Saved an old timer

I salvaged my AAA Mini-Maglite from the doom of leaky batteries! I noticed on Wednesday this week that the mini-Mag wasn't lighting up, and unscrewing the cap showed the batteries were jammed. Never, never, never leave batteries in a flashlight that isn't in daily use! So, yesterday, during an Internet outage, I decided to get the batteries out. If only I'd been able to look up YouTube videos and the instructions for this model on-line. Anyway, I hammered out one battery, pushed the top insulator/switch assembly down ( and now I know how the switch works!), got the second battery out, and cleaned the interior with sandpaper. I was sure I'd lost a part but it seems the miniMag really is simple inside - only one spring, and I had that. Re-assembled today after checking the Net and it still works!

The 2 x 4 on which I was hammering the mini-Mag has deep circles all over it. I was sure I had crushed or destroyed some delicate internal part, but it seems the mini-Mag was tough enough to withstand my ham-fisted repair techniques.

It was particularly nice to get this working again because years ago I'd upgraded it with a Terra Lux LED - foolishly expensive, but that light has been all over Canada, the US and at least one trip to Africa with me.

It's gone back into my briefcase to await it's next mission, but this time the batteries are taped on the outside.

Bill

Glad you resurrected an old favorite and hope it serves faithfully forever many more years.

That being said, the best way to avoid leaking cells is to stop using alkalines altogether.

Bravo!!!

Now go buy some ultimate lithiums to store in it.

Nice to save an old light that holds personal value :thumbsup: +1 on the Energizer ultimate lithiums.

I just complained to Duracell they gave me a check for a new one and coupons for batteries

I tried doing this with one of the new LED models and I totally scraped up the coating over the LED. It was one I found thrown away and I was bored. I didn't put much thought into it. I tried removing it the same way I did with my incandescent version. By putting a lot of force on the top end and trying to force everything out the bottom. I ended up just throwing it away again, lol.

There's a reason people here called them "alkaleaks". I've lost all sorts of stuff to alkaline battery leak over the years. Most recently, we lost the last incandescent Maglite we had in circulation. I understand not keeping batteries loaded in devices but what a pain. I like a light ready when I reach for it, usually when I need it! So I slowly upgraded to NiMH in the form of Eneloop Pro. They seem to work well, can be recharged at least 500 times, and won't leak corrosive goo into my devices.

Coincidentally, that last Maglite was discovered during the Eneloop swap-out. I had been bugging my wife for months to let me swap the batteries out on her nostalgic but rarely used purse light. I told her the story of how my very first Maglite, that I had for like 20 years, died to battery leak. Then sure enough, she hands me a dead light with stuck batteries...

Cosmodragoon said:

There's a reason people here called them "alkaleaks". I've lost all sorts of stuff to alkaline battery leak over the years. Most recently, we lost the last incandescent Maglite we had in circulation. I understand not keeping batteries loaded in devices but what a pain. I like a light ready when I reach for it, usually when I need it! So I slowly upgraded to NiMH in the form of Eneloop Pro. They seem to work well, can be recharged at least 500 times, and won't leak corrosive goo into my devices.

Coincidentally, that last Maglite was discovered during the Eneloop swap-out. I had been bugging my wife for months to let me swap the batteries out on her nostalgic but rarely used purse light. I told her the story of how my very first Maglite, that I had for like 20 years, died to battery leak. Then sure enough, she hands me a dead light with stuck batteries...

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This must be the third flashlight I've had leaky batteries in. I had an old LED digital watch that I found years after it had last been worn - the button cell had horked all over the contacts and they snapped like dried leaves when I tried to get the battery out. I had a close call with my shortwave radio - the big D cells had started to leak. I ordered a set of NiMh rechargeables for it, not to save on battery cost but to prevent leakage. My old 2 C cell MagLite got demoted to toolbox from glove box because I'd left leaky batteries in it and was only partly successful in reviving it.

I've started using NiMh in things like keyboards and mice and remote controls, which I always thought was a foolish place to use rechargeables. But I got a good deal on clearance NiMh AA and AAAs at the 4-letter furniture store - now I've got little green and silver batteries in everything.

The little AAA MagLite rescued this week was given to me in 1998 - so it's 20 years old this year. That's like, what, 140 in flashlight years? A relic of the good old days. (Never used the spare bulb - it's still in the tail cap!) Many is the time it's helped find a rental car in an airport or to find my way around a strange hotel room. The whole time I worked in a multi-storey office building, I kept it in mybriefcase - I did NOT want to be finding my way down a stairwell in total darkness.

Bill

bykfixer said:

Bravo!!!

Now go buy some ultimate lithiums to store in it.

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Should have done it a long time ago - was going through the tub of spare batteries and decided "Hey, it would be far better for these extra lithium batteries to spend the rest of their shelf life in the mini-Mag than to quietly expire here in the closet." These are marked "Best before 2022" but they are also marked 6 years, so I expect they won't leak or rot before 2030-something. Hope I last that long!

Bill

I was able to bring back to life my dads old AA Mini-Maglite. He passed in 2000 and had it for years. It's a real beater as my dad used his stuff.only thing not original is the head as that was to badly damaged other then that it works just fine.

The Mini Mags are harder than C and D cells to restore but not impossible. I've always had to drill out or break up the plastic switch at the head end. Then I use the old vinegar trick to break the batteries loose from both end. You'll have to buy a new switch unfortunately which is around $10 but you're able to save the light.

Let's see some pics of your Mini Mag!!

Not sure how old she is doesn't even have a serial number on it lol

Very cool. My first flashlight was a red minimag. I still have it

thermal guy said:

Not sure how old she is doesn't even have a serial number on it lol

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Mine is probably 20 years old and I don't think I'd be able to drill out the lanyard hole big enough to let a leather lanyard through. Perhaps older models had a more metal available in that spot.

Well that thing was my dads. He used it to get to his hunting stand in the mornings. He was old school and I remember him using this I think back in 86 or maybe 88? I'm thinking it's maybe 30 years old or so.it didn't put out much light at all just enough to walk with in the dark but that's all he needed.