Your thoughts on the 4 C cell Mag...

[Rusty Joe]

Just bought a new 4 C cell Mag off Amazon. I see that the Mag official site still has the C-cell Mags as an active product line, but I have yet to find any in any but 2-Cs in any store in South Texas, which is where I reside.

I plan to get the LED adapter for it as the original bulbs for Mags just aren't spectacular.

Has anyone had any experience with this light? How would you rate it overall?

 

[Rusty Joe]

4 C Cell LED battery life

Does anyone know how much battery life I should get with my new 4 C cell Mag with the LED adapter?

 

[CanadaBright]

This battery type is the only MAG that I own, and am quite happy with that choice. Locally, it is VERY hard to find any c cell MAGs, they are all d or mini's.

Personally I think that the d MAGs are too heavy for long term use, and think that 4c is the perfect weight and length. I put a MAG LED drop-in in mine and, now it is a very good light.

My soon to be father-in-law a few years ago saw my pre LED 4c MAG and wanted one, so we looked EVERYWHERE for one as a X-mas present. No luck. Closest we could find was a 3C, and that was the only c cell we found. Thankfully he was pleased with that light.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not leaving my A2 at home in favour of the MAG, but it's hard to beat for camping, as you can stop at any gas station and pick up c cells.

 

[GPB]

Re: 4 C Cell LED battery life

I don't know but I am sure its measured in days and not hours. If you head over to Flashlightreviews.com you can see some runtime plots of the 2,3, and 4 D Cell MagLEDs. One thing to remember about the Mags is that their "constant on" burntime will be much longer than their "few minutes here and there" burntime because when they get hot, which happens quicly, their output ( and battery consumption ) decreases.

 

[ZMZ67]

IMHO the C cells are the best products Mag offers.I have a 3C,4C and several 2Cs.
I use the TerraLUX TLE-6EXB and TLE-6EX in the 3 and 4 cell lights and have been pleased with the results.The Magled modules are OK too I use them in a couple of the 2Cs.The 4C offers more power/runtime and Mags(w/LED) will out throw most other LED lights even though output may be less overall.

 

[LukeA]

I did this tutorial on a 2C mag. Great output with loooooong runtime, like 6-8 hours, then a few hours of tailing output.

EDIT: I got my 2Cs at Home Depot, but in October. I didn't see anything but 2D, 2C, and 3D.

 

[NA8]

I've got a 2C, 3C, and a 4C Maglite. They are probably the best flashlights you can buy. Just add Malkoff drop ins, Accupower C 4500mAH Evolution NiMH Low Self Discharge batteries, and a Maha MH-C808M charger.

My local Ace Hardware store has a pretty complete range of Maglites.

 

[Gunner12]

Which LED drop-in will you put in the light?

Battery life will depend on the LED drop-in you will be getting.

 

[Rusty Joe]

I did this tutorial on a 2C mag. Great output with loooooong runtime, like 6-8 hours, then a few hours of tailing output.

EDIT: I got my 2Cs at Home Depot, but in October. I didn't see anything but 2D, 2C, and 3D.

6-8 hours? That's it? I've heard they'll do like 44 hours. The drop-in I planned to use is the standard 3 watt led by Mag.

 

[NA8]

6-8 hours? That's it? I've heard they'll do like 44 hours. The drop-in I planned to use is the standard 3 watt led by Mag.

The MagLED in a 4D will run 44 hours in regulation. The mod he's referring to is much brighter and has less run time. However, 6-8 hours ain't bad for the output.

Here's a couple of reviews of the MagLED.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm

http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/magrev.htm

 

[Juggernaut]

Mag's own LED replacement generally doubles the out put length, so it any C Mag gets 4-5 hour run time, you should get 8-10 "same as conventional D Mags. And GPB What are you trying to say "One thing to remember about the Mags is that their "constant on" burn time will be much longer than their few minutes here and there" burn time because when they get hot, which happens quickly, their output ( and battery consumption ) decreases." Why would the bulb getting hot decrees the power consumed "A tungsten filament must almost immediately reach it's operating temperature to work, unlike a HID. And you state their out put droops? Under voltage sag because of high drain applications from alkaline batteries this can happen, but as far as I can tell I have never heard of this in a .75 A bulb running of C or D cells.

 

[GPB]

Perhaps I am making too many assumptions, but the review of the MagLED at Flashlightreviews.com ( linked above ) says:

"....they also discovered poor heatsinking for the LED, which the circuitry then has to compensate for by quickly lowering output as the module heats up...."

I has assumed that if the circuitry is lowering the output when the module gets too warm, it must also be lowering the power consumption, so if the light was left on for the entire run time, it would run warm and at a lower output and rate of battery consumption than if it was run in short bursts, because the overheat protection wouldn't have to kick in to protect the bulb. You would always be getting the full brightness of the bulb and the higher power cosumption associated with it by running the light in short bursts.

Was this not a logical assumption ??

 

[mdocod]

that's correct, the mag brand LED module is thermally "regulated" and drops down to a lower output to manage heat build-up in the module. So leaving it on will heat up the module, the module will then respond by reducing power consumption to reduce heat until it finds a happy medium between output and heat.

For the 4C, there are an enormous number of modification options. From TerraLux LED drop-ins, to the mag brand LED drop-ins, to malkoff LED drop-ins, to one of the many custom heat-sink modules available for use with your choice of LED and driver, to incandescent modifications, like running 3 Emoli brand 26670 size Li-Ion and something like an 1185 bulb, (or 3x18650 protected AW brand li-ion will also work), or 7 2/3A NIMH cells in a sleeve for use with the 6 cell alkaline or ROP bulbs, or 6 CR123 photo lithium cells in a sleeve powering an 18V "power tool" style flashlight bulb, Or 6 4/5 Sub-C NIMH cells powering 6 cell flashlight or ROP bulbs. (most high power incan mods would require replacing the lens with glass and the reflector with aluminum alternatives)..

Oh, and BTW, off the top of my head I seem to recall that a 4 cell mag-xenon bulb is actually a fair bit brighter than the Mag-LED drop-ins, when using fresh cells anyways.

I think the best overall solution for a general use light is a set of 4 accupower LSD C NIMH cells and one of these:
http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2...s_id=5&zenid=idp90f3r1lpmdur94uiq8480qbcq0j3n

 

[Juggernaut]

Yes I understand, I was figuring you were describing the LED mod, but I wasn't sure "thus I didn't understand how that would happen in an incandescent bulb.

 

[lctorana]

...Or 6 4/5 Sub-C NIMH cells powering 6 cell flashlight or ROP bulbs. (most high power incan mods would require replacing the lens with glass and the reflector with aluminum alternatives)..

Oh yes, my 4C RoP is my go-to light when I want a really bright light, every single time.

Oh, and BTW, off the top of my head I seem to recall that a 4 cell mag-xenon bulb is actually a fair bit brighter than the Mag-LED drop-ins, when using fresh cells anyways.

And if you can find one, the Philips SPKR823 is the brightest 4-cell bulb out there. You can also overdrive a Philips HPR53, which, although a 3-cell bulb, is designed for 4V so should last a little while in this service.

I think the best overall solution for a general use light is a set of 4 accupower LSD C NIMH cells and one of these:
http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2...s_id=5&zenid=idp90f3r1lpmdur94uiq8480qbcq0j3n

Yes, it probably is.