PR Base LED Bulbs - Dead?

Minjin

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Sep 21, 2002
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Central PA
Whatever happened to PR base LED bulbs? I know most flashaholics have switched to something that doesn't use them but Joe Q Public still has plenty of them. It seems like the format has died and the few that are still available are crazy expensive for what they are or use ancient LEDs. I would have thought that Dealextreme would be pumping these out with crees for 5 bucks a pop by now. Anyone else noticed this? Or am I missing something?
 

Stress_Test

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Feb 18, 2008
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The Nite-Ize company still makes them. Lighthound sells them, and you may see them at Lowes also.

I have the low power version and I think it's a great long-endurance light for power outages, plus very adaptable to whatever old PR light you have lying around (or your neighbors, if they need a light).
 

DaveG

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Dec 2, 2005
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868
Your right,the main mfg seems to be Nite-ize and the cost of them may scare off the average consumer.
 

LEDninja

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Jun 15, 2005
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Hamilton Canada
A lot of the older bulbs do not focus well in fixed focus flashlights so there was a market for Maglite users who need runtime. With MagLEDs now available and 1W/3W/Cree torches showing up in local stores there is not much demand any more.

Dorcy has a 2 cell 30 lumen and a 3-4 cell 40 lumen that focus good in fixed focus flashlights. $6 at dorcydirect or $4 at Sears Canada or Frys in the US. Probably a Nichia 10 mm.

Terralux TLE-1F 50 lumens $13-$20. Luxeon.
Terralux TLE-6EXB 2-3 cells TLE-6EX 4-6 cells 140 lumens $15-$23. Rebel.

superbrightleds have a lot of models.
PR2-W1-WVR $5 and PR2-.5WHP $6 do not focus very well.
PR2-1WHP-30V 100 lumens $11 is a Cree 1W for tool lights. Won't work at 6V or less. Cree XP series. My eyesight is not good enough to tell if it is a XP-C or XP-E.
PR2-1WHP-9V $11 is the lower voltage version but the maker has changed LEDs. (suspect SSC-P4)
PR2-3WHP-3V & PR2-3WHP-9V 180 lumens $15 are 3W versions. Very bright but bigger hotspot not brighter hotspot. Also gets very hot very fast. I do not recommend them for plastic flashlights. Metal flashlights with metal bulb holders.

Nite-ize makes them but they are not available in Canada and I do not have info on them.
EDIT Thank Stress_Test for pointing to Lighthound. $10.99 The 1W description indicates probably Luxeon similar to Terralux TLE-1F. /EDIT

All lumens here are bulb lumens. About 65% get out of the flashlight.
 
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tylernt

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Nov 25, 2009
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268
Terralux TLE-6EXB 2-3 cells TLE-6EX 4-6 cells 140 lumens $15-$23. Rebel.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think these only work in Maglites. I have one in my 4xD Mag and it has a threaded shroud around the PR base that would preclude installation in most other flashlights.

superbrightleds have a lot of models.
PR2-W1-WVR $5
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?251693-Superbrightleds.com-s-PR2-W1-WVR

I still have these and use them around the house and when we take the kids camping. I still like them just fine.
 

dandism

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Aug 18, 2009
Messages
280
Location
San Jose, CA
Eveready sells a 1D flashlight with a pr based bulb. It's not very bright but you get some pretty good runtime out of a single alkaline. They sell for about $5 for a pair.
 

Hondo

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Oct 26, 2005
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1,544
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SE Michigan
I have the Dorcy/Craftsman bulbs modded with SSC emitters, and they are quite bright, and work nicely on 1 x LiIon cells, too. But mostly, I use the old 4-die SMJLED bulbs, 2-cell only, that Lambda used to sell. The Sandwich Shoppe still sells the latest, single die version: http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?products_id=853. These are a bit warmer than the old 4-die ones, although I find them a bit of a "grungy" warm, kind of greenish. They pull more amps from the cells than the older ones, so are great for scavenging old cells, but on fresh alkalines will drive the LED pretty hard. Best part is, these cut-down 5mm LED's tend to focus well in all kinds of cheap flashlight reflectors. The two best I have found are the Eveready Industrial 2AA and the Dorcy Gell light 2AA.
 

deadrx7conv

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May 5, 2010
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621
Location
USA
Terralux has different revisions of their Maglite bulbs. Some of them 'screw' into the Maglite and others are PR based using the Mag collarscrew to hold them down. Just be careful that you get the right one.

There is a thread for PR LED upgrades but many are unavailable now. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...plete-list-of-all-LED-PR-flange-drop-in-bulbs

With the diposable thinking of consumers, many will throw out an ol' flashlight to get the new fancy LED one. Simple common PR upgrades have faded away.

NiteIze, Dorcy, Terralux, Tektite, SuperbrightLEDs, SandwichShoppe... are your choices now and still plentiful.
 
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