AW 14500 BATTERY ???

[J-FRAME]

I need one AA light to round out my light stable. I,m looking at a Nitecore EZ AA R2 145 lumen LED. Can this use a AW 14500 safely??Thanks

 

[Rossymeister]

I Dont Own One Personally, But I Saw This On 4Sevens Site:

Caution:

Do not use batteries that exceed 2 volts, as they may permanently damage the flashlight.

 

[SmurfTacular]

Be careful though. I had a 130mW Wicked Laser that supposedly was capable of supporting 2 14500 batteries. It just burnt out.

I tested the batteries myself, those 3.6v batteries can reach upwards of 4.3v EACH.

 

[Emkap]

No. At least mine doesn't. It will turn on at low but no matter how much I tighten it it will only stay at low. I had a Zebralight headlamp act the same way.

 

[Hitthespot]

Be careful though. I had a 130mW Wicked Laser that supposedly was capable of supporting 2 14500 batteries. It just burnt out.

I tested the batteries myself, those 3.6v batteries can reach upwards of 4.3v EACH.

Actually at 3.6v the battery is dead for all practical purposes. Draining the power any lower could permanantly damage the battery. 14500 batteries are fully charged at 4.2 volts.

Bill

 

[Font size]

Re: AW 14500 Cell

You can run AW 14500s safely in your EZ AA. I use high alot and it does not get hot.

looking at a Nitecore EZ AA R2 145 lumen LED. Can this use a AW 14500 safely?

Please for your inspection. It would be nice if there was some way to get all of this stuff together. It is so spread out here that when someone says something, someone else may say the opposite.

UPDATE: The instruction sheet has been updated with new output and runtime specs, and now explicitly supports Li-ion (i.e. 14500).

Revised EZ AA Instructions:

• Battery illustrated as simply "AA" with voltage restriction
• Previous warning against >2V replaced with: "DO NOT use rechargeable Li-ion batteries without safety circuit." (suggesting that protected 14500 IS supported).
• Hi mode is now listed as "130 lumens for up to 50 minutes" (which seems more consistent with my runtime results)
• Lo mode is now listed as "10 lumens for up to 20 hours" (which seems more consistent with my output readings and runtimes)

It is good to see the manual has been brought in line with actual performance. :thumbsup:

UPDATE:.. The new EZ AA now also supports 14500 Li-ion, as shown below:

Definitely a bit brighter on Li-ion than standard batteries, so I don't recommend you run it on Hi for extended periods without cooling. Note also that it was rather difficult to activate Hi on protected 14500 on my sample without using a LOT of twisting force. :caution:

Here are some additional beamshots comparing Hi and Lo on 14500 vs Eneloop:

Output/Runtime Comparison

UPDATE: .. I will continue to update these graphs as the rest of the battery types are tested. Note again that 14500 is now supported on the new EZ AA.

Output/runtime efficiency is certainly acceptable on Hi (actually looks a lot like the Eagletac P10A). But good performance here is not that surprising - there is not really a lot of difference between various 1xAA models when driven maximally.

UPDATE: .. Also notice the particular good Lo runtime on 14500.

Tighten-to-activate twisty lights always have the potential to be battery crushers, so care needs to be used not to over-tighten. Inclusion of the head spring is a good idea, but common sense should still prevail.

Preliminary Observations

The EZ AA certainly lives up to its name - it's an easy to use light. Basically, you could treat it as a single-stage low light, like the Fenix E01 - simply twist to activate. But you also have the option to fully tighten to jump to the max possible output you could reasonably expect on a 1xAA light (on standard batteries).

UPDATE: .. the performance on 14500 is very impressive. :ooo:

Lo output is now a believable 10 lumens on standard batteries. Some may still find this too low for a two-stage light, but I rather like it for keychain carry. For those that want more, Lo output on 14500 is measurably higher for most the time (i.e. 15+ lumens).

The reduced amount of twisting necessary to access Hi from Lo is useful on the new EZ AA. Also, 14500 Li-ion support is a nice addition, as it gives users more options..

 

[mknewman]

I had a Trustfire F20 from KD that was marked 0.8v - 4.5v on the side so yesterday I dropped over to Lighthound and got a AW 14500. Put it in the light and it burned up within about 5 seconds, nasty smell and everything. I've sent a note to KD but am not too hopeful. It's a shame, nice little light, but it was only $13.

May try a Fenix.