What bulb I need?

[jbrand1]

Hello,

I have been trying to make my maglite a ROP.
Got a 3D mag, a 3D to 12AA adapter (link), a glass lens and a metal reflector.
Tried to work it out myself, but I got lost in all the information on this forum.

Can anyone please tell me what bulb I can buy and use in this combination?
Thanks in advance,
Jasper

 

[waddup]

check your voltage and then scroll down to 'pelican'

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179748

 

[jerry i h]

Whoops: 12xAA is way out of ROP territory; you are now in FM Carley-bulb country.
ROP is 6 (or 7) x NiMH AA's. Lots of possibilities, but 14v is way out of my league. Check out LuxLuthor's Destructive Incan bulb tests:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179748
What I like about ROP is the amount of lumens you get from only 6xAA or 6xD rechargeables. 12? don't know.

 

[VegasF6]

Hello,

I have been trying to make my maglite a ROP.
Got a 3D mag, a 3D to 12AA adapter (link), a glass lens and a metal reflector.
Tried to work it out myself, but I got lost in all the information on this forum.

Can anyone please tell me what bulb I can buy and use in this combination?
Thanks in advance,
Jasper

Yah for this you are going to need a bi-pin bulb holder, and a bored out mag body.

Where did you even get that old adapter? What type of glass lens do you have? And do you have the mag host already?

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone, but perhaps you should pick up a 2D mag and one of Eric's 2D-6AA adapters and the Pelican bulb from Lighthound for now? Just to get a taste I mean.

 

[jbrand1]

Yah for this you are going to need a bi-pin bulb holder, and a bored out mag body.

Where did you even get that old adapter? What type of glass lens do you have? And do you have the mag host already?

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone, but perhaps you should pick up a 2D mag and one of Eric's 2D-6AA adapters and the Pelican bulb from Lighthound for now? Just to get a taste I mean.

Thanks for replys people!
I started this all with the mag 3d, picked the adapter from ebay and it fits with batteries in it. The lens is a borofloat glass i think.

I will do this to a 2D mag, but first I will try a bit more to finish this one.
Gonna look for in FM Carley-bulb country and for a bi-pin bulb holder now.
Thanks again, Jasper

 

[Chrontius]

FiveMega sells aluminum reflectors, bi-pin adapters, and his own brand of battery adapters - the ones you'll need if you don't have them are the reflector, and the bi-pin. He also sometimes sells the Welch-allyn 1185 bulbs, which are the canonical 3D hotwire bulb - either 3 li-ion (hold off on that a while) or 8-9 Ni-MH can be used to drive these, they have fairly good runtime and not too many issues (I've read about) to frustrate a beginning modder. They're also incredibly bright, on par with a ROP-hi.

You might also consider grabbing a 'golden shorty' low-profile tail spring from Kaidomain - they make the tailcap much easier to get on, and are lower resistance for brighter running.

By the way, if nobody has said it yet, welcome to CPF, and happy holidays! Always nice to see some new faces around here, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your new toy when it's up and running.

 

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

I use golden shorty springs on all my ROP's,they work great! I'm wondering what AA's your planning on using? Eneloops or Rayovac Hybrids are the batteries of choice on CPF. Regular AA's may not have the discharge rate to handle the 3854-h bulb. For the brightest ROP I have seen, you may want to upgrade to AW's C-size lithium batteries.(do a search).:welcome:

 

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

BTW,does the old Modamag holder really fit in an unbored 3D mag with batteries in it? Do you have an old Mag with no 'D' in the serial number?

 

[jbrand1]

I use golden shorty springs on all my ROP's,they work great! I'm wondering what AA's your planning on using? Eneloops or Rayovac Hybrids are the batteries of choice on CPF. Regular AA's may not have the discharge rate to handle the 3854-h bulb. For the brightest ROP I have seen, you may want to upgrade to AW's C-size lithium batteries.(do a search).:welcome:

Thanks for the welcomes, I will look into your suggestions, but at the moment it is merely abracadabra to me.
My plan was to make the light shine with nimh batteries first, then see whats possible with rechargables. For now im gonna read some more and find out whats what.

Chrontius, for using the the Welch-allyn 1185 bulbs do i need to get 3/4 dummies as you say it can run on 8/9 Ni-MH batteries?

Happy holidays!

Edit: it really fits, I will let you know about the D in the serial number when I see the light again, probably after christmas.

 

[Chrontius]

Nine AA Eneloops (or your Ni-MH of choice, I recommend Eneloops) put out about 10.8 volts nominal, which is a perfectly acceptable drive voltage for the 1185. On the other hand, they put out 12.6 volts for about 24 hours after you take them off the charger - that's not an acceptable drive voltage, so let them sit for a day after charging so you don't fry your bulb!

You'll eventually discover other 'resistance fixes' for making hotwires like your ROP or Mag85 brighter, but don't be tempted - they make those freshly-charged cells just that much more likely to turn your lamp into a flashbulb and most don't save you any trouble (other than that golden shorty spring, without which I wouldn't be able to screw down the tailcap on mine!). Resistance fixes are really only worthwhile when you're willing to drop a hundred bucks or so on a regulated electronic switch that protects the bulb... some swear by them, but they're totally unnecessary for something like you or I have.

Also forgot - when you get a new bulb, step zero is always take off the head, seat the bulb, and run it for a few minutes with the head facing away from you - there's sometimes epoxy in the bulb that's not done curing, and the smoke it gives off will stick to a reflector or lens and fog it up. Once that's done smoking, that bulb won't do it any more and you're good to go for as long as it lasts. Reason the bulb is pointed away from you is that - first - you'll blind yourself otherwise, and second, the bulb might pop - causing potential eye injury if it's pointed the wrong way. I suppose you could set the Mag down on its side, tip inside a larger glass jar to catch bulb fragments, but I just ran mine at arm's length for a minute.

 

[abarth_1200]

thats a good pointer that quite a few cpf'ers new to ROPs and hotwires often overlook, i did and was lucky to save my brand new shiny FM smooth reflector, i was like what the hell is going on with the bulb its frying itself inside, also try not to get the bulbs all sticky from your fingers, the heat will burn the sweat onto the glass making it very brittle and there is an even bigger chance of it going pop and wrecking your head assembly,

Happy ROPing