Maglites love hate

[sgf13]

I have a 4 D cell led Maglight and a small 2 AA standard model both of which have batteries stuck in them from corrosion. I tried baking soda solutions, penetrating oil and held the light body in a vice while trying to pull the batteries out with a screw that I drilled into them. I'm not sure why I bothered. My small led Gear Lights that I bought online are both cheaper and brighter.

Maglight had its day for sure. I wish I still had my small cammo one. It is lost in a middle east desert. I hated losing it because it was so reliable and better than any other flashlight I'd owned back then. It was used for everything from lighting MRE's while taped to a flak jacket to map reading with a red lense. It wouldn't be much compared to today's flashlights but thirty years ago it sure made my life better.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Yeah I tried getting AA's out of a minimag and no way no how.

 

[designer485]

I've sorta been thinking about something like this except the text going longways and the "We the people in substantially larger font.
I may make up a stencil and see how far it would wrap around. I was thinking originally of more of a parchment look but these colors are looking really good to me.

I dig that finish, both with the text and just the color/finish itself. That finish would look awesome on my Surefire M951 or 6P.

 

[Rinspeed]

I have a 4 D cell led Maglight and a small 2 AA standard model both of which have batteries stuck in them from corrosion. I tried baking soda solutions, penetrating oil and held the light body in a vice while trying to pull the batteries out with a screw that I drilled into them. I'm not sure why I bothered. My small led Gear Lights that I bought online are both cheaper and brighter.

Lol, I've lost at least three of them and tried all those same things with no luck. They are still sitting on the shelf. I probably have $1200 worth of lights so it's not a big deal just very annoying.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I have an Mag-Lite XL200, which I like a lot. It has an electronic tail-cap switch with a neat UI. It's dimmable, and holds that brightness from then on until you reset it. It has a strobe function, but you can set how fast you want it to strobe, even slow enough to act more like a beacon. Both of those setting are controlled by holding down the switch and rotating your light in your hand. There is a mode that goes dim after you set it on a table, and automatically gets bright when you pick it up. It has a signal mode, which turns the light on when you rotate your hand, and an SOS mode. You can ignore all of the modes if you want, and don't have to cycle through them.

It runs on 3 AAA batteries, in a caddy, which is much better built than the typical 3AAA lights. Mine is an older version, rated at 175 lumens, but it's way brighter than most of the "300 lumen" lights from other brands. FYI: The ML series of lights all have multi-modes, and programmable sets.


Fun fact: There's a bunch of Mag-Lites on the International Space Station. 4D Models and Mini-mags. They use velco to keep them from floating around. See if you can spot some in this video:

Hint: The MiniMags are blue. There's some other interesting tools visible as well.

 

[Citation]

With old D-cell lights it's not hard to remove the batteries (assuming the cap isn't seezed). Remove the rubber button cover. Use a hex key to release the set screw. Now slide the light assembly out the front of the flash light. Now you can use something to push the batteries out the bottom from the front of the light.

 

[Qualitytools]

I have a 4 D cell led Maglight and a small 2 AA standard model both of which have batteries stuck in them from corrosion. I tried baking soda solutions, penetrating oil and held the light body in a vice while trying to pull the batteries out with a screw that I drilled into them. I'm not sure why I bothered. My small led Gear Lights that I bought online are both cheaper and brighter.

Maglight had its day for sure. I wish I still had my small cammo one. It is lost in a middle east desert. I hated losing it because it was so reliable and better than any other flashlight I'd owned back then. It was used for everything from lighting MRE's while taped to a flak jacket to map reading with a red lense. It wouldn't be much compared to today's flashlights but thirty years ago it sure made my life better.

If you know what brand of batteries are stuck in it, just write to the battery company and they will reimburse you for the damaged light so you can purchase another. Sometimes they will even just send you a replacement flash light with some coupons for batteries.

 

[f121]

Yeah I tried getting AA's out of a minimag and no way no how.

If my mag light memory is correct, you should be able to get batteries out of a mini mag as follows: unscrew the tail cap and head, remove the bulb. Pry the top off the puck that holds the bulb with a knife or small screwdriver. Put it in a press and use an appropriate sized drift or socket to press on the puck. Hopefully the corrosion will undo before the puck cracks.

 

[lardy1]

When mine corroded I started changing the batteries on a regular basis. Never happened again.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Seems they could have allowed a bit more room in the battery tube with no ill effects to function.

I remember back in the day, some brands of battery fit too tight out of the package.

 

[csp]

Still using the 4D Maglite I bought in 1987, as well as a 3D, another 4D that's LED and a couple of 3C LED models. The old one has a larger OD than current/newer D cell models.

I have a Surefire and a Streamlight, but I still like the heft of the Maglites.

 

[Vvmvbb]

Alkaline batteries leak. They all do. I've seen Rayovac, Duracell and Energizers leak - still in the package on store shelves. That's why I use NiMH or Lithium cells instead.

Yup. Everyone knows that. Except for the people at mag light I guess.

 

[gjusername]

I had the same issue with leaking batteries in my minimag lite, I tried to get a new one under the lifetime warranty but they said I had to contact the battery manufacturer and that they should actually replace it for me. If only I could the batteries out to find out who manufactured them!

 

[seber]

Major battery makers guarantee no leaks and will reimburse for damage. Why not just cut the end of the tube off and push the batteries out? After all, what have you got to lose?

 

[X1 Mike]

I got my Malkoff drop in today. It is better by far than stock and better than the cheapo led bulb I got for 12 bucks but overall, I'm somewhat underwhelmed. It's a good functional light but I wanted a flamethrower. I may eventually add one of the very expensive lights but now it's time to make it tactical and then Cerakote it.

First picture is the cheapie led, second is the Malkoff aimed somewhat close and the third is a distance shot with the Malkoff drop in.

 

[Sgtboz]

I haven't touched my maglites since I got a few streamlights; it's a night and day difference.

edit- incandescent AAA maglites

I found the quality of mag-lites had dropped. They also took forever to get into LEDs. I liked their mini-mags but the flashlight heads seem to turn too loosely. I found the quality and light intensity of the streamlights to be good and the flashlights are very durable.

 

[Indexmill]

Guys, you can't leave alkalines in older Maglights. Jeeze; you really do know better. As mentioned, all of the real battery manufacturers will send you a check for the full cost to replace any device that is FUBAR'd by corroding batteries. Just take the 5 minutes to call them on the telephone and have a civil conversation with them. They will take care of you. If they are stuck in a Maglight tube and you can't determine the brand, just pick one and go.