Single AAA with tailcap clickie mods?

[DangMyNamesTaken]

I just bought a few imported single AAA cell Aluminum keychain flashlights, I liked them because they have a nice tailcap click switch. (I don't care for "turn for on" caps and heads) The tailcap button is flat too so they will stand on end if necessary, albiet precariously, being AAA.

Anyway, what 3mm LED would work best for direct driving off a single AAA?

 

[shankus]

A white LED won't direct drive from a single cell. The forward voltage is over 3V with a white. I'm not sure about other colors though.

Is the light incandescent?

Do you have a link to a photo of the light?

 

[DangMyNamesTaken]

Yes, it's incandescent. I just took a pic of it with one taken apart too. It's 3 3/4 inches long from rim of lens end to the end of the click switch. The reflector is pretty deep, sort of a scaled down shape of my Pelican M6.

 

[Roy]

Will 2xN cells fit? might be able to drive and led with 3 volts.

 

[tylerdurden]

I have one of these. Ab modded it with a 5mm nichia it takes a 12v garage door battery. It's interesting, but not useful for much more than walking around the house in the middle of the night.

 

[NightStorm]

Dang, that thing looks very similar to my Craftsman 1 AAA Tool Light. It has the same body and switch assembly. The Tool Light has a larger head, however. What I did with mine is drill out the reflector to accept a 5mm white led, installed a A23 (12v) alarm battery and fashioned a resistor holder to take up the remaining space in the battery tube. This holder was made out of some PVC tube I bought at a hobby shop and the resistor is retained by screws fitted in the ends of the PVC tube. This makes for a quick, easy and thoroughly satisfying mod. Have fun!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dan

 

[DangMyNamesTaken]

Thanks guys, I like the idea of a 12v battery and resistor, I think I'll try that. What kind of battery life do ya got on that A23?

Ron

 

[NightStorm]

I really can't tell you, I haven't had to replace a battery in the Tool Light or a similarly modded Solitaire nor have I been keeping tabs on this as I only use either light for a minute or two at a time. Duracell gives the capacity of this cell at 40mah so one would imagine that with a led driven at 20ma, the life of the cell would be 2 hours or less. However, one should remember that as the battery voltage drops, the led becomes more efficient so the run time is most probably longer than 2 hours. Also on the plus side, a twin pack of these cells costs me $1.89 at the local grocery store. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dan