Modding Maglite with Diamond Led, what's the catch???

Would appreciate little help with my first drop in led for a mag. I've been looking to mod my old Maglite 2D to a LEDlight for a while now, and I've been specially interested in the 1w Diamond Bulb for 2cell-light since http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/diamond_magbulbs1w.htm did an excellent test on it. But after consulting you guys, I understood that I could use 3 C-cells instead of 2Ds in my maglite and what stops me then from using the 3w Diamond bulb also excellently reviewed by Quickbeam here: (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/diamond_magbulbs3w.htm)

As I figure it out, I get roughly the same runtime (at least 12 hours, which is sufficient for me), and twice the output and throw! The 3w drops much faster to 50%, but it's still much brighter than the 1w for at least 12h.
So what did I miss? What's the catch? Am I relying to must on numbers or am I just a lucky man who just solved most of his outdoor lumination problem with one relatively cheap ledbulb?


Stats

__________________Throw_____Total output
Diamond 1watt-------4000--------2350
Diamond 3watt-------8400--------4200
Maglite 3D stock-----6185--------2300

Or should I be on the safe side and go for the 2D option? This is a light I'm going to use quite a lot, so I dont want any unpleasant surprises.

Thanks again.

I have the DB-3W from the same supplier that provided the sample for review and I am very happy with it. Actually, I just ordered a second one yesterday. The only potential drawbacks I have found aren't really problems for me but may be for others.

The first is heat. This bulb gets pretty hot since the only heat dissipation is through the bulb socket, no direct heat sinking to the body of the light. This might become an issue for some but it apparently doesn't harm the bulb or I'm sure it would have been mentioned in the review. I almost never use my light for extended periods so it's not an issue for me.

The second is the famous Maglite donut hole. To me it seems even worse with the LED than with the incandescent bulb. When you do not have the light set for spot focus, it looks like you've discovered a way to make portable black holes. There is virtually no spill in this area. Again not a problem for me as I always end up using mine on spot focus.

As for going with a 2D replacement, I also have an EverLED in my 2D, and in comparison to the DB-3W it's positively anemic! Of course the EverLED is a lot more versatile since it works on 1-6 cells, not just 3 like the DB-3W.

The catch is that you either need 3 cells or you need the LED with boost circuit, which is more expensive. I don't like the size of a 3D. The 3C isn't too bad though. I had a spare 2D and I might try modding it to hold 3C, when I get enough interest to try that.

@Donshock.
Since I'm going to use it on spot most of the time, the black hole doesn't bother me that much. But I will probably use it for extended periods, but as you said, since it's not mentioned in the review, heat might not be a problem, knock on wood. Not sure if you can use it without the reflector so you can use it as a candle, but that would be pretty sweet.

@bjn70.
Since I dont have a 3D Mag and will mod my 2D to 3C if I get the 3w bulb, size is not that much of an issue.
I'm going to see how easy it is to mod it to 3C as soon as I can get a hold of my mag(it's at my parents house), but surely, it can't be that hard?

Yeah, I don't really care for the 2D or 3D form factors... Short of a custom build, I'd probably go for an high dome EverLED in a 2C myself.

I'd personally avoid the Diamond Lux IIIs because of potential heat issues. I don't have any problems with makeshift Lux Is in mags but if you want a Lux III, I'd go for an actual build using a good heatsink.

Purely my opinion and many others will disagree no doubt.

It works great as a candle! Lights up my entire living room way better than the incandescent. Perfectly even illumination over the entire area with absolutely no light/dark areas like with the incandescents. Another bulb that works nearly as well for this purpose is the TLE-5N drop in for the Minimag, it's just not as bright. I bought one for carry at work since the stock MM was too dim but it still wasn't bright enough but when I started using it in candle mode I stopped regretting it. As a matter of fact, I ordered a second one of those also yesterday.

get an EverLED; it works anywhere from 1-6 cells and has reverse polarity protection.

with the Diamond in tight focus, is there spill or is it all spot?

edit; is there any point even slightly backed off from spot that avoids the donut hole but broadens the beam?

Plenty of good spill, I don't think there's any reason for most uses to back off from tight focus.

I've converted both a 2 & 3 D cell lights to Everleds using C123 size lithium batteries. Although the Everled can take up to 9 volts (or 3x C123's) I've opted to keep just 2 x lithium cells in each light.
The six volts of the C123's will place the Everled at the peak of its performance and (to my eyes at least) seems substantially brighter than on the 3 volts or 4.5 volts of the 2 or 3 X D size alkalines normally carried in these Mags. However, as I understand it once Everleds go beyond 4.5 volts there is no more performance gain , just longer run times.

The advantages of using lithiums in the mags is (A) lighter weight (B) brighter light than on normal alkalines (C) longer run times than alkalines provide and (D) less unserviceability associated with alkaline batteries having a shorter 'use by date'!

Of course if you have made an easy to remove inner sleeve for the lithiums you can always use conventional alkaline batteries if lithiums are unavailable.

Using Everleds and a Diamond LEd in my 3 X C cell Mags has rejuventated them and meant that they have been recalled to active service from the premature retirement they were otherwise experiencing.

Doug

Just did a quick test. You can expand the tightest spot by about 50% before the donut hole starts to appear and makes the center unusable once it is about twice the spot focus size. When spotted, there is spill that is relatively large in area and very even but pretty dim (slightly dimmer than my Dorcy 1AAA at about 10 ft). My guess is that it would provide usable light out to maybe 20 or 30 ft.

There is virtually no light in the hole when out of spot focus. This seems to be caused by the black outer surface of the DB-3W bulb sticking up into the reflector providing absolutely no reflection. The stock bulb still has the chrome of the bulb holder to still provide some reflectivity as it rises up into the reflector when defocused.

So, How do the EverLed and Diamond (1 and3W) compare to the Craftsman 3AA bulb?

More Quick Tests:


DB-3W will run off just 2 D cells in 2D light. Brightness is about the same as EverLED in the same light. However in 3D light, DB-3W is much brighter.

Spill/Hole comparison of DB-3W vs EverLED: EverLED has less spill area (even allowing for being dimmer overall) but can be taken further out of focus and still provide usable light in the hole. Spot can be expandedto fill about 3/4 of total beam diameter before hole becomes useless at about 10 ft.