# What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Industrial Rechargeable Xenon Lantern)



## BlueBeam22

I just bought an amazing light that has me in awe! It is the *Dorcy Industrial Rechargeable Xenon Lantern*, which is is a yellow lantern style spotlight (it does not advertise as being a spotlight so that is why I felt it was best to post this here), which is a little bigger than a 6 volt floating lantern.
What has me in awe about this light is that it is the same size as the N30 HID searchlight, and is only rated at 102 lumens, but it focuses the white light into a laser thin beam that equals my 3 million candlepower twin beam Vector spotlight throw! It has hardly in spill and no corona, and its entire beam is as narrow/thin as the Power On Board HID’s little pinpoint hotspot, and it is the narrowest beam I have ever seen in person. I am blown away by it! I was testing it against the N30 and it had easily 70% the throw. The Dorcy EASILY out throws my 1 million candlepower spotlights.
When I shined it in the sky it was able to cloud bounce on some low clouds, and its beam is like a parallel laser than goes on forever into the sky. It advertises a 4 hour runtime which is great.
It put a small bright spot on trees 200 yards away and put a spot on the top of a high rise. 

I have a great appreciation for long distance throwers with laser thin beams. The Dorcy is in no way practical but it sure is thrilling to shine it at distant trees or buildings as its almost like a laser pointer. I have never owned a light with this narrow of a beam angle, and it has quite an amazing effect. The beam is incredibly concentrated and intense. This Dorcy Xenon Lantern flashlight feels really nice to hold and has a very comfortable handle.

The build quality is quite good, and it feels featherweight compared to other spotlights and large flashlights. I am amazed out how it keeps up with my 3 and 5 million candlepower spotlights. It has a lot more throw than the Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight and a much brighter, smaller spot. I think this light is great for anyone just looking for a fun and compact thrower!:thumbsup:


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

That's pretty interesting. Is this what you are referring to?:

http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=411035

I was going to say, it might be a good candidate to replace the 6V Energizer Industrial lanterns I keep in my car and truck as backup to my EDC, but I see it is rechargeable, which would probably rule it out for me.

What type of battery pack does it use? What type of charger does it have and what is the charge time?


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



ampdude said:


> That's pretty interesting. Is this what you are referring to?:
> 
> http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=411035
> 
> I was going to say, it might be a good candidate to replace the 6V Energizer Industrial lanterns I keep in my car and truck as backup to my EDC, but I see it is rechargeable, which would probably rule it out for me.
> 
> What type of battery pack does it use? What type of charger does it have and what is the charge time?


 
Yes that is it.:twothumbs Recharge time is supposed to be 16 hours but it seems to charge faster than that. I own a Rayovac Industrial 6V lantern, and it is nowhere near as bright as this Dorcy and only has like 1/5 the throw. It is amazing how powerful the Dorcy is as its only a little bigger than the Rayovac.

It uses a 6 volt Sealed Lead Acid battery, and DOES have amazing runtime. I used it for maybe 30 minutes straight before its first charge, and the battery status indicator was still on green. This light IMO makes a great EDC due to its small size and light weight.

PM sent.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the specs of its charger. Its output is 12V DC 500mA.


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Looking again I just noticed it advertises a 4-hour continuous run time.

Since it's lead acid, might not rule it out after all. They tend to keep their charge for a long time. I was worried it might be NIMH.


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Yes, its runtime is pretty incredible for how powerful it is. It has a much brighter hotspot with more throw than my Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight, and the Coleman only has a 2.5 hour runtime. Like I said before the most amazing thing about this light is how it has 70% the throw of my N30 HID Searchlight, and nearly 4 times as long a runtime.


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## offroadcmpr

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

So now the next step is to mod it with a super bright bulb to give it even more throw!
What kind of bulb does it take?


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



offroadcmpr said:


> So now the next step is to mod it with a super bright bulb to give it even more throw!
> What kind of bulb does it take?


 
IIRC it has a 6 volt Xenon filled bulb. I am not sure about the wattage though. It sure puts out a LOT of light and easily beats my 150 lumen Task Force in a ceiling bounce test.

I am not sure whether it the bulb can be replaced with something else as it sits in kind of a "holder".

This is the second most amazing small flashlight I have ever held. It has twice the throw of my Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight, and throws over 5 times farther than the 2C Task Force CREE. I estimate it can light up objects up to 1/2 a mile away as it covers 300 yards as easily as the Task Force covers 30 yards. It is indeed a very nice light!


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## csshih

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

hmm. seems like a cheaper alternative to an expensive HID light..

wow! sears is selling for 20$...
too bad I can't buy any.


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## Team Member

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Bluebeam, is it this one?


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Team Member said:


> Bluebeam, is it this one?


 
Yes, that's it! 




> *csshih*
> hmm. seems like a cheaper alternative to an expensive HID light..
> 
> wow! sears is selling for 20$...
> too bad I can't buy any.


 
It is a great cheap alternative to an HID IMO. It seems to have more like 75% the throw of the N30, and focuses the light into a pencil thin beam. Its beam is SO narrow and throws so far that it reminds me a lot of my green laser pointer. I shined it up at some low level clouds tonight and could make out a white dot on them.


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## Team Member

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

The lens seems to be a bit domed... Or should I call it "aspheric"-a-like...

Has that something to do with the "pencil thin" beam? Or is the reflectore just very deep...?


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Yes, the lense is a dome shape rather than flat, but it is just transparent plastic so it does not focus the light like an aspheric. 
The reflector however is VERY deep and mirror smooth, and the bulb is perfectly focused in the middle, which explains its great throw.:thumbsup:


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## Team Member

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Nice find then :thumbsup:


In some way, it´s more satisfying to find something cheap that works really great, better than you had expected, than to buy a surgical precision made thing that just do what you had expected from it...


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Team Member said:


> Nice find then :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> In some way, it´s more satisfying to find something cheap that works really great, better than you had expected, than to buy a surgical precision made thing that just do what you had expected from it...


 
Agreed.:thumbsup: I would never have imagined a light at its price and small size could deliver such incredible performance and have such a laser like beam that I would expect to have to pay many times more for.
After testing it tonight it actually seems to out throw the 3 million candlepower Vector spotlight, and really performs like a searchlight! 
IMHO the Dorcy Industrial Xenon Lantern can't be beat for throw at its price point. I am amazed at how easily it smokes a 530 lumen LED thrower.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



offroadcmpr said:


> So now the next step is to mod it with a super bright bulb to give it even more throw!
> What kind of bulb does it take?


 My thoughts exacly. If you could figure out what type of bulb holder it uses ,we could at least speculate on how to upgrade and get even more throw. Obviously it has a reflector that is conducive to throw.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

 
If the bulb is only rated at 102 lm then putting a pelican HOLA, which is rated at 600 lm ,should really increase output. The low output of the stock bulb explains the long runtime.


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

I looked at the Sears website and the price is $38.99, not $20.


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



ANDREAS FERRARI said:


> If the bulb is only rated at 102 lm then putting a pelican HOLA, which is rated at 600 lm ,should really increase output. The low output of the stock bulb explains the long runtime.



100 lumens of incandescent light is pretty useful when you're out in the middle of nowhere. However the pelican lamp sounds like a nice upgrade. Does this light have a PR based bulb? Which pelican bulb are you referring to?


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## Paul520

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Might get one. Optics planet has em for $28.99


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## Flashanator

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

This sounds interesting, some beamshots against others would give us an idea of it.


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## Lighthearted1

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Thank you BlueBeam22 for this info. I just ordered one.

How did you decide to buy one in the first place? Who tipped you about the long throw? Or do you just buy hundreds of lights in a constant quest for brightness ? :thinking:


Thanks also to Paul520 for the Optics Planet info. I ordered there for $28.99 and added a very low cost item over $1 for free shipping! 

I have the HD Husky 2D 4W LED already (great car carry light for dark street signs), but still want longer reach for low $$ (just for grins ). This will be my fix for a while.

BlueBeam22, I also appreciate the info you provided on the N30, but I don't want to spend that much $ at this point.


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

I definitely agree that it is the perfect light to upgrade as the reflector is made for throw and with a 600 lumen bulb it may out throw a 10 million candlepower spotlight. I was shining it into the neighbor's back yard who lives all the way at the other end of my cul-de-sac, and it painted the whole yard and trees beautifully without lighting up anything else leading out to the target. This light kind of reminds me of the Maxabeam, and seems like a lot more than 102 lumens.

Flashanator, Your 10mcp with 130W high beam would for sure have twice the throw of this Dorcy. I am just blown away at its small size and pencil thin beam.

I am not sure what kind of bulb holder it has, but the round xenon bulb sits in a silver ring holder which sits above (comes out of) the base of the reflector. The bulb is not an H3, it kind of looks like a Maglite bulb but is larger and has a fatter filament.


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## Sgt. LED

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

I wonder at the life of the bulb?

I'd love to get killer throw for under 50 bucks. Especially if it will go for around 4 hours!


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Lighthearted1 said:


> Thank you BlueBeam22 for this info. I just ordered one.
> 
> How did you decide to buy one in the first place? Who tipped you about the long throw? Or do you just buy hundreds of lights in a constant quest for brightness ? :thinking:
> 
> 
> Thanks also to Paul520 for the Optics Planet info. I ordered there for $28.99 and added a very low cost item over $1 for free shipping!
> 
> I have the HD Husky 2D 4W LED already (great car carry light for dark street signs), but still want longer reach for low $$ (just for grins ). This will be my fix for a while.
> 
> BlueBeam22, I also appreciate the info you provided on the N30, but I don't want to spend that much $ at this point.


 
You're welcome, and I guarantee you will be BLOWN AWAY by it. Congrats!! I bought it at Sears, and the reason why was that it happened to already be charged up in its package, so I tried it and was in awe of what a bright pinspot of light it had, and decided to buy it.

It should have easily 4 times the throw of your Husky 2D, and a much brighter hotspot. Please let me know your impresions of it when you get it. :twothumbs





> *Sgt. LED*
> I wonder at the life of the bulb?
> 
> I'd love to get killer throw for under 50 bucks. Especially if it will go for around 4 hours!


 
It truly does have killer throw and can't be beat at its price and runtime! IIRC Sears sells replacement bulbs for it, but I am guessing it should have an extremely long bulb life sine it isn't being over driven at all. What still impresses me most is how it blows away the Coleman LED spotlight and competes nicely with the N30 in throw.


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## Flashanator

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Hmmm my 6D Maglite with Xenon bulb on tight spot, also has a pencil thin beam. probably around 120lumens.


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## csshih

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



ampdude said:


> I looked at the Sears website and the price is $38.99, not $20.




wow. sears already brought the price up.

when I searched it up on google, google shopping gave me 20$, and so did the site, 

http://www.google.com/products?ie=U...a=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

shows 20$, it has not updated yet.


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## Mr Happy

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

The bulb in the lantern is a Philips HPX 53 6V 0.975A PR base. The performance of the lantern does not therefore surprise me as the Philips HPX series of PR bulbs are absolutely the best quality PR xenon bulbs you can find. They are very bright and have perfect focus and beam quality. The only trouble is you can't easily get them. Nearly all of the production goes to OEMs.

I do in fact have a bunch of these bulbs that I got from Dorcy direct, here: http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-75-41-1035-lantern-parts.aspx I use them for mild hotwires running from 6 NiMH cells. I once found some on the rack at Sears but my local shop stopped stocking them.

The bulbs are miracle bulbs, actually. I have tested one up to 9 volts without instaflashing, but I don't know what that would do to the lifetime.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



ANDREAS FERRARI said:


> If the bulb is only rated at 102 lm then putting a pelican HOLA, which is rated at 600 lm ,should really increase output. The low output of the stock bulb explains the long runtime.


 The bulb I'm referring to is the Pelican 3854-H; designed for use in the Big-D spotlight and commonly used in the magmod ROP( Roar of the Pelican).BTW for other newbies like me HOLA stands for High OutPut Lamp Assembly.The Pelican bulbs are sold in packs of 2 bulbs.1 HOLA (the one with the pointy tip) and 1 LOLA(Low Output Lamp Assembly) which puts about 300lms.Since this light has a PR base,either bulb (which are potted) should fit.


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## mdocod

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Sounds like a great alternative to a true Pelican Big D SLA. Swapping in a Pelican big D bulb (as has already been suggested) should basically make it an equivalent. 

However....
I always appreciate when a product comes along that takes a conservative approach to the various concepts... This SLA powered Dorcy is one of the few rechargeable "lantern" style spotlights that is actually probably getting "the most" out of the SLA with the nice slow drain rate of the more conservative bulb. The fact that they chose the Philips bulb is just awesome. I would not be surprised if the lumen claim was very realistic as well. 

If the bulb ever burns out, and you have a hard time sourcing a replacement, a Mag 4 or 5 cell bulb would probably work pretty well. The 4 cell bulb would probably see some nice overdrive and deliver great results. I think it's definitely a candidate for some experimentation with bulb options. 

One thing I like to do with my SLA spotlights, is ditch the included charger, and install my own charging jack and use a good battery tender on them. This improves the life of the battery and allows you to keep it topped off all the time without damaging the battery. The included chargers in *most* spotlights will continue to trickle charge the battery indefinitely, eventually cooking the SLA. The dorcy may however be different, would be worth an investigation to see if it actually has charge termination built in (or maybe it's own float style charging method). If it did, this handy looking spotlight would get top recommendations from me as a gift-able flashlight. 

Thanks for the heads up on this gem 

Eric


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



csshih said:


> wow. sears already brought the price up.
> 
> when I searched it up on google, google shopping gave me 20$, and so did the site,
> 
> http://www.google.com/products?ie=U...a=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
> 
> shows 20$, it has not updated yet.



Oh well, there's always Black Friday.


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Mr Happy said:


> The bulb in the lantern is a Philips HPX 53 6V 0.975A PR base. The performance of the lantern does not therefore surprise me as the Philips HPX series of PR bulbs are absolutely the best quality PR xenon bulbs you can find. They are very bright and have perfect focus and beam quality. The only trouble is you can't easily get them. Nearly all of the production goes to OEMs.
> 
> I do in fact have a bunch of these bulbs that I got from Dorcy direct, here: http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-75-41-1035-lantern-parts.aspx I use them for mild hotwires running from 6 NiMH cells. I once found some on the rack at Sears but my local shop stopped stocking them.
> 
> The bulbs are miracle bulbs, actually. I have tested one up to 9 volts without instaflashing, but I don't know what that would do to the lifetime.



Thanks for that. I think if I manage to snag a couple, I will keep the stock bulb.


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



mdocod said:


> Thanks for the heads up on this gem
> 
> Eric


 
:twothumbs

I actually took it out and did some side by side comparisons last night between it and some other lights, shining them at trees 300 yards away. To my surprise the Dorcy with its laser like beam put 80% as bright a spot on the trees as the N30! The N30 did have a much larger, and brighter spot, and a ton of spill lighting up the ground leading out to those trees, but the DORCY performed incredibly.

I also tested it against my Brinkmann Max Million II 2 million CP Rechargeable spotlight, and the Dorcy out threw it by a noticeable amount. The Dorcy definitely has more throw than my Vector 3 million candlepower twin beam, and is closer to my Brinkmann Max Million III 3 million MAXPOWER spotlight and Thor 10 million candlepower (which both out throw the Vector 3 million candlepower).

The N30 has the most throw and is by far the top performer out of all 5 lights mentioned above, but the Dorcy is definitely second to it and has to be one of the most amazing lights for the price I have ever used.:thumbsup:

I don't mean to put down the N30 in any way, it is an awesome searchlight and truly in a league of its own for the price. I am just really thrilled with this nice Dorcy find!


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## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Ok guys just throwing a few things out, 
 
1. I’m not sure but the ROP low bulb may melt the reflector so be careful with running it for more then 6 minutes “that’s how long it takes to start melting a Maglite’s. 
 
2. A ROP high bulb will most probably melt the reflector almost instantly.
 
3. As Flashanator said “Hmmm my 6D Maglite with Xenon bulb on tight spot, also has a pencil thin beam. probably around 120lumens.” Bluebeam if you think is’ close to a 6D xenon’s Maglite’s throw then that really isn’t pencil thin, it’s tight but not insane. It’s a shame you don’t have any 4546 or “or even 4547 / H7550 sealed beam bulbs since then I would know exactly what kind of throw your experiencing in comparison. I am always looking for a better throw monster and even if I highly doubt this light could out throw even the weaker of the mentioned bulbs:sigh:, if it could I would definitely run out and go buy this light:twothumbs. Anyway you could get some beam shots?:thumbsup: I would hate to demote the sealed beam bulbs off the “king of throw pedestal” but it would be better to do that if I can at least get a better throwing light:naughty:!


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## Sgt. LED

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Yeah a few little comparo pics to help get the wallet limbered up for some flashaholics.
Bluebeam22 and juggernaut need to team up!


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## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Sgt. LED said:


> Yeah a few little comparo pics to help get the wallet limbered up for some flashaholics.
> Bluebeam22 and juggernaut need to team up!


 
In what sense:thinking:? Getting beam shots? “oh man I which I had a camera that could take them!!:devil:”. I want to see this thing in action even if it’s not as good for throw as some of the things I’ve seen since it sounds 10 time more particle. And I could actually use it on a regular bases! “I’m sure it will last longer then cardboard”


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## mdocod

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Hello Sealed Beam Man AKA Juggernaut,

On mags, use of the stock lens with higher power bulbs results melting pretty fast partly just due to the smaller size of the overall system, the bulb is in closer proximity to the lens...

The reflector on many "lantern" style spotlights I have seen over the years, even the lowly 2D, 4D, and 6V lantern battery powered ones, are metal... so with any luck, maybe this one is too 

BlueBeam22,
What's the reflector made out of?

Do you have the means to test the charging circuit to see if it actually terminates the charge or floats the battery properly?

Eric


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## Sgt. LED

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

The charging style/system is very interesting to me too.

If I got this I would like to know the best way to make the battery last.


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## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



mdocod said:


> Hello Sealed Beam Man AKA Juggernaut,
> 
> On mags, use of the stock lens with higher power bulbs results melting pretty fast partly just due to the smaller size of the overall system, the bulb is in closer proximity to the lens...
> 
> The reflector on many "lantern" style spotlights I have seen over the years, even the lowly 2D, 4D, and 6V lantern battery powered ones, are metal... so with any luck, maybe this one is too
> 
> 
> Eric


 
Wow this would be such a nasty light if it had a metal reflector, though I doubt it, my father’s cheap “an pretty dull 14.4 volt lantern that goes on his drill’s battery pack did have a metal reflector so it could be possible for his thing to have one. If that was the case it run perfectly fine with the ROP Low bulb I would assume. To bad the 6 volt SLA probably would under drive it, if it was a simple drop in it would be a killer find!

mdocod: me like sealed beam lamps?! Preposterous:thinking:!…. What would ever make you think such a thing:hahaha:? I never even mention them…….


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## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

mdocod:

The instruction manual states not to leave it plugged in for longer than 36 hours, so I am guessing there is no circuit termination once the battery is fully charged. 

I have noticed too how even my cheap 6 volt lanterns have metal reflectors. I believe this Dorcy has a metal reflector as well. *EDIT: I just took it apart and discovered it has a plastc reflector*. (I'm not 100% positive though). It generates quite a bit more heat than a standard 6V lantern. The reflector measures 4.25 inches exactly.

Juggernaut:

These sealed beam lamps are pretty amazing aren't they? I imagine your Cardboard Hexagon has a similar laser like beam but a lot brighter than this Dorcy! At some point in the near future I am going to take beamshots of all my best lights at once and post them, I promise.:thumbsup:

I will be testing it against my Thor 10mcp and Brinkmann 3 million MAXPOWER spotlights soon and will give an update on how it does against them in throw.


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## kramer5150

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

FWIW... theres a review on Amazon that says it uses a plastic reflector. I hope thats wrong though, looks like a steal at that price.


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## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> mdocod:
> 
> The reflector measures 4.25 inches exactly.
> 
> quote]
> 
> Ok guys, I’m not sure “mostly because I’ve never looked at this light in person” but I think I understand why it has such good throw. The new version of this light as we know uses a RP based bulb, while the older version used the sealed beam H7550 bulb:thumbsup:! Comparing the old and new light photo the two lights look identical. Also the new reflector is only .25 inches smaller then the Par36 bulb equivalent. I think this might just be a par36 reflector / lens assembly that takes normal RP bulbs:twothumbs! If that’s the case then you would see almost the exact same throw characteristics of one of these sealed beam bulbs “I know because I have a very old “70’s” metal reflector / lens assembly that does the exact same thing, which nearly duplicates the beam of an original Par36 type bulb. If I am correct your incredible throw reports are dead on and this light is completely in a class where one would not expect it to belong. Mostly because it uses such a modern lamp design.
> 
> Though I'm no closer to figuring out if the reflector is made of plastic or not:shrug:.


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## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

I hope it's an aluminum reflector as well, however if you stick to the stock bulb it shouldn't be an issue. If you want to go with a higher output bulb, then that will be a problem.


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## NotSoBrightBob

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



mdocod said:


> ........ditch the included charger, and install my own charging jack and use a good battery tender on them.....


 
Eric,

When you say battery tender does that mean since this is a 12V latern we could use one of those smart auto battery chargers that I think have the .75ma(?) output. That makes sense as a healthier alternative to charging the batteries.

Oh and I've ordered my Dorcy! Thanks 

Bob


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## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



NotSoBrightBob said:


> Eric,
> 
> When you say battery tender does that mean since this is a 12V latern we could use one of those smart auto battery chargers that I think have the .75ma(?) output. That makes sense as a healthier alternative to charging the batteries.
> 
> Oh and I've ordered my Dorcy! Thanks
> 
> Bob


 
No it’s a 12 volt battery, as for a .75 mah? I don’t know what the charge rate on float chargers are. But most charge at a normal rate, and then when the battery is finished it stops and waits for the voltage to drop again to begin charging. I don’t think it charges at all when it stops? I have 2 SLA battery chargers. Both are the same make “can’t remember what right now I’ll look if some one wants to know.” Any ways one is a float charger which runs at 1.5 ah and can do both 6 and 12 volts. The other is a bigger older unit I have put a lot of hours on “and left out in the rain” which charges either 2, 4, 6 amps at both 6 and 12 volts, and when it finishes it stops. I’m not sure if this could be used as a float charger, but since it has a noisy fan I wouldn’t leave it on all the time “that’s what the other one is for, though it smells when on:shrug:?” any ways If I got this light all I’d do is take the charging cable and cut it off so I get the exposed wires and put tabs on them so I can clamp it right to the float charger and bypass the whole original charger completely. 
 
One last thing, the light states it has a 4 hour run time but since it’s a lead battery you should never run it down all the way so with a 1 ah drain from the bulb you should probably never use the light for more then 3 hours at a time. To be safe always put it back on the charger when the light turns orange.


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## Sgt. LED

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Can the light not be taken apart so we can find out about the reflector?

Is it sealed up somehow? Pics of the light's internals can give us lots of modding ideas too.


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## Nubo

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

For an upgrade bulb, consider the Reflectalite GH24, 6V 10W, 200 lumen nominal. A little bit below ROP territory, but well-suited to SLA powered application; which is how I originally encounted it on my old VistaLite bike light. The draw is still within reason for SLA of that size, and plastic reflector may tolerate it. The bike light's reflector was plastic, and its housing was less than 2 inch diameter. And you can also specify a Frosted bulb, if you wish to get more close-in utility from the light. Or get some of both 

http://reflectalite.com/halogenpage.html


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Nubo said:


> For an upgrade bulb, consider the Reflectalite GH24, 6V 10W, 200 lumen nominal.
> http://reflectalite.com/halogenpage.html


 
Well the addition of that simple bulb drop-in has made this “sort of needed light” turn into a “very much need” light! 200 lumens from this reflector if it’s focused correctly would produce a beam of light so incredible that I don’t believe I own anything presently that could out throw itoo::huh:! O my gosh! If this reflector is metal that 20 watt 6 volt bulb would turn this light into probably one of the best throwing lights “ever” only less then the Masterblaster, Maxabeam, Hyperblitz, and what ever else I forgot. Except this light cost under $50 even with both kinds of bulbs extra:twothumbs!


----------



## Sarratt

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> mdocod:
> 
> At some point in the near future I am going to take beamshots of all my best lights at once and post them, I promise.:thumbsup:
> 
> I will be testing it against my Thor 10mcp and Brinkmann 3 million MAXPOWER spotlights soon and will give an update on how it does against them in throw.



BlueBeam you are great \1!!!! thanks for all your info.

I wish I had the $..... I was now going for the Coleman now it's the Dorcey.... sigh whats next?


----------



## Sgt. LED

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Well we still don't know about the reflector.

I want to get uber excited, really I do, but I can't get past the fear of melting it.


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Sgt. LED said:


> Well we still don't know about the reflector.
> 
> I want to get uber excited, really I do, but I can't get past the fear of melting it.


 
Me to.


----------



## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Taking it apart was a breaze and much easier than I imagined. Just unsscrew the 4 bolts on the side, 1 in the bottom, slide out the battery cover, and the light comes right apart. I am sorry to disappoint everyone as it has a plastic reflector, and would most likely melt with a higher wattage bulb. 
Now that being said, I took it out a a country road tonight to test it against my Thor 15mcp, and it had 60% the throw of the Thor! I shined it at trees 600 yards away (VERY distant trees at the other end of a huge field) and its parallel laser like beam lit them up quite brightly was still so collimated at 600 yards that it only lit the upper part of the trees, and the spot had only diverged to about 1/3 the diameter as the trees were tall.

This light even with its stock bulb is definitely one of the utmost budget throwers on the market behind the POB, Costco HID, and Thor 15mcp. I couldn't be more amazed by it!:thumbsup:


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> Taking it apart was a breaze and much easier than I imagined. Just unsscrew the 4 bolts on the side, 1 in the bottom, slide out the battery cover, and the light comes right apart. I am sorry to disappoint everyone as it has a plastic reflector


 
That’s a bummer:sigh:. I had hopes:banned:. All well, I still see no reason not to throw that 10 watt bulb in there and give it a try:thumbsup:, I mean it’s still more or less twice the lumens! That should give you what, 50% further throw:thinking:? Since it takes 4 times to = 2 round trips back with that much light. Oh I have no idea what I’m talking about. Though it should be a good deal better none the less. I just don’t want the possibility that some guy will come up to me camping and go “hey I have that same light right here, don’t they sine far?” at least then mine will have more power:devil:. “Sorry I’m very competitive”.
 
One last thing is it bolted together or screwed? If it’s bolted at least it won’t strip out the plastic.


----------



## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Sarratt said:


> BlueBeam you are great \1!!!! thanks for all your info.
> 
> I wish I had the $..... I was now going for the Coleman now it's the Dorcey.... sigh whats next?


 
Thank you!

I just went out again and tested it against my Thor 10 million candlepower.
I shined them at the trees in my neighborhood 200 yards away for the test. The Dorcy almost equaled the Thor in throw, the Thor only had about 10% more throw, and its hotspot on the trees was just a tiny bit brighter than the Dorcy's hotspot.
The Thor's beam was easily 3 times as wide as that of the Dorcy, and had a lot more spill.
I am amazed at how the Dorcy had 90% the throw of my 10 million CP spotlight! The Dorcy is only 1/3 the size and weight making it a much more practical light. 
I also tested it against my Brinkmann 3 million MAXPOWER Qbeam spotlight as promised, and they were exactly equal in throw. The Brinkmann had a much wider beam than both the 10 mcp Thor and Dorcy, but equaled the Dorcy exactly in throw. To my surprise the 10mcp Thor had 10% more throw than the Brinkmann.





> *Juggernaut*
> That’s a bummer:sigh:. I had hopes:banned:. All well, I still see no reason not to throw that 10 watt bulb in there and give it a try:thumbsup:, I mean it’s still more or less twice the lumens! That should give you what, 50% further throw:thinking:? Since it takes 4 times to = 2 round trips back with that much light. Oh I have no idea what I’m talking about. Though it should be a good deal better none the less. I just don’t want the possibility that some guy will come up to me camping and go “hey I have that same light right here, don’t they sine far?” at least then mine will have more power:devil:. “Sorry I’m very competitive”.
> 
> One last thing is it bolted together or screwed? If it’s bolted at least it won’t strip out the plastic.




It is screwed together, but by GIANT screws that are extremely easy to unscrew and screw back in, and only take a few turns of the screwdriver to tighten and untighten. There is no risk at all of stripping the plastic or screws themselves. Luckily since the bulb sits elevated in a holder it might be possible to use a higher wattage bulb in it without melting the reflector base.:twothumbs


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> Thank you!
> 
> It is screwed together, but by GIANT screws that are extremely easy to unscrew and screw back in, and only take a few turns of the screwdriver to tighten and untighten. There is no risk at all of stripping the plastic or screws themselves. Luckily since the bulb sits elevated in a holder it might be possible to use a higher wattage bulb in it without melting the reflector base.:twothumbs


 
YES! Industrial strength:twothumbs! Sorry that’s an important quality when I consider lights. They must pass my “will this last though the end of the world” test before purchase. Anyways even if it was simply a normal all plastic light I would figure it would run fine with a ten watt bulb “well I hope so:sweat:” I mean it can’t be that much of a jump in heat can it? I heard you can run the 11 watt low ROP bulb in a Maglite for 6 minuets before any damage starts to appear. I would hope in this much larger light such a problem would not exist:thinking:, though I could be wrong. Any guess by other CPFers?
 
Any pic.s of bulb holder?


----------



## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Juggernaut said:


> YES! Industrial strength:twothumbs! Sorry that’s an important quality when I consider lights. They must pass my “will this last though the end of the world” test before purchase. Anyways even if it was simply a normal all plastic light I would figure it would run fine with a ten watt bulb “well I hope so:sweat:” I mean it can’t be that much of a jump in heat can it? I heard you can run the 11 watt low ROP bulb in a Maglite for 6 minuets before any damage starts to appear. I would hope in this much larger light such a problem would not exist:thinking:, though I could be wrong. Any guess by other CPFers?
> 
> Any pic.s of bulb holder?


 
Sorry, no pics yet. The bulb holder is a silver ring that sits about .25'' above the base of the reflector, which is quite a bit higher than what I normally see in spotlights.

I just took it outside and tested it once again on the trees 200 yards away, and this time against the Vector Power On Board HID. It had around 65-70% the throw of the Vector, and a much thinner, more laser like beam. It did almost 70% as well lighting up the distant trees (in its hotspot) considering it was 102 lumens vs. 3000. :thumbsup: 
The 15mcp Thor has been the only light I consider to really smoke it (IMO), as the Thor also out throws the Vector POB.
This Dorcy is unbeatable with its long runtime, laser like throw, and small size!
The only other light that really smokes it is the N30, due to the N30 putting out 3200 lumens and having more throw considering they are the exact same size.


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> Sorry, The bulb holder is a silver ring that sits about .25'' above the base of the reflector, which is quite a bit higher than what I normally see in spotlights.


 
It’s probably higher up in the reflector because like I guessed that it may be designed after the Par36 reflector “which gives it that phenomenal throw”. Oh and thanks for all the comparison descriptions, forget this flashlight for a second. I have learned more about how the other lights stack up against each other in this thread then in probably ever other one I have read:thumbsup:! Every Time I post, and then you post, you seem to have gone out side to test different lights again. I can just picture you running in and out - back and forth posting and testingoo:! What a true flashaholic you are:twothumbs!


----------



## Nubo

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Juggernaut said:


> YES! Industrial strength:twothumbs! Sorry that’s an important quality when I consider lights. They must pass my “will this last though the end of the world” test before purchase. Anyways even if it was simply a normal all plastic light I would figure it would run fine with a ten watt bulb “well I hope so:sweat:” I mean it can’t be that much of a jump in heat can it? I heard you can run the 11 watt low ROP bulb in a Maglite for 6 minuets before any damage starts to appear. I would hope in this much larger light such a problem would not exist:thinking:, though I could be wrong. Any guess by other CPFers?
> 
> Any pic.s of bulb holder?



I can run a 7W configuration in a PT40 which takes it right to the edge of heat damaging the reflector; mostly because it's a small chamber and the flange of the bulb rests right against the reflector base. I used the 10W reflectalite bulb in it and the reflector began to deform after about 5 minutes. I've wondered about using some Mica insulation between the flange and the base, but that's really too much work to push a marginal situation.

With a much larger chamber, the lantern might do ok with 10 watts. And it sounds like the bulb flange itself doesn't touch the reflector. The Maglite with 11W bulb is probably overdriven and producing somewhat more than 11W. With a 6V SLA battery, the 10W bulb is pretty much just 10W except for the first few minutes. All this argues in favor of survivability for the Dorcy with 10 watt bulb. From a Chuck Yeager point of view, that's about 40% over the design spec, and the engineers always design a margin of safety. Which is there for you to exploit. 

As far as real-world experience, I did run this bulb (actually, the screw-in variant) in a bicycle light with plastic reflector for 2 or 3 years. The metal bulb socket was not in contact with the reflector. The bike light also got active cooling from passing air. I guess it all depends on the plastic in question.

Whether or not that perfect throw is preserved is another question, and depends on the exact position of the filament within the bulb. Since the light was designed around one specific bulb, some adjustments might be necessary.


----------



## BlueBeam22

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Juggernaut said:


> It’s probably higher up in the reflector because like I guessed that it may be designed after the Par36 reflector “which gives it that phenomenal throw”. Oh and thanks for all the comparison descriptions, forget this flashlight for a second. I have learned more about how the other lights stack up against each other in this thread then in probably ever other one I have read:thumbsup:! Every Time I post, and then you post, you seem to have gone out side to test different lights again. I can just picture you running in and out - back and forth posting and testingoo:! What a true flashaholic you are:twothumbs!


 
Thanks, and what a true flashaholic YOU are to build your own sealed beam lantern that would smoke this Dorcy!:twothumbs
I will be going outside again tomorrow night to test it against the Professional's Favorite 17.5 million candlepower spotlight, which is right in between the Vector POB and Thor 15mcp in throw. I will add the results to this post tomorrow night.


----------



## Mr Happy

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Juggernaut said:


> I mean it’s still more or less twice the lumens! That should give you what, 50% further throw


Well, no, that's not necessarily true. Throw is a function of surface brightness and accurate filament placement, not just total lumens. For instance, you could put a 100 W household bulb in there, it would have far more lumens, but it wouldn't throw a fraction of the distance. As I mentioned in a previous post the stock bulb actually has exceptional quality compared to most bulbs of similar size and specification. A different bulb may not perform as well in this light.


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



BlueBeam22 said:


> Thanks, and what a true flashaholic YOU are to build your own sealed beam lantern that would smoke this Dorcy!:twothumbs
> I will be going outside again tomorrow night to test it against the Professional's Favorite 17.5 million candlepower spotlight, which is right in between the Vector POB and Thor 15mcp in throw. I will add the results to this post tomorrow night.


 
That’s quite the arsenal you’ve got there I’m glad your making use of it:twothumbs! 
Thanks for all the running around and good night:thumbsup:.


----------



## Sgt. LED

OK we got a plastic reflector.....................bummer.

Anyone have a source for a metal one that might fit?

Come on we have some momentum going about the light, let's see how far we can take it.


----------



## BlueBeam22

Sgt. LED said:


> OK we got a plastic reflector.....................bummer.
> 
> Anyone have a source for a metal one that might fit?
> 
> Come on we have some momentum going about the light, let's see how far we can take it.


 
I just wanted to add that this light's reflector is as deep as a 4.25'' reflector can be. It is such a deep cone that it has no flat area at the base like a shallower reflector may have. So my point is that this light has plenty of room for any super deep reflector 4.25'' or under to fit.


----------



## Sgt. LED

Good new, good news!


----------



## Lighthearted1

*Re: Mr. Happy*

Well, as I mentioned, I ordered the Dorcy from Optics Planet 11/16 around 3pm.
The next day I received notice that it is on backorder, and may be 10 days to wait. Bummer.:mecry:

I took Mr. Happy's info on the bulb from Dorcy Direct, and have 6 of them coming as back-up and other uses.
For one, I will try one in my 4D Maglite with Alkaline batteries. I don't use it as it has an old stock incan bulb right now.

*Mr. Happy - You said you are running these bulbs at 7.2 volts (6 x 1.2v).
How long do they live at this voltage?*

Since the tight focus of this Dorcy is due to the shape of the reflector, plus the design of the Phillips bulb, I don't think changing either of them out will be good for the throw. SO, driving the bulb hotter might be worth a try.

I was wondering - Maybe I will attach a D cell (mounted externally) in series with the SLA. Add a toggle switch so it can be added or subtracted, like a high beam.

I have no experience mixing battery types, does anyone know if alkaline or NiMH would be more compatable with the SLA??

I also think the 10W bulb is worth a try, to find out if it can focus as tight as the original bulb. If it can, it will be very nice.
I know that one of you will be checking that out in the near future! :twothumbs
I look forward to learning the result!


----------



## Mr Happy

*Re: Mr. Happy*



Lighthearted1 said:


> I took Mr. Happy's info on the bulb from Dorcy Direct, and have 6 of them coming as back-up and other uses.
> For one, I will try one in my 4D Maglite with Alkaline batteries. I don't use it as it has an old stock incan bulb right now.
> 
> *Mr. Happy - You said you are running these bulbs at 7.2 volts (6 x 1.2v).
> How long do they live at this voltage?*


You can of course try one in a 4D light but I think you will find it is disappointingly under driven. The usual match for a 4D light is a 4.8 V bulb rather than a 6 V bulb. There is a Philips HPX 40 bulb rated at 4.8 V 0.79 A that would be suitable for 4D lights, but I only have one of those and I have not found any source of replacements. The 6 V bulb will be more suitable for a 5D light, or even maybe a 6D.

As for how long they live when over driven, I'm afraid I cannot say. I have been running one of these bulbs for quite some time without failure, and I have stress tested another up to 8 NiMH cells without flashing, so I suspect the lifetime will be quite reasonable with 6 NiMH. It's also worth mentioning that without resistance fixes in the Mag it is quite hard to get the full 7.2 V at the bulb.


----------



## Sgt. LED

Any indicator at all that it is actually charging?


----------



## [email protected]

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Flashanator said:


> This sounds interesting, some beamshots against others would give us an idea of it.


+1 for those comparison beam shots! 

I prefer the aesthetics of the Dolphin lantern however, less boxy


----------



## BlueBeam22

Sgt. LED said:


> Any indicator at all that it is actually charging?


 
No. The only thing that happens when it charges is the handle gets very warm (the charging port is on the side of the handle itself). I have noticed after it has charged for a while the handle will cool off completely, which makes me think maybe the charger does shut off once the battery reaches a fully charged voltage.


----------



## Juggernaut

*Re: Mr. Happy*



Lighthearted1 said:


> Since the tight focus of this Dorcy is due to the shape of the reflector, plus the design of the Phillips bulb, I don't think changing either of them out will be good for the throw. SO, driving the bulb hotter might be worth a try.
> 
> I was wondering - Maybe I will attach a D cell (mounted externally) in series with the SLA. Add a toggle switch so it can be added or subtracted, like a high beam.


 
Never combined batteries of different capacities / charge levels or types:shakehead.
 
I don’t think changing the bulb would result in that drastic of a change of center of focus:shrug:. Most RP bulb are all made to the same standards and unless you buy some types of RP LEDs or change out strange and unusual bulbs “like in my Bigbeam 1000 Ultra Mod in which I had to literally resize pictures in Microsoft paint to see if the filaments were of the same height:hairpull:” for one an another focus point should stay relatively the same:thumbsup:. 
 
:welcome:


----------



## kramer5150

Is a decently efficient plastic reflector a BIG detriment in a PR based light? Its not like an LED, where you need to conduct heat. So long as you don't exceed the melting point of the plastic its as good as any aluminum or metal reflector... right?

I would think the plastic lens would hinder performance more than the reflector material.


----------



## mdocod

*Re: Mr. Happy*



Juggernaut said:


> Never combined batteries of different capacities / charge levels or types:shakehead.



This is a good general rule of thumb to follow, but each case can be looked at individually and you can usually come up with exceptions to this general rule....

In this situation, I think it would be fine, if you added a 10AH D size NIMH cell in series with a 6V SLA that was only say, 4.5AH, or whatever, then I don't see a problem and here's why....

This is a direct drive light, so there is feedback in the form of output to let you know when the battery is about dead....The SLA would go dead long before the NIMH, so you would know the battery is dead as the brightness would drop way off. The NIMH cell would still be sitting with some juice left in it and would not be reverse charged by the SLA. The biggest concern for this setup, is the health of the NIMH cell that is being added to the mix. The SLA will not be effected in this configuration as it represents the bulk of the pack being put together. 

The main concern about mixing different chemistry or different capacity cells, is when you have a circumstance where there would be no way to know that one of those cells in the mix has been completely discharged, like for example, a regulated HID or LED light. Or in the case of a higher voltage bulb with lots of cells in series, a single cell dropping out may not provide enough useful feedback in total output to know anything was wrong...

It would be a BAD idea to take this flashlight, and wire an extra AA NIMH cell in series with it, as the AA NIMH cell would drain down before the SLA, and if left "on" in the circuit, could be severely over-discharged, and actually reverse charged, which is the best way to ruin a NIMH cell. 

In any case where you are going to have 1 "oddball" cell in the mix, it's best to have that cell have more capacity than the rest of the cells in the configuration, so that the rest of the pack goes dead, with the obvious result of the flashlight giving a useful amount of feedback to the user to shut it off, the 1 oddball cell is not damaged, and neither is the main battery pack....

The user would need to make sure to charge up that NIMH cell whenever the spotlight is charged up.

Eric


----------



## Mr Happy

kramer5150 said:


> Is a decently efficient plastic reflector a BIG detriment in a PR based light? Its not like an LED, where you need to conduct heat. So long as you don't exceed the melting point of the plastic its as good as any aluminum or metal reflector... right?


From reading this thread I think people do have ideas concerning much more powerful bulbs that may well melt or soften the plastic. I'm not sure how they plan to mount them though, without some significant redesign of the bulb holder...?


----------



## Sgt. LED

I've seen these PR bases that have holes in them for mating up to bi-pin bulbs but like you said the focal point might be tough to get right and it WOULD melt a plastic reflector so that's out the window.

What would be a bulb that would up the output a bit over the stock bulb but still keep heat in the safe zone for the plastic reflector? And I mean that to be without limits on how long you can run it at a time, I HATE trying to use a light with little details and limitations like that in the back of my mind, takes alot of the fun out of it! 

And can you give me a purchase link!


----------



## Mr Happy

Sgt. LED said:


> What would be a bulb that would up the output a bit over the stock bulb but still keep heat in the safe zone for the plastic reflector? And I mean that to be without limits on how long you can run it at a time, I HATE trying to use a light with little details and limitations like that in the back of my mind, takes alot of the fun out of it!


If we are sticking with the 6 V supply, I don't really know, other than that 6 V 10 W bulb from Reflectalite that was mentioned. I think occasionally it is possible to find special PR potted versions of higher power bulbs that are normally bi-pin, but I do not know how well the filament focal point positioning would be maintained without adjustable focus (and there's the heat issue).

If it is possible to change the voltage, then another way to get more power from a PR bulb is go up the voltage ladder. The bulbs designed for the flashlight attachments on power tools are available in 12 V, 14.4 V and 18 V versions. They nearly always keep the same operating current of about 0.8 A, so for instance an 18 V 0.8 A PR base bulb would give about 14 W. I have tried this myself but the results were actually rather disappointing. The increased light output comes from a filament with a much larger area of the same brightness and poor filament shape, so the beam quality suffers.


----------



## lctorana

Reflectalite GH24 6V 10W 201 claimed bulb lumens
Philips HPR71 6V 10W 210 claimed bulb lumens (Dolphin Rechargeable bulb)
Pelican 3854L 6V 11W 290 claimed bulb lumens ("RoP-low")

All three give the same lumen output in real life. But it's 3 different mechanical constructions to try for focus...


----------



## nitesky

Anyone have a source for the HPR71? I have the same bulb from the Dorcy, HPX53, in a Dolphin (US Energizer Weather Ready if I have it right). I use a Werker 6V SLA shaped like a standard lantern battery. Works great, just curious about an upgrade for the same voltage. Otherwise the Dorcy sounds like a good light.


----------



## BlueBeam22

I have 5 updates for this thread:

First, the Dorcy has been working flawlessly, and I have not forgotten that I need to post a few beamshots soon.

Second, I put it against the 150 lumen Task Force CREE and my Brinkann 2D 3 watt Dimmable Digital CREE in a ceiling bounce test. The Dorcy lit the room up MUCH brighter than the Task Force did, and also beat the Brinkmann by a noticeable margin in the ceiling bounce, which is amazing considering the Brinkmann 2D beats the Task Force. Either the Task Force and Brinkmann only put out less than 100 lumens each, or the Dorcy is actually putting out closer to 200 lumens rather than the 102 it is rated at.

Third, I finally tested the Dorcy against the Pro's Favorite 17.5mcp. Unfortunately, the Pro's Favorite stomped it really hard as the Pro's Favorite has a similar laser like needle thin beam, so the difference in hotspot intensity (throw) really shows. I tested them on trees 100 yards away and the Dorcy had 60% or less the throw of the Pro's Favorite, and a much dimmer hotspot. The Dorcy still did great against it considering the size difference though!

Fourth, I am 99% sure now that the charger does NOT shut off once it is fully charged because I left it plugged in for 20 hours straight, and after 20 hours the handle was still warm which indicates it was still charging even though the battery was almost fully charged before I plugged it in.

And Fifth, Lighthearted1 and NotSoBrightBob I look forward to your first impressions of the Dorcy! :thumbsup:


----------



## rockz4532

i was at sears on friday and saw the dorcy. it did not seem that bright, and the beam was comparable to my 3mcp spotlight, i decided not to get it.


----------



## ampdude

I noticed today that a local store has these in stock so I went and took a look. They are not really what I was expecting. It was yellow, I thought they were supposed to be orange.

Also it's larger than I want and for some reason I thought it had a slide switch, not a clicky. I would prefer a slide switch. The brightness did not seem much better than one of my 6V lantern lights that it was to replace. I think I will pass on it as well for $38.99 + tax.

Maybe if they are back down to $19.99 again sometime soon I will buy one for my truck.


----------



## Paul520

From an ad at a local K store. Thought it might be a great deal at first.
But, they might be junk. (see "Reviews")


----------



## lctorana

Obviously the same case, and probably the same SLA battery.

But the claim of "3 million cp" suggests a H3 halogen car headlight globe - lots of lumens but only 25 minutes' runtime.

What's different about this thread's "xenon" lantern is that it has a low-current bulb in a very deep reflector, for throw and long runtime, offering a compact, rechargeable, self-contained alternative to the traditional 8F-powered sealed beam lanterns.


----------



## Lighthearted1

*Re:BlueBeam22*

I am still waiting for my Dorcy. Optics Planet finally sent a email 12-5 confirming shippment of my 11-16 order that was not in stock at that time.

I look forward to testing it out.
I just received a Sears gift card for $30, so i may buy a second one if I really like it.


----------



## BlueBeam22

Lighthearted1 I predict you will really like your Dorcy.

It's beamshot time everyone!

Not a very good picture, but here is the Dorcy putting its white laser like dot on a tree 50 yards away. In person it looked brighter than this and had some spill which does not show in this photo.







Here is the Dorcy lighting up the end of my front yard 30 yards away:






And here it is lighting up a shed 50 yards away. It is very bright!





And here is my post in another thread with a picture I took of my Dorcy


----------



## Lighthearted1

Hi BlueBeam22,

I have my Dorcy, and charged it fully. It is a nice tight beam, and does throw about twice as far as my Husky 4 watt LED.
Mine has an elliptical hot spot rather than round. This may be due to the bulb? The color temp is more yellow than I prefer, but that comes with Xenon I guess. 
I still want more brightness, and at some point will increase the voltage +1.2 or 1.5V with the external battery idea I mentioned prior. I think that will give the beam a whiter color as well as being brighter. I expect only about 10-15 hours of bulb life at 7.5 volts, but that is OK trade for the extra reach. I already have 6 bulbs on hand, and will use the light for fun rather than any dedicated purpose.
I have little time to play with it now, but will jump back to this thread if I modify it.
Thanks for the tip on this one.


----------



## BlueBeam22

Lighthearted1 said:


> Hi BlueBeam22,
> 
> I have my Dorcy, and charged it fully. It is a nice tight beam, and does throw about twice as far as my Husky 4 watt LED.
> Mine has an elliptical hot spot rather than round. This may be due to the bulb? The color temp is more yellow than I prefer, but that comes with Xenon I guess.
> I still want more brightness, and at some point will increase the voltage +1.2 or 1.5V with the external battery idea I mentioned prior. I think that will give the beam a whiter color as well as being brighter. I expect only about 10-15 hours of bulb life at 7.5 volts, but that is OK trade for the extra reach. I already have 6 bulbs on hand, and will use the light for fun rather than any dedicated purpose.
> I have little time to play with it now, but will jump back to this thread if I modify it.
> Thanks for the tip on this one.


 

I'm glad to hear you finally got your Dorcy and like it! It fun to be able to put a bright spot of light on objects 300+ yards away as the Dorcy does. I have noticed how my Dorcy has the same elliptical/oval shaped hotspot like what you are describing.
I still love my Dorcy, and hope you enjoy yours!


----------



## divine

I think incans are generally all going to have an oval hot spot. You can't make a filament with a symmetric shape. Even a P60 or E series lamp or hotwire will. You probably notice it less on an incandescent light with a LOT of lumens.


----------



## lctorana

divine said:


> I think incans are generally all going to have an oval hot spot. You can't make a filament with a symmetric shape. Even a P60 or E series lamp or hotwire will. You probably notice it less on an incandescent light with a LOT of lumens.


Agreed for normal transverse filaments, but it occurs to me that with a bulb with a small axial filament and a well-shaped reflector, the hotspot might approach roundness.


----------



## Juggernaut

AHH! I just got this light a few days ago, it has a really nice feel to it and offers lots of practicality:twothumbs. Though it’s beam isn’t really much of an improvement as I once hoped “I just probably have to many insane sealed beam lights“, but none of this matters because mine already died! I seem to have some sort of elevated wear on lights since things like LEDs blow out in week, 100 hour rated Incans blow out in a day and just about ever circuit and switch assembly goes in like a week, only my most improbable lights last the longest “like my M.C.K.-EDC, that light is magically reliable or something?:thumbsup:” So I bough this light used it for 5 minuets a few times, couple of days later I put it on the charger…..The thing starts emitting smoke. I open it up and I can’t find the problem, I give up on since like I said it’s a normal occurrence for my lights to just stop working:shakehead… 2 days later I go to turn it on and it’s dead:thinking:? “was green last I used it” now I can’t charge the battery “4.3 volts in it” neither of my SLA chargers will except it as a good battery:tsk:, so I plug in the original charger…..16 hours later the light is still red and the light only stayed on for 2 minuets! I have such bad luck with these things. I liked it for the few minutes I had it working and I would return it for a new one if my Sears had any left, the sad thing is I don’t even blame the light, I just seem to always end up with faulty equipment. Maybe I’ll cheer myself up by throwing my M.C.K.-EDC into a blender while it's on fire:devil: and see why it can’t die.


----------



## metlarules

Now that its broke its a prime candidate for modding. :devil:


----------



## csshih

ooh its at sears for 20$ again


----------



## Sgt. LED

OK!
It's time to order more bulbs. My bulb is dead.
I am looking for a hair whiter than stock without shortening the runtime much. Maybe I should stick to the proper bulb.

While I am at it I wondered if anyone has found a good metal reflector? The way the lens fits over the reflector to hold everything nice and secure might be hard to duplicate as well as the way the negative path is established on the funny bulb holder. I guess I could start by finding a big flat UCL that will fit in the plastic lens groove and then figure out how deep a reflector would need to be. Still I am having trouble getting my mind around the negative path and bulb holder. Best I can come up with is to remove the hoder assembly from the plastic reflector and epoxy it to the metal reflector. I can see modding this may be cost prohibitive!

I really like the big easy to remove screws! It makes the light scream /MOD ME/ even more. 

Shame there is 0 water resistance to this light. Not a gasket anywhere!


----------



## lctorana

For mods - can a PAR36 sealed beam unit fit in place of the lens and reflector?

If so, the sky is the limit, mod-wise.

_(Well, actually not the sky, more the available battery space)_


----------



## Sgt. LED

Well, what is the length and width of the Par36 sealed beam?

Maybe it can!


----------



## Sgt. LED

sealed beam H7550 bulb will probably fit in the case but hooking up the wires to it may be tough. I think it'll end up being a permanant mod.

Is the output of the battery pack going to keep the output of the H7550 about the same as stock PR bulb?


----------



## lctorana

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Mr Happy said:


> The bulb in the lantern is a Philips HPX 53 6V 0.975A PR base...


 
OK, so the H7550 is the right choice; it is actually made for a 6.3V SLA. At 1.25A, there will be a little less runtime than stock, and by changing to other lamps and battery combinations, some real fire-breathing mods can be done, in a mini-Larry14K-style.


----------



## Sgt. LED

COOL

How many hours will that sealed beam last I wonder? They are a bit more expensive than the PR bulbs! Who should I order from? This one looks great but what do I know from incans! I know I just want MAX throw so I can't be having any funky lines or frosting on the glass.

I have just about made up my mind to go sealed beam and do the mod after the holidays are over.

There is a sealed beam expert somewhere around here...........


----------



## VegasF6

Can't you simply order the replacement sealed beam from Dorcy?

http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-75-41-1035-lantern-parts.aspx


----------



## VegasF6

Oh and if you don't want your stock HPX 53 you are all welcome to send them to me. I like them for Mags and they are sort of hard to find locally.


----------



## Sgt. LED

VegasF6 said:


> Can't you simply order the replacement sealed beam from Dorcy?
> 
> http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-75-41-1035-lantern-parts.aspx


 

Well geez that seems like a no-brainer! I do wonder why it's near half price........... At least I know that one will fit.

I see that bulb is labeled as the H7550-1. I wonder what the difference between the H7550 and the H7550-1 is? 

I am an incan idiot.


----------



## VegasF6

I dunno, probably just some internal sku # for Dorcy. But how about you do something exciting like installing a 30W lamp like this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/GE-4515-PAR36-3...-lighting_W0QQitemZ370126454688QQcmdZViewItem
Let's see, a nominal 5 amp load, let's try and hotwire that with 2 lithiums, who has some emoli's or perhaps AW C cells to put in?

I never have understood this bulb re-rater thing, what is that 30 watt lamp going to do at more like 8V?

I see something like 1400 lumens with laser like throw, but I am just pulling those #'s out of thin air.


----------



## Sgt. LED

I have found out the difference is how the wires are connected.
H7550 has screw terminals and H7550-1 has slip on terminals. I opt for screw, I think they may be more secure. Not really sure it matters since I will have to put attachment points onto the ends of the wire anyway to make the switch to sealed beam.

I read that the GE bulbs are much whiter output but again I need a sealed beam guy so I know who makes the best throwing without being yellow and where to get it.

Now about the killer output mods:
At the end of the day I want to stick with the stock battery set-up and would like to keep that nice runtime. If there is a brighter sealed beam with the same dimentions that can deliver a 3 hour runtime I could go for that. I had a MAG623 but sold it because I just couldn't stand to own something with that short a runtime. I am way more into runtime than output, it's just the way I am made. I have no idea why but for this light I figure any shorter than 3 hours and I probably wouldn't keep it.

ALSO
Why go sealed beam at all you may ask? Easy - this thing has a plastic lens and a plastic reflector. I may be able to live with a plastic reflector but I don't think a plastic lens and I would get along very well. Scratch city man. I can already see it.


----------



## lctorana

Sgt. LED said:


> I wonder what the difference between the H7550 and the H7550-1 is?


Terminal Connections.

Electrically and optically identical, but the H7550 has screw terminals, where the H7550-1 has spade lugs.

Buy the bulb first and then get some matching lugs at an auto or electronics parts shop.


----------



## Sgt. LED

Yeah I figured it out at 1:30 this morning but thank you for the assist!


----------



## s23246g

http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-26-41-4291-65-lumens-3-watt-led-lantern-with-4d-batteries.aspx

I realize it's off subject, but I went to the website someone linked about the Dorcy replacement bulb and saw this light at the bottom of the page. Does anyone have one of these? Looks interesting.


----------



## Juggernaut

Sgt. LED said:


> COOL
> 
> How many hours will that sealed beam last I wonder?


 5-10 times longer then PR bulbs. 



> There is a sealed beam expert somewhere around here...........


 
Enter….Me! No, not really lctorana is probably better with them then me. Anyways, didn’t I mention somewhere “maybe not here” that the H7550 bulb came with the original version of this light. All your doing is tectonically taking a step back. I bought this light hopping it would out shine my sealed beam lights and now people are wondering what sealed bulbs will fit in it “I’ve gone in a useless circle in my quest for power, I should just return this thing and not bother getting a new one since the only way to upgrade it is to do what I’ve already accomplished with Bigbeams and Ray-O-Vacs. 
 
The 4515 should throw much better:thumbsup:, remember once you get to like 30 watts if the Par bulb does not have a shielded filament like this one then you will still get good throw, but the beam will be really wide / tall, do to the huge filament. The only shielded filament bulbs I have are Par 46 “6.4 and 12 volt” the 6.4 volt one is in the 30 W.H.H.B. light and it is being over driven which shows a huge jump in throw which absolutely smothers the Dorcy:devil:. Though the Par36 will offer less reflector area and won’t be overdriven but it should still put down range more light. However expect like 30-45 minuets of run time with itoo:.


----------



## loadedoperator

BlueBeam22 said:


> Lighthearted1 I predict you will really like your Dorcy.
> 
> It's beamshot time everyone!
> 
> Not a very good picture, but here is the Dorcy putting its white laser like dot on a tree 50 yards away. In person it looked brighter than this and had some spill which does not show in this photo.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here is the Dorcy lighting up the end of my front yard 30 yards away:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here it is lighting up a shed 50 yards away. It is very bright!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here is my post in another thread with a picture I took of my Dorcy



That's what I was looking for, thanks.


----------



## Lighthearted1

Hi again,

Just a short post to mention that I found a clip inside this light. It will hold a spare bulb securely, and I have put one of my spares in it. It is just forward of the battery. I am certain that it is there for just this purpose.
No mod yet. 
Anyone else been to work on it yet?


----------



## Sgt. LED

So the H7550 is a step back.

Very disappointing. Ah well, on to something else I guess.


----------



## VegasF6

The H7550 is a step backwards in time, as far as the production of this light. But does that mean it is a step back in performance? Sealed beam lamps are expensive, probably why Dorcy chose to stop using it. But, you gain a glass lens, major heat resistance, and from what I have seen of some of Ictorana's other sealed beams some very good throw. Of course, the reflector and lamp in the current offering throws well also, but as usual for this forum, people wan't more. Hence, they start looking at hotter bulbs and realize that they won't work with this plastic reflector. So, it comes full circle back to sealed beam 

Would the H7550 be a better performer? It's going to take someone with a lot more experience than me to answer that, or someone to just try it. But, as I pointed out there are hotter sealed beams availible and it is one way around the plastic reflector. 

Of course, you start throwing aircraft lamps in this thing and it sure won't run very long, but there are a lot of lights on this forum that don't run very long 

Now, as Juggernaut put it, for him he has come full circle, he has better sealed beams already. For other like me that don't, this offers one option to get into them. I am a sucker for trying "old but new to me" things. 

So as to whether or not this light serves anyones particular needs only one person can answer that. Personally though, while I am considering it, I kind of want to find an all metal lamp that clips on those long 6V batteries with a sealed beam. Except I want it for next to free, there in lies the problem


----------



## Sgt. LED

I am going for the H7550 and maybe it will give me a taste for sealed beams and I will toss in something with even more kick.

I just need the name of the maker of the whitest and best throwing H7550 and the dealer who has a good price on them!


----------



## lctorana

In my experience, the best selaed beam lamps are the ones with a lower case "*ts*" symbol in a circle on the face of the glass. They consistently beat the GE in outright lumens production.

Someone American might know who that maker is.


----------



## Sgt. LED

Thank you.

I think this thread has officially lost it's steam!


----------



## TOOCOOL

We have used these for years at work, only the name was different they were sold as Craftsman Ultra beam, they have proved to be very reliable.


----------



## Howecollc

lctorana said:


> Reflectalite GH24 6V 10W 201 claimed bulb lumens
> Philips HPR71 6V 10W 210 claimed bulb lumens (Dolphin Rechargeable bulb)
> Pelican 3854L 6V 11W 290 claimed bulb lumens ("RoP-low")
> 
> All three give the same lumen output in real life. But it's 3 different mechanical constructions to try for focus...


Add another one to the list. The Ikelite 0042.55 is a 5.0v 1.5A 7.5 watt bulb custom manufactured by Carley for Ikelite, which when overdriven at 6.0v, will be a very white, very tight, 10 watt option. It's also available for $8 locally, if you have a diveshop in your town. It is claimed to be designed for throw.


----------



## Bimmerboy

Bringing this back from the dead to ask if anyone's taken pics of the insides of this light while opened up. If so, could I request one to be posted?

BTW, anything work out with those sealed beams?


----------



## PsychoBunny

So has anyone compared the throw from this boy with the
35w Stanley?

If so, please do tell


----------



## BlueBeam22

PsychoBunny said:


> So has anyone compared the throw from this boy with the
> 35w Stanley?
> 
> If so, please do tell


 
I have both. The Stanley HID out throws the Dorcy Industrial Xenon lantern by a huge amount, and can illuminate distant objects well out of the Dorcy's range.


----------



## PsychoBunny

BlueBeam22 said:


> I have both. The Stanley HID out throws the Dorcy Industrial Xenon lantern by a huge amount, and can illuminate distant objects well out of the Dorcy's range.


 

That's what I thought. Thanks for that


----------



## LVE2RIDE

Hi all, 

Was looking at the dorcy page and the charger was listed as a 12 volt charger but the bulbs and replacement battery were listed as 6 volts. Is the charger output a mistake?


----------



## BlueBeam22

LVE2RIDE said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Was looking at the dorcy page and the charger was listed as a 12 volt charger but the bulbs and replacement battery were listed as 6 volts. Is the charger output a mistake?


 

It is not a mistake; 12V is correct for the charger that goes to this Dorcy Lantern.


----------



## Tony Hanna

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Mr Happy said:


> The bulb in the lantern is a Philips HPX 53 6V 0.975A PR base. The performance of the lantern does not therefore surprise me as the Philips HPX series of PR bulbs are absolutely the best quality PR xenon bulbs you can find. They are very bright and have perfect focus and beam quality. The only trouble is you can't easily get them. Nearly all of the production goes to OEMs.
> 
> I do in fact have a bunch of these bulbs that I got from Dorcy direct, here: http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-75-41-1035-lantern-parts.aspx I use them for mild hotwires running from 6 NiMH cells. I once found some on the rack at Sears but my local shop stopped stocking them.
> 
> The bulbs are miracle bulbs, actually. I have tested one up to 9 volts without instaflashing, but I don't know what that would do to the lifetime.



That bulb sounds like it might be a good xenon upgrade/alternative to the kpr112 in a 3x cr123 mag mod or similar if it will handle the overdrive ok.


----------



## [email protected]

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



Tony Hanna said:


> That bulb sounds like it might be a good xenon upgrade/alternative to the kpr112 in a 3x cr123 mag mod or similar if it will handle the overdrive ok.



I use the locally available hpx41 in that config. Still enough heat to discolour plastic reflectors. The colour is about as white as a neutral white seoul. Very close to flashing.


----------



## scotto23

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



[email protected] said:


> I use the locally available hpx41 in that config. Still enough heat to discolour plastic reflectors. The colour is about as white as a neutral white seoul. Very close to flashing.


I just bought this lantern. How would I increase the spill of this light? A different bulb or reflector? If so, where would I buy one? I'm trying to make this a useful light, not just a distance thrower
Thanks


----------



## Nubo

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



scotto23 said:


> I just bought this lantern. How would I increase the spill of this light? A different bulb or reflector? If so, where would I buy one? I'm trying to make this a useful light, not just a distance thrower
> Thanks



The most straightforward way would be to use a frosted or partially-frosted bulb. With low-power non-halogen bulbs like these you can get away with frosting the bulb by hand with very fine sandpaper. Don't try that with more powerful halogen bulbs because they are pressurized.

You can also purchase glass etching compounds, but be advised they contain hydrofluoric acid which can pose extremely dangerous health hazard if not understood and handled appropriately.

A fully-frosted bulb will give you more of a floodlight. If you just frost the upper portion of the bulb (above the filament) you'll get some spill but retain a good bit of throw.

Or for a quick and dirty experiment you can apply a small circle of Glad Press&Seal film to the center of the reflector. The bigger the circle, the more spill you will get. If you find a configuration you know you can live with, then you can make it permanent by gently sanding a circle of that size into the lens.


----------



## scotto23

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Would sanding a xenon bulb for the frosting effect be safe? Also, where could I buy a fully frosted bulb for this? Thanks for your help


----------



## Tony Hanna

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



scotto23 said:


> Would sanding a xenon bulb for the frosting effect be safe? Also, where could I buy a fully frosted bulb for this? Thanks for your help



I'd be tempted to use the glass etching cream instead. Should be able to get some locally at a craft store or order off the internet. However you do it, just be safe. A pair of safety glasses are a must and a long sleeve shirt and gloves wouldn't be a bad idea either.


----------



## Nubo

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



scotto23 said:


> Would sanding a xenon bulb for the frosting effect be safe? Also, where could I buy a fully frosted bulb for this? Thanks for your help



Safety glasses just in case you gorilla-grip and crush the bulb, but it shouldn't be any different than a typical 4-cell flashlight bulb -- no serious pressure. I've frosted these type of bulb with emery cloth before with no problems. It takes a long time, but that gives you some control over the degree of frosting.

The only source of frosted bulbs of this size that I know about is Reflectalite. The 10W GH24 bulb mentioned earlier can be had frosted or unfrosted, but the jury is still out on whether this light can take the heat.

For a more conservative option, the Reflectalite GH15 is 6 watts and should be comparable to the stock bulb in terms of heat and output. They will sell that one to you frosted or unfrosted as well. These ship from the UK, but if you order several bulbs it isn't too terrible, and I've always been surprised at the speed of delivery.


----------



## Howecollc

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*



[email protected] said:


> I use the locally available hpx41 in that config. Still enough heat to discolour plastic reflectors. The colour is about as white as a neutral white seoul. Very close to flashing.


What kind of life do you get out of the HPX-41; does it last thru more than a couple of 3x CR123 battery changes?


----------



## Sci Fii

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

Just thought I'd update this old thread with some new data. When this thread first appeared several people wondered if there was a better bulb to improve the performance of the light. Interestingly, no one every tried a different bulb. Well, I've taken a bit of interest in this old stuff so I had to get one and try a few different bulbs. And as some suspected, there are indeed better bulbs than the original. Quite a few actually. I can fill in some more details if anyone is interested but for now I'll give some info on what must surely be just about the best bulb possible for this light. 

That bulb is the Pelican 3754 high bulb used in the Big Ed rechargeable. It's a 4.8v 1.7A xenon lamp. I'm not real knowledgeable in this area, but from my reading the I would guess the SLA battery is able to hold close to 6 volts giving what i would expect to be about 12 watts. The difference between this bulb and the original is night and day. While the original bulb is about 100 lumens, this has to be at least 2.5 or 3 times more. A ceiling bounce test against a Xeno EO3 XM-L using an AW 14500 on medium has the two very close, with the Dorcy slightly less. The throw is also great. The original bulb is a bit more tightly focused but this is still tight but with so much more power. Last night I pointed it at a barn 340 yards away (per Google maps) and it surprised me how much it lit it up. It wasn't amazing but you could see details around the barn. You could have easily spotted a person walking around.

I bought the light for $25 from Dorcy direct and the bulb is about $6. I know there are other spotlights out there that are cheap and will outshine it but most have extremely short run times and most are the trigger kind that are awkward to hold. I would expect run times on this to be close to 2 hours and it's rather light and easily carried. So for about $30, I think this could be useful to a lot of people.


----------



## ampdude

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

But wouldn't you expect that bulb to melt the plastic reflector unless used in short bursts?


----------



## Sci Fii

*Re: What an incredible thrower! (Dorcy Xenon Lantern)*

No, actually I don't believe that will be an issue. I haven't tested enough yet but I ran it for about 4 minutes and there certainly wasn't any indication of a problem. Now I know that 's not long enough to be sure but I looked at the reflector closely using a magnifying glass and there was nothing. The lens was barely warm. There was no smell on the outside. I didn't take it apart and touch the back side of the reflector. You need to consider that this reflector is very deep. Almost two inches deep so there is a lot of air space. Additionally, surrounding the bulb is a ring sort of like a big washer. It's about 3/16 of an inch thick and 3/16 of an inch high. My guess is this in some way will protect the reflector. I'll follow up on this as I get a chance. Still, most people don't run a lantern continuously so it should be fine for the large majority.


----------



## xul

BlueBeam22 said:


> 102 lumens, but it focuses the white light into a laser thin beam that equals my 3 million candlepower twin beam Vector spotlight throw!


You'd need a beam/field angle of 0.68 degrees, which is not very plausible. What is the dia. of the spot on the trees at 200 yds?


----------



## HotWire

In my experience the 3754 high will *sneak up on* plastic reflectors and lenses and before you know it..... melted. I actually tired it in an ROP while waiting for shipment of an aluminum reflector. It worked well for several minutes so I thought I had no problem. Then the reflector began to bend.... I turned it off at that point, but the damage had been done. Used for short bursts to toast critters on the fence, and you'll be okay. Leave it on while hiking through the woods and I believe your reflector will melt. It is a great bulb, though!


----------



## Sci Fii

Hotwire,

I'm guessing you're talking about a different bulb. What light were you using this bulb in and what battery configuration/voltage did it have? I've only seen perhaps three or four people on this board ever mention using this bulb. This is neither of the ROP bulbs. Kind of their little brother.


----------



## Kestrel

Yes, it sounds like HotWire is thinking of the '3*8*54 high', the standard NiMH ROP bulb?
I don't think there is a 3*7*54-H, as the Pelican *3754* bulb pack includes the *3753*-H as the 'high' bulb.

FWIW my original thread on these bulbs is here.

I ran a 3753-H for a ~45 min continuous run in a PR-type bike headlight w/ 4xAA NiMH and there was no damage to the surface of the plastic reflector, just a small bit of deformation to the plastic which contacted the metal flange of the bulb base. From my limited research, I still believe this to be the best PR-base bulb running on 4x NiMH or equivalent voltages.


----------



## Juggernaut

xul said:


> You'd need a beam/field angle of 0.68 degrees, which is not very plausible. What is the dia. of the spot on the trees at 200 yds?



I once had this light, I measured the beam to be about 5.2 degrees, while not a "laser beam" it was quite narrow, that being said such a narrow beam is possible, I have an old purpose built light "The L.Y.L.L." that produced a 0.97 degree beam" as far as I have seen that is about the narrowest beam anyone has been able to get from an Incan "or anything else". The light only made 55 lumens but that sucker could really throw!


----------



## IlluminatedOne

Juggernaut said:


> I once had this light, I measured the beam to be about 5.2 degrees, while not a "laser beam" it was quite narrow, that being said such a narrow beam is possible, I have an old purpose built light "The L.Y.L.L." that produced a 0.97 degree beam" as far as I have seen that is about the narrowest beam anyone has been able to get from an Incan "or anything else". The light only made 55 lumens but that sucker could really throw!



Did you ever make a thread about the "The L.Y.L.L." as i have always been curious on how you made it, i remember searching for it a while back but could not find any info. 
Thanks.


----------



## Juggernaut

IlluminatedOne said:


> Did you ever make a thread about the "The L.Y.L.L." as i have always been curious on how you made it, i remember searching for it a while back but could not find any info.
> Thanks.



I'm afraid not, pretty much it was just a huge high quality reflector and a VERY tightly rapped filament, aligned just right. I have experimented with many bulbs "even the same type I have in it now" and I could never get a filament as small as the one I originally found, since it's a hot-wire I hardly ever use it in fear I'll blow the bulb and never be able to reproduce it. It's probably seen 5 minuets of run time in the last 2 years! There is "was" pictures of the bulb somewhere, I posted that so long ago I have no idea though now, it's whole point was to see what the most you could get out of an Incan with high surface brightness. I think the tiny 2.8 watt filament was smaller then the gap in a short arc bulb.


----------



## 3000k

Does anyone have any tips on how to charge this light? I have had a few SLA spotlights which had premature battery failure, most likely due on my part. 

How long should you charge it from dead and what if you just want to top off the battery? Also are you supposed to run theses batteries low like NiCd or leave them somewhat topped off like Lion batteries?


----------



## Sci Fii

3000k,

I'm not really all that knowledgeable about these things, but I've read a bit so I'll offer you up my understanding. I believe a light like this should be charged as frequently as you wish. Actually, more frequently is better. Never let it go "dead". The battery suffers no "memory" so it should be charged often. Top offs are not only fine, but preferred. Don't leave it on the charger after fully charged. You're killing it beyond the full charge as it doesn't shut off. I'd love to hear more learned members comment. 

And since this thread was bumped, I just thought I'd go outside and test the light with the Pelican bulb. The only light I have that some of you may be able to compare to is the Craftsman 220 lumen 3AA light that I believe to be essentially the same as the Dorcy 220 lumen that was once the king of budget throwers. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?207254-dorcy-220-lumen The light I have is not this light but the 3AA version that I believe to be comparable (using NiZn batteries I might add).


So on to the comparo. I selected a house 661 yards away using Google maps. Shining the Craftsman 220 at the house yields essentially nothing. The house is off in a field and you can't even determine the outline of the house. Now, the Dorcy with the Pelican bulb. The house is clearly illuminated. No comparison. It's not crazy illumination but it's clear to see the structure at this distance.

I love this light. For the price and runtime (with the right bulb), it's hard to beat.


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## 3000k

So I finally got the lantern and it worked ok for two minutes before the switch broke. I would like just to fix it myself instead of sending the whole thing back. Does anyone know where to get a replacement switch? I will upload a pic of it later.


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## Sci Fii

3000K,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I would recommend you call Dorcy (assuming you bought it there. Did you?) They have been good with customer service in my experience.


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## 3000k

I bought it from OpticsPlanet and was very unhappy with their customer service. I emailed Dorcy I will call them later.


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