How/Why use C cells in a D light

I am itching to do something with a couple of Mags that I have so I was searching and came accross a poster who was using 4 C cells in a 3 D light. I can see that the length matches up pretty well, but what do you do about the diameter ?? I am hoping there is a simpler way than a half a role of duct tape. So that's the "how" part of my question...now why ??

If your led is regulated ( I am looking at the terralux drop in ) won't it provide the same output regardless of your input volts ?? I thought the reason that regulation was built in was to keep the light output constant as batteries drained and voltage dropped, but I am sure I am missing something here.

Any help is appreciated, as well as comments from folks who have expereince with both the MagLED and the terralux ministar5.

For extra credit: Is there any real noticable difference in light output through a plastic vs glass ( or boron ) lense ?

thanks !

PVC pipe to hold the batteries. I'll measure mine later and post the size I used.

As for LEDs I have no idea. But for incans using 4 cells on a 3 cell bulb will overdrive the bulb making it whiter and brighter.

For the lens, I couldn't tell the difference between a stock Mag lens and a Magcharger lens. Besides this mod doesn't get super hot so melting won't be an issue.

I have three C's in a two D mag taking the voltage from 3v to 4.5v in (roughly) the same amount of space. For my application I was driving a Malkoff Led, on two cells it runs at a lower level, at three it bumps up to the next higher level. Like stated above, the new game is overdriving incan bulbs. If you can fit 3c's in place of 2D's then u could fit 6c's in place of 4d's and get a 9v 4D maglite. As for fitment, I took a C cell battery with me to the hardware store and test fitted it into pvc pipes until I found one that was just right. I bought an 8ft stick which turns out to be enough for three flashlight projects, one bottle rocket launcher and still enough left over to trip on in a dark garage. :twothumbs


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maybe this info helps:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2204049#post2204049

which is part from this thread:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/165936

Well, I suppose PVC is okay for all the rich flashaholics with all their fancy
houses and cars. But if you are senior/disabled, without a car and on a fixed
income, bubble pack is way to go. Virtually free, check the nearest dumpster.
Fully adjustable. Lightweight. I've even used it to run CR123's in a D cell Mag.
Let's see PVC do that!

Why? Mostly for more output. Some LED modules get brighter with more voltage, it's how some drivers work.

Incans can also be overdriven for brighter and whiter output. Most Maglite bulbs can be overdriven with one additional battery without popping.

EvilLithiumMan said:

.. bubble pack is way to go. Virtually free, check the nearest dumpster.
Fully adjustable. Lightweight. I've even used it to run CR123's in a D cell Mag.
Let's see PVC do that!

Click to expand...

It also protects the battery better then PVC.

Thanks for the responses guys. If anyone has any feedback on whether increasing the voltage to a regulated LED will make a difference or not, I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'd also love to hear from someone who has run both the genuine Mag LED and the TerraLUX TLE-6EX MiniStar5 SSC P4 U bin LED upgrade for 4-6 C/D cell Maglites.

As others have said, it's about voltage.

I'm running a 2C with three CR123s driving a Terralux TLE-6EX, which is meant to be driven by 4-6 D cells. 150 emitter lumens and it retains the focusing of the standard Mags, and it only cost $24.95 (batts were free).

I'll try to do some beamshots comparing my 2D Mag LED and my 2C Terralux.

EvilLithiumMan said:

Well, I suppose PVC is okay for all the rich flashaholics with all their fancy
houses and cars. But if you are senior/disabled, without a car and on a fixed
income, bubble pack is way to go. Virtually free, check the nearest dumpster.
Fully adjustable. Lightweight. I've even used it to run CR123's in a D cell Mag.
Let's see PVC do that!

Click to expand...

FYI, my wife and I drive a 12 year old Volvo (460). Fancy car?
I´m not rich at all, don´t have much to spent with a child to raise and another coming soon. I´m just a flashaholic.

EvilLithiumMan said:

Well, I suppose PVC is okay for all the rich flashaholics with all their fancy houses and cars. But if you are senior/disabled, without a car and on a fixed income, bubble pack is way to go. Virtually free, check the nearest dumpster.
Fully adjustable. Lightweight. I've even used it to run CR123's in a D cell Mag.
Let's see PVC do that!

Click to expand...

Well, if you check my bank balance you'd know I'm far from rich! But my dad taught me to never throw anything useful away, just ask my wife. So I had a couple (hundred) feet of various sized PVC pipe laying around.

Besides with a four year old, bubble wrap lasts as long around my house as cupcake on an anthill.

As for the CR123s in a D cell, sleeve the 123s with 3/4" ID pipe, then sleeve that with 1 1/4" pipe. But I remember when I first saw one of your posts showing this. I thought it was a good idea, and still do.

For extra credit: Is there any real noticable difference in light output through a plastic vs glass ( or boron ) lense ?

Click to expand...

I've found on my 3D maglites, both incan (xenon, mag brand) and led (madgled and ssc p4 modded magled module), that going to an UCL makes a very real and very noticable difference. I'm not sure if the stock polycarbonate has that bad of transmisity, or if I just scratch them up that bad. All I know is I forgot how much of a difference it made on my last light until I got one for my current mag.

USM0083 said:

I'm running a 2C with three CR123s driving a Terralux TLE-6EX, which is meant to be driven by 4-6 D cells. 150 emitter lumens and it retains the focusing...

Click to expand...

@USM0083: I have a 2C Mag I want to upgrade. Does this setup get hot, or can you run it continuously?

LED_Thrift said:

@USM0083: I have a 2C Mag I want to upgrade. Does this setup get hot, or can you run it continuously?

Click to expand...

It does get pretty hot. After 10 min, the LED module is too hot too touch, and the color of the beam looks like it turned a bit blue.

Buck91 said:

... going to an UCL makes a very real and very noticable difference. I'm not sure if the stock polycarbonate has that bad of transmisity, or if I just scratch them up that bad. All I know is I forgot how much of a difference it made on my last light until I got one for my current mag.

Click to expand...

I agree.

I could see a big difference between the stock plastic Mag window and the mineral glass window I installed.

Definitely longer throw - you might not notice much difference if you are shining your light close-up...

GPB:

The Terralux would be brighter because of the more efficient LED.

Increasing voltage and it's affect on current would depend on the driver.

LED_Thrift

What most of the Maglite LED drop-ins need is a good heatsink. It would work, but I wouldn't use it for long(heat). 2 Li-ion C cells should work too.

Thanks !! I'll probably get the Terralux and use it with the 4 Dbatteries first, and then try to get creative with the batteries set up.

Do C Cell Mags and D Cell Mags have the same size head ?

My solution on building adapter is using a newspapper combined with HVS papper and put a generous amount of superglue on both ends to make it hard, strong and more wear resistance. I dont have PVC tube lying around so this solution works great for me.

18650 to 2D/3D adapter(needs custom spring)

Ok...I am having a little trouble staying focused as I read all the threads on this forum. There so many things I want to do.......

I don't even have the terra lux LED yet, and I am already planning my next project. I want to do an ROP conversion.....it took me forever to figure out what "ROP" stood for !! As soon as I heard about it though...I said "That's for me !!!" It seems like the idea of the ROP is to drive a high power xenon bulb with 9 volts by putting 6 AA batteries in a 2 D light. What I am wondering is....what is the difference between running 6 AA or 3 CR123. Either way I get 9 volts. Will there be a considerable run time difference, can both battery set ups feed the bulb fast enough ? Any insight here would be appreciated.

Thanks

GPB said:

Ok...I am having a little trouble staying focused as I read all the threads on this forum. There so many things I want to do.......

I don't even have the terra lux LED yet, and I am already planning my next project. I want to do an ROP conversion.....it took me forever to figure out what "ROP" stood for !! As soon as I heard about it though...I said "That's for me !!!" It seems like the idea of the ROP is to drive a high power xenon bulb with 9 volts by putting 6 AA batteries in a 2 D light. What I am wondering is....what is the difference between running 6 AA or 3 CR123. Either way I get 9 volts. Will there be a considerable run time difference, can both battery set ups feed the bulb fast enough ? Any insight here would be appreciated.

Thanks

Click to expand...

From what I've read, using CR123s in an ROP will result in the bulb going Cr123s will allow juice to flow more readily than NiMHs will and the bulbs just can't take it, but I have not tried it myself. I use 6 AA NiMHs in my ROP and they work great.

I would encourage you to spend the extra money and get a Malkoff Device. I have a few of them...two "D" versions, 1 "C" and one M60 (in a SF 6P) and I am thrilled with them! :twothumbs

I use 4 "C" 6,000 MaH NiMH batteries in a 3D (using 1" PVC pipe) and it is truly AWESOME! :rock:

I think EvilLithiumMan was mostly being facetious about "rich flashaholics" but I stand to be corrected.

CR123s might sag under the 4+ amp load while good NiMh batteries should be fine(1300 mAh vs 1700-2600 mAh).

The idea is to overdrive a Pelican Big D bulb in a Maglite body. 9V would pop the high bulb. 2 Li-ion (with enough capacity) or 6 NiMh batteries(1.2v sometimes 7 is used) is used to power the bulb.