cheap, bright 17670 light

[the_beast]

I've just cracked open a dead laptop battery pack, and I'm now the proud owner of 8 unprotected 17670s.

My question is: what do I do now?

I want to buy a cheap (sub $50, hopefully lower - I know I'm being a cheapskate but I've already bought 17 flashlights in the last 4 weeks so I can't afford more) yet hopefully decent light I can run them in. If possible I'd like the light regulated so it'll drop out of regulation before I overdischarge my cells as I don't want to ruin them.

What cheap regulated 2x123 lights are there that will run well on a 17670?

 

[NoFair]

The VB-16 will run well on 17670s or 18650s or 2 cr123s... It's about $45 and are sold in the dealers corner. You might want to check out the CPF LE 16 level flashlight in the group buy section. More or less the same light, but it has a higher max output, is engraved and you sponsor CPF when buying one. These lights use a LuxIII and can be adjusted from dim to very bright.

I would check to see how good shape your 17670s are. I tore open a almost dead battery-pack and 3 of the 9 cells were dead, while the others work pretty well.

Sverre

 

[the_beast]

As soon as I get myself near a multimeter I'll be testing them, and trying to charge any that don't appear completely dead. The pack only powers the laptop for about 5 mins so I don't expect more than half the cells to make it, but any that do will be a bonus.

The CPF special seems a bit pricey. Are there any cheaper options?

 

[NoFair]

Many lights that use 3AAA battery carriers can use 17670s or 18650s, but you won't know until you've tried.

Quite a few 2 cr123 lights will work nicely with one 17670, but again you have to ask the dealer who sells them.

I would recommend flashlightreviews.com for reviews of lights and a table listing what lights will work with Pilas (protected Li-ion cells of different sizes, like 17670s, 18650s) 2 cell lights that work with Pilas should work with your 17670 cells.

Sverre

 

[chevrofreak]

I cracked open a laptop battery pack that had 9 17670's in it. It had 3 parallel sets of 3 cells in series. Two of the cells were FUBAR, and the 3rd had a low voltage so I tossed it just to be safe. They only hold about 3/5 the energy of a 1400mAh pila 168S though.

There are no lights I know of that will run in regulation with the low voltage of a 17670, but my Inova X03 shuts down before the cell gets too discharged.