M60 with 2 x AW RCR123A's???

[bagman]

I have a Malkoff M60 on its way to me and was planning to run it on 2 x AW RCR123A's in a Z2.

Is this a safe set up please?

 

[cqbdude]

yes..it should be...safe..I belive it is rated for 9v..

 

[pbs357]

Yep, per the Malkoff website, it can handle up to 9v. So even at a full charge, your rcr123's will be at 8.4v at max. This is the same setup I use! :twothumbs

 

[Gene43]

Yes it should work great!

Gene

 

[ace0001a]

Keep in mind that you'll get roughly half the runtime with Rechargeable 16340/CR123 batteries as you would with single use primary ones. But the good thing in using rechargeables is the fact that they are rechargeable.

 

[litework]

I agree with everyone's comments. I use AW RCR123s with my Malkoff M60.

 

[ginaz]

But the good thing in using rechargeables is the fact that they are rechargeable.

i agree!

 

[cqbdude]

Keep in mind that you'll get roughly half the runtime with Rechargeable 16340/CR123 batteries as you would with single use primary ones. But the good thing in using rechargeables is the fact that they are rechargeable.

And its also brighter.....

 

[TKO]

And its also brighter.....

It is a regulated module, so as long as input voltage is between 3.8 to 9 volts, light output is the same with primaries or rechargables.

 

[cqbdude]

Oh no...I think its brighter..give it a try....

 

[TKO]

I have a M60 and have run it both on primaries and on Li-Ion.

While in regulation (3.8-9 volt) the output is the same. That's why they call it "regulated".

When you drop out of regulation, the module starts to dim and then you will see a difference in output depending on which battery set dropped out first.:thumbsup:

 

[cqbdude]

Then why does it look so much brighter when I use the RCR123's??

I will have to check it again...

 

[Glow_Worm]

Although it *should* be the same if it was fully regulated, my light meter shows it to be a little more than 10% brighter on RCR123's; 3250 lux w/ RCR123's vs 2920 lux w/ CR123's. With a single 17650, I get 2500 lux. All freshly charged at 4.18v ea., and new CR123's at 2.95v ea.

 

[TKO]

Although it *should* be the same if it was fully regulated, my light meter shows it to be a little more than 10% brighter on RCR123's; 3250 lux w/ RCR123's vs 2920 lux w/ CR123's. With a single 17650, I get 2500 lux. All freshly charged at 4.18v ea., and new CR123's at 2.95v ea.

New CR123's should read more than 2.95 vbat.

 

[precisionworks]

A brand new, fresh out of the box Surefire CR123 will read between 3.245 and 3.250 volts per cell. That is under no load, measured with a Fluke 87-V with recent calibration cert.

 

[Glow_Worm]

I agree that new CR123's should read more than 2.95v. That's what these particular brand new Duracells came out of the package at. But isn't that irrelevant to the issue here? Together they're still going to be well above the threshold value of 3.8v for the M60 module, but they produce less light than the higher voltage RCR123's.

I also tested it with new Titanium CR123's which read 3.1v ea. and got the same results.

This shouldn't be so surprising. Many of the multipower versions of different lights (e.g., DX Ultrafires) run brighter at higher voltages, even though they should be feeding the LED at a constant level.


Edit: I just retested w/ another pair of Titanium primaries @ 3.26v each. Same results, RCR123's were 10-12% brighter than CR123's.

 

[bagman]

It arrived from the USA today and boy does it work with 2 x AW RCR123A's

 

[cqbdude]

Although it *should* be the same if it was fully regulated, my light meter shows it to be a little more than 10% brighter on RCR123's; 3250 lux w/ RCR123's vs 2920 lux w/ CR123's. With a single 17650, I get 2500 lux. All freshly charged at 4.18v ea., and new CR123's at 2.95v ea.

Thank You for confirming...I was starting to think I was imagining things..

 

[ginaz]

i believe some boards go into a direct drive above a certain voltage. maybe so with this one?