Seeking info on Maglite incan generations

[Yates]

I think 'generations' might be the incorrect term for what I'm after.

My goal is to compile a list of lumens and throw for C and D cell sizes, to help determine which bulb a retail packaged Maglite will have.

Would be useful as a buyers guide, to know which bulb you're getting.

Edit:
No need to compile anything, as the Mag bulbs table on flashlights unlimited appears to be the best resource for this

https://flashlightsunlimited.com/magbulbs.htm

 

[bykfixer]

Why a C puts out a few more lumens than D? I dunno.

 

[ampdude]

If you look they also mixed the battery life hours around. They just put the C and D specs in the wrong places. The larger D battery if it is the same voltage as a C is obviously going to have less voltage sag when turned on so the bulb will be brighter. It's even more obvious in 6V lantern lights that have batteries powered by four "F" cells compared to 4D and 4C Mags. (be advised the cheaper 6V lantern batteries use 4 D cells in series.)

 

[Yates]

Why a C puts out a few more lumens than D? I dunno.

Quite confusing when a 2019 boxed 3D turns up with a krypton bulb, I thought these days they all ship with bi-pins.

Regarding the discrepancy with C and D cells, here are photos of the packaging.

 

[xxo]

^ That's because Mag did a rolling change on the bulbs, when the krypton bulbs ran out, they switched to xenon bi pins – apparently they had more 3 cell krypton bulbs than they did 2 cell so the transition took place later.


The 27 vs 31 lumen thing is just the result of differences in testing – the batch of 2C lights averaged 31 lumens while that batch of 2D's averaged 27 lumens.

 

[bykfixer]

The 3D incan flashlight has always been very popular ever since the D battery was perfected by Charles Burgess in the 1910's. And the 3D cop lights beginning with Kel-Lite in the late 1960's started a new phase of that. It was probably Maglites best seller for decades for full sized lights. The aa minimag was probably a better seller than the 3D though.

 

[ampdude]

I never really understood the 3D's popularity. The 2D/2C is a nice compact light. If you want more light the 4C/4D is much better than the 3D and also makes a nice club. The 3D was always strange to me.

 

[chillinn]

This thread got me so close to what I am dying to know, which is whether there is a consensus on what model years must have a PR bulb and what model years must be bipin, ignoring that sometimes vintage models show up in newer packaging. IOW, what model year did Maglite sell their first bipin lamp?