Baileypuppy66
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I have a light that runs on a 6v lantern battery. Can I substitute 4 AA batteries (mounted in a spring clip battery box)? The battery is powering a 6v lantern flashlight. Thanks.
6v Lantern Battery Replacement
- Thread starter Baileypuppy66
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If it is using incan bulbs it would be fine..... if LED you would have to make sure of the polarity. I have an old lantern that has a 4D adapter and batteries in it that are probably 20 years old.
Timothybil
Flashlight Enthusiast
Six volts is six volts. Most six volt batteries have four internal cells anyway. There might be a significant difference in run time, depending on what type of six volt battery you have. One nice thing about using AA cells is that you can use NiMH cells and recharge them as needed. Less waste that way.
You can get these from Dorcy:
https://www.dorcy.com/shop-now/parts/41-0805-4d-adapter
once, you have the 6V to 4 D adapter, you can use 3 AA to D cell PARALLEL (You Need to make sure that these are the Parallel ones that keep the Voltage 1.5V NOT SERIES variety that raise the Voltage to 4.5V each) adapters that are sold on ebay and amazon or some of the Eneloop brand single AA to D adapters to run AA's.
https://www.dorcy.com/shop-now/parts/41-0805-4d-adapter
once, you have the 6V to 4 D adapter, you can use 3 AA to D cell PARALLEL (You Need to make sure that these are the Parallel ones that keep the Voltage 1.5V NOT SERIES variety that raise the Voltage to 4.5V each) adapters that are sold on ebay and amazon or some of the Eneloop brand single AA to D adapters to run AA's.
AAs will work fine power wise but obviously don't offer the run time you get with the 4D or 4F cells that you find in a 6V lantern battery. The simplest method would be to use a 4D to 6V adapter with D to AA adapters or the AAs fixed in the 6V adapter another way. Dorcy still offers a 4D to 6V adapter and D to AA adapters are readily available online.
The majority of 6V lanterns are negative polarity where common in-line battery lights are positive. Like Lynx Arc posted it doesn't matter with an incan bulb but if your lantern is LED or you are using an LED drop in it must be the correct polarity. Finding LED drop-ins for old incan 6V and Railroad lanterns has been an obsession of mine and it takes some searching but there are dual-polarity drop-ins available that will work.If you are powering a light that is LED from the manufacturer then it is most likely not dual polarity and may not have polarity protection. In short having the wrong polarity will ruin the LED unless it has polarity protection.
You can use NiMH but they are only 1.2V compared to 1.5V in a fresh alkaline. NiMH is generally superior to alkaline IMO but output could be reduced in a light designed to run on alkalines. Lithium Energizers,also far superior to alkaline, are the reverse and usually have a slightly higher voltage than alkalines. It probably will be fine for most LED applications but will "overdrive" an incan bulb since you are using four in a series. "Overdriving" a bulb often produces better light but shortens bulb life and can "instaflash" a bulb sometimes. Not a big deal since most bulbs are easy to replace but if it has a specific bulb you want to keep it should be avoided.
Lastly if a light is safety rated that rating is based on using only the recommended batteries,usually alkalines.
Sorry for the long answer but not knowing the specific light or use I just kept thinking of more things to cover.
The majority of 6V lanterns are negative polarity where common in-line battery lights are positive. Like Lynx Arc posted it doesn't matter with an incan bulb but if your lantern is LED or you are using an LED drop in it must be the correct polarity. Finding LED drop-ins for old incan 6V and Railroad lanterns has been an obsession of mine and it takes some searching but there are dual-polarity drop-ins available that will work.If you are powering a light that is LED from the manufacturer then it is most likely not dual polarity and may not have polarity protection. In short having the wrong polarity will ruin the LED unless it has polarity protection.
You can use NiMH but they are only 1.2V compared to 1.5V in a fresh alkaline. NiMH is generally superior to alkaline IMO but output could be reduced in a light designed to run on alkalines. Lithium Energizers,also far superior to alkaline, are the reverse and usually have a slightly higher voltage than alkalines. It probably will be fine for most LED applications but will "overdrive" an incan bulb since you are using four in a series. "Overdriving" a bulb often produces better light but shortens bulb life and can "instaflash" a bulb sometimes. Not a big deal since most bulbs are easy to replace but if it has a specific bulb you want to keep it should be avoided.
Lastly if a light is safety rated that rating is based on using only the recommended batteries,usually alkalines.
Sorry for the long answer but not knowing the specific light or use I just kept thinking of more things to cover.
You beat me to the post on the Dorcy adapter xxo! Great pics for reference and good info on the parallel adapters,I didn't think of them.
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Typically unless it is a "loved" 6V lantern the cost of the 6V adapter plus AA > D adapters would push the price rather close (or possibly more) than buying a lantern that can accept AAs like this one https://www.dorcy.com/6v-led-lantern that can take 4AA or a 6V lantern battery.
Here is a native 4AA LED lantern also https://www.amazon.com/Rayovac-VB4AALN-LED-Lantern/dp/B009JCA2DK
The cheapest way to adapt would be a soldering iron wired to a 4AA battery holder. My advice to increase runtime is to use multiple 4AA adapters wired in parallel so you can use 4,8,12, etc batteries to increase runtime.
Here is a native 4AA LED lantern also https://www.amazon.com/Rayovac-VB4AALN-LED-Lantern/dp/B009JCA2DK
The cheapest way to adapt would be a soldering iron wired to a 4AA battery holder. My advice to increase runtime is to use multiple 4AA adapters wired in parallel so you can use 4,8,12, etc batteries to increase runtime.
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alpg88
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yes, you can.
alpg88
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AAs will work fine power wise but obviously don't offer the run time you get with the 4D or 4F cells that you find in a 6V lantern battery. The simplest method would be to use a 4D to 6V adapter with D to AA adapters or the AAs fixed in the 6V adapter another way. Dorcy still offers a 4D to 6V adapter and D to AA adapters are readily available online.
The majority of 6V lanterns are negative polarity where common in-line battery lights are positive. Like Lynx Arc posted it doesn't matter with an incan bulb but if your lantern is LED or you are using an LED drop in it must be the correct polarity. Finding LED drop-ins for old incan 6V and Railroad lanterns has been an obsession of mine and it takes some searching but there are dual-polarity drop-ins available that will work.If you are powering a light that is LED from the manufacturer then it is most likely not dual polarity and may not have polarity protection. In short having the wrong polarity will ruin the LED unless it has polarity protection.
You can use NiMH but they are only 1.2V compared to 1.5V in a fresh alkaline. NiMH is generally superior to alkaline IMO but output could be reduced in a light designed to run on alkalines. Lithium Energizers,also far superior to alkaline, are the reverse and usually have a slightly higher voltage than alkalines. It probably will be fine for most LED applications but will "overdrive" an incan bulb since you are using four in a series. "Overdriving" a bulb often produces better light but shortens bulb life and can "instaflash" a bulb sometimes. Not a big deal since most bulbs are easy to replace but if it has a specific bulb you want to keep it should be avoided.
Lastly if a light is safety rated that rating is based on using only the recommended batteries,usually alkalines.
Sorry for the long answer but not knowing the specific light or use I just kept thinking of more things to cover.
i have been building lights for about 2 decades, i can't count how many times i accidentally reversed polarity, not a single led was ruined due to it, they just do not light up until you reverse polarity again.
I ruined a Dorcy drop-in some years back when I had the polarity wrong. Perhaps it is the way the LED is driven or the amount of time the reverse polarity current is on? I am not a builder or modder and won't pretend to have the best range of knowledge but I know others have had issues as well. If it is not a problem then why so much discussion on CPF about reverse polarity protection?
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If you have proper charger, you can also use rechargeable dry lead acid battery but remember, it can really deliver 6 volt under load but most 4 alkaline or 4 NiMH batteries can deliver about 4.8 volts under load.
Timothybil
Flashlight Enthusiast
Rayovac sells a really nice 4C lantern with two output levels. Has all of the functionality of most 6v lanterns,just slightly smaller.
Not sure if the OP was referring to incan or LED but for my own sake a couple questions. Will the standard bulb in a 6V incan hold up under the increased power delivery from a 6V lead acid rechargeable? Also what available bulb would work best with a lead acid 6V?
I like the older 6V incans and it seems like the lead acid battery might offer a practical way to use them as incans and get a little better performance.
alpg88
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No it used a Luxeon and had a wide voltage range.
Without knowing the type, rated voltage and rated bulb life, it's hard to answer but if original battery is alkaline or even zinc, then better to replace 6 volt bulb instead of 4.8 volt.
If original bulb is PR based similar to older M*g "C" or "D" then PR base 5 cell bulb will work safer with 6 volt lead acid battery.
For brighter option, two pin M*gCharger bulb in socket will serve better.
BTW, lead acid battery likes to be fully charged all the time. This means, recharge them immediately after usage.
alpg88
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you burned driver circuit inside the dropin, not the let itself. i understand now why the confusion.
Thanks! I don't have a charger or battery but I might look into it since I like to mess with the old lantern style lights.
Don't have that specific drop-in anymore to examine but that makes sense. Still wouldn't that apply to lights in general depending on what driver circuit they use? I apologize for not having the correct info with regards to the LED but I believe the warning still applies. If the OP has the wrong polarity it could still potentially damage the light/drop-in if it is LED.
Baileypuppy66
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Thanks for ALL of your replies. This is how we learn. Very grateful.
