Need a PR LED bulb 2AA host

[kosPap]

hi all!

I need to find a flashlight that takes 2AA, accepts PR bulbs (to be replaced with a SMJLED) and is durable looking,

My first search was the Energizer Hardcases but they are all LED.
O also look at princeton to no good luck..
Any other options?

ETA: seems the thing closer to what I am looking for is the energizer K220E flashlight

The flashlight will be used as a give away for emergencies. Now my all miimag with a LED drop-in is assigned to the role.

thanks beforehand, kostas

 

[Light Sabre]

Rayovac makes a similar type of light. Rayovac - Industrial Flashlights. I have a 2 D version. Has a spare bulb holder, not that you really need one with a LED. Thought about putting a brighter bulb/LED there or even the old incandescent bulb, so that it runs on the low power one first, swap it out if you need more light. I put in the old NiteIze LED in mine. Flashlight Reviews and LED Modifications The beam really sucked in the Rayovac. Bulb really needed to be put in a focusable light, so I put a diffuser on the lens which cut the throw, but make a very wide beam. Good for ceiling bounce. I have never tried a SMJLED so I can't give any idea which is brighter or lasts the longest.

 

[Cydonia]

Beware what version of SMLED you get. The sandwich shoppe version degraded very quickly - the single die LED is being overdriven too much - and the light dims 50% with 30 hours use according an infamous run time graph. (The 4 die version degraded too come to think of it now.) I went and ordered a few anyway Why? Because they run great (with no overheating or life shortening) on a single cell!

 

[kosPap]

LightSabre, thanks for the pointer...

Cydonia, yes I know...i have saved and read that thread (I forget the posters handle, which we haven't heard of him lately)

Nevertheless they do have their place..did not know about the single cell!!

tnx, kostas

 

[VegasF6]

Don't forget Dorcy while we are at it.
Here is a possibility.
http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=412950
It uses this bulb:
http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=411692

 

[Marduke]

Remove the pill of an incan MiniMag, wedge a PR2 bulb on there, Drill out the reflector, and replace the tailcap with a clicky.

 

[hank]

Somebody used to make a nice little 2xAA PR bulb light shaped like a doorstop wedge years ago. You can find similar lights made as bicycle headlights (try Goodwill).

 

[hank]

See also http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2749749

(someone with a good microscope and meter might be able to tell us the difference.
Anyone want to put out a tip jar, get the several different SMJLEDs and compare?
(and there is a clone of it too by a different name, I got some as loose LEDs a few years ago, can't recall the name but they worked fine)

I'd suggest we bother Craig at the LEDMuseum but he's in the middle of moving.

 

[Hondo]

Watch that ROV 2AA that Light Sabre linked, I have one, and unless they changed them, it is a bi-pin bulb, not a PR. The 2-D is great, though. ROV also makes a bigger, focussing version of the 2xAA Industrial, which does take a PR, and I put an SMJLED in one of those. It did have a bit flakey clickey switch, though, but I was able to take it apart and De-Oxit and grease it, so it works great now.

I actually like the Energizer Industrial the best of all for these bulbs, the simple $4 one at Home Depot, not the K220E one. Nice beam, reliable, easy to access to clean switch (just pop of the slider), and plenty strong body and threads.

The old Walmart specials are back, by the way. They are sold in eight packs under the Husky name at Home Depot, for $10. A bit more than the $0.84 that Walmart sold them for, but not bad. These won't take a big hit without coming apart, but they usually don't break, they just pop the threads when dropped hard, but not quite what you were asking for. The crazy thing about them was that they were cheap, and made a dang near perfect beam with these bulbs.

With respect to the bulb durability, I think I have every generation of these made. The later Sandwiche Shoppe ones do draw more power from a given set of cells than the earlier 4-die versions, and have a warmer tint to them. The tests that Newbie (retired from CPF) and another member ran were at 200 mA constant for the SS version, and 150 mA constant for the older 4-die version. All I can say is that I select either NiMH or used alkaline cells for the bulb that I am using that only measure between 100 and 120 mA draw at the tailcap. I have not had, nor do I expect to have any detectable loss of brightness when driving them this way. Depending on the bulb, if I use a fresh alkie or a lithium Energizer, I can easily see 150-200 mA draw. I do not, however, see enough increase in brightenss to justify torturing the bulb at this level, and choose something else. One of the great features of these bulbs is their ability to extract many hours of usable runtime from otherwise spent alkaline cells, and they will last darn near forever while doing so. The above tests were run on a bench power supply that never dropped the current below the set starting level.

 

[kosPap]

homdo thanks for the input...indeed it was newbia the guy I was refgering to...

regarding cheap lights I want to stau away from them...Marduke's suggestion came to my mind too but I am alzy trying this..

 

[Chrontius]

Old Everready industrial lights take 2xAA and PR bulbs and can be found at Home Depot.

https://www.hardwareworld.com/Industrial-Light-2aa-p10K9Z4.aspx

Faceted reflector cleans up incan beams incredibly well - not a throw monster, but surprisingly useful. Mine host a Magnum Star 2-cell xenon bulb and 2x NiMH. Don't think I've tried it with LED yet, but I can... gimme a sec.

Nite Ize universal dropin (the non-cree, non-luxeon 10mm LED kind) puts out a broad, ringy flood that should still be fairly useful in the dark at close range. Don't know if the SMJLED will focus better or not, but let us know if it works.

 

[kramer5150]

Remove the pill of an incan MiniMag, wedge a PR2 bulb on there, Drill out the reflector, and replace the tailcap with a clicky.

whoa.... how reliable is that mod?... say with a nite-ize PR LED drop in and IQ switch?

 

[GarageBoy]

Target sells this 2xAA (side by side battery) PR2 based light. Not tough looking, but cheap $4, IIRC? and has a tight spot and a wiiiiiide spill

 

[horizonseeker]

do you happen to have a sku for this light? I can't find it on the target website but that's no suprise, a 2xAA sidexside configuration would be a good host for a led bulb.

thanks.

 

[nikon]

Is this the light you mean? It's about 3.29. It has a large reflector and a very nice beam. I don't have the SKU number, but you'll find it in the flashlight section at Target.

 

[LEDninja]

I use the Dorcy Gelbrite 2AA with my SMJLED PR bulbs. The faceted reflector produces a smooth beam. (note other Gelbrites have smooth reflectors). The soft Gel covering makes the torch fat enough to hold comfortably.

 

[GarageBoy]

Is this the light you mean? It's about 3.29. It has a large reflector and a very nice beam. I don't have the SKU number, but you'll find it in the flashlight section at Target.

That's the one
It's called the Compact Flashlight or something

 

[horizonseeker]

not to go too far off of topic, but does anyone know of any host that will accept the maglite LED modules? they are bigger than the PR bulbs and thus can't fit into regular hosts.

thanks

david.

 

[horizonseeker]

I found the energizer compact light at target for about $4, very nice compact host for a PR bulb, makes a small hotspot with even spills.

 

[ZMZ67]

Old Everready industrial lights take 2xAA and PR bulbs and can be found at Home Depot.

https://www.hardwareworld.com/Industrial-Light-2aa-p10K9Z4.aspx

Faceted reflector cleans up incan beams incredibly well - not a throw monster, but surprisingly useful. Mine host a Magnum Star 2-cell xenon bulb and 2x NiMH. Don't think I've tried it with LED yet, but I can... gimme a sec.

Nite Ize universal dropin (the non-cree, non-luxeon 10mm LED kind) puts out a broad, ringy flood that should still be fairly useful in the dark at close range. Don't know if the SMJLED will focus better or not, but let us know if it works.

The Everedy 2AA industrial is a great host for the SMJLED or Dorcy's led-replacement.Not exceptionally bright but a very nice beam from a cheap flashlight.The Dorcy Gel light mentioned by LEDninja is also pretty good but I have seen some Gel lights with smooth reflectors instead of the faceted ones that work the best.