Honestly, the Eneloop AA spacer cells are hard to beat. A set of 4 is pretty cheap, and you can keep using your normal AA Eneloops.
Fivemega is a CPF member/user name.
I think he's still around, posting random bits and bobs... @fivemega
My understanding is that you want to use pair of 18650 cells end to end in a 3D Maglite.
.+My decision, as it stands right now, is to go with one-to-one adapters for the lantern. Those are working just fine in the two radios and the spotlight and have for years. Nevertheless, I think I’m getting bit by the infamous Maglite upgrade bug
@Schokokeks , for the hell of it I tried the three one-to-one adapters in the Maglight. They worked great and yeah, it was a lot lighter. Interestingly, I noticed the D cells were Duracells. I haven’t bought those in years so I checked the date. 2016! No leaks and they still worked though the light was a bit dimmer than with the freshly charged AA Ni-MH cells. I kept the Duracells out of the light, JIC. I’ve pushed my luck pretty far with those and I really like that flashlight.
@fivemega 26650s would make more sense, however I defaulted to 18650 simply because I already have two spares (for my Wuben L50 and L60 lights). I’d have to buy two 26650 cells. My NiCore i2 will handle 26650s, so a charger’s no problem. This I have to think about.
You’ll excuse me if I sound a bit ignorant; electronics are really not my forte. With that said, my question is as follows; if three D cells have a combined nominal voltage of 4.5 and two 18650s or 26650s have a combined nominal voltage of 7.4, wouldn’t the emitter need to be upgraded in my 3D cell Maglite? I mean 7.4V is approximately the equivalent of a five D cell Maglite’s voltage, no?
My next question is, if I do go with the two 18650s or 26650s and I have to upgrade the emitter, would the light be any brighter?
This could turn into an expensive proposition, which is something I'm trying to avoid.
convoylight.com
. I was also thinking that, for a few bucks, I can get a better light than the Maglite. Hell, my Wuben L50 is better by far and all the way around. As a matter of fact, the L50 replaced the Maglite and our Streamlight WayPoint as our daily go-to, let the dogs out at night, light. FYI, we live rural. No fences and lots of critters in the woods, some nasty, thus the nightly flashlight use.
Yeah, the weight savings makes the Maglite a whole different animal. For me, the reduction in capacity is okay.My decision, as it stands right now, is to go with one-to-one adapters for the lantern. Those are working just fine in the two radios and the spotlight and have for years. Nevertheless, I think I’m getting bit by the infamous Maglite upgrade bug
@Schokokeks , for the hell of it I tried the three one-to-one adapters in the Maglight. They worked great and yeah, it was a lot lighter. Interestingly, I noticed the D cells were Duracells. I haven’t bought those in years so I checked the date. 2016! No leaks and they still worked though the light was a bit dimmer than with the freshly charged AA Ni-MH cells. I kept the Duracells out of the light, JIC. I’ve pushed my luck pretty far with those and I really like that flashlight.
@fivemega 26650s would make more sense, however I defaulted to 18650 simply because I already have two spares (for my Wuben L50 and L60 lights). I’d have to buy two 26650 cells. My NiCore i2 will handle 26650s, so a charger’s no problem. This I have to think about.
You’ll excuse me if I sound a bit ignorant; electronics are really not my forte. With that said, my question is as follows; if three D cells have a combined nominal voltage of 4.5 and two 18650s or 26650s have a combined nominal voltage of 7.4, wouldn’t the emitter need to be upgraded in my 3D cell Maglite? I mean 7.4V is approximately the equivalent of a five D cell Maglite’s voltage, no?
My next question is, if I do go with the two 18650s or 26650s and I have to upgrade the emitter, would the light be any brighter?
This could turn into an expensive proposition, which is something I'm trying to avoid.
Eneloop prices fluctuate with nickel prices.@orbital thanks for going to that trouble. That’s a helluva light for the money. If I was looking for a new light, I’d be on that like flies on
Looking at it logically and practically, the Maglite works as is. It’s an extralight, which doesn’t get used much at all. I need new batteries for it regardless (those expired in ’16), so I’d pop for some one-to-one adapters and a few AA Eneloops just to get rid of the disposable, potentiallyleaking, D cells. Almost every battery operated device in our home is now on Eneloops, I might as well go all the way. Not to mention that I have to start replacing my Ni-MH cells as some date back to 2014. They don’tseem to last as long, are taking a while to charge, and self discharge fast. I’m assuming they’re just old.
ADDENDUM: Quick question. Where does everyone get their Eneloops from? Best price I can find for AAs is $2.82 p/cell plus tax, free shipping.
Costco sometimes has them as well. An 8AA + 4AAA + charger + 2D adapters can range anywhere from $27.99 to $45.99, and sometimes there are Mfg rebates for up to $10 off the package.@orbital thanks for going to that trouble. That’s a helluva light for the money. If I was looking for a new light, I’d be on that like flies on
Looking at it logically and practically, the Maglite works as is. It’s an extralight, which doesn’t get used much at all. I need new batteries for it regardless (those expired in ’16), so I’d pop for some one-to-one adapters and a few AA Eneloops just to get rid of the disposable, potentiallyleaking, D cells. Almost every battery operated device in our home is now on Eneloops, I might as well go all the way. Not to mention that I have to start replacing my Ni-MH cells as some date back to 2014. They don’tseem to last as long, are taking a while to charge, and self discharge fast. I’m assuming they’re just old.
ADDENDUM: Quick question. Where does everyone get their Eneloops from? Best price I can find for AAs is $2.82 p/cell plus tax, free shipping.
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Very possible...on your next club run, swing by the battery aisle, there's usually loads of batteries and flashlights (and worklights) that are indeed store exclusives or even store specific clearance.
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Lumencraft did a good battery comparison, and they liked the Powerowl. Matt (a member here) uses the Amazon basics D-cell NiMH.@RWT1405 I’ve never seen ‘em leak when new, but have ruined a few things, over the years, due to leakage. Also, that’s a good idea about using them as backups and out of the appliances. I used to do that with my second vehicular flashlight (guess what happened to the first). Kept the batteries separated in individual baggies and those then in one Ziploc.
@Schokokeks I didn’t mind the weight of the Maglite. I wasn’t carrying it daily. It was my bump-in-the-night light. It could serve double-duty
I can’t hold off too long getting new/more batteries. I did some checking and all mine are getting old. Some date back to 2014. I did buy some Amazon black with green cap AA and AAA cells back in 2018. IIRC, they’re Japanese made. Honestly, I was pretty impressed. I have no idea how the current crop performs.
One-toone adapters, for me, are the way to go. If it was something I used a lot, then I’d use the three-to-one parallel adapters. I first used AA to C adapters in 2014 in our Streamlight Waypoint. Frankly, I did not notice any significant difference in performance or duration over the C cells. Granted no actual tests were performed because I’m and end-user, not a scientist. When I swapped them, I didn’t mention it to my missus just to see if she’d notice anything. She didn’t. Using them in that light paid for the batteries, adapters, and charger multiple times compared to primary cells. I was convinced and sold on ‘em.
@dc38 I looked online at Sam’s and the no longer listed any rechargable batteries. For the hell of it, I checked Costco’s site. Nothing there either. Maybe a store only item?
General question here. What about Powerowl AA and AAA cells? I never heard of them, which isn’t saying much. Nonetheless I’ve read and watched some pretty good tests and reviews of them. Yes, I know that Eneloops are the standard by which all other Ni-MH’s are judged (rightfully so) and I feel as if I’m committing Original Sin even discussing the other brands. Yet, in many of the tests Powerowl came in second (to Eneloop). Does anyone have any actual experience with them?
