6D incan on NiMH`s

Hi, I`m a little confused on a couple of things regarding my 6D torchs, with 6x 1.5v alkalines in there it should be putting out 9volts, and yet it takes a 7.2v bulb? I know that you can run bulb at about 1 cell less in voltage and be ok with it being slightly over driven, but nearly 2 volts worth seems a bit much.
Well anyway, I`m considering using NiMH batteries in there instead after reading some of the horror stories on here about them leaking (even the in date ones!) I don`t want my babies to suffer that fate, so i`m moving the guilt free NiMH`s. that will give me a total of propper 7.2v with all 6 in there, so what bulb would I use in that? I`m thinking a 6v, but would like to confirm my thinking here first, before buying a tray of them! LOL

Why not just using your 7.2V bulb? Remember off the charger voltage of a NiMH cell is more than 1.4V.

By using a 6V bulb the bulb will be seriously overdriven and in contrast to alkaline batteries, NiMH batteries can deliver high currents. Exceeding the specs of the bulb by 2V (6x 1.4V = 8.4V) will be way more harmful with NiMH batteries than with alkaline batteries. Alkaline batteries cannot deliver as high currents as NiMH batteries because of their higher internal resistance.

Thanks, that`s actually a releif in a way because I bought a dozen of the 7.2v bulbs a while back and it would be a pity not to use them.

An alkaline rests at 1.5. (x6 = 9.0)
Under load it is more like 1.2 volts flowing. (x6= 7.2)

Also amps matter so whichever you choose try to get low amp kind.

Example, I have a 2c setup using a pair of low amp LifePo4 cells (for solar lamps) at about 3.2 volts each and a 4 cell bulb is sweet. Crank it up to regular 3.7 volt high amp batteries for vape devices and the same bulb lasts a few seconds.

Welcome to CPF

Thanks, these are 7.2v @ .500mA, the batts are 3000mAH so hopefully I`ll get about 5-6 hours out of it.
I have a small 2D as well that uses a 2.4v Krypton at .47mA, I think I`m probably best leaving that as is as well then? which is really cool beacuse it keeps things kinda simple (and cheaper!) :-D

Since you seem a big fan of Maglite you should take a look at our 'Rare Maglites' thread. Plenty of great info and pictures about al kind of Maglites. Not to forget about LiftdT4R's blog 'Maglite: More than a Cop light'. Welcome to the club of Maglite enthousiasts. :rock:

Yeah I really like Maglite type flashlights, the 6D I have is closer to the Streamlight in design, and my 2d and 3AA are more like maglite copies in some ways. my Other 6D is a Vidor and in Chrome. The really strange thing with my 6D that looks like a streamlight is that there is no brand or name on it anywhere! not a single mark or anything, inside or out? it`s a real mystery to me but I love it just the same :-D

Katherine Alicia said:

Hi, I`m a little confused on a couple of things regarding my 6D torchs, with 6x 1.5v alkalines in there it should be putting out 9volts, and yet it takes a 7.2v bulb?

Click to expand...

Nominal voltage of 6 alkaline in series is about 9 volt without load but with load, it drops to about 7.2 volt. Therefore they use 7.2 volt bulb. When you switch to NiMH batteries, your voltage is still same and better to use 7.2 volt bulbs. In some cases you can use 6 volt bulb for brighter output but shorter bulb life. I don't recommend.

Katherine Alicia said:

so what bulb would I use in that? I`m thinking a 6v,

Click to expand...

Your 7.2V, 0.5A bulb is about 7.2x0.5=3.6 watt. If you want brighter bulb (higher wattage) can go up to 7.2x1=7.2 watt. More than that is also possible but overheat may cause some problem. To solve these problems more modification needed.

Katherine Alicia said:

these are 7.2v @ .500mA, the batts are 3000mAH so hopefully I`ll get about 5-6 hours out of it.

Click to expand...

If their claim about capacity is honest and accurate. Also if they are not LSD (Low Self Discharge) and using short after charging.

fivemega said:

If you want brighter bulb (higher wattage) can go up to 7.2x1=7.2 watt. More than that is also possible but overheat may cause some problem. To solve these problems more modification needed.

Click to expand...

I like to try and keep things as original as possible where I can, the light out of it is plenty (for me) and having the extra runtime is nice (though 3 hours is still quite respectable IF I went the 1A route). though I have tried an LED drop in bulb in natural white (6 to 12v range) and though it`s not entirely unpleasant, Incans have the edge for me, I have a warm white drop in on the way also, so I`m looking forwards to seeing what that looks like, if nothing else I can always keep the LED bulb in the end cap as a spare if I`m away from my box of bulbs :-D

I have ran the stock 6D bulbs off high capacity 1.2V nimh 9.5-10AH cells, no probs at all. that gives a LONG runtime.
But a have a mint 6D with [FONT=&quot]3854 [/FONT]ROP low and ROP hi bulbs (about 6 spares each) with glass lens, metal reflector. I think the stock bulbs were about 120-160lumens, ROP low is about 500, Hi is 800. 500 is just the sweet spot for night walking etc, LED just can't give that nice warmth.

I tried a newer style (but not gen. 2) MagNum star bulb, 5-cell with 2 cell li-ion AND 6X AA NiMH with good results. I expected it to go POOF within no time, but it's still alive & kickin'. Really white light!

If you still have to buy your NiMH D-cells you'd better buy the best: Ansmann LSD 10,000mAh! I have the predecessor of these (8500mAh) and they are REALLY great!