pure luck .

 

[tabetha]

Nice mod, I even forgot I have a 2 AA cell mag hanging around, must try this myself, thanks for the encouragement, I have a constant fight for garage space with the gf, but she usually wins!!
tabetha

 

[Mjolnir]

If you could somehow cram a driver in there, you could run it with 2 14500, but i'm not sure where a driver would really fit in a maglite.

 

[Fichtenelch]

If you could somehow cram a driver in there, you could run it with 2 14500, but i'm not sure where a driver would really fit in a maglite.

In the ofc-heatsink is enough room for one of the 14mm drivers from the sandwich shoppe. Thats also the best way to get the heat from the led.

 

[old4570]

I wanted this to be a cheap mod , and simple .
This incandescent AA has been a thorn in my side since the day I got it , I wanted a LED mod but it was cheaper to buy a LED Mini Maglite so I did .

It was only recently that I took a look at it again , and the Q5 fit just right , and the XR-E Q5 seems to be a robust little LED so I figure it can stand 4.15v especially if the dummy cell I made had some resistance to it ,

Ive seen some of the Mini Mag mods with drivers and some are pure genius in there execution of simplicity . Cudo's to those moders :thumbsup:

But this had to be even more simple than that , it had to be so simple anyone could do it , and cheap .

My only regret is not documenting the mod better , as this is so simple and cheap and functional , and so do-able ..
I have a rear clicky on this , but its so easy to make it work twisty ..
Oh well !

 

[Mjolnir]

What if you took everything out and put it in a 3 AA maglite? that should give you more runtime over a single cell.

 

[old4570]

What if you took everything out and put it in a 3 AA maglite? that should give you more runtime over a single cell.

Its just a house light , I expect the 14500 will have a decent runtime , but yes a 3xAA would offer more voltage 3.6v - 4.5v .. and better runs .

I own 2 mini Mags and I dont really want any more , in fact , if I ever get my hands on a lathe , I would chop this down to a single cell light [ 1 x 14500 ] .
For now I will keep an eye on the output and try and see where it drop's bellow usable levels . 3v is just usable , so I expect the cell to offer good light to around 3.5v , so If I get 30 to 45 minutes per charge :thumbsup:

My Buck Boosted 1A R2 L2M is just a little over 10,000Lux in my lightbox
This mod does 8000Lux @ 0.6A - 0.7A . Im not sure what the capacity of the 14500 is ? Some say 600mAh others up to 900mAh ?

It works and Im happy with it , only problem now is it makes the fact original LED mini Mag look weak , :thinking:

 

[njet212]

Nice Mod, just wondering if you could make tutorial for this mini maglite mod?

 

[old4570]

I was thinking that myself , unfortunatley I didnt take pictures ...

It would take some pictures to make it simple and easy to understand ..

1. The two peace LED holder / battery contact .. Pull it apart .

Remove the neg tab , but leave the center positive tab alone on the bottom piece .. We will solder the positive wire to this ..

The top part LED holder needs a grove cut into it for the positive wire on the underside .

Glue the LED to the LED holder , use enough glue as your heatsinking to plastic , Thermally conductive epoxy . [ So far this has not been a problem , but the longest run has been about 3 minutes ]

Put the bottom part in the body and snap the top on carefully routing the positive wire to the LED and soldering ..

The next part can be done several ways ..
Reflector OR Lens or both ?

You can glue the LED holder down to heatsink to the body better ? or

Leave it .. Tail clicky ? or do you want to twist ?

If you want to twist you will need the reflector to push the LED *** down to make contact with the body ..

What I did was to solder in a solid copper wire , cut a grove for it so it is directed between the upper LED holder and body , so when you screw the head down the copper wire is forced against the body to complete the circuit .
With the tail clicky . this is redundant , but still a good way to complete the circuit .

Its a very simple mod , if I had another 2 x AA maglite I would attempt a SSC P7 multimode 2 x 14500 mod

Actually I have a clone body that looks interesting ...

Anyway .. I might dis-assemble this light for those all important pictures . Still , would be best to start with a unmolested light ... Hmmm