I am a flashlight junkie. I love flashlights. I love big flashlights and small flashlights. I love bright flashlights, and flashlights that project a gentle glow. I love flashlights with AAA, AA, C, D, or rechargeable batteries. I love flashlights with polymer cases, rubberized cases, wooden cases, bamboo cases, and metal cases. I love flashlights with standard incandescent, halogen, krypton, xenon, or LED bulbs. I just love flashlights.
Sometimes my addiction causes strains in my relationship with my wife, “Kari.” She says things like, “Do you really need another flashlight?” or “How many flashlights does one man need anyway?”
I try to control my addiction. I have reached the point where if I buy a new flashlight, I get rid of an old one. Or at least I try to. It seems like some of the old ones sneak back in when I am not looking. I guess they miss me.
Maglite Flashlights
Of all the flashlights that I own, the ones that I love best are my Maglite flashlights. I have had some of them for almost 40 years. They have crossed oceans with me to dwell in foreign lands. I have used them to put on snow chains at the side of mountain roads in the gathering gloom of subarctic night. They have shown the way as my children and I explored a tunnel system below a derelict German fortification from World War II. They have guided my path as I searched for a lost dog in the winter woods. They have helped me discover what went bump in the night.
The best thing about Maglites is that they are tough. I have dropped them, bumped them off of shelves, stepped on them, and buried them under luggage. None of them has ever stopped functioning due to rough use. I still own every Maglite I have ever owned, because I have never managed to break one.
Another advantage of Maglite flashlights is that they are made in these United States.
Sizes
I own one Maglite Solitaire that runs on a single AAA battery, two Mini-Maglites that each run on two AA batteries, three Maglites that each run on two D batteries, one Maglite that runs on three D batteries, and one Maglite that runs on four D batteries.
All of these Maglites run with absolute reliability except for the Solitaire. It can be a little temperamental at times. It runs great with a fresh battery, but gets a little sketchy when that battery is about half way through its life cycle. I think the bulb is just a little too demanding for one AAA battery to adequately supply. I carried the Solitaire every day for many years. I finally got sick of its unreliability whenever a battery was no longer fresh enough. I now carry a rechargeable plasma lighter with a built-in light instead.
Converting to LED
All of the Maglites I own were originally one flavor of incandescent or another (standard, krypton, xenon, etc.), except for the Solitaire, which was LED to begin with. I have converted all of the incandescent Maglites to LED.
For the Mini-Maglites I used Nite Ize LED Upgrade Kits for AA Mini Maglites. These kits replace the bulb and reflector, with the option of replacing the tail cap with a tail cap switch as well. The upgrade does not make the Mini-Maglites much brighter than the original xenon bulbs, with the LED being only rated for 30 Lumens. But it does provide a very dramatic increase in battery life.
For two of the two-D-cell Maglites, I used TerraLUX Ministar TLE-6EXB LED bulbs to replace the incandescent bulbs. The LED bulbs are much brighter than the original bulbs, at 140 lumens each. Battery life is also greatly improved. That particular bulb no longer seems to be on the market, but a great variety of similar bulbs from other vendors are widely available online.
For the third of the two-cell D Maglites, I used a Heshaoc P13.5S bulb. It is rated for three to six volts. It works okay in two-cell flashlights, but it really works best in three or four-cell lights. It is not as bright as the TerraLUX bulbs, but battery life is outstanding. I hope to replace the Heshaoc with a brighter bulb soon.
For the three-D-cell Maglite, I used a Nite Ize LRB-07-PR1W 1-watt LED Bulb. I originally bought the bulb for a six volt lantern. I had to reverse the polarity in the lantern to use the bulb. I was always concerned that my re-wiring job might short-circuit and cause a fire. So I was happy when I found the three-cell Maglite for sale at a good price at a garage sale, and was able to transfer the bulb into it. I am very happy with the performance of the bulb in the Maglite. It is quite bright, and has good battery life.
For the four-cell D Maglite I used a TerraLUX TLE-6EX MiniStar5 LED Replacement Bulb. Like the TerraLUX bulbs I used with the two-cell Maglites, it is bright and gives excellent battery life.
Battery Inspection
When an alkaline battery is almost fully discharged, the potassium hydroxide that it contains may begin to eat away at the battery’s casing. This creates hydrogen gas, which causes the battery to swell, and may force the potassium hydroxide out of the casing. Potassium hydroxide is highly corrosive, and can also create potassium carbonate when it interacts with air. This explains the swelling, corrosion, and white powder that can often be found in a battery compartment when an alkaline battery starts to decay.
When I was using incandescent bulbs in the Maglites, it was easy to tell when the batteries were starting to get depleted. The light would become quite dim. This would warn me that I needed to change the batteries quickly before they began to decay.
With LED bulbs, the Maglites continue to deliver useful light even when the batteries are almost fully depleted. This means that just turning the light on is no longer a sufficient method of inspection. Instead, the tail cap must be removed, and the batteries inspected visually for signs of swelling and leaking. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Repairing Battery Leakage
Twice in the last five years or so, I have experienced battery swelling and leakage in my Maglites. In both instances they involved two-D-cell Maglites.
I recently went into the downstairs bathroom of our home and heard water running. Water was not supposed to be running, because all of the fixtures were off. I looked under the sink, and noticed a fine mist spraying over the contents of the cabinet.
I needed more light to localize the source of the leak. I went into the master bedroom to grab the Maglite that I usually keep by the bed. It was somewhat dim, so I grabbed the Maglite that I keep in the closet by the front door instead. With the brighter light I was able to quickly localize the leak, and decide upon what steps I would need to take to correct it.
When all of the hubbub surrounding the leak settled down, I decided to change the batteries in the bedside Maglite so that it would work more effectively the next time I needed it. When I took off the tail cap, I noticed the telltale white powder that showed that battery decay had already occurred.
Before attempting to remove the batteries, I unscrewed the head of the flashlight, and removed the retaining collar and the bulb from the switch assembly.
Since the battery compartments of Maglites have relatively close tolerances, batteries can be very difficult to remove once they swell. In the previous instance when I had experienced battery decay in a Maglite, I was forced to drill a hole in the rearmost battery and insert a lag screw into the batter in order to remove it from the compartment. Then I had to repeat the process for the forward-most battery. In the more recent case, I was able to remove the rearmost battery by tapping the barrel of the flashlight against my workbench. After the first battery was removed, I was able to tap the base of the barrel of the flashlight with a rubber mallet, and work the second battery out in that manner.
I removed as much potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate as possible from inside the barrel of the flashlight by scraping it with a long, thin scrap of plywood. I then removed the switch seal, loosened the retaining screw on the switch assembly, and attempted to remove the switch assembly from the barrel of the flashlight. This was impossible to do. The switch assembly was firmly cemented into place with a gooey mixture of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate.
I took a large pot, put the barrel of the flashlight in the pot, filled the pot with enough of a water/vinegar mixture to cover the barrel, and put the pot on the stove to boil. The boiling water/vinegar mixture served to neutralize and soften the potassium hydroxide/potassium carbonate goo. After the pot came to a boil, I removed the flashlight barrel and rinsed it thoroughly with running water. Then I was able to gently tap the switch assembly out of the flashlight barrel with a section of broomstick.
I then used the section of broomstick as a cleaning rod and a rag as a cleaning patch to run through the barrel to remove any remaining residue.
I tried to use silver polish on a rag to remove the etching caused by the potassium hydroxide from the inside of the barrel. This attempt was unsuccessful.
After a final rinse with running water and a thorough drying, I began to reassemble the flashlight. I reinserted the switch assembly, tightened the retaining screw, inserted the bulb into the switch assembly and secured it with the retaining collar, screwed on the head of the flashlight, inserted fresh batteries, screwed in the tail cap, and reinserted the switch seal. I turned on the flashlight, and it worked perfectly.
Baton Use
When Maglite flashlights were first introduced in 1979, they were marketed primarily to public safety and industrial customers. Since the flashlights are so durable, they make an excellent improvised baton. For early law enforcement customers, this was considered a feature and not a bug. The Los Angeles Police Department eventually changed its mind. In 2007 they switched to the lighter Pelican 7060 because it is not heavy enough to be used effectively as a baton. My thought was: If they cannot trust their officers with a flashlight that can be used as a baton, then how can they trust them with a gun?
Unlike the LAPD, I still consider the ability to use a Maglite as an improvised baton to be a desirable feature. I keep my four-D-cell Maglite on a clip by the main entrance to our house, and the three-D-cell Maglite on a clip by the main entrance to our barn. If I need light quickly to see what is going on outside, I have it. If the light reveals an aggressive four-legged or two-legged creature preparing to attack, I have something to defend myself with already in hand.
Conclusions
Maglite wrote the book on durable flashlights. They are my go-to choice for home and vehicular use.
There are more easily carried options made by other companies that I prefer for field use.
There are good bargains to be found on older Maglites at garage sales and thrift stores. I picked up two of my Maglites in that way. Sometimes, however, thrift stores will price used Maglites almost as high as new ones.
There are many LED bulbs available to upgrade older incandescent Maglites to make them brighter and provide longer battery life. LED bulbs are also more resistant to breakage than incandescent bulbs.
Disclaimer
I did not receive any financial or other inducements to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.