Out junking

[SA1911a1]

looking for a new clock to play with, found a clock, but also came across a pile of "broken" police trade-in Mag Lights at $2.00 each! I bought them all, sacrificed one for parts and got the rest working. They must have been discarded because they didn't work. It was very easy to fix the problems, mostly corrosion. Two had been converted to LED, three were rechargeable with good batteries and a couple of spare batteries. The one I parted out had been bent, but they wiped the hair off of it! ;) I like the old "D" cell lights, they are not the 600 lumen pocket wonder lights, but with the D batteries they last a long time on a charge or a set of batteries! Now I will have a good light in both vehicles, at the work bench, by the bed, and where ever I find a spot. ;)

The clock apparently been discarded and stored in a barn, it was filthy and broken. With a little TLC, an ersatz part, and an ultrasonic bath, it is running and keeping time. It is not an antique, but it is still kind of cool. It met my criteria, it was dirt cheap.

I really like recycling stuff that other people threw away.

[millman]

Doesn't maglite have a lifetime warranty?

[SA1911a1]

Doesn't maglite have a lifetime warranty?

Not so much. The warranty is for the original buyer, for ten years, and doesn't cover anything that was wrong with these lights. They are a good enough product that they can be repaired, and without abuse, and a minimum of maintenance, they will last for decades. Now that I have them all working, I am going to completely disassemble them, clean and lubricate all of the parts, and replace any bad ""O" rings with some from one of my plumbing kits. The rechargeable lights were good for me because I still had a charger from about 2000 in my old work van. I put a 12V power adaptor, from a long discarded appliance, on the old charger and was good to go. I don't know how the red ones came into the mix, but they were essentially new.

There is the one mounted by my bed. If you look closely, you will see the other important bedside tool in the bottom corner. ;)

[Junk Yard Dog]

I upgraded to the full 300 series LED Mag's last winter, the 6 D cell version is bright as the sun on it's highest setting, and just as much a head thumper as the originals. I replaced all the more important lights with the new LED's, 2-3-4-6 cell lights, I never used a 5 cell but they do make them. All the old 25+ year old lights and some going back into the 80's had the batteries removed and are stored in a 20mm ammo can in the barn in case they are needed. Monthly battery check, that means opening the light, removing the battery's and doing a visual inspection for leakage. All battery's suck now, I have tried them all, copper tops, the one with the fucking bunny commercials, industrial brands, they all leak. I can recall years back leaving the battery's in the light. or whatever for years without a problem, now it seems I can't go six months without spotting dampness on a battery cap. In 1998 I loaded a 6 cell I keep in the tool shed, every year for 22 years the copper tops inside were dry, and the light still lit. Power was probably spent by the end, but they lit for a half a minute, and sometimes I used that light to see something. I only took them out because I retired the light. I keep Mag's in every vehicle, the barn has three on the walls, the loader and the forklift each have one, the shop has one, at least five scattered around the house. Most of these will still be the old style lights because they are rarely used. The ML300L 6 cell LED will put out 694 lumens on high and is rated for 71 hours, the lower power modes, there are two, the lowest is rated at 79 lumens and run time of 177 hours. The 4 cell I keep in the truck is rated for 1002 lumens on high and a run time of 5 hours, it also has the eco settings, it lights up the fucking world.