Vintage Rayovac 301K 6V Lantern Modernization

asc1000

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 26, 2025
Messages
3
Location
Central Indiana
Hello! I've been a candlepower forums reader for years but wanted to share a restoration project I recently purchased on eBay that I've wanted since back in the day.
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I could no longer find the Rayovac 918 6V battery for it. That is still marketed in Europe and other parts of the world but not in the US. You can still purchase the 12V Rayovac 926 which has a slightly offset positive terminal to prevent accidentally installing in a 6V device.

The #4546 sealed beam lamp turned out to be non-functional but otherwise the lantern was in nice shape. The lamp is still available NOS but it has a small spot size and I was really thinking this would make a very nice area light instead. So I picked a 6-30V 5000K LED equivalent PAR36 flood lamp.

I thought perhaps I could modify a 12V battery into a 6V battery by rewiring the cells inside and moving the positive post. But then I thought I could use an automotive flash/strobe LED lamp in place of the #407 6V flasher bulb. I found a nice one with a wedge base and using a burned out E10 bulb I stole the base and mounted the flasher LED on it.

After moving the post on the battery, it now fits and operates really well.

This is the LED flasher lamp fit into an E10 base recovered from a burned out flashlight bulb:
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I removed the lid from the new Rayovac 12V battery in order to move the (+) terminal to the 6V position. I didn't want to drill a new hole in the lantern so it could be modified back to original condition if needed.
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The left terminal was moved a few mm to the right to make it symmetrical like a normal 6V lantern battery.

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The completed project:

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Attached is also a video showing the flasher/strobe working. I'm pleased with the result and look forward to using this lovely vintage lantern.

--Amardeep
 

Attachments

  • 20250126_192113.mp4
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Thats cool! Nice work.
Thank you. At one time these were the pinnacle of portable lighting. You could find them and the batteries in every department store. Soon even the now scarce 12V batteries will be history. But at least we can 3D print and build a replacement!
 

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