Souping up an old 2D Maglite

[terawatt]

I have an old beaten-up Maglite gifted to me by a friend some years back that I've been meaning to modify/upgrade but am just now getting to it. I think the original bulb in it was an old vacuum bulb because it was incredibly dim, even on fresh alkaline cells. The reflector looked like either it had aged poorly or someone had tried to clean it, because the aluminum was thin to the point that you could see a hint of the blue plastic beneath the coating.

Years ago when I got it, I intended to mod it with an LED, but these days, I don't think it makes sense given the other options out there (better to start with something purpose built for LED). Instead, I'm feeling somewhat nostalgic and am more interested in doing a hot-wire sort of build that I never got to do back 20 years ago. The idea is to keep it incan and relatively stock looking, but get a solid boost in light output. It will just be for playing around, so it doesn't need to be very practical.

So far I've outfitted it with 2x 26650 10A protected cells, an OP aluminum cammed reflector (from Kaidomain), and a stock 6-cell xenon bi-pin bulb. That already made a big difference. It went from being a joke to something you could actually use. In terms of bang-for-buck upgrades to the bulb, it sounds like the Philips 5671 is a solid option. It's still available at prices that are at least not obscene. My understanding is that I would need a G4 bulb adapter to make this work. Does FiveMega still have ceramic bi-pin sockets available that might work for this? Besides that and a glass lens, would I need anything else to make this work?

 

[terawatt]

Does anyone know if @fivemega still sells any G4 adapters for maglites? The post I linked to above says available, but it's in the sold/expired section, so I'm not sure what the status is.

 

[fivemega]

Does anyone know if @fivemega still sells any G4 adapters for maglites? The post I linked to above says available, but it's in the sold/expired section, so I'm not sure what the status is.

Few more available here.

 

[terawatt]

Few more available here.

That's awesome, I'll have to pick one up! Are your potted bulbs still available?

 

[fivemega]

That's awesome, I'll have to pick one up! Are your potted bulbs still available?

All bulbs are available here.

 

[ebuchner]

... a glass lens, would I need anything else to make this work?

Fivemega sells some premium oversized reflectors that change the aesthetics and enhance throw/beam quality

 

[terawatt]

All bulbs are available here.

Thanks! I'm curious what bulbs you recommend for 2x Li-ion 2D mag, both for potted and G4. The 3853H/L and 1499 seem intriguing. Can the stock switch and bulb holder handle these bulbs without melting?

 

[fivemega]

I'm curious what bulbs you recommend for 2x Li-ion 2D mag, both for potted and G4. The 3853H/L and 1499 seem intriguing. Can the stock switch and bulb holder handle these bulbs without melting?

Maglites are regular flashlights ($20~$30 around 1980) with bulbs of maximum 7 watts and Magcharger with 10 Watts bulb. They are not super flashlights and not for use with Li-ion batteries.
In this forums we are talking about modifying Maglight or any other brand to use with super bulbs of higher than standard such as 20W, 30W, and ....
To use any bulb more than 10 Watts in Maglites C & D you will need to replace plastic reflector with metal one, replace plastic lens with glass lens and in some cases switch and bulb holder.
Any 6 volt, 20 Watt, 100 hours life bulb will work with pair of large Li-ions such as 26650

 

[terawatt]

Maglites are regular flashlights ($20~$30 around 1980) with bulbs of maximum 7 watts and Magcharger with 10 Watts bulb. They are not super flashlights and not for use with Li-ion batteries.
In this forums we are talking about modifying Maglight or any other brand to use with super bulbs of higher than standard such as 20W, 30W, and ....
To use any bulb more than 10 Watts in Maglites C & D you will need to replace plastic reflector with metal one, replace plastic lens with glass lens and in some cases switch and bulb holder.
Any 6 volt, 20 Watt, 100 hours life bulb will work with pair of large Li-ions such as 26650

Yeah, I get what you're saying. I've already replaced the stock reflector and lens with Al and glass to handle higher power bulbs . I was just curious if there's a rule of thumb for how much bulb power the stock bulb holder can handle.

 

[dc38]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. I've already replaced the stock reflector and lens with Al and glass to handle higher power bulbs . I was just curious if there's a rule of thumb for how much bulb power the stock bulb holder can handle.

You could always test the guts outside of the light with a thermal cam or IR thermometer to gauge how hot it can get outside the body.

 

[CelticCross74]

ROP-Roar of the Pelican is always an option. They require upgraded everything like aluminum reflectors and glass lenses as mentioned above to keep from melting from the heat the bulb puts out. You end up with basically a 900 incan lumen light. ROP projects usually are meant for 2 D Mags so you are set there. Just YT ROP to see how it is done.

 

[swampgator]

ROP-Roar of the Pelican is always an option.

3854s have long since been discontinued.
I have one bulb left from a purchase about 15 years ago.

 

[CelticCross74]

3854s have long since been discontinued.
I have one bulb left from a purchase about 15 years ago.

Just scored 2 off of evilbay. I think I am going to do another ROP. Just need to find an incan 2 D Mag in hopefully a good color. ROP is a fun project. So what did Pelican replace the 3854 with? Many of their bulbs seem like they would put out the same or similar performance.

Or I should say what other incan bulbs out there by whatever company would be a solid replacement for the 3854? I have read of ppl using Welch Allen medical bulbs and a couple of others.

 

[swampgator]

Just scored 2 off of evilbay. I think I am going to do another ROP. Just need to find an incan 2 D Mag in hopefully a good color. ROP is a fun project. So what did Pelican replace the 3854 with? Many of their bulbs seem like they would put out the same or similar performance.

Or I should say what other incan blbs out there by whatever company would be a solid replacement for the 3854? I have read of ppl using Welch Allen medical bulbs and a couple of others.

I guess I should keep track of eBay more often.

The 3853 bulb is still around but it's a 7.2V bulb so it won't be as white or bright as a 3854 unless you overdrive it at 8.4 volts or 9.6 volts but that would require a 3D sized host.

The biggest advantage of the 3854 was that it was a PR based bulb. Just drop it in and run.
The WA, Osram and other "high performance" bulbs are all bi-pin so you need bi-pin to PR adapter. Five Mega used to make a great one but he no longer advertises it for sale.

 

[fivemega]

Brightest option for 7.2 volt is Philips (30 W) 5761 which is G4 and works like ultra bright ROP.
One of the possibility is 2D Mag with 6 Eneloops (7.2 V, 2000mAh) which will need reliable and low resistance adapter which is not an option anymore and very short run time. (15 minutes). To solve both of these, you will need 2S/2P 18650 2.5D 7.4 volt, 7400mAh with more than an hour run time.

 

[ebuchner]

Just scored 2 off of evilbay.

Well I'm obviously using the wrong search terms

So what did Pelican replace the 3854 with?

Either nothing or LEDs depending on how you're looking at it