L1T and 14500 Li-ion battery

snipinglight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
168
Ok some smart guy or gal please tell me if I can use a 14500 li-ion battery on a L1T fenix torch light. Thanks
 

mtn_dance

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
38
Location
central coastal CA
It is fine. I have the Nekomane 123 body that I got from Fenix-Store (no longer available) and use R123 3.7v batteries.

Check this link:
Note: The input voltage of Fenix L1T is 0.9V-4.0V. Therefore 3.7V protected rechargeable Li-ion battery can be used for Fenix L1T and the brightness can reach to 75 lumens.
 

VidPro

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
5,441
Location
Lost In Space
Suuuure it can (slight sarchasm), but a 14500 can be charged to 4.25, its not a "3.7V" cell.

it seems there are 2 types of ways they will make these curcuits, to boost the alkaline or lithium cell at 1.7V max, and run at about 1.5W, or to handle multiple cells or rechargables. some of it is due to the available PARTS they are using. most of it due to the thing falls completly out of regulation and goes into direct drive (before 4.0V too). some of it due to the light design/metal isnt big enough to dissapate the heat.

if you MUST run a L1T or other lights that are similar (usually asking for a single 1.5v type cell) on a li-ion, do it intermittantally, they will run at more than 3W , and there is not enough heat removal capacity for the led.

or , toss a bit of resistance in, or dont fully charge the cell. its NOT designed for it, i have tested it both with a power supply and in reality within the flashlight, and it can run hot enough to ruin the led, and also burn the curcuit.

now with that said, I DO run my L1t with a 14500, but only intermittantally, i dont do a freewheeling runtime test, it does get hot internally, really warm to the hand. (nothing to lose)

and i Have burnt out leds, in less than 100 hour runtime from running them as hard as this configurations will. but i also will replace everything in it at will, when it dies.

umm, so conclusion, its your call, it WILL run it to hard, it WILL cause it to fail sooner, and the light will be replaced by something else , hopefully before you think its an issue.

ALSO, it runs the Battery above spec, the battery seems to handle it ok.
a protected battey has a bit more resistance than an unprotected, so it will be a bit safer. An unprotected cell will be deep discharged in ANY 1.5V type operating led light, and ruin the cell.

i still say , as i put in the compatability chart thread, its TO HIGH, so generally you would say NO, dont do it. use a lithium primary, it works ok.

surely you have a 15$ ampmeter, take off the end cap, and make the connection, do a little "watts" math | Volts X amps = watts |, and see it yourself.
 
Last edited:

dts71

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
191
I run my L1T with 14500 on the low mode. You don't get a low mode but a slighly lower high. I believe the difference to high is enough though that it would be ok. Even so, I wouldn't worry if the led life went down to a couple of 100 hours. It would still last years for me, and then there are better flashlights down the road...
 

yellow

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
4,631
Location
Baden.at
when the "T" models were "actual" (wow, that was quick),
this question has been fatured very often and there have no problems been reportet.

I did it and it worked (but now the L1D is about same brightness and longer runtime, so ...)
 

dts71

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
191
Update:

Quick check on the DMM:
[email protected] OC Low 400mA, High 1050mA (Hi almost double lux to Lo)
I'd say Low is perfectly safe while Hi should be used with some caution.
 
Top