Would these work to replace the bulbs in my old Maglites AA flashlights? I guess the old bulbs are krypton or something else…not sure. They have a silver tip if that helps.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001035/1089204-14000-mcd-5mm-white-led-emitters-10-pack
I sincerely doubt you’d get anything out of it, as 2 normal cells don’t produce enough voltage. If you’re looking for a cheap and cheery led solution for the minimag, nite ize makes a few things that you can get pretty cheap.
If you want to go nuts, well, start following Match’s/Old Lumens’ builds.
I’ve tried something similar and worked fine— not much white light (needs more voltage) but lasts forever. Good enough for wandering the house at night. A red LED works better.
http://www.niteize.com/product/LED-Upgrade-Kit-II.asp
Should be able to get them in Home Depot, or Lowes, some place like that. Easiest way to change to LED. Brighter than the stock bulb.
Someone in a german forum had the idea to drop in a nichia 5mm led that is rated up to 80 mA and power that from Lithium AA batteries. You'd only have to drill up the hole in the reflector to accommodate the led.
I see.
But if the replacement LED is rated for 3-6 volts, why wouldn’t two 1.5 volt AA batteries (3 volts total) be ok? Just because it’s the bare minimum?
If so…maybe there are other replacements rated…say…2-5 volts.
White LEDs have a forward voltage of 3.3-3.7 Volts, that's just how they are made.
They will light up at lower voltages, but will emit very little light. I recently discovered that a Cree XR-E even lights up with 2 NiMH batteries, but draws only a few mA of current.
But if you only need just a little light, go ahead and try it :)