Simple "Noob" MOD options for a 5 D Cell Maglite

I'm new to modding and would love to breath some new life into this old torch. I'd have to rate my modding skills at low-to-non-existent, so the simpler the better please. I want it to retain the robustness that appealed in the first place.

The easiest mod I can think if is a simple bulb replacement. There's a whole host of drop-ins out there that range from dim and long running to bright with only a few hours of runtime. Just do a bit a searching and find what you're looking for.

Mod wise:

Buck driver + heatsink + Seoul P4(along with wires, solder and some sort of thermal compound).

LED drop-ins are also an option. Along with high power Incan mods.

You didn't mention what your price range is..

The Terralux TLE-6EX works out pretty well, probably the most bang for the buck in brightness at around $25, it just replaces the bulb, but gets hot if run for any length of time, since it screws down to the same spot as the normal bulb. There are a lot of threads on this, just do a search.

Then there is there are the highly rated Malkoff Drop-ins (www.malkoffdevices.com), which drop in, but actually heatsink to the body and have a very effective driver. They are also more expensive starting at $75

Terralux also makes a 3 LED drop-in, TLE-300 which is also more expensive at around $99.

There are a LOT more if you search the threads, but those don't require any MODding of the light, just remove the light and drop in.

The others do require you to get parts (heatsinks, leds, resistors/drivers) and solder them together, though not terribly difficult.

6 c's and a rop is never a bad idea

g

Goona bump this. Saw a Mag85 recipe using a 5D maglite host:
I can't work out whether there's a bulb that can take the voltage of 15AA batteries - I assume there must be one otherwise Mdocod wouldn't make the adaptors for them - so until and unless someone can help me out with that and after some newb research I've concluded I need:

• 52.1 mm Borofloat® orUCL® Lens from Flashlightlens
• One of mdocod's 9AA>3D ~10.8V battery adaptors
• a Welch-Allyn WA1185 bulb (From Litho)
• a LOP Light Orange Peel reflector (also from Litho)
• two spacers shrug

So my questions would be should I continue looking for a way to make the best use of the 2 cells' space in terms of adding batteries or consider using that space as room for extra heat dissipation or just go for spacers (where from?).

Thanks as ever for any assistance.

Jebus - Sorry but my research is still producing more questions than answers.

Just seen reference to a 4D Maglite with OSRAM 64440 IRC 50W halogen bulb which looks sah-weet. Worth a newb looking into any further?

I initially budgeted for approx $100 but I think that might be getting more and more unlikely...

I'm not sure how many bulbs have been experimented on with 15AA adapters, but I figured I should offer them with the thought that someone might want to try some things out, I haven't sold any to be honest, so it's apparently not a very popular number of cells to use....

However, It should be noted that just about any "normal" "long-life" 12V halogen rated at around 2000 hours life, will work pretty nice on 15 high current AA cells with resistance mods.

The 64623 is often used with 12-13 high performance NIMH cells to get ~15.6V in conjunction with lots of resistance mods, I'd have to imagine that if you were using cells like eneloops, at that current draw, you'd probably achieve a similar ~15-16V to the bulb with 15 cells. You'd be relying on the "lower" performance of the eneloops as compared with true high current hobby cells... This is just a guess as I have no idea how well this would work in practice...

Eric

Lots of good suggestions here Garnett. Let me add my two cents....particularly for you thinking that you have limitations.

Let's get simple and easy to make.

Here is my suggestion (this setup blew away a Virginia local officer's Surefire flashlight so bad he threw it into the forest (don't worry, I have the son-in-law asking what model it is before I direct him into the forest looking for it!) I suspect somebody had low batteries).....

One 5 D M@glite (which you already have)

One Micropuck SHO (around 10 dollars plus shipping)

One D sized H22A heatsink (around 18 dollars plus shipping). I highly recommend you use a premade heatsink your first try. There are some really good tutorials on this sight (do a search for Micropuck, or tuturial and you should get them). You can then make your own if you have a metal lathe or know someone that does, but these heatsinks are NICE.

Some of the suggested epoxy the tuturial recomments (Artic Alumina Thermal Epoxy...Sandwich Shoppe has it)

Get a P4 emitter from somewhere (Photonfantastic sold me mine...around 10 dollars....get two or three, you will be making a couple of these in 4 D, so just get some more.....trust me.)

The tutorial will show you how to disassemble the M@g, cut the reflector down, solder the wires together (4 D is really nice in the "zone" for the Micropuck, 5 D is pushing it (but it makes an incredible light....did I mention how long it lasts?), epoxying the emitter to the heatsink and final installation details. Just look at the tutorials and just think, everyone else here has done it, so I can do it too. It is not that bad.....

Now, for what you don't know. How long it will last. I made this set up in 4 D using 4 new Duracell batteries (fresh) and I shut the light off around 70 some hours later not because it was dead, I still had plenty of light to read a book with.....it was because I was warned if I purposely ran the alkaline batteries down to zero I was risking getting a leak in one or more of them.

I built a 5 D just like you hopefully will......it will last a long, long, long time on those 5 D batteries. And just wait for a nice dark night and show your local law enforcement officer just what a piece of crap his old duty light is........I am now making one for this officer in Virginia!!

Oh, get ready.......you may become very busy making these!!!

Good luck.

Bob E.

Thanks for the replies.

Safetybob, I had set my sights on an incandescent mod, as I own a few LED torches from DX and had been told (on the incan section of CPF :thinking that an Incan would be better!

I did a search for the tutorials and found these:
Maglite 2D SSC P4 Micropuck Tutorial (loads of pics)
First SSC P4 Maglite

mdocod - time for more research!

Garnett said:

Jebus - Sorry but my research is still producing more questions than answers.

Just seen reference to a 4D Maglite with OSRAM 64440 IRC 50W halogen bulb which looks sah-weet. Worth a newb looking into any further?

I initially budgeted for approx $100 but I think that might be getting more and more unlikely...

Click to expand...

That one actually cost me $110 including a high end 12AA to 4D fivemega battery adapter. It would be ~$75 with a 12AA adapter from mdocod. That's with all components needed, the flashlight and one bulb. Batteries excluded.

Thanks for the info, StefanFS - the fact you're from Sweden is encouraging too - I'm based in the UK so I was worried I'd only be able to get this stuff from the US and delivery costs might prove a problem.

What do I need to search for to find instructions on how to do this mod?

I take it the list of kit is essentially the same apart from the bulb:

Battery Adapter
Lens
Reflector
Possibly a heatsink in the 5th cell space???

Garnett said:

Thanks for the info, StefanFS - the fact you're from Sweden is encouraging too - I'm based in the UK so I was worried I'd only be able to get this stuff from the US and delivery costs might prove a problem.

What do I need to search for to find instructions on how to do this mod?

I take it the list of kit is essentially the same apart from the bulb:

Battery Adapter
Lens
Reflector
Possibly a heatsink in the 5th cell space???

Click to expand...

I modded it with a high temp bulb holder. KIU has a very good guide on how to do the modding.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=171607

A glass lens
from flashlightlens.com, dealextreme.com or kaidomain.com. 52mm.

A metal reflector:
http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDeta...ProductId=1740

I also use either a 12AA batteryholder or four D-size LiION cells.
The holders are $42 from fivemega or $26 from mdocod. The fivemega holder has nicer finish but mdocod's is just as practical.

I get the bulbs from Slovenia, www.svetila.com , they are cheaper than local shops.
I buy the Mag 4D's locally for ~$25. I guess Mags are more expensive in the UK. You might need to buy a new Mag if yours doesn't have a D in front of the serial#.

It's easy to make a fake D battery from some wood and copper wire.

I also solder a wire from the top to the end on the battery spring for lower resistance.

Stefan

Wow! Awesome info, Stefan. Thanks again. I willread up on the high temp bulb holder and soldering the wire through the spring sounds like an inspired idea.

StefanFS said:

I get the bulbs from Slovenia, www.svetila.com , they are cheaper than local shops.

Click to expand...

That looks like a useful resource, and I note the Osram Halostar 64440 IRC 50W 12V bulb is rated at 12v with a lifespan of 4000 h...

mdocod said:

I'm not sure how many bulbs have been experimented on with 15AA adapters....However, It should be noted that just about any "normal" "long-life" 12V halogen rated at around 2000 hours life, will work pretty nice on 15 high current AA cells with resistance mods.

Click to expand...

BINGO! Looks like I could use all five D cell slots for a 15AA adapter.

Bit worried about this though:

StefanFS said:

You might need to buy a new Mag if yours doesn't have a D in front of the serial#.

Click to expand...

Will have to check when I get home!

if you haven't already check this out:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/179748

The IRC bulbs don't look to bad, for 15 cells they would work, I only suggest the 50W and 65W, the 35W IRC isn't anywhere as efficient as the others, which start to break into the 40lm/w territory at around 18V. Ideally speaking, a set of high current cells should be used for these bulbs if you have a 15 cell configuration, even on eneloops with all the resistance mods they won't be pushing their potential, but eneloops would work fine for awhile. The nice thing about the IRC bulbs is they have pretty good efficiency even if you don't take them to the bleeding edge, but I have heard that while you get a lot of light, it's not as brilliant white as many other popular regular halogens when overdriven. I'm thinking that the 50W IRC might actually be better suited for an 18 cell pack in a 6D, of eneloops.

From eneloops, you will probably get somewhere around 1.1V per cell into the load of a decent hotwire (around 5 amps, give or take), so a 15 cell pack will give you maybe 16.5V to work with, high current cells would probably hold above 1.2V into these loads, making it 18V give or take. There's always unavoidable losses from resistance in the whole package, so you just have to expect to loose some on the way to the bulb, do as many resistance fixes as you can.

Let me know if you decide on a 15AA adapter... I need to finish a couple up (making "new" and improved versions of them)...

Eric

One quick question - Are Eneloops essential? I have a lot of these [FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]Rechargeable [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]AA Size (2800mAh) [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]Ni-Mh Batteries[/FONT] at home. I was hoping to use them.

Batteries aside, can I run the bits list past the experts...

• Multi-Layer Coated HD Flashlight Lens from Kaidomain - $6
• One of mdocod's 9AA>3D ~10.8V battery adaptors - $30
• a Osram Halostar 64447 IRC 65W 12V bulb from www.svetila.com approx $10
• a M*g SMO Cam/Camless Aluminum Reflector from Kaidomain - $15
• KUI Mag D High Temp Socket kit - $15

So I reckon I'm looking at $76 total.

Have I missed anything?

Garnett said:

One quick question - Are Eneloops essential? I have a lot of these [FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]Rechargeable [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]AA Size (2800mAh) [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]Ni-Mh Batteries[/FONT] at home. I was hoping to use them.


Batteries aside, can I run the bits list past the experts...

• Multi-Layer Coated HD Flashlight Lens from Kaidomain - $6
• One of mdocod's 9AA>3D ~10.8V battery adaptors - $30
• a Osram Halostar 64447 IRC 65W 12V bulb from www.svetila.com approx $10
• a M*g SMO Cam/Camless Aluminum Reflector from Kaidomain - $15
• KUI Mag D High Temp Socket kit - $15

So I reckon I'm looking at $76 total.

Have I missed anything?

Click to expand...

Go with the eneloops. Otherwise your list is good, you need at least 12AA to drive it (if not more). The thing is, you won't see a difference between 50W and 65W bulbs with your eyes. But the 50W will give a longer runtime though.

list looks good, but make it a 15AA adapter and check out these cells:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/taapowermax-1800.html

I think those are going to be the best bang for the buck in a high performance light. I always suggest ordering a few extras as high performance cells are more prone to premature failure. Make sure to order tabbed versions for use with my adapter, or you could contact LuxLuther and see about a custom welded and shrinkwrapped pack, (would require a 15 cell compatible pack charger).

Any cell rated at 2800mAH is almost undoubtedly a lie, there are a few 2700-2800mAH rated cells that are reasonable performers, (like Sanyo), but most high capacity cells fall on their face under high stress loads, the eneloops do a little better, the titanium's I linked to above are desirable for any mag-mod where you have room for more voltage in the bulb but not room for more cells in the design.

Ideally speaking, quad bore the mag, and have a 20AA pack made up, and run an AW mag-switch-hotdriver, total would probably get up around $300 pretty fast

I have a 5-D mag which I have subjected to much modding. The cheapest option is the rop hi or lo with 6 c-cells in a pvc tube. I think it's 1 inch schedule 40 pvc you need for that (just take a c-cell to the plumbing dept at the hardware store). You also need to replace the reflector and the poly lens as they won't last long and you need the pelican 3854 lamp set.

The other mod I've done on the 5-D mag is the 12 volt bipin lamps on 15 high current AA's. First I made a pack by soldering together 15 Titanium powermax 1800's and using 12 gauge wire and Deans plugs for the connection. I used Kiu's high temp bipin switch conversion, Kai Domain's SMO reflector (the one with the larger hole) and a borofloat lens. I hardwired the switch with 12 gauge wire so no more tailcap spring. It's blindingly bright with GE edison halogen 50 12v gy6.35 bipin lamps which are sold at every hardware store and even walmart. I have the irc50 as well as the 90 watt osram on the way (all are rated at 12 volts). I calculated that the 50 watters will draw about 5 amps at around 17 volts (the titanium powermax's will sag to around 1.15 volts at 5 amps), so that rerates to around 85 watts.

Beamshots!
Mag Rop Lo lithium on left, Mag 15cell w/ ge 50 watt bipin 97670 on right:



The setup: