Looking for a big, heavy, long replacement for my 2d and 3d Mags.
I’ve got tons of 18650’s laying around that just don’t see any use, and although my little single 18650 torches throw tremendous amounts of light, I sometimes miss the hefty swing of a 3d Mag.
Trouble is, it seems like the choices of “big” 18650 flashlights is either long and skinny, or short and stout.
I’m looking for a 12” long 18650 torch, something that run maybe 6 cells in pairs of two stacked end to end?
Or perhaps a 3x26650 torch that has an 18650 adapter tube?
A 3x26650 version of the Yezl Y3 makes a pretty good war club for about $35, and it’s even a decent flashlight. It runs 18650s as well, with the plastic inserts - you just have to be a bit careful about battery length.
Didn’t realise that listing had batteries too. Just did a quick Google to find the light. I bought mine without batteries and run it on 3x26650 IMR’s. But 18650’s with the plastic inserts would work fine too. I wouldn’t use the Ultrafire batteries though.
Op - sorry didn’t get chance to get any fresh pics. But you can see the Lustefire here next to a MagCharger (same length as a 3D Mag). Not a lot in length, but the head is bigger on the Lustefire and uses much thicker tubing for quite a bit more heft.
It’s a good performer too. The large reflectors mean it throws really quite well, but the 3 emitters mean a large hot spot and good spill beam too.
Yes, 2 batteries complete the circuit as the batteries are parallel. So it will turn on and it will work.
However, you are now spreading the load over two batteries. So they will have to work twice as hard as they would compared to running with 4 batteries.
If you use the light on low output, then all that you’ll really see is half the runtime.
On high out put however what you are more likely to see is, possibly reduced output (this depends on how much current the light draws on high, so depends on which SRK it is, as there are loads of versions and variation and it also depends on your batteries. Non high performance batteries will likely suffer a lot, as the load you place on them with only 2 batteries may exceed what they can offer. Something like a purple Efest will be fine, but a crappy Ultrafire likely won’t know what to do with itself).
In either case however, running only 2 batteries on high output, will reduce runtime by at least half, but probably more, simply because the batteries have to work harder.
This could in turn shorten the life of your batteries too, as pushing batteries closer to their discharge limits will reduce cycle life of the batteries.
I picked mine up on a group buy here on the board a while back, and it included three very good quality spacers.
I’m not home right now, but I’m pretty sure mine is a neutral tint. I don’t recall the seller, but maybe somebody else can chime in with that information. Alternately, search this site for ‘Yezl Y3’ and you’ll probably find the group buy thread; it wasn’t all that long ago. There’s also a take down / modding thread here somewhere.
I’ve been using this one mercilessly, and it’s been holding up fine. Tail switch for on/off and side switch for mode changes.
Seeing that the Op holds that nostalgic feeling towards mags (I think many of us do)...why not endeavor to build a Mag conversion. Mags for hosts are cheap enough and unless the OP needs it "now" it will be very worthwhile. It doesn't have to be crazy such as multiple emitters and it allows for the choice of virtually any single emitter...even the big'uns :)
I think the perfect situation would be a 6x18650 in a dual-bore setup body similar to a Mag.
It just sucks that I’ve spent good money on 18650 batteries and chargers but yet I’ve got to go back to D-Size cells in order to get the classic club of the Mag 3D.
