# Where to buy Maglite 3D LED upgrade bulb?



## Elmer Fudd (Oct 25, 2010)

Just found an old maglite 3D flashlight I forgot about. I had upgraded the others to the new 3W LED when they came out a couple years ago. I don't see them for sale at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Academy, etc. Anyone know of a brick and mortar chain that still sells them in the southeast US?

Thanks!


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## flatline (Oct 25, 2010)

I haven't seen Maglite LED upgrades in brick-and-mortar stores for a while. If you search amazon.com, though, you'll see they still carry lots of different upgrades (Nite Ize, Terralux, even the official MagLite dropins).

--flatline


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## Nasty (Oct 25, 2010)

There are better choices now...

Search for the budget showerhead thread for example.

$25 to turn that Mag into a terrific flood using 9 AA Duracells and 3 of the #1 AA to D adapters...


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## alpg88 (Oct 25, 2010)

don't buy it, idk why they call it upgrade, it is more like downgrade, you will loose output, they are garbage if you ask me, i spend almost $100 on few of them, i considered them all crap, the only reason i still keep them, is that i spend $100 on them, let them sit in a box, they are only good if you don't care about brightness but runtime only, 
now if you care about brightness, than you need fusion36leds drop in,(good flooder, not much throw, about $25, or tle300 great thrower, 3 modes, about $80, or sst 50 drop in sold on this board, 800lm (but not if you use alkaline cells) 3 modes, around $100.
or you could do conversion, there are literally dozens of conversion you can do, but they aren't drop ins, you need some skills to assemble those.


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## flatline (Oct 25, 2010)

alpg88 said:


> don't buy it, idk why they call it upgrade, it is more like downgrade, you will loose output, they are garbage if you ask me, i spend almost $100 on few of them, i considered them all crap, the only reason i still keep them, is that i spend $100 on them, let them sit in a box, they are only good if you don't care about brightness but runtime only,
> now if you care about brightness, than you need fusion36leds drop in,(good flooder, not much throw, about $25, or tle300 great thrower, 3 modes, about $80, or sst 50 drop in sold on this board, 800lm (but not if you use alkaline cells) 3 modes, around $100.
> or you could do conversion, there are literally dozens of conversion you can do, but they aren't drop ins, you need some skills to assemble those.



I happen to like the dim Nite Ize dropin. It supposedly gets 160 hours of runtime out of 4D cells, so I can loan my maglite to a neighbor during an emergency and never have to worry about them running out of juice. I don't care that it's no brighter than the standard bulb. I have other lights for that if I need more lumens.

--flatline


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## Brownbear696969 (Oct 25, 2010)

eBay is good


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## Elmer Fudd (Oct 25, 2010)

Mag Industries must have stopped marketing these - looking over the web all I see is the odd one available on ebay.

ETA: called Mag Industries up, and indeed they have stopped selling the LED upgrade units.


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## PCC (Oct 25, 2010)

A good alternative to the MagLED module would be the Nite Ize 1-Watt PR flange bulb. Make sure to get the 1-Watt one with the smaller globe instead of the half-Watt large globe version. Big Waffles tested the 1-Watt bulb replacement and it compares favorably to the MagLED 3-cell bulb. The MagLED is brighter initially but will drop in output quickly as the module heats up. After a few minutes the Nite Ize 1-Watt bulb is brighter and will remain so for longer than the MagLED module. The only reason to get the MagLED module is if you want to mod it with a modern LED. I've put a Cree XP-G R4 soldered to an 8mm board onto a 2-cell MagLED module and it makes about 150 lumens at turn on compared to about 40 lumens for an unmodified version of the same bulb.


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## fatheadhill (Oct 26, 2010)

I know its not exactly what you said you were looking for but I'd definitely check out the Malkoff drop-in for the 3D Mags. I picked up one of the nite-ize(sp?) but wasn't happy with it, so I got a Terralux. Not too bad but still not quite what I was looking for. Then I sprang for the Malkoff and I was amazed!! They're a little pricey but well worth it IMO. They're also sold out ATM, but they're well worth the wait, or you could keep an eye out on CPF marketplace and see if one pops up. A little patience and you'll have, what is IMO, the best drop-in for the Mags.


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## Nasty (Oct 26, 2010)

A link to the $25 Fusion 36 showerhead...what *I* have found to be the best *affordable* M*g mod.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/277748


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## Woods Walker (Oct 26, 2010)

Elmer Fudd said:


> Just found an old maglite 3D flashlight I forgot about. I had upgraded the others to the new 3W LED when they came out a couple years ago. I don't see them for sale at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Academy, etc. Anyone know of a brick and mortar chain that still sells them in the southeast US?
> 
> Thanks!


 
Yea know sometimes they have the new Rebel LED Mag 3D for something like 11 bucks on sale at Lowes etc. Even when not on sale these aren't too expensive. Maybe just get new one and forget the upgrade as the new Mags are better than the older LED ones, upgrade included.


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## PCC (Oct 26, 2010)

Woods Walker said:


> Yea know sometimes they have the new Rebel LED Mag 3D for something like 11 bucks on sale at Lowes etc. Even when not on sale these aren't too expensive. Maybe just get new one and forget the upgrade as the new Mags are better than the older LED ones, upgrade included.


While I agree with you on the first part, I don't agree with the second part. I have a 2D Rebel Mag and an older 2D MagLite that I put the MagLED module in. The Rebel draws 1660mA at the tail for 110 OTF lumens while my MagLED draws around 850mA at the tail for 40 OTF. Change the LED for something modern, like a Seoul SSC P4 U-bin and that same module will put out about the same amount of light as that Rebel does at slightly more than half the amp draw. Change the LED for an XP-G R4 and it's putting out 150 OTF lumens at the same 850mA. I haven't done the same measurements on my 3D Mags, yet, but I don't have a 3D Rebel Mag to compare to.


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## papajoe (Oct 26, 2010)

This may not be popular, but here goes . . . . . .
I had 9 or 10 Mags around the house, shop, office, etc. Spent a lot of money over the years on Mags, and they served me well - no complaints.

But, for me, it was time to move on. Mags are dinosaurs. End of story. Perhaps you should save your money and move into the present, and the future as well.

With all due respect, of course . . . . .:thumbsup:


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## alpg88 (Oct 26, 2010)

PCC said:


> While I agree with you on the first part, I don't agree with the second part. I have a 2D Rebel Mag and an older 2D MagLite that I put the MagLED module in. The Rebel draws 1660mA at the tail for 110 OTF lumens while my MagLED draws around 850mA at the tail for 40 OTF. Change the LED for something modern, like a Seoul SSC P4 U-bin and that same module will put out about the same amount of light as that Rebel does at slightly more than half the amp draw. Change the LED for an XP-G R4 and it's putting out 150 OTF lumens at the same 850mA. I haven't done the same measurements on my 3D Mags, yet, but I don't have a 3D Rebel Mag to compare to.


 
where did you get the numbers????

rebel draws 1660ma???? hard to believe, i got to measure mine, when i get home. i would not think mag r&d would make a light meant for alkaline cells draw 1660ma
also 1660ma 110otf lm????? dude, hotwire will give you more at that draw. why bother with led??

850ma for 40lm??? are you kidding? stock maglite bulb makes 2x as many lm with that draw. again why bother with leds

also xp-g 150lm at 850ma, well magnumstar bulb makes as much at similar draw. once more, why bother with led???

btw my magled bulb that came with 4d magled (first gen lux 3) led draws about 350ma at the tail.

according to your numbers leds are horribly inefficient. worst than incandescent.


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## CarpentryHero (Oct 26, 2010)

If you want to stay incan, (ROP) mod, not much skill required and it'll cost around $80 since you already own the maglite. 1100 emitter lumens.
Peaces required are a metal reflector, new glass and an adapter so you can run 6 AA instead of 3 d cells


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## CarpentryHero (Oct 26, 2010)

Oh and a 3854 Pelican bulb, that's why it's called Roar Of the Pelican


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## Woods Walker (Oct 26, 2010)

PCC said:


> While I agree with you on the first part, I don't agree with the second part. I have a 2D Rebel Mag and an older 2D MagLite that I put the MagLED module in. The Rebel draws 1660mA at the tail for 110 OTF lumens while my MagLED draws around 850mA at the tail for 40 OTF. Change the LED for something modern, like a Seoul SSC P4 U-bin and that same module will put out about the same amount of light as that Rebel does at slightly more than half the amp draw. Change the LED for an XP-G R4 and it's putting out 150 OTF lumens at the same 850mA. I haven't done the same measurements on my 3D Mags, yet, but I don't have a 3D Rebel Mag to compare to.


 
I think the Rebel 3D tested far better than the 2D and someplace on CPF there is info about that topic. The view was to get the 3D and avoid the 2D. I have the Rebel 3D but don't own the 2D.


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## Robin24k (Oct 26, 2010)

alpg88 said:


> rebel draws 1660ma???? hard to believe, i got to measure mine, when i get home.


I'm getting 0.655A on my Luxeon Rebel 3D with alkalines.


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## alpg88 (Oct 26, 2010)

Robin24k said:


> I'm getting 0.655A on my Luxeon Rebel 3D with alkalines.


 thanks, my point exactly, even if we take into accout that 2d is a bit brighter\draws more, still 1660ma is way off charts


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## alpg88 (Oct 26, 2010)

Woods Walker said:


> I think the Rebel 3D tested far better than the 2D and someplace on CPF there is info about that topic. The view was to get the 3D and avoid the 2D. I have the Rebel 3D but don't own the 2D.


 
2D is actually a bit brighter than 3D, but has a lot less runtime


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## PCC (Oct 26, 2010)

alpg88 said:


> thanks, my point exactly, even if we take into accout that 2d is a bit brighter\draws more, still 1660ma is way off charts


I've measured the current at the tailcaps of several Rebel 2D Mags and they all pull about the same amount of current. Others have had similar results.


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## PCC (Oct 26, 2010)

alpg88 said:


> where did you get the numbers????
> 
> rebel draws 1660ma???? hard to believe, i got to measure mine, when i get home. i would not think mag r&d would make a light meant for alkaline cells draw 1660ma
> also 1660ma 110otf lm????? dude, hotwire will give you more at that draw. why bother with led??
> ...


I got those numbers right from the few lights that I have in my possession using a voltmeter. Others have given similar numbers from their 2D lights.

As far as the 40 lumens number is concerned, that's with an old Luxeon III emitter and that module blew away the different incan bulbs that I put into that light in every regard, especially run time. I used to run a 2D incan Mag down until it was only putting out 10-15 lumens or so then pull the bateries and put them into my light with the MagLED and get twice the run times from them as I did with the incan bulb on these used batteries.

As far as the 1650mA number is concerned, that's because the driver circuit is horribly inefficient and the LED that they're using is not that great, neither, for efficiency.


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## Woods Walker (Oct 26, 2010)

alpg88 said:


> 2D is actually a bit brighter than 3D, but has a lot less runtime


 
Good to know as don't have the 2D. The Rebel 3D seems bright to me (ceiling test) with a great amount of throw and runs a long time near as I could tell. The best 11 bucks I spent in a long time.


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## ChibiM (Oct 29, 2010)

Before I start a new thread, I will try it here. 

Since I live in Japan, and can not easily find a cheap LED bulb for my maglite here, I would like to know where I can get them online?

Im talking about really cheap bulbs, for less than $10 
like the Dorcy 41-1644 40 Lumen who is selling for $4 at Sears, Canada
or a Nite-Ize

if someone knows a chinese vendor, where to buy these cheap ones.. please PM me, if a link is not allowed..

It seems I cant find them on websites like DX, KD, etc..


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## Robin24k (Oct 29, 2010)

Have you checked Ebay?


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## krevo (Oct 29, 2010)

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Mac's Customs drop ins? 3 mode interface with up to 800 lumens in a D cell maglite.

http://macscustoms.com/MagLiteDropIn.aspx

That's the next thing I order.


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## deadrx7conv (Oct 29, 2010)

Its a Maglite? Whats a incan 3D Maglite cost these days? 

Lowes/HomeDepot sometimes has the LED PR bulb. Decent output(more than incan) and great battery life. 

Some of these are still available if you do an online search for them:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/178595

Terralux is about $20-$25 for their 1w(TLE-1F)and 3w(Model TLE-6EXB) upgrade.
http://www.led-replacement.com/IMAGES/TLE-1F2.jpg
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/theshorelinemarket_2130_216707946

Nite-ize(LRB-07PR1w) was about $10 and an affordable easy choice. 
http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/094664/094664008557lg.jpg

And Dorcy which can sometimes be found in your dept stores:
http://www.dorcydirect.com/images/Product/large/354.jpg

These are nice but expensive:
http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=1
http://macscustoms.com/images/p1040378-vi.jpg

BTW, I have upgraded regular flashlights with Malkoff, NiteIze, and Ledtronics LEDs. Unless you're a lumen junkie, not worth the investment to go over the Dorcy/Nite-IZE. You can get an SST-50 or MC-E flashlight on Ebay for $25-$40. So, if you're going to spend more than $10, sell the 3D Maglite at your yard sale and get a new flashlight!


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## alpg88 (Oct 29, 2010)

deadrx7conv said:


> Its a Maglite? Whats a incan 3D Maglite cost these days?
> 
> Lowes/HomeDepot sometimes has the LED PR bulb. Decent output(*more than incan*) and great battery life.
> !


it is not. 
every magled that came with gen3 lux bulb (the brightest pr retrofit i've tried) had also incandescent bulb in the tail, guess for what, ..as manual says for higher intensity light.
i have at least 5 of those pr led bulbs, none is brighter than incandescent even 3cell bulb, assuming you use fresh cells.
and none is even close to rebel magled


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## PCC (Oct 29, 2010)

It's funny that you say that. On my 2D MagLite I had tried the different Mag bulbs and my comparison is against a tree in my neighbor's back yard, about 50 yards away. At night I would shine my light into the top-most branches, change bulb, try it again, noting what I can and cannot see up there. The brightest setup was the MagLED module in its original configuration before I swapped out the pathetic Lux III emitter. It was at that point that I swore off incandescents altogether, only recently looking into incans again (but looking at hotwires this time). Granted, I ran those tests with D brand alkalines and they could have been less than fresh.

In recent times I've compared the cheap plastic 2D incan flashlights that are everywhere at work by turning out the lights in my office, shining the incan light at the far wall then swapping in my Nite Ize 1-Watt PR flange drop-in and showing my coworkers what a cheap LED upgrade can do. I almost always get oohs and ahhs from that. The squiggly line of an incan hotspot that I get pales by comparison to the nice, round hotspot from the LED. Sure, the intensity of the incan spot is a bit higher than the larger LED hotspot but the LED is infinitely more usable as the spill is brighter and the hotspot larger.


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## deadrx7conv (Oct 29, 2010)

Magled LED or 3D Maglite looking for LED upgrade? 

Thread starter didn't mention anything about upgraded a MagLED.


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## alpg88 (Oct 29, 2010)

PCC said:


> It's funny that you say that. On my 2D MagLite I had tried the different Mag bulbs and my comparison is against a tree in my neighbor's back yard, about 50 yards away. At night I would shine my light into the top-most branches, change bulb, try it again, noting what I can and cannot see up there. The brightest setup was the MagLED module in its original configuration before I swapped out the pathetic Lux III emitter. It was at that point that I swore off incandescents altogether, only recently looking into incans again (but looking at hotwires this time). Granted, I ran those tests with D brand alkalines and they could have been less than fresh.
> 
> In recent times I've compared the cheap plastic 2D incan flashlights that are everywhere at work by turning out the lights in my office, shining the incan light at the far wall then swapping in my Nite Ize 1-Watt PR flange drop-in and showing my coworkers what a cheap LED upgrade can do. I almost always get oohs and ahhs from that. The squiggly line of an incan hotspot that I get pales by comparison to the nice, round hotspot from the LED. Sure, the intensity of the incan spot is a bit higher than the larger LED hotspot but the LED is infinitely more usable as the spill is brighter and the hotspot larger.


 
you know, i too have few cheap industrial 2d lights, in their faceted reflector led bulbs actually work a lot better than in maglite, or may be it is the shape of reflector too, the beam is smooth and very useful, as the are in big reflector light, like lantern,.. yes that is true.

but neither of those pr bulbs is an upgrade really, downgrade more like it, they do last a lot longer, and can work fine on batteries that are no more good enough for a inc. bulb, that is true too.


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## Tater Salad (Mar 3, 2015)

Do you guys know of any places that sell the led bulb for a maglight 2 d?


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## Chicken Drumstick (Mar 4, 2015)

Tater Salad said:


> Do you guys know of any places that sell the led bulb for a maglight 2 d?


What country are you in? And how much do you want to spend?

The Torch Site (UK based) sells some simply bulb like drop in's for the Mag D series lights. These are pretty cheap and massively improve the Maglite. But output and performance will still be behind other newer led torches from other makers.

http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/D_cell_LED_Upgrades.html

You might also find them on ebay.

That's about as good as it'll get for an old incan model running 2x alkaline D cells.

If you want to spend more money, Google Malkoff. Although don't know what they offer exactly for the 2D.

If you want to mod, then the 2D is a good host to do lots of things with. But do this for fun as you'll still be able to buy the same or better performance cheaper in a stock light.


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## sadtimes (Mar 4, 2015)

Tater Salad said:


> Do you guys know of any places that sell the led bulb for a maglight 2 d?



Tater, PM me with your shipping address and I will send you a Mag Led bulb for free.. but only because you bumped a 5 year old thread.
=-)


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## CelticCross74 (Mar 4, 2015)

Ive got a few of the drop ins from TTS. While an improvement over a stock incan I would still save up $50 and buy either of the new 3rd Gens the 3rd gens are the best stock Mags I have ever seen


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## JerryM (Mar 4, 2015)

I replaced the ican bulb with this Terralux for my 3C Maglite.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/terralux-ministar5-led-upgrade-for-maglite-2-3-c-d-cell.html
I am pleased with it, and have no need or desire for anything else.
Jerry


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## american (Mar 4, 2015)

I have one for sale over on cpf marketplace in a 2d maglite dark green with Malkoff led


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## Tater Salad (Mar 5, 2015)

I didn't even notice it was such an old thread. I was just trying to findout if anybody still sells those bulbs or if there even made anymore since I can't seem to find the replacement bulbs in stores now.


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## american (Mar 5, 2015)

Tater Salad said:


> I didn't even notice it was such an old thread. I was just trying to findout if anybody still sells those bulbs or if there even made anymore since I can't seem to find the replacement bulbs in stores now.



It's one of those things you have to order usually


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## wjv (Mar 6, 2015)

A while back I upgraded a 3xC Maglite and a 4xD Brinkman light with some off the shelf LEDs from Walmart. The lights were brighter, and teh run times longer, BUT they still have the same cruddy Doughnut hole beam with rings. I know you can get reflector upgrades for mags (not sure about Brinkmans) But I have no clue if they really improve the beam quality.

Modern lights with clean, bright hotspots and spills have really spoiled me!!!


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## Oztorchfreak (Mar 9, 2015)

Try the Terralux Upgrade kit.

There is one for Magchahargers and one for non -magchargers about $60 per kit sold online at Terralux.

It has three brightness levels from the standard button and throws out about 800 900 lumens.


CHEERS

Highly recommended by me.


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## Tater Salad (Mar 24, 2015)

Ill look into the terralux upgrade kit and see what it's all about. Thank you for the recommendation.


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## american (Apr 17, 2015)

I have a nice one for sale on here


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## JerryM (Apr 17, 2015)

I have been very satisfied with the Terralux upgrade for my 3C Maglite.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/terralux-ministar5-led-upgrade-for-maglite-2-3-c-d-cell.html
Jerry


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## alpg88 (Apr 17, 2015)

Oztorchfreak said:


> Try the Terralux Upgrade kit.
> 
> There is one for Magchahargers and one for non -magchargers about $60 per kit sold online at Terralux.
> 
> ...



i second that, i have old style 1 mode drop in, definatly huge difference between stock bulb and these 3 led drop ins, really night and day.


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