Help me! I'm a newbie!

Hi all!

Some help from you knowledgable people would be great!!!

Now, the only light i've ever owned is a 2D maglite.

I've bought a Eurohike LED torch for £5. It takes 2AA's and has a 1w cree LED and is MUCH brighter and has a much greater range than the Mag, which i was very suprised about!

http://www.millets.co.uk/product/11...1_1315088081_b488f941026593ded0161162487594ce

However, being an engineer, i had to strip it down and see how it was put together!

I noticed the following:

It has a plastic lens, which is prone to being scratched.

The cone shaped reflector is smooth and plastic and after i tried to polish it using a shirt it is now scratched and not as bright nor as tightly focused as it was!

Now some questions!!!

Can i fit 2 14500 batteries to it, or will that fry the LED?

Are the batteries wired in series or parallel? So 3w or 1.5w?

Can i upgrade the LED to a higher wattage one? If so, which?

Is this body the same as any other more popular flashlight?

Just some general help to make the most of what i've bought?!

Thanks again!

The batteries would be in series. If you put two 14500 you will have a burst of bright blue for 1/100th second and the LED will be toast. That light probably does not accept drop-in emitters. My guess is the head is sealed. It's shape reminds me of a Fenix E21, which is a light I would highly recommend to those on a budget.

Howdy Cooper_GTI,
I suggest some reading:

The CPF Welcome Mat will help answer 90% of your questions:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?277224-The-Welcome-Mat-a-FAQ

Battery University will give you lots of great battery info:
http://batteryuniversity.com/

These Flashlight review sites will give lots of neat lights to look at, and all their specs:
http://www.light-reviews.com/reviews.html
http://www.sliderule.ca/flashlight.htm
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Reviews UK.html

By the way, one of the things you will learn (or have already learned the hard way) is that the surface of a flashlight reflector is quite fragile and should never be "polished". Even a gentle "wipe" can cause damage. Generally if a reflector is severely dirty, you might consider rinsing it with luke warm distilled water and air drying.

Many 2xAA flashlights have a plastic front cover the same size as the glass cover in a Mag 2xAA light, so you if you have one of those laying around, you might try and see if you could exchange those, or if you have a Mag dealer close by you could see if they have any 2xAA replacement glass covers that might fit your light.

Engineers make good flashlight enthusiasts, and I'm happy to hear you asking about modding your light with a different LED. We have an entire section here on CPF devoted to exactly that kind of thing, and I think you will find LOTS of great info there:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?17-Homemade-and-Modified-Flashlights-Discussion

Have fun!

I'm new too, thx for the info mate

Okay, thanks for that info! I've had a good read which has cleared up a few things.

The only real thing i dont know, is what LED's can i buy to swap for my 1w cree? And what power will it need etc...?

If someone could recommend some that will fit my body that'd be great!

I've been thinking of something like this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cree-R2-W...ping_Hiking_Lamps_Torches&hash=item3a66ac3119