18650 cells in a SF 6P

[tomcat017]

Hello,

Anyone know if a SF 6P will accept a 18650 cell? Found diameter specs for the cells, but not for the interior of the 6P. Thanks!

 

[NotRegulated]

No.
You could replace the body with a Leef body designed from the ground up specifically to hold an 18650.

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2616

 

[tomcat017]

Hmm...thanks notregulated. That's not good Are there any rechargeable options from 3.7-6V that can be used in the stock 6P? I was planning on modding one, thinking that a 18650 would fit in there ok.

No.
You could replace the body with a Leef body designed from the ground up specifically to hold an 18650.

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2616

 

[NotRegulated]

A 3.7 volt 17670 cell will fit in perfect. I use one in my 6P with an LED drop-in replacement bulb and or a 3.7 volt incandescent drop-in bulb.

You could also use two 3.7 volt R123's with a 9volt incandescent bulb such as Surefire's P90 and other brands. I believe that there is also an LED option that will take from 3.7 to 9 volts as well, but would have to leave the details up to someone else who knows more about it than I do.

It would help to know what bulb you plan to use in the 6P. One thing for certain is that you will not be able to use the stock P60 bulb.

 

[tomcat017]

Thanks again NR. That was a big help. I was planning on using the new WE cree drop in (3.7-6.0V). Hopefully the runtime wont suffer to badly on the smaller cell. Thanks!! Let me know if you have any other ideas . Appreciate the help!

 

[harddrive]

I have the new WE cree in my 6P with a 17670. It seems just as bright as when the same drop in is in my WE D2 with a 18650. As you mentioned runtime is less with the 17670. I havn't done any test but I would still expect it to be pretty good. The 17670 has about 1/3 less capacity that the 18650. My maths say you should still get a couple of hours of regulated light and a bit of unregulated after that. Plenty for me. If you need more carry an extra 17670. The other option of course is to get your 6P bored to accept a 18650 cell. I believe CPF member "Highorder" will do it for a small fee. Those Leef bodies look great but it is a lot of money. I got a 9P body bored to fit 2 x 18500 cells. It cost me $15 AUD (about $11 USD or so) at a local engineering shop. Was money well spent. I am thinking of getting my 6P done as well.
By the way, I really like te WE cree drop in. Nice and bright with great throw.

 

[tomcat017]

Thanks Harddrive. Great info. I might just get it bored . Does that weaken the tube significantly? This light will likely take a beating. And it's good to hear that you like the WE cree--I don't have it yet. How does it compare to their stock 3.7V D26? Thanks again!

I have the new WE cree in my 6P with a 17670. It seems just as bright as when the same drop in is in my WE D2 with a 18650. As you mentioned runtime is less with the 17670. I havn't done any test but I would still expect it to be pretty good. The 17670 has about 1/3 less capacity that the 18650. My maths say you should still get a couple of hours of regulated light and a bit of unregulated after that. Plenty for me. If you need more carry an extra 17670. The other option of course is to get your 6P bored to accept a 18650 cell. I believe CPF member "Highorder" will do it for a small fee. Those Leef bodies look great but it is a lot of money. I got a 9P body bored to fit 2 x 18500 cells. It cost me $15 AUD (about $11 USD or so) at a local engineering shop. Was money well spent. I am thinking of getting my 6P done as well.
By the way, I really like te WE cree drop in. Nice and bright with great throw.

 

[harddrive]

I am no expert, but I think if the tube is bored by someone competent strength should be no probelm. I haven't used a standard WE 3.7 LA so I can't really compare. I have used surefire P60, AW 3.7 LA and Lumens Factory HO4 which I guess are somewhere in the ball park of a WE 3.7. I find it very hard to compare the cree to these due to the different coloured beams of LED vs Incan. I can say that the CREE is very impressive compared to other 3W LEDs lights I have. I think you will be happy with the CREE.
P.S. - It feels so strange that I am in Australia and had the WE cree before everyone in the USA! Usually we are so behind the times over here.

 

[cy]

I've got a surefire 6P bored for 18650 ready to go.. perfect for P60 dropin LED.

$65 shipped conus, insurance is extra. please PM if interested

Hello,

Anyone know if a SF 6P will accept a 18650 cell? Found diameter specs for the cells, but not for the interior of the 6P. Thanks!

 

[europium]

Although not an expert like some CPF members, I wonder whether it is worth it to pursue "improving" older small form-factor incandescent lights. Current 2xCR123 solutions appear to shifting in favor of LEDs:

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HuntLight FT-01XSE
[/font]

Output: The white light produced by the LED appears ever so slightly purplish relative to direct sunlight, but you'll never notice it in actual use. In a dark room it appears pure white.

By my estimates it is producing about 139 lumens on the High setting, which means it outclasses both the P60 and the brighter P61 incandescent modules used in many Surefire 2x123A lights in terms of lumens output. It also beats them in runtime. It runs for about 1.5 hours regulated with two 123A cells while the P60 runs for about an hour with declining output, and the P61 only runs 20 minutes. By the way, the Low setting with 123A cells produces about 13.9 lumens. See this page about how I calculated these lumen estimates.

With 123A cells, output is regulated until the batteries can no longer supply enough current. It can also use 18650 rechargeable 3.7V Lithium-Ion cells (commonly known as the Pila 600P) to produce diminishing output over time, but longer runtimes....

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The trouble and cost of "upgrading" to an LED drop-in for a 2xCR123 incan light is also often more than it would be worth t[/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]o just get a recent CREE-based light. Eg.,

[/font]Latest 4th generation VB-16: coming soon

 

[harddrive]

Europium

I understand what you are saying. For many users buying a stock cree light would be easier and maybe better value. It all depends on what you intend to use the light for. If it just to use if the power goes out or camping or other "general" use it would be the easy way to go.

However some of use have specific reasons why we want to convert an existing light. I use surefire lights for work (Police officer) and have holsters, lanyards etc all designed for them. Others have specific beam filters, gun mounts, tape switches etc all designed for there current lights. Other little things like reverse clickies turn me off many of the current offerings in "off the shelf" cree based lights.

Some people just love surefire or streamlight or some other particular brand and want to use nothing else. Some people insist on only buying made in USA.

Who knows why we do the things we do................

 

[cy]

main reason for 1x 18650 is to support a P60 drop-in LED module.

Although not an expert like some CPF members, I wonder whether it is worth it to pursue "improving" older small form-factor incandescent lights. Current 2xCR123 solutions appear to shifting in favor of LEDs:

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HuntLight FT-01XSE
[/font] [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The trouble and cost of "upgrading" to an LED drop-in for a 2xCR123 incan light is also often more than it would be worth t[/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]o just get a recent CREE-based light. Eg.,

[/font]Latest 4th generation VB-16: coming soon