roar of pelican runs hot!

[jasonsmaglites]

what's up with this. i did my roar of the pelican with the small bulb then compared it in a dark bathroom to magcharger. it seems not as bright, but taking it outside is where the real test will be. plus i have the big bulb on standby anyway. well, the plastic battery holder was so hot when i took it out, i dropped it. what's up with that? is that because the draw is so high or cause i'm using the cheap plastic holder for 3aa to 1d. if it got hot for the small bulb, what will it do for the big bulb? what do i do. should i try another battery holder, i bought nine. the top metal connector is now half on anyway.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

by the way, my roar of pelican is 2d maglite, with medium stipple aluminum reflector, real glass lens, and 6aa running through plastic holders. i thought this important since there is about 6 ways to build a rop. thanks, jason

 

[cmacclel]

Plastic holder = No No with high current lamps. The most you can pull out of a plastic holder is maybe an amp. Heat = Resistance.

Mac

 

[DUQ]

Those holders wont last long under load.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

one of the batteries split the plastic wrap that's around it. if i spend the extreme amount of money required to complete this project, by getting the 6d to 2d adapter, will this keep the batteries cooler? or just the adapter itself will last longer.
can you recomend any aa rechargeables better able to handle the load than the cheap rechargeable 2200mah i got at walmart.
is it safe to keep going with this light or is that aa battery going to explode and scare the bejeebies out of me. i had it on for like 20 seconds. if not, who should i get the carriers from?

 

[bridgman]

I haven't used them, but modamag's AA-to-D adapter kits seem like a nice balance of low price and good design.

 

[PhotonAddict]

As others have said, you should really consider getting a good 6AA-to-2D adapter. Modamag's stuff is good bang for the buck. The Shoppe usually has them. The next step up is fivemega's battery adapters - he currently has a sales thread in Custom BST. They cost more but are worth it, especially if you start playing with higher amperage.

If you are using two of the 3AA-D adapters then there is probably a lot of resistance there - like Mac said, the high resistance will generate a lot of heat (like the filament of a bulb) and the batteries are touching those metal contacts so they heat up as well which is probably the cause of the split wrapping. All that heat is wasted energy that would otherwise be going into the bulb making it appear dimmer.

With respect to batteries - I've used "regular" Sanyos and Energizers that you can buy in most stores with satisfactory results. If you really want it as bright as possible you can get CBPs or high discharge Titaniums, but I'd would personally work on replacing those adapters first and maybe mod the switch to reduce the resistance there.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

modamag said he doesn't have any. buy from fivemega. there goes $80 bucks cause i need a 6aa and a 9aa.
anyone selling an old one or an old modamag?

 

[PhotonAddict]

Have you tried checking with the Shoppe as to whether they plan to have any more available? Their webpage only shows 8AA-2D adapter in stock. http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php?cPath=48_56_73

If you want one urgently I guess you could buy an 8AA-2D and bridge 2 of the battery slots by soldering a wire across contacts. Just be careful not to create a potential short hazard.