My boss bought me a 3D LED Mag. He got it for me knowing that I would strip it down and mod it. I have only ever modded a mini before so my ques is, “is the LED body version any different from the incandescent version”?
Any tips and things to consider before I start this project? I’m asking cause I don’t have any other mags to compare it with.
Thanks guys.
The LED version has a deeper reflector and it is designed for LED instead of incan bulbs.
If you want to make a monster out of it, use an SST-90 with 3 of the Tenergy "D" Nimhs and make it into a really bright thrower. I believe you still can find an SST-90 driver for it (well it's out of stock on KD), but there's always Techjunkie's method using 3 of the 7135 linear drivers for 8.4amps. You can get a nice SST-90 from Digikey, Mouser or Newark.
An SST-90 or even an SST-50 would be great with the stock Rebel reflector. Great throw and nice spill.
TJ used 8 AA NiMH, but three of those 10,000ma D cells would work too. Or 4 C NiMH (the high c rate ones at allbattery) should fit, but would require modding the tailcap to fit. Sub C would also work well. Four of them will fit easily with a pvc sleeve. They carry Sub C with up to 40a C rates.
Do a little searching on CPF for SST-90 and you will see a bunch of stuff for it. Maglite heatsinks can be found on CPF also just search for mag heat sink or maglite heat sink.
You could do it with an XM-L with one 7135 driver and the stock reflector and still make a nice light out of it.
@OL - Let me say first that I love reading your build posts and youtube vids. Thanks for putting out all that content.
The SST-90 monster build you suggested is quite intriguing to me. I’ll definately look into it some more but will have to consider if building a torch on steroids is what I really need. (most likely will be)
My original thought was to fabricate an aluminum pill/heatsink that can be accepted into any C / D Mag body. My buddy offered to machine it for me using his lathe &/or CNC so long as I build one for him as well. Since he’s doing me a favor, I was hoping that all the Mag bodies would have the same inside diameter and spacing (LED vs. incan) so wouldn’t limit it to 1 format/model. This way he can CNC multiple pcs in 1 production run.
It was wishful thinking that once I had the heatsink, I just needed to drop in a LED or 2 or 3, wire up some driver(s), slide in some batts and voila~! Then reality kicks in… and realize I know jack about Mags.
BIGWOOD - That's how you learn. At least that's how I did. I didn't know jack about Mag modding, until I took a few apart and started reading on CPF. They still have the most Maglite info out there, although some of it is lost forever.
One heatsink for Incan and another for LED I believe...
But, that changes with which LED, which Driver, etc. Not much is one size fits all, though I wish it were.
Good luck and if you think I might be able to answer a question, PM me. I'm not posting much, at this point, unless it's in a Maglite thread.
No heat sink required for Incan.
He means one type to fit in a incan maglite and another size to fit in a LED. He is not saying you need a heatsink for incan lights. :P
Ok misunderstood.
I thought the barrels were the same size, on LED and Incan, may be wrong on that though.
I thought the IDs were different, but I don't have a LED one to check. I did one of the LD ones once and my memory wants to say I used a 1-1/4 diameter HS, where the incans are larger than that (closer to 1-3/8), but my memory isn't worth anything any more...
As far as I can tell the incan and LED versions have the same inside diameter, but, the body tube at the threaded section for the head is slightly shorter on the MagLED and the switch sits ever so slightly forward on the same compared to the incan Mag. Also, due to the deeper reflector coming into close proximity of the end of the shortened body tube you cannot use an incan Mag heatsink that has a flange on its end because it places the LED too far forward for the deep reflector, though, you can use an incan reflector in this case.
As far as running an SST-90 in there, keep in mind the stock switch can only handle 4-5A before it’ll melt. To get more power through the switch you’ll need to change the switch or figure out how to wire up a FET.
My favorite mod on 3D MagLEDs is to use a three-mode 7135 based driver at 2.8A powering an XM-L on a custom heatsink and the stock deep reflector. You’ll get 450 honest OTF lumens using alkalines or 600+ using NiMH cells. The switch can handle the current and it’s just a beautiful, relatively easy mod to do.