Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!
SuperTorch - I absolutely think the lithium's would work - but play at your own risk - exactly.
If you mean rechargeable, not primary, I don't have those - if the market were there I'd consider carry them.
When you say primary lithium D's that means non-rechargables which are
usually 3.0V not 3.6/3.7V - and I do have them in stock but they're pretty spendy. I have Saft Lithium Sulfur Dioxide LO26SHX's in stock (with tabs - you'll need to fuss with them a bit.) here's a link:
http://batteryjunction.com/saprlibalo.html. These are big boy cells.
If there were enough interest I could also offer Saft LSH20's which are 3.6V 13Ah cells but at $25+ cell and non-rechargeable I don't think there's be many takers here.
I think you're confusing yourself - let's clarify:
A 'primary battery' is a non-rechargeable battery. Primary battery types are alkaline, silver oxide, Lithium (again a catchall term for about 5 diff chemistries), carbon zinc (heavy duty), mercury oxide, etc.
A rechargeable battery is tenchically a 'secondary battery' some types are NiMh, NiCd, Lead Acid, Nickel Hydrogen, Lithium
Ion ( a catchall term for about 5 different chemistries), etc...
Both of these are types of 'chemical batteries'.
Nominal voltages for each type are:
Alkaline 1.5V
NimH/NiCd 1.2V
Lithium Ion (rechargeable) 3.7V
Lithium Primary (various chemistries- not rechargeable) 3 to 3.6V
Now, there are some lithium ion cells on the market - PCB controlled RCR123A's being an example - that use a PCB (printed circuit board) with a voltage control circuit to reduce the voltage of these lithium ion cells under load.
So, 6 NiMh cells at 1.2V is under the 9V ceiling the item is designed for - that won't be a problem.
TerraLUX won't be able to tell you whether or not 2 D sized Li-Ions (rechargeables) would be safe - that's not something they'd ever test for and their expertise is not in batteries. I can tell you that the voltage produced by the cells is within the tolerance of the device (0-9V) and that there's no resaon they won't power the LED. The question you need to ask is how will you keep the cells from discharging too far (voltage). I don't personally have experience with D sized Li_ion cells and am not sure if anyones really offering them on the retail market but I expect they can handle the drain rates of the LED - but I'd need to see the specs of the specific batteries you intend to use to be sure.
Hope this helps.
). I'll look into it.
