Cheap and easy to do. Giving a 2c Maglite 6D performance step by step

(1st picture below)
On the far left, I took about a quarter inch off of the tailspring and reshaped it with 2 sets of pliers.
This is so that the tailspring doesn't squash the batteries quite so hard.

In the middle, I got a 5/8ths inside diameter heater hose from an auto parts store.
I then cut it to 4 inches long and slit it down one side to hold 3 cr123 lithium batteries.
This whole thing drops right in there perfect into the light's battery tube.

On the right, I swapped out the 2 cell bulb with a Maglite 6 cell krypton bulb.
Then put another 6 cell bulb into the spare holder in the tailcap.

(Optional) On the far upper right is an optional charger with rechargeable lithium ion batteries.


Below, I reinstalled the 2c's old 2cell bulb into a 2D I had handy and took this picture of the 2 side by side to show the significant improvement.


I'm getting about 80-90 minutes of runtime out of the cr123's.
A 90 - 100 minute runtime is what the 2 optional 18500 batteries are giving this light.
Nice and cheap backup flashlight for under $30.

Edit:
I got the rechargeable cells and charger from here.


2 18500's are the recomended size for the 2c Maglite.
These are a tighter and rattle free fit than the cr123's.
I would kinda recommend the "protected" versions of the rechargeable batteries that are now available there.
These are much safer and more goof proof to charge.
The 2 blue batteries I showed are older unprotected 18500's that have not blown up yet.

Other 3x cr123 batteried flashlights are are usually too small inside and will need 2 17500's instead.
In some cases, even 17500's are still too wide.

This was my very first mod. Very nice guide.

3rd_shift said:

2 18500's are the recomended size for the 2c Maglite.
These are a tighter and rattle free fit than the cr123's.

Click to expand...

Very nice little tutorial. I'll have to try one of these mods one of these days--the ones that don't involve soldering or welding or turning something on a lathe! This one is just right--some mechanical work involved, but nothing an unskilled person couldn't do.

I just made my first foray into rechargeable Li-ions, for a 2C size light. I didn't know much about them, but everyone talks about 18650's, 18650's, so I bought a couple 18650's that another member said "fit" in this light. I knew that they'd be a tight fit for a 2C body, but I was surprised how hard you had to crank down the tailcap even with a shortenend spring. It works, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this situation, particularly potential wear and tear on the threads when you first try to screw it on and you have to press the tailcap hard against the body while turning the tailcap to make the threads engage. This is a light that I will actually use and recharge often, so I think it's a legitimate concern. I'm thinking that I should have bought 18500's instead. One question--once the tailcap spring has been clipped a bit, is it ever too short for 18500's? Or put another way, lengthwise, are two 18500's still long enough, compared to 2C, that I don't have to worry about it? Thanks again for the post.

OceanView said:

One question--once the tailcap spring has been clipped a bit, is it ever too short for 18500's? Or put another way, lengthwise, are two 18500's still long enough, compared to 2C, that I don't have to worry about it?

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Actually, I guess I'll answer my own question after I played around with a few CR123a's. 3x123 leaves space in the tube so there's no contact by the tail spring. Since 3x123 is the same length as 2x18500, simply switching to 18500's isn't going to work as-is on my light. I'm not sure if simply trying to pull out the tailspring longer will work, if I wanted to use 3x123 or 2x18500. Guess I'll need to buy a stock Mag spring. Well, I would like to try AW's forthcoming C-sized Li-ions when they come out, so I guess I'll need a stock spring anyway.

When I did my spring I clipped the first round off the top then the first round on the bottom of the spring. It came out just right for me. But I was doing this with 123s.

Yes, 18500's work, but I strongly recommend taking about a quarter inch off of the spring with dikes, or a dremel,
and reshaping it with a couple of strong pliers.
Check the Dealers Corner part of the forum for AW's lithium ion sales thread to get a good charger and 2-4 PROTECTED 18500's.

Nice thing about this mod is that all the parts in the light are still stock and simply working to thier fullest potential. :thumbsup:

Nice tutorial! :naughty: I would suggest a couple small improvements... but they're offered in the spirit of taking your good work and maybe tweaking it a bit more... please don't read into it that I'm in any way discounting your efforts! oo:

1. You might want to cut 10cm of PVC pipe... dangit, forgot which diameter... take a 123 cell to Home Depot and grab whichever one will let the cell slide inside. The radiator hose just makes me nervous in that it's an insulator and could potentially trap heat inside, allowing it to build up in the cells... yes, PVC is an insulator too though probably not as good of one! (Which is good in this case.) (Did that last sentence make no sense at all?)

2. Use the 5-cell Mag Xenon Star bulb for whiter and brighter output. They run off a pair of Li-ion cells nicely.

Again, WOOHOO! These sorts of threads are terrific. Thanks! :bow:

OceanView said:

...everyone talks about 18650's, 18650's, so I bought a couple 18650's that another member said "fit" in this light. I knew that they'd be a tight fit for a 2C body, but I was surprised how hard you had to crank down the tailcap even with a shortenend spring. It works, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this situation, particularly potential wear and tear on the threads when you first try to screw it on and you have to press the tailcap hard against the body while turning the tailcap to make the threads engage.

Click to expand...

If you use 2x 18670's in a 2C, you shoul REMOVE the battery spring entirely, scrape off the anodizing from the bottom inside of the cap, and put either a tiny battery or wad of aluminum foil for a negative contact. Often, this is still too long, so you may have to put a spacer or longer cap on it (both were available on CPF at some point).

Blindasabat said:

If you use 2x 18670's in a 2C, you shoul REMOVE the battery spring entirely, scrape off the anodizing from the bottom inside of the cap, and put either a tiny battery or wad of aluminum foil for a negative contact. Often, this is still too long, so you may have to put a spacer or longer cap on it (both were available on CPF at some point).

Click to expand...

Unprotected, raw 18650's usually will go in just like that.
But they can get killed from overdischarge in a warm wire bulbed light like this one.
It's the protected ones that are the safer move, but sometimes just won't quite fit in there due to the extra electronics on the ends.
I have some older protected 18650's that just barely make it in there with only a staple for a (-) contact.
It fits and works perfect.