I recently ordered the last two 2-Pks of what were supposed to be Pelican #3853 bulb sets (from a website I had not dealt with before). That's what the description said, anyway. What I received were two bulb sets of Pelican #3804. Today I sent my third email asking for a refund/RMA#, and I still haven't heard from them. I am still hoping for the best, but just in case I have to prepare for the worst, I am trying to consider how to make lemonade here. The 3804 set has been listed, I think, at 9v-9.9v. Considering that the original ROP mod overdrives the 3853/3854 bulbs from 6v to 7.4v, I was wondering if anyone had ever driven these 3804 bulbs to 11.1v. If you have ever tried this, I would appreciate your sharing the results. Thanks!
Pelican #3804 bulbs - has anyone ever tried these on 3x Li-ions?
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11,1V if all 3 Li-ions are charged to exactly 3,7V, which is never the case. Fresh out of the charger they usually sit at 4,1 - 4,2V. Thats about 12,3 to 12,6V driving a bulb rated to a maximum of 9V. Thats quite a bit more then the 1,4V increase you mentioned. You will most likely blow the bulb, or best case, reduce its life span 10-fold. I wouldn't do it. Since you have 4, you can always sacrifice one any try it. Then you know. If you do, let me know what happened.
Fresh off of the charger, most healthy Li-ion cells do exhibit a "resting voltage" of close to 4.2v. Once they are put in a device, which is then turned on, they will experience "voltage sag", and immediately drop to about 3.7v. But you're right in that it is still a bit of a jump from the nominal stated voltage, and they may very well "instapoof".
Thank you for weighing in, Olumin, and if I don't get any satisfaction from the vendor in the indeterminate future, I will probably try your approach in testing this.
Thank you for weighing in, Olumin, and if I don't get any satisfaction from the vendor in the indeterminate future, I will probably try your approach in testing this.
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FWIW, I got a chance to play with the 3804 a little more. I dug up a 6AA-to-2D adapter, put in 3x14500 cells with 3 conductive AA spacers. It flashed, then died. Filament instamelt, though at least it didn't turn the glass envelope into shrapnel, though I had removed the complete M@g head.
Previous to that, I put a 2-cell extension and a 1-cell extension on a 4-cell D M@g, and filled it full of "fresh" dollar store alkaline cells It was surprisingly bright (didn't run it long); more so than my 2D ROP. I have no idea how much collective voltage sag occurred, or how bright it was, but it was a fun lark. A 7-cell M@g is not terribly handy, but for those who use those baseball-bats-with-an-led-on-the-end, it might get slightly less attention from LE.
Previous to that, I put a 2-cell extension and a 1-cell extension on a 4-cell D M@g, and filled it full of "fresh" dollar store alkaline cells It was surprisingly bright (didn't run it long); more so than my 2D ROP. I have no idea how much collective voltage sag occurred, or how bright it was, but it was a fun lark. A 7-cell M@g is not terribly handy, but for those who use those baseball-bats-with-an-led-on-the-end, it might get slightly less attention from LE.
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