14500 may be the death of my UltraFire C3

[pinoy]

I bought this single mode UltraFire C3 with a Cree Q5 LED several years ago. It's never been my favorite as it always looked dim to me using nimh batteries. I think it was drawing only 400 mA from the nimh. A few days ago I decided to use a 14500 lithium ion battery and the C3 was so bright the head got warm in seconds and got me worried and also it would flicker for a brief second of being turned on. When I opened it up I can smell something was roasting in there. I'm not sure if it's the battery circuitry or the flashlight emitting the ozone scent. I measured the current draw from the battery at 2.6 amps which is just nuts considering the max output of this battery is spec at 3 amps max. It would appear the driver is not regulating the current at the higher voltage output. What a shame as I really wanted the brighter light with longer runtime and now I have to go back to nimh batteries for the C3.

 

[Raymond33]

My experience with the 14500 is also sketchy. If a flashlight is rated for the higher voltage right away by the manufacturer, then good to go. If not, better not to risk it.

Currently using a Sofirm SP10 Pro and a Thrunite T10T V2 with 14500s and they have no heating problems with great output. Good Luck.

 

[aznsx]

My experience with the 14500 is also sketchy. If a flashlight is rated for the higher voltage right away by the manufacturer, then good to go. If not, better not to risk it.

Currently using a Sofirm SP10 Pro and a Thrunite T10T V2 with 14500s and they have no heating problems with great output. Good Luck.

My experience w/ 14500s has been great, but being a life-long sparky guy, I always use them only in lights they are within spec for, and never in lights which are not. Mechanical fitment alone means nothing in electronics. I never try to second guess other electronics pros when I don't even have a schematic for something. As I stated elsewhere just hours ago, electronics is not a field where 'trial and error' is smart practice. Works for lots of things in life, but electronics is not generally one of them, and it often 'ends in tears'. My work is all around reliability, my personal light use requires it, and I don't want to constantly have to wonder at what moment my light will fail due to such abuse. That's just contrary to all my training, experience, and personal objectives. To each their own I guess.

 

[Raymond33]

Aznsx. I agree totally. The lights that I mentioned are designed to be used with the 14500.