This arrived today, 3AA in parallel:
From seller world_electric_fan on ebay. The white plastic casing is nice and solid. Tested in a maglite and works very well. Think I will order some more and use them with eneloops.
$5.99 each
Nice to know. There are some “cheapies” out there, but not much worth it…
Nice find. It looks like it might be the exact same carrier that Lumintop uses in the SD10. Does it have a front back sticker on the side?
It’s not exactly the same but it is similar. It doesnt have arrow stickers but one of the three sides has a moulded arrow. The three sides are rounded like a D cell, not indented, so the side supports are more solid on these ebay adaptors. And the SD10 carrier is 3AA in series giving 3.6 to 4.5V, this is in parallel giving 1.2 to 1.5V
Do you get more runtime out of this 3 aa than a 1.5v D alkaline or 1.2v rechargeable? I bought a few 2 aa to D cell adapters from DX a long time ago, never got around to test them. I have a ton of aa eneloops and duraloops. Would be a nice alternative to D cell rechargeables if this provides more runtime.
Well it’s really going to depend on the D rechargeable you use. I have some 4500mAh Tronic D cells, but you can get 8000mAh and even 10,000mAh D cells.
3AA eneloops would give 5700mAh which is more than my Tronic D cells but not as high as other D cells like Tenergy, Ansmann etc.
Doh, I missed that the Lumintop holder was in series. Still, it looks close enough that it will probably work. Parallel would still be useful since the SD10 can use a 1.5 D cell, and 3 Eneloops are cheaper than 1 nimh D cell.
6 bucks a pop! Guess I’m just too tight. J)
I got a couple nice 2D LED maglites ,from this past Holiday 1/2 price Lowes clearance sale, relegated to hurricane/storm usage…guess it’s best to just store em empty and if needed for a hurricane/storm fill em with D alkalines…then remove em.
Can’t trust alkalines further than they can be thrown.
$6 a pop seems like ALOT, especially since that’s 2/3 of the price of a Tenergy D battery (whether 10000mAH Premium or 8000mAH Centura). And you will ultimately get only 3/4 of the capacity of a true D cell. You could use a higher capacity AA (such as the Eneloop XX or new Duracell Ion Core), which would get you closer to the capacity of a true D cell.
Of course, you still need to buy the AA’s. But if you already have LOTS of AA batteries, it would probably be a worthwhile investment, especially for emergency situations where you have depleted all of your D batteries. This might also be a good way to go if you don’t have (or want to invest in) a charger capable of charging D cells.
My other concern is internal resistance. But for the currents typical of most flashlights (even, say, an XM-L), this may not be too much of a problem.
Speaking of internal resistance, these adaptors may actually be advantageous if you use alkaline batteries. Alkaline D batteries have significantly greater capacity than alkaline AA batteries. But the internal resistance is not much lower. Using these adaptors with alkaline AA batteries would give you much lower internal resistance than an alkaline D battery. They might also save money, since alkaline D batteries are seldom available in the kinds of ‘value packs’ that you can get with AA alkalines.
Nobody mentioned the ability to use lithium primaries which are not available in D size…
A valid point, especially for emergency use in more powerful D cell lights (think 3D Mag with a Malkoff XM-L2). The only downfall here is that we’re talking BIG bucks for batteries to run even a 2-3D Mag.
Flexibility is nice. It's why I'm so attracted to the SD10. This battery carrier just makes it better. Now I can use AA's in series or parallel, and even use 14500's in parallel if I really wanted to, as well as all the other battery options the SD10 already has. Plus I like accessorizing my lights.
I’m considering using 14500 lifepo4 cells in them in a 2D maglite with a Fusion 36 drop-in.
Or, for around the same money, you could just get these instead. There’s probably not much price difference when you consider the cost of the 14500s AND the adaptors. But you’ll get ALOT better current and capacity (5000mAH vs maybe 1800mAH for three 14500s.
Go here to see an evaluation of these LiFePO4 32650s.
Thanks, but arent 32650 cells longer than D cells?
They are by 5mm. This could be an issue in a Mag. But if it is, then even a LiFePO4 26650 would be a better idea than three 14500s in an adaptor. A 26650 has the advantage over a 32650 of being able to slip in the tailcap. So length is less of a concern. And at about $14, an A123 26650 will still probably be cheaper than the adaptor plus three LiFePO4 14500s. It will also have somewhat more capacity (2300mAH vs about 1800mAH). Not to mention that, if you have two 2D Mags each with 2 A123 26650s, you basically have a jumper box to start your car if your battery goes dead.