SnowplowTortoise
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2007
- Messages
- 106
Here I outline how to build a cheap and easy "entry level" hotwire. This mod is for you if you:
1. Want a really bright (by the commoner's standards) rechargeable C-sized light.
2. Have no interest in setting newspaper on fire with your flashlight.
3. Do not want to wait weeks or even months for parts to arrive by mail.
4. Like me, do not trust yourself or the other members of you household to take proper care of rechargeable lithium ions cells and do not want to risk a meltdown.
5. Don't want to spend a lot of money on this (saving for another light, of course…
)
Here are the ingredients (all purchased at Home Depot):
1 M*g 2C, $14
1 Black & Decker VPX battery and charger, $25 (on clearance now)
1 M*g 4 cell krypton bulb, $3-$4
6" black flexible pipe, 1" outside diameter
Here's what you do:
1. Peal the sticker off the VPX battery pack. Pinch the tabs, disassemble with extreme prejudice. The two A123 18650s are welded together with a little tab. Keep them together but remove them from everything else.
2. Keep the top of the battery pack where the connections to the charger are made. Stick it into the charger to allow easier connection of the charging leads.
3. Fold the batteries open so that they are end-to-end.
4. Cut the plastic hose so when it is inside the Mag, it stops just short of the tail cap threads. Line up the hose with the batteries. Cut a hole so that you will have access to the connection between the two cells. Slide the hose over the cells.
5. Remove the spring and spare bulb from the tail cap. Toss them recklessly over your shoulder. Remove some of the anodizing at the bottom of the cap so that an electrical connection may be made. Ball up some fine copper wire and through it in there.
6. Change stock 2-cell bulb for the 4-cell version.
7. Insert battery pack, replace tail cap. Illuminate!
To recharge, connect three wires to the remnants of the stock battery pack: positive, negative, and balance. The positive and negative go the ends of the battery pack; the balance goes to the middle connection. You can use alligator clips if you leave enough of the original weld tabs in place.
So there it is; cheap, easy and actually pretty bright.
Mine gives a beautiful white-colored beam that I find more pleasing and more impressive than the ROP-low bulb. I guess that means I'm going to be getting less bulb life, but so what – these bulbs are cheap and available everywhere!
Well, hope this was helpful to someone. Take care!
1. Want a really bright (by the commoner's standards) rechargeable C-sized light.
2. Have no interest in setting newspaper on fire with your flashlight.
3. Do not want to wait weeks or even months for parts to arrive by mail.
4. Like me, do not trust yourself or the other members of you household to take proper care of rechargeable lithium ions cells and do not want to risk a meltdown.
5. Don't want to spend a lot of money on this (saving for another light, of course…
)Here are the ingredients (all purchased at Home Depot):
1 M*g 2C, $14
1 Black & Decker VPX battery and charger, $25 (on clearance now)
1 M*g 4 cell krypton bulb, $3-$4
6" black flexible pipe, 1" outside diameter
Here's what you do:
1. Peal the sticker off the VPX battery pack. Pinch the tabs, disassemble with extreme prejudice. The two A123 18650s are welded together with a little tab. Keep them together but remove them from everything else.
2. Keep the top of the battery pack where the connections to the charger are made. Stick it into the charger to allow easier connection of the charging leads.
3. Fold the batteries open so that they are end-to-end.
4. Cut the plastic hose so when it is inside the Mag, it stops just short of the tail cap threads. Line up the hose with the batteries. Cut a hole so that you will have access to the connection between the two cells. Slide the hose over the cells.
5. Remove the spring and spare bulb from the tail cap. Toss them recklessly over your shoulder. Remove some of the anodizing at the bottom of the cap so that an electrical connection may be made. Ball up some fine copper wire and through it in there.
6. Change stock 2-cell bulb for the 4-cell version.
7. Insert battery pack, replace tail cap. Illuminate!
To recharge, connect three wires to the remnants of the stock battery pack: positive, negative, and balance. The positive and negative go the ends of the battery pack; the balance goes to the middle connection. You can use alligator clips if you leave enough of the original weld tabs in place.
So there it is; cheap, easy and actually pretty bright.
Mine gives a beautiful white-colored beam that I find more pleasing and more impressive than the ROP-low bulb. I guess that means I'm going to be getting less bulb life, but so what – these bulbs are cheap and available everywhere! Well, hope this was helpful to someone. Take care!
I need to visit sometime and stock up on flashlight parts!!
