Maglite power upgrade

yoda4561

yoda4561

Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
2,606
Whilest trying to spot a wiley coon in my backyard tonight, I found my 3D maglite woefully inadequate. The old alkalines in it are old yes. But while am at it, what battery/lamp combo would give out the most power?? Im thinking a carley xenon and NiMH's or Hi Cap nicads. I've read there is a special bulb for rechargables. Why is that? I use a Magnum Star krypton in my maglite right now, would moving to HiCap nicad's signifigantly change light output compared to alkalines or NiMH batteries?
 
Any Alkaline should do. I didn't notice a difference between Duracells and Duracell Ultras in brightness. I didn't bother with total battery runtime. If you want to try the new e2 Titanium batteries (that titanium is getting overused.) or something spiffy go ahead. My only experience with Nimhs is in AA (Power Sonic 1500mAH). They had more capacity than nicads but didn't have the amp hour rating and the bulb was dull compared to nicads. D cells most likely will not have that problem. Not sure.

Carley Lamps has two types. Xenon Star and Krypton Star. And those two types are made for Alkalines. While only the Kryptons have a version for rechargeable batteries. The need for bulbs made specifically for nicads is the voltage requirements are different. Plus Alkalines tend to max out at .85 ah while nicads can goto to 1.7 ah or more.

I prefer the color of the Xenon Stars and the battery life of the alkalines.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

[This message has been edited by David Williams (edited 06-30-2000).]
 
Thanks Dave, I cant seem to find a source for carleys anywhere, so I think I'll be runnin down to radio shack today to pick up some Hi Cap NiCad's. It appears the batteries in the Mag are actually half dead, so a simple battery change should suffice
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Well I went to Radio shack today, looking for the HiCap Nicads, turns out they cost 8 bux a piece... thats 24 bucks, more than my Mag cost in the first place....lol. Wound up goin home with a xenon bulb from radio shack, looks like a standard lamp, but has the same output as my MagNum star krypton lamp, which is kinda dissapointing, but whatcha expect fer 2 dollars
smile.gif
 
If you plan on using some super bright and thus high current draw bulb you'll also need to plan on often having half dead batteries. I like Maglites in the car as they seem to be more reliable than others that I've used over the years but around the house and for camping I use flashlights with better reflectors, which for me is a well focused spot beam. I like a spot beam as I use regular low current bulbs in my lights, although I do have higher and even lower current bulbs stored in each light, as the spot beam makes the most of the photons available. Currently I'm using the Coleman Armor Light, with the big reflector, as the 3V lights that I keep in several places, and the Lumilite Zlite as a 6V. The Colemans have served well for several years now as unlike other, maybe most budget lights they seem to have decent switches and contacts, and the reflectors are some of the best focused spot beams that I've seen. I've only had the Zlite for a couple of years and so far it seems to work fine, and it too has a nicely focused beam. With brighter bulbs both lights have impressive range, but I also got tired of going thru so many batteries as we seem to use the lights a lot.
 
Been there, done that. Doesn't work.

The high cap NiCds with the Krypton Star lamps made for rechargeable batteries, which are a much higher amperage than those made for alkaline batteries, don't put out as much light as do the xenon lamps.

This is despite what the Carley folks say. I have both set ups, went up to Mendocino where the air is clear, and I could see better with the xenon lamps and alkaline cells than I could with the KSR lamps and hi-cap NiCds. Couple this with the fact that the NiCds only run about 90 min., and the xenons will run 10-12 hours, then there is really no contest. All my new flashlights have xenon lamps in them.

I am putting a Carley order together soon, so e-mail me if you haven't already.

Walt
 
Sorry. Forgot to answer your question. The reason that there is a special lamp for NiCds is that they have a higher amperage (roughly two or three times the krypton/alkaline lamps). This allows them to put a greater drain on the batteries, so you get more light. Put a set of alkalines with a KSR (Krypton Star Rechargeable) lamp, and those alks will be sucked dry in nothing flat. Further, the heavier filament of the KSR lamps allows a reasonable lamp burn time.

Alks lose their voltage in a linear fashion, NiCds maintain a fairly constant voltage until just before burn out (you already know this; alks will look dim for a while before they die; NiCds tend to die abruptly). This keeps the NiCd lamps at a higher average voltage over the life of the lamp compared with a alk. lamp. The heavier filament will burn longer at a higher average voltage.

Use Li cells in a Maglight? OK, if it makes you feel better. However, with the five year shelf life of modern alkalines, what have you gained? If you have a deep storage flashlight, you should change out the batteries every 2 or 3 years anyway, as keeping them in the flashlight will tend to make them leak after a while. Leaving batteries in a flashlight for 10 years is a good recipe for having a useless corroded piece of junk in your hand when you need a light.
smile.gif


Walt
 
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