Thoughts on another Mag 3D mod

What about using 12 "AA" NiMH's in a parallel configuration for 7.2V and 3600mah (if using 1800mah batteries), and a high-amperage Carley or W/A lamp? Such a combination should be quite bright and have a reasonable runtime, right?

Reason I'm thinking of this is because I'm also interested in a Mag 3D mod but would like to have at least 60 minutes of runtime and not have to fiddle around with LED's. Most mods involve either expensive LED's or super bright lamps combined with very short runtimes. The combo I mentioned above seems a good balance of brightness and runtime as well as easily obtainable parts.

Any thoughts?

Ok,

You mean as in two parallel stacks of six in series? A 2x6xAA configuration. I don't know how you could implement that in a D though. 3 fit side by side so assuming you could modify a 3-D battery holder to run in parallel, you'd need a 6D torch. I would be nice to have the additional capacity though. The most compact solution would be to get this out of 12 cells in a 4D...or a 3D with some body work.

Wilkey

Yes, two rows of 6xAA.

Four AA's fit in a D cell, so in a Mag 3D that means 4x3 = 12 AA batteries. Wire them up so 6 are in series, the other 6 are in series, then both sets are run in parallel. Right?

yeah, I've thought of that a while back to run a 5W for a long time! Excellent setup, allthough I haven't built it yet..

I have a collection of depleted CR123, AA, sub-C, C, and D cells piled up by my monitor for just such sizing assesments. From what I can tell, 4 AA's do not fit into a D cell, although they are quite close to fitting.

O.K. - I have a Garrity D cell light and 4 AA's will fit that. But I also have a D cell Maglite and the 4 AA's won't fit. Are you sure you can fit the AA's into a Maglite? And you'll need a little extra room to get all the wires hooked up. Anyway, good luck. If you succeed, we all succeed!

4 x AA's do fit side by side in my D-prefix serial mumber Mag-Lite D-cell - just barely. Others have reported that this does not work with theirs...

I am thinking of trying solder-tabbed cells for mine instead of using batery holders because of the contact voltage drop problem.

Hot melt glue seems to work pretty well to hold all the cells together-especially since there's not much room for heat shrink wrap around them. I think it might work...

John

Some AAs will fit in some MagDs. Older Mags tend to be wider. Wiring up 12AA in a 2x6 would be not straightforward I think at least because of the extremely limited room after you pack 4 cells in. You can make it easier by performing some body work but this is horrible to do without machine tools.

John,
Are you speaking of contact resistance in unmodified commercial battery carriers?

Wilkey

Wilkey,

I'm talking about pressure contact resistance with button top batteries in general - solder tabs will definately reduce bat to batt contact resistance under heavier loads than any other arrangement I can think of...

John

Thanks John.

Wilkey

I got a better idea. Just get 6 3/5C Nimh cells. You can probably get cells that easily put out 10A or more and this would fit perfectly in a 3D with a sleeve. A 3/5C is about 30mm x 6 = 180 mm in length; a D is about 58mm x 3 = 174mm in length.

soloco,

That's a good idea but I don't have a source for 3/5 Cs. I can find 4/5C and 1/2 C and 1/2SC but not 3/5. Do you have a dealer in mind?

Wilkey

powerstream has 3/5Cs listed on their website, though i've never called to see if they have them in stock. i'd actually go with 6 1/2Ds in a 4D mag, but that's just me.

1/2 D is 37mm long, D is 58. Check out powerstreams sizing chart.

are you saying they wouldn't fit?

man, i must have misread your post.

I think they'd fit.