its been a while !please help a scotsman get up to speed!

Hello folks its been a while!
looking for up to date advice on the best mod for a maglites in general
My first project will be a 2D maglite i would like to change to a bright led
and if possible ise the18650 batterys and a chargers i already have.

whats possible for a diy Mod

thank you
Tam frae bonnie scotland
( actually its a wet and bloddy miserable scotland what ever happened to real winters?)

Drop ins are super easy (though not really mods at all) and can yeild pretty good results. I love my drop in 3watt MagLED bulb for my 2-D mag. It's brighter than the standard bulb and runs forever.

For a true modder though (if that's what you are) I'd find a nice 2 cell driver and a cree (everyone's raving about them) and mount it on a heatsink. Brighter, longer running, better heat management. It'd be a worthwhile attempt. Maybe I'd even try multiple emitters.

thanks for the help
sounds like a drop in unit would be a good idea.
what drop in unit would you recommend and can i run then with 18650 batterys

thanks

a single 18650 battery will run a 3 cell magled drop in nicely. Two cells? Thats overdriving even a 4 cell (highest magLED drop in module available) this will cause damage to your drop in bulb and will fry it. How many 18650 cells can you cram into a 2D mag? For the magLED drop in I'd stick with the D cell alkalines.

I dont think 18650 is a good idea.
Its not possible to get 2 side by side into the light, better use a "c" model to loose less space (or get some E-bay lights for 18650s for the mod)
better to use a "D" for a "4 AA side by side"-storing, thus 8 AAs.

OF COURSE a Cree and no Luxeon if You dont already have one at home and absolutely positively have to use it. Luxes produce more heat but only half the output!

Problem with cree by now is: difficult to get optics, but reflectors are present (sandwich shoppe). The normal Mag-Reflector does not work good, the cree has a tighter beam than luxeons.

thanks carbine 15 and Yellow.
so the most basic of mods would be to enable the 2d mag to use 8 x 2700 rechargable AA batterys and fit a drop in LED.this would give me good run time and a brighter light?
shame i cant use the 4 x 18650 batterys i have !
can these be used in larger Maglites?
thanks again

Eight 2700 NIMH (nickel metal hydride) AA batteries will give you too many volts to run the drop in LED module. Those battery holders are used in running hotwire mods or barn burners like the Mag85, Mag11 and ROP (roar of the pelican). That is, they are used to drive an incandescent bulb at up to 12 volts in a 2-D body. This generates great heat and requires the use of special switch modifications, metal reflectors and high temperature glass lenses as well as boring the body out to accept the width of four NIMH cells wide.You're better off sticking to 2 D cells unless you want to make a very bright incandescent light that runs for 30 minutes tops.

The alkaline D cell will give you more runtime than 8 NIMH batteries in an LED setup. If you must use your NIMH AA rechargeables, you could run 2 AA batteries in D size holders. I don't know what the runtime is for 2AA running the 3W LED drop in module, but it's likely to be at least an hour or two. Alkaline d-cells will give you 26 hours of bright usable light.

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

I think 2 18650 cells can be used in a 2C mag to make the ROP LE or lithium edition. THis involves some tailspring modification (bending or removal). then using a spacer like PVC pipe or heater hose to hold the cells in proper alignment to drive a 6-7.2 volt bulb. reflector and lens replacement is recomended as is a ceramic bulb holder.mag just has too may plastic parts that melt and catch on fire. Luckily there are modders here who have replacemnet parts for sale to fireproof your mag barn burner.

check also the ROP thread for 18650 ideas.

deertrackdoctor said:

Hello folks its been a while!
looking for up to date advice on the best mod for a maglites in general
My first project will be a 2D maglite i would like to change to a bright led
and if possible ise the18650 batterys and a chargers i already have.

whats possible for a diy Mod

thank you
Tam frae bonnie scotland
( actually its a wet and bloddy miserable scotland what ever happened to real winters?)

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