Re: Flashlight Bulbs

John posted: "Isn't that the century old device that we replace with an
LED? "

John, almost but not quite. The LED flahlights are nice, but limited in
their utility. I'd guess that the problem with them is that they are
too monochromatic, plus they tend not to throw sufficient lumens. This
makes them a bad match for practical illumination for a human eyeball.
:-)

For emegency lighting and close work in dark surrounding, I far prefer
my old Rayovac flashlight with its PR-2 bulb. For serious power outages
I still use a Bernzomatic propane lantern with its radioactive gas
mantle. No homeowner should be without one of these. It provides
equivalent illumination as the Coleman gasoline powered things, but
without the mess or the fumes. Mine is still functioning on the
cylinder of propane that I purchased back around 1975, and you would be
surprised to learn how often it has been used. (Do they even sell these
things today?)

When the electricity has been out for more than 4 hours, it's time to
haul an old no-name 3-Kw generator out to the driveway and connect it
to the house with the so called "suicide cord", of course making sure
that first the main breaker to the house has been turned off. In years
past this old rig has powered the house for sometimes 3 or 4 days at a
time (in Fairport, NY during winter). It can get pretty cold in
Fairport, NY, and many of the furnaces don't run without electricity.
:-)

As a high-tech guy myself, I learned to distrust modern technology --
It works great when it works, but in a pinch trust the old tried and
proven methods.

Harry C.







John wrote:
On 21 Sep 2006 12:56:22 -0700, hhc314@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

This weekend we experienced a power failure, and the bulb on my
conventional 2 D cell flashlight burned out. Fortunately I had a spare
PR-2 on hand.

For a replacement I went to my local hardware store, then Home Depot
and finally Sears. Surprisingly none of these places today sell
ordinary PR-2 flashlight bulbs. In desperation, I came from Sears with
2 HPX20 bulbs, Xenon, which are stated to work with any standard 2
D-cell flashlight.

Fortunately I have a good supply of the PR-13 bulbs used in the 6-volt
lanterns, although the stores do sell the 6-volt batteries for these
things. I purchase one of the batteries at a cost of about $9.00, while
the last one I purchased was priced at $3.95.

Strange world! What the heck is going on?

Harry C.

Flashlight bulb?

Isn't that the century old device that we replace with an LED?

The replacement LED assembly in my AA Mini MagLite has half the lumens
of the original krypton bulb, but gives 10 times the battery life -
and retains the beam focus capability.

White LEDs are *cheap* - You need a little over 3 volts to operate
them (fine in the 6volt lantern) and a simple boost circuit for the 3
volt (2 cell) lights.
18000mcd 10mm White LED (about the size of the end of a Sharpie
marker) $8US for 20, including shipping.
13000mcd 5mm White LED (half that size) are $12US for 100, including
shipping. www.ledshoppe.com

At 12 cents each, I'm adding lights to the inside of a closet door
(one LED for each shelf) and anywhere else the wife wants more light.
Low voltage (under 5 volts) lighting at 20ma per LED is safe and easy
to do.

John

.

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