Flashlights?

[Trenchfriend]

I'm honest. As you can see, I'm still a flashlight nerd, or better said tech nerd, if you want.

 

[Fifty150]

I've spent a lifetime accumulating tools. Literally, since I was 8 or 10, I was getting my hands on Swiss Army knives, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, or whatever. A flashlight is a tool.


I happened across this thread as I started the task of inspecting my lights, recharging the batteries, replacing parts etc. I do this once every few years, if I can remember. Had to order some o-rings to keep them waterproof. Electronic parts cleaner here and there. Dielectric grease as needed. Throwing out some of the older batteries that won't take a charge or hold a charge. I sent one of my Streamlight Stingers back to the factory.


Here is one that I am not quite sure about. I don't know what to do with it. It was a promotional item from a motor oil company. There's a PR2 bulb that says "3.6 v". It's a 2 cell. 2 alkaline batteries only makes 3 volts. 2 rechargeable NiMH batteries only puts out 2.4 volts. The beam is not adjustable. An LED drop in turns on, lights up bright, can't be focused, and the light is just "scattered". It does work. It turns on and off. Not very bright. It's okay if I need to pee in the bushes. But that's about it. Do I keep it because it's in perfect working condition? Or do I just get rid of it because I now live in a world where every flashlight for $5 is better? Who would I give it to? Who would want it?​

 

[Trenchfriend]

Funny enough, Mag's slogan "KRYPTON BRIGHT!" was not a joke.

 

[TLW '90]

Funny enough, Mag's slogan "KRYPTON BRIGHT!" was not a joke.

When you get up to the largest Dcell lights they're certainly usable, of course I have a little rechargeable light hanging around my neck that's smaller than an AA battery and can put out a max of 600 lumens for a minute or two before dropping down to a few hundred but while not perfect those Mags are usable.

 

[jon_slider]

some Fancy Flashlights in this album

 

[大馬伕]

Who is spending $60 to $100 to upgrade a 20 year old Maglite? ! Can buy a new Mag led for $25. I can buy 1,000 lumen flashlights all over Amazon for less. Who is buying those expensive upgrade parts?

 

[Trenchfriend]

Who is buying those expensive upgrade parts?

Back in 2010, seemingly no one did. That's, why Maglite's own LED remodel kits were nowhere in the german street stores, at least I can't remember seeing them anywhere.
New Maglite D Cell were too cheap. C Cell probably, too.

 

[TLW '90]

Who is spending $60 to $100 to upgrade a 20 year old Maglite? ! Can buy a new Mag led for $25. I can buy 1,000 lumen flashlights all over Amazon for less. Who is buying those expensive upgrade parts?

People who don't want to just waste their old Maglite to buy a new one, or people who don't want a random generic Chinese garbage flashlight that isn't remotely as bright as they listing claims and might stop working from the slightest drop.


The factory LED Mags have better performance and a better beam pattern than any of the drop in bulbs ( haven't tried one of those machined units yet), but I do prefer the very tactile clicky switch of the incans to the whimpy click on their LED models.
The one exception would be the XL50 tail switch which is a medium clickiness.

 

[Fifty150]

factory LED Mags have better performance and a better beam pattern

There was an older generation of Mag-Lite LED. It came out sometime in the early 2010's, and has since been discontinued. The 3D model offered 131 lumens. The 2 AA model offered 77 lumens. Original packages, with corroded batteries, are still sold on eBay.

An incandescent 3D model offers 45 lumens. The ML300L with 3D batteries offers 746 lumens. A similar size rechargeable, model ML150LRX offers 1082 lumens.



The current generation of the C & D size LED lights are the ML series. Those are clearly marked with the ML model number, and the serial number begins with the number of batteries, the battery size, and "L" for LED.

The phased out 3 D battery LED serial number began with the battery type & "L".

The Incandescent flashlight's serial number began with the type of battery, and the number of batteries.

don't want to just waste their old Maglite

I am one of those fools that spent more on upgrading a Mag-Lite, than the Mag-Lite is worth. In today's world, Mag-Lite sells the Mini Mag for $8. Back then, it must have been a $5 flashlight, or something that you got for free as a promotional item. They used to package it with the 3D size light, and sell them both for the same price.

​

Back in the late 2000's, this was what I was able to get for my Mini Mag. I surely spent more than what the "free" flashlight was worth.

 

[Trenchfriend]

There was an older generation of Mag-Lite LED. It came out sometime in the early 2010's, and has since been discontinued. The 3D model offered 131 lumens. The 2 AA model offered 77 lumens. Original packages, with corroded batteries, are still sold on eBay.

View attachment 720832​

MagLED 3D "79 hours" runtime?? How?

 

[Fifty150]

MagLED 3D "79 hours" runtime?? How?

I don't know. Only one way to find out. Win the eBay auction.

​

 

[Trenchfriend]

I don't know. Only one way to find out. Win the eBay auction.

View attachment 720861 View attachment 720862




​

I don't do any online buying, sorry.

My old MagLED 2D had a marking on the package, saying "10 Std.", if I remember correct. But seemingly, there were different markings, worldwide!

And that was not a lie!
As I said, started in 2010 and ran and ran and ran, until 2015 new D Cells were needed. Than urbexing became much less, here, so second D cells are still in.
I knew, that LED would save much power, but that made me perplex.

 

[Trenchfriend]

But current Mini-Mag classic Xenon is marked with 5hrs. 15min.

FIVE hours?? Anyone tested that? Is the Xenon bulb so much better than the Krypton bulb?

If that's real, the classic would be attractive to me, I tell you.

 

[Fifty150]

current Mini-Mag classic Xenon is marked with 5hrs. 15min.

FIVE hours?? Anyone tested that? Is the Xenon bulb so much better than the Krypton bulb?

The Mini Mag Pro claims 13 hours on AA batteries.

There's a lot of science behind battery chemistry, and the device's electronic demands. If I were really interested in trying to find the best battery for brightness and/or service life........ I would never leave the house.



What I am fairly certain of is that Mag-Lite tested with a battery which gave them the longest runtime. That does not mean that the flashlight was at it's brightest, or was performing with the longest range. It just means that the flashlight stayed on.


To measure the brightness and range, they probably also used different battery types.


Mag-Lites come bundled with Energizer batteries. That's a marketing agreement. It doesn't mean that Energizer is the best battery that you can buy.


Unfortunately, the only way to find out which battery is right for you, is to buy them and use them yourself. Conduct your own research. Most of the information that you find online is marketing, not scientific research. Obviously, we all have different demands. You may want the longest lasting battery. Another guy may want the battery which makes the lamp brighter.

I use rechargeable batteries which are not the brightest, nor last the longest. But I can recharge them. This saves me from throwing away batteries all the time. I don't know if it saves me money. I have to buy the batteries, which are more expensive. I have to buy battery chargers. I have to pay per kilowatt hour for electricity. And even then, different batteries have different performance. Then I made the mistakes. Picking the wrong battery types. Buying the wrong battery brands. Some batteries were "brighter" in flashlights. Some batteries lasted longer. Some batteries had more charge cycles. It's another rabbit hole.

MagLED 3D "79 hours" runtime?? How?

Magic. How does the modern ML300L put out 746 Lumens and run 298 hours?

My old MagLED 2D had a marking on the package, saying "10 Std."

I knew, that LED would save much power, but that made me perplex.

There's a combination of technologies. The LED driver, the reflector, the batteries......... Today's LED chips are like "magic" compared to "Krypton" lights of decades past. It seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors when they publish their statistics. Sure, 746 Lumens at peak. But not 746 consistently. And surely not for 298 hours. Then it all depends on what type of battery they used for the testing.

​

Don't spend the next 40 years of your life chasing after the best battery to use with your flashlight. Most battery companies publish data sheets and specifications. But I wouldn't bother. You'll fall into a rabbit hole of volts, ohms, amp hours, self discharge rates..........

 

[Trenchfriend]

Nah, Mini-Mag Pro 2 hrs 30 min on full power.

Mini Maglite® Pro LED AA Taschenlampe

Mini Maglite Pro LED mit max. Helligkeit und Enrgiesparmodus, Kerzenlicht Modus, IPX4, eloxiert, bietet bessere Korrosionsbeständigkeit und Haltbarkeit.

www.maglite.eu

Non-Pro 11 hrs.

Mini Maglite® Pro LED AA Taschenlampe

Mini Maglite Pro LED mit max. Helligkeit und Enrgiesparmodus, Kerzenlicht Modus, IPX4, eloxiert, bietet bessere Korrosionsbeständigkeit und Haltbarkeit.

www.maglite.eu

If the classic Xenon Mini could really run 5 hrs 15 min, wouldn't that be sensational for a bulb?? The Kryptons never ran that long, right?
We kids always emptied our AA accu batteries in circa 2 hours. Higher capacities accu batties were not available.

Alkaline wouldn't have run much longer, I guess.

But the older may know better about 1993?? Did you have longlife Alkalines, back then??

 

[Peacoat]

Alkalines were available in 1993. That was only a little over 20 years ago. They have been with us for as long as I can remember.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Alkalines were available in 1993. That was only a little over 20 years ago. They have been with us for as long as I can remember.

I meaned special (longlife) Alkalines, not usual.

 

[Peacoat]

Alkalines were available in 1993. That was only a little over 20 years ago. They have been with us for as long as I can remember.

I need to revise this answer now that I have thought about it. When I was a kid in the 50s, all I remember were the Zinc Carbon batteries. I remember the alkalines sometime in the 70s.

Whether they were "long life" or "regular," I don't know. I thought all alkaline batteries were the same.

 

[大馬伕]

I don't remember when, but somewhere along the way, batteries were printed with Expiration Dates. Like milk. Now, batteries have "shelf life" marketing. Good for 5 years. Or 10 years. Maybe we need to bring a multimeter to the store and test the batteries prior to purchase.

 

[Fifty150]

Amazon in The USA has a few Mag-Lite models with coupons.