What would happen if I put a CREE XR-E in a 3AA maglite?

I'm sure I could figure out how, I'm just wondering if it would run OK.

Dogs and cats living together - Mass hysteria.

dammitjim said:

Dogs and cats living together - Mass hysteria.

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Thanks for the stupid little comment but that doesn't really tell me whether or not the voltage and temps would be ok.

Do you know if the 3AA Mag light has a resistor?

Are you talking about a Mag LED?
I put a Cree in my Streamlight 2L 3W and that runs off 2 RCR123 3.0v batteries.

FlashKat said:

Do you know if the 3AA Mag light has a resistor?

Are you talking about a Mag LED?
I put a Cree in my Streamlight 2L 3W and that runs off 2 RCR123 3.0v batteries.

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Yeah it's the LED one. I'm not positive if it has a resistor but I'd guess that it does. I saw someone using a cree in a 2AA maglite but I already have the 3AA so that's why I was asking.

GetSome said:

Thanks for the stupid little comment but that doesn't really tell me whether or not the voltage and temps would be ok.

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GetSome said:

Yeah it's the LED one. I'm not positive if it has a resistor but I'd guess that it does. I saw someone using a cree in a 2AA maglite but I already have the 3AA so that's why I was asking.

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I would say it should be ok. Most Luxeon LEDs are close to the same forward voltage as a Cree. If you have a DMM, connect it in-line with the Cree and check what the current to the LED is.

Nitroz said:

I would say it should be ok. Most Luxeon LEDs are close to the same forward voltage as a Cree. If you have a DMM, connect it in-line with the Cree and check what the current to the LED is.

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Yeah I have a DMM. I figured the voltage would probably work since most LED's use similar voltages. I'm just hoping that it'll be a lot brighter...

Anyway does anyone know how much modding it'll take to fit in there?

Here's a link to the Mag 3 AA Cree mod.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/144141

Nitroz said:

Here's a link to the Mag 3 AA Cree mod.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/144141

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Thanks for the helpful link! However upon looking at that, I'm thinking I might just be better off buying an already made cree light (like a fenix or lumapower) since it doesn't seem very bright.

GetSome said:

,,,, stupid little comment (s)

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... those are allowed for people who have made over 300 postings.

For people like you and me with less than 100 ... it's best to just nod and say thanks.
(or laugh, if your sense of humor allows)
Humour actually

Sarratt said:

... those are allowed for people who have made over 300 postings.

For people like you and me with less than 100 ... it's best to just nod and say thanks.
(or laugh, if your sense of humor allows)
Humour actually

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I see your point, but I post in a lot of forums, and it gets old when people attempt to make witty comments when you're asking a serious question.

But I'm over it, I'm not trying to offend anyone.

You can put a cree into the minimag. The reflector is deep and does ok. You will have to modify the heatsink to make the corners of the cree fit, but if you have a dremel, it's a couple easy cuts. Most of the new crees have a bit higher vfs relative to what you can get from luxeons, so you may not be running it at very high currents. Some people who've gotten theirs on the recent group buys have reported currents as low as 400mA by driect drive from 3 alkaline cells. If you already have a cree, you can connect it to a power source to drive it at the proper current you want, measure the resistance and the supply voltage, and calculate the vF of that particular led. That will give you the information you need to see how bright your led will be in the light, and help you decide if it will be worth it or not.