IMR26500 Fitment [pictures added]

[ElectronGuru]

I absolutely love the new IMR16340, what a tiny powerhouse. So much, that I've been quietly (and not so quietly) building an ecosystem with this cell and its big brother, the IMR26500. But the larger cell is proving to be a scooch to big in the diameter department.


Breaking out my entire C sized collection, here are the results:

• FiveMega 2C - won't go in
• Newer black Mag 2C - stuck (pictured)
• Newer pewter Mag 2C - stuck
• Newer violet Mag 2C - stuck
• Newer HA (was black) Mag 2C - stuck
• Newer black Mag 3C - stuck
• Older (pre 2001) purple Mag 2C - snug (pictured)
• Older (pre 2001) pewter Mag 3C - stuck
• Older (pre 2001) green Mag 3C - stuck

With the recent demise of our beloved AW protected C, we need some fixes for AW's newest super C cell.

A few pictures that show clear hieght differences and very little girth differences.

Please note, the IMR cell is not as tall as it appears.
The top button is actually recessed inside the flexible orange collar.

Here's the old/purple body that holds and the new/black body that sticks

 

[wquiles]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

As soon as I get my cells I will report on how much internal boring might be needed

Will

 

[csshih]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

just a weeeee bit, apparently, if they;re just getting stuck on a few.

 

[737mech]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Brand new Mag 2C Pewter I could not get my new AW 26500 cells in without force. They were so tight it was creating a vacuum. I had to take apart the light and sand the tube. It took me about 15 -20 minutes of sanding with my cordless drill and a long mandrel with a medium grit sanding drum installed. They fit great now!

 

[wquiles]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Brand new Mag 2C Pewter I could not get my new AW 26500 cells in without force. They were so tight it was creating a vacuum. I had to take apart the light and sand the tube. It took me about 15 -20 minutes of sanding with my cordless drill and a long mandrel with a medium grit sanding drum installed. They fit great now!

That is what I am expecting to find, that taking 1 to 2 mills will be enough. The great thing about it, is that taking that small amount of metal is (as you found out) easy to do with hand tools - no fancy lathe needed

Will

 

[Bones]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

To make the job go a little quicker, Sears has this 21.4 to 50.8mm cylinder hone on sale for 3.97:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00904656000P
.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Dumb question but I wonder why they did not keep the max. cell dia. to the C cell standard?

Could it be the casing is the correst size but they used really thick(heavy duty) sleeving(lable) material? I know I have stripped cells in the past and used thinner heatskrink on them to get the dia. down. Common heatshrink runs from about 0.006 to 0.012".


Then againg perhaps it is the Mag's fault. My very old 5 C Cell has no problem with the LiFePO4 26650 cells I use and they are 1.035

My C cell Mag's bore is 1.050" and is serial # 50127491, an oldie but a goodie.

 

[rjr104]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Does anyone have the new battery to mic? Mine are on order but not here yet. I took some duct tape and wrapped it around a duracell and got 1.025 to work on the new pewter and old (no c prefix) silver with reliability. My new purple is a no-go.

 

[willrx]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Very helpful information, thanks for posting. Has anyone tested an older style Maglite-no letter in the SN?

 

[ElectronGuru]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Dumb question but I wonder why they did not keep the max. cell dia. to the C cell standard?

Could it be the casing is the correct size but they used really thick(heavy duty) sleeving(lable) material? I know I have stripped cells in the past and used thinner heatskrink on them to get the dia. down. Common heatshrink runs from about 0.006 to 0.012".

Entire ecosystems of custom and customized hosts and parts have formed up around AWs previous C efforts. In those cases, there were specific and important reasons for the size differences. This is likely the case here, just for different reasons.

I'm hoping you are right and that changes to the shrink wrap will magic bullet this problem.

Has anyone tested an older style Maglite-no letter in the SN?

Yes, all three of my older (pre 2001) are no C in the serial number. One of them (the true purple) is natively wide enough, but I still need an anchor magnet to pull out the cells. The others, old and new, require removing the switch.

 

[737mech]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Does anyone have the new battery to mic? Mine are on order but not here yet. I took some duct tape and wrapped it around a duracell and got 1.025 to work on the new pewter and old (no c prefix) silver with reliability. My new purple is a no-go.

Just measured my AW C cell
Width= 1.033"
Height= 1.955"

 

[cmacclel]

WOW!

What good is a "C" cell if it don't fit in a "C" body

Bummer!

If anyone needs boring done you can always ask one of the guys

Mac

 

[wquiles]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Just measured my AW C cell
Width= 1.033"
Height= 1.955"

My old body "C" measured about 1.050", and two of my new ones measured at 1.035", while the 3rd (which has been HAIII) measured 1.039", so as noted earlier there is variability from body to body. It definitely looks a tad "tight" for the new "C" bodies.

Those who measured the new cells, can you post all measurements for each cell that you got? I would like to know how much variance do we have cell to cell as well

Will

 

[ElectronGuru]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

Those who measured the new cells, can you post all measurements for each cell that you got? I would like to know how much variance do we have cell to cell as well

Just measured my AW C cell
Width= 1.033"
Height= 1.955"

In early tests, I noticed that the - end goes in easier than the + end. In subsequent tests, the cells are thickest above and below the channel/groove near the top (+ end). Where on the cell does the 1.033 measurement come from?

 

[737mech]

Re: IMR26500 Fitment

From its widest part on the + end. The width of course varies just a bit and this was my widest measurement.

edit:
just remeasured:
+ end = 1.033"
- end = 1.032"
center = 1.032"

 

[QtrHorse]

On my two 26500 cells, the negative side is just a tad more narrow than the positive side. The NEG side will slightly slide in the C Mag tube but gets stuck about 1/4 of the way in, the POS side will not go in at all.

My blue/ purplish Mag C is 26.26mm/ 1.034in ID.

1st 26500 cell = 50mm/ 1.964 L X 26.24mm/ 1.0325in W
2nd 26500 cell = 49.97mm/ 1.9675in L X 26.22mm/ 1.0325 W

I was holding/ putting pressure on the caliper when I took the measurements. That must be the reason they would not fit inside my Mag C because it is about .04mm wider than the most narrow cell I have.

I cut a very small pc of the shrink wrap from one cell and it measured .20mm thick on my cheap $40 digital caliper. If you removed the shrink wrap completely, one might gain an additional .40mm and that should make the 26500 cell usable in a Mag C tube .

 

[wquiles]

On my two 26500 cells, the negative side is just a tad more narrow than the positive side. The NEG side will slightly slide in the C Mag tube but gets stuck about 1/4 of the way in, the POS side will not go in at all.

My blue/ purplish Mag C is 26.26mm/ 1.034in ID.

1st 26500 cell = 50mm/ 1.964 L X 26.24mm/ 1.0325in W
2nd 26500 cell = 49.97mm/ 1.9675in L X 26.22mm/ 1.0325 W

I was holding/ putting pressure on the caliper when I took the measurements. That must be the reason they would not fit inside my Mag C because it is about .04mm wider than the most narrow cell I have.

I cut a very small pc of the shrink wrap from one cell and it measured .20mm thick on my cheap $40 digital caliper. If you removed the shrink wrap completely, one might gain an additional .40mm and that should make the 26500 cell usable in a Mag C tube .

Thanks for the additional data points. I would be weary of removing the shrink wrap - unless you replace it with some other thin isolator like Kapton tape or something similar:
http://www.kaptontape.com/

Also, on most all calipers, measurement past the 1 mill is beyond the accuracy of the device (never mind that the display shows you 1/2 mill resolution). You really need a micrometer to get accurate, repeatable measurements at the 1 mill or less.

Will

 

[QtrHorse]

No matter how much pressure I put on the caliper, it would not move from .20mm when I measured the thickness of the shrink wrap. I figured it was not all that accurate at that range. Now your going to make me dig out my micrometer to get a correct thickness.

I personally am not going to remove the shrink wrap because the red/ orange color looks so nice.


Edit;

I just checked and the new IMR26500 cells do not fit in my Fivemega Surefire C head/ C cell body lights.:mecry:

I have two of these bodies (1C and 2C) and no batteries to fit in them. I guess it's back to begging for someone to sell me a few of the older AW C cells.

I'm betting the added thickness was just a tool die mistake on the molds. I'm no battery expert but I don't see why the 26500 would not work being the same thickness (.5mm thinner) as the old cells.

 

[LIGHTSMAD]

WOW!

What good is a "C" cell if it don't fit in a "C" body

Bummer!

If anyone needs boring done you can always ask one of the guys

Mac

i have 2X 2C MAG's and 1X FM 2C...can you pm me for boring them.

im ordring 26500's and should have them on thurs!

 

[ElectronGuru]

Throwing caution to the wind, I through two IMR26500's, fresh off the charger at a few bulbs:

ROP Low - good
ROP High -
WA 1111 -
Philips 5761 -