Been gone a while. Need some ideas for a 6v M@g Mod

Well it's been a while since i've been on the forum. Hope my old friends are doing well.

Here's the scoop. I've got one of FM's cut-bored-finned-coated-awesomed D size hosts from way back. It uses a 6xCR123 adapter putting 2 stacks in parallel giving 6v, or 8.4v if using rechargables. Right now the business end is all stock hardware but i put in the little 4 cell factory Mag LED module in it. so stock switch, cammed plastic reflector, etc.

Recently my brother brought home from Wal-Mart a rather heavily constructed and durable as hell 2D Eveready flashlight with an LED in it that was insanely bright. I couldn't determine what type of LED was in it. As I imagine that the list of manufacturers, modules, drivers, etc. has grown quite a bit since the last time I was around these parts I'd like some input about what you guys would build.

I'm not looking to set fires or suck these cells dry in 5 minutes. I'd like to get about 2-3 hours of regulated runtime on primary cells so 6v. I don't need multiple brightness, would like to retain the original click switch. I've got some basic soldering skills and have installed a heat sink way back in the way when i build my own Mr. Bulk Space Needle clone.

Fire away gentlemen.

Fivemega himself will be along shortly to give you some ideas, but be aware that $20-30 500 lumen lights are the in thing this season at box stores near you; if you're wanting this light to be competitive output-wise, you're going to have to give those cells a bit of a shove..

I'm hoping they'll do alright seeing as how i'm basically running 2 sets of 3 in parallel. So in theory I should be able to push close to 3x the current safely as I would a single cell. But like i said. looking to get decent runtime out of this on some kind of LED emitter. Not looking to turn it on and watch it set fire to stuff on a 40 second runtime, lol. Shouldn't take much to outperform the 3w Luxeon LED drop in from MagLite

Hallis said:

Shouldn't take much to outperform the 3w Luxeon LED drop in from MagLite

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That's old school, your local stores currently sell ~$20 Maglite PROs - the 2D model is 274 lumens, the 2AA MiniMag is 225 lumens. You can definitely beat that with your config, but not by the kind of margin you'd have over Luxeon hardware..

I think i'm going to move this over to the Custom and modified section.

Hallis said:

I think i'm going to move this over to the Custom and modified section.

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Thread moved to /Homemade-Modified/, best of luck, K

Anyone?

I'm trying to work out the battery carrier.
Are you sure its is 6V? It seems more likely it would be 9V (or 11.1V rechargeable)

Malkoff's XM-L module will give you 700 lumens for a reasonable period, but you'd be limited to primaries only. It would for sure outpace anything off a store shelf though..

StarHalo said:

Malkoff's XM-L module will give you 700 lumens for a reasonable period, but you'd be limited to primaries only. It would for sure outpace anything off a store shelf though..

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Interesting. that also has the added benefit of being a drop in and not having to cut up my switch housing.

Hallis said:

Interesting. that also has the added benefit of being a drop in and not having to cut up my switch housing.

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You'd have to cut up the reflector, but potted electronics means the resulting finished product is much more durable than a stock Mag, more durable than almost any flashlight actually. I'd go that route if you don't mind the price..

well by the time i buy a sink, emitter, driver, etc i'd be in close to that amount anyway. I think I may even have a spare reflector I can cut the cam off of.

fivemega said:

You can also use three protected 17670 in mentioned battery holder. Nominal voltage will be 3.7 at 4800mAh which will work fine with Malkoff XML

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Good to see you again FM . The one downside to that is that I don't have any Li-ion cells. and likewise no charger. So I was hoping to be minimally invested to get this light back up and running a little better. But IT seems that Li-Ions have taken over as of late. Hopefully they've become pretty safe and are well developed for our applications by now.

Man I sure wish you still made some of the old Mag stuff you used to sell. Like the spiral Mag85's with the 3x3 NiMH holders. etc. But it looks like your offerings have evolved FAR beyond that point. lol I guess I'm just pining for the glory days.

Hallis said:

Hopefully they've become pretty safe and are well developed for our applications by now.

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Actually Im glad you brought that up; we've since discovered that Li-ions are safer than cheap 123s, with the prime suspect 123s being Chinese-made Battery Station cells ..that look like the ones in your picture. Hope those are the newer/revised copies, otherwise you're holding the most dangerous kind of battery we know of..