18650's and my U2

I just received a set of fully protected 18650 2200 mAh Tenergy cells from Battery Junction. I have the older model U2 without the plastic sleeve and yet they are too thick to fit in the tailcap end. They will, however fit through the bezel end. Surefire recommends loading the batteries in the tailcap. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you think it's okay to continually screw and unscrew the bezel to load the batteries? They were the highest capacity fully protected 18650's I could find. What do you think about these cells? Are they any good? Runtimes anyone? Also, why are rcr123's a bit thicker than their cr123 counterparts? The charger I ordered with it did not come with instructions and I was wondering how long it takes to charge these cells? Thanks for any and all help and opinions.

You are correct, the 18650's on the U2 are loaded from the head-end.

There are many threads going right now about the U2, including a great overall review by CPF member cheapo. Use the forum search and much will be revealed. You may be surprised to learn that you can use higher capacity unprotected (LG Brand, 2400mAh) cells just fine in your U2 without harm of overdischarge. MattK @ BatteryJunction sells those as well. But, be careful of the charger you use if you're going with unprotected cells. My DSD charger handles them OK.

Since getting my U2 and pulling the plastic body sleeve, it has become one of my favorite lights.

Seriously, there is tons of current info on using the U2 with rechargeables, including exhaustive run time graphs by CPF member chevrofreak who did a spendid job.

Hope this helps,
Bill

cd-card-biz said:

Since getting my U2 and pulling the plastic body sleeve, it has become one of my favorite lights.Hope this helps,
Bill

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Please share your secret on how to get this sleeve out. I have the same and would like to get the sleeve out.

N162E said:

Please share your secret on how to get this sleeve out. I have the same and would like to get the sleeve out.

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Glad you asked! There are a few older threads here about getting the sleeve out, some pretty bizarre.

Here's what finally worked:

Remove the head and tailcap. Place the body in your freezer for 30 minutes. If you are lucky, you will be able to place your little-finger in the body tube and pull the sleeve out. I had to coax it a bit with a flat bladed screwdriver. Anyway, the sleeve came out in-tact and when not using 18650 cells, I can just slide it back in to use 2x123 cells.

I guess this was my first "mod". It was a bit scary freezing my new $200 light body, but the results are spectacular.

For more info, try a forum search - it's all there.

Good luck,
Bill

cd-card-biz said:

Glad you asked!
Remove the head and tailcap. Place the body in your freezer for 30 minutes. If you are lucky, you will be able to place your little-finger in the body tube and pull the sleeve out. I had to coax it a bit with a flat bladed screwdriver. Anyway, the sleeve came out in-tact and when not using 18650 cells, I can just slide it back in to use 2x123 cells.Good luck,
Bill

Click to expand...

Perfect solution!! I had tried this once before but, I don't think I left it in the freezer long enough. After half an hour at 10 below I took it out and with a GENTLE tap on the counter the sleeve fell out. After cleaning the adhesive out with Acetone the sleeve goes in and out freely. Over the last couple of years I re-built a couple computer packs and had 2 extra brand new Panasonic 18650's left over. About time they made themselves useful!!