What should I do with my 2D MagLite?

On the advice of CPFers, I've acquired a Zebralight and Jetbeam, both of which are amazing lights. But now I have an old 2 D-cell MagLite that just sitting around collecting dust. It used to be my "good" light, but now it doesn't seem to have a purpose. Any ideas what I can use it for?

Use it as a spare for the next blackout.

A standard answer is to get a Malkoff dropin for it. A great improvement, which makes it a great thrower with a wide and still bright spill.

converting it to an ROP is a fun alternative

You can make a sort of baby ROP by:

1. Go to Wal Mart or Home Depot and get two LiFePO4 cells (18500s or something).
2. Get a charger for it. I suppose you could hack a LiFePO4-using solar light for it, but it's your house to burn down if that goes wrong.
3. Put a 4-cell mag lite XenonStar bulb in the 2D, make a spacer for the 18500s to fit (I've had good luck with a paper cylinder made of dozens of scrap sheets, and a 1/4" mechanic socket.
4. Go nuke things

What's an ROP?

wludavid said:

What's an ROP?

Click to expand...

"Roar of the Pelican." It involves putting higher-voltage batteries and a more powerful bulb in a mag lite. To make it last, you also should upgrade the reflector and front glass at high power.

The build I suggested is about 10 watts and costs $15 or so, which can be run for a minute or so at a time.

"Pelican" being the type of bulb favored for this Mag Lite mod a few years back.

AnAppleSnail said:

"Roar of the Pelican." It involves putting higher-voltage batteries and a more powerful bulb in a mag lite. To make it last, you also should upgrade the reflector and front glass at high power.

The build I suggested is about 10 watts and costs $15 or so, which can be run for a minute or so at a time.

"Pelican" being the type of bulb favored for this Mag Lite mod a few years back.

Click to expand...

That sounds incredibly impractical. So of course I want to do it.

wludavid said:

That sounds incredibly impractical. So of course I want to do it.

Click to expand...

10W of incandescent light is nifty, but even a 2D magLED beats it for both output and throw these days. To get truly monster throw you'll have to go crazy. One possibility:

2 18650 cells and a 4-cell mag bulb overdriven (from 4.8v rating to 8.4v with fresh cells, the bulb will last for almost one battery charge. Carry spares!)

The 'standard crazy torch' these days seems to be:

3D or so mag lite
Welch-Allyn 12v bulb overdriven to 14.8v (12 NiMHs or 4 li-ion cells)
special socket to hold that bulb and not melt
Metal reflector to not melt
Glass front window to not melt
Upgraded switch to not melt

Malkoff upgrade is awesome. TerraLUX upgrade is acceptable to the average user. 240 lumens vs. 140 lumens, respectively. The Terralux is ~1/2 the lumens at 1/4 the price... TLE-6EXB is that. But the Malkoff is mighty bright. Gene Malkoff is currently waiting on some parts and won't have more Maglite upgrades for about a week (I'm upgrading my 6D. It has a TerraLUX but I want it brighter

I would just drop a 1W Nite-Ize PR flange LED "bulb" in it and call it a day. You'll get around three to four times the run time out of it with a bit more light than stock. It'll be your long runtime light. You can take this to the extremes by getting the dimmer half Watt version for almost tem times the run time out of two alkaline D cells. I'd actually be worried about cell leakage with this setup as it will drain the batteries down very low.

Alternatively, you can always follow the DIY path and roll your own. There are aftermarket heatsinks readily available and it's just a matter of choosing the appropriate driver, power source, LED, then putting it all together. There are plenty of write-ups in the Mods section for inspiration.

Post deleted.

[Post deleted.

Those FiveMega 2D->6AA adapters are spendy. What makes them better than just a cheap-o version from battery junction?

I do like the idea of the cell conversion though. I've invested in eneloops and an AA smart charger and I don't want to (a) buy another charger and more cells or (b) worry about leakage from alkaline D cells sitting around for a long time.

Justin Case said:

What's the output of a stock 2D LED Mag?

Click to expand...

Hm, lots less than that -100 lumens or so.

Actually need NIMH D's.

PCC said:

I would just drop a 1W Nite-Ize PR flange LED "bulb" in it and call it a day. You'll get around three to four times the run time out of it with a bit more light than stock. It'll be your long runtime light. You can take this to the extremes by getting the dimmer half Watt version for almost tem times the run time out of two alkaline D cells. I'd actually be worried about cell leakage with this setup as it will drain the batteries down very low.

Alternatively, you can always follow the DIY path and roll your own. There are aftermarket heatsinks readily available and it's just a matter of choosing the appropriate driver, power source, LED, then putting it all together. There are plenty of write-ups in the Mods section for inspiration.

Click to expand...

That's what I did in two of my old "beat to hell" Mags. One stays in my truck and the other is is my emergency long runtime light. Couldn't be happier for these purpose lights. I cant even remember the last time I changed the batteries lol

1st of all one has to start with D-celled Li-Ions


then put something extreme in:
high powered bulb,
SST-90
.
.
.

Post deleted.

PCC said:

I would just drop a 1W Nite-Ize PR flange LED "bulb" in it and call it a day. You'll get around three to four times the run time out of it with a bit more light than stock. It'll be your long runtime light. You can take this to the extremes by getting the dimmer half Watt version for almost tem times the run time out of two alkaline D cells. I'd actually be worried about cell leakage with this setup as it will drain the batteries down very low.

Alternatively, you can always follow the DIY path and roll your own. There are aftermarket heatsinks readily available and it's just a matter of choosing the appropriate driver, power source, LED, then putting it all together. There are plenty of write-ups in the Mods section for inspiration.

Click to expand...

I like MagLites...always have, and I've tried both ways, and the PR based drop-in is the most hassle-free way to go, and equally as bright as my 3D Luxeon 3 Direct Drive mod.

Mods are nice, and fun; by the time you forget all the problems, and the soldering iron burns on your fingers heal, it will seem like a worthwhile experiment, but you will have spent enough for the parts and equipment to buy a really good light. Of course, when I did my modding, there weren't the choices in lights at affordable prices there are now.

My next "big" light is going to be a handier size, without giving up much brightness or run time... a 3C-cell of some flavor, either Mag with Terralux or NiteIze drop-in, or the Streamlight all LED Twin Task, or the Ray-O-Vac 3C light with 2 levels. But, that's just me.