Quark 123^2 and AA^2 head swap

[LumaNaughty]

I just got into flashlights over the Christmas holidays and picked up a Quark AA^2 and a few days later a 123^2 (hid that one from the wife, she can't tell them apart). I have been reading the forums everyday, this has been a lot more addictive then I would have ever realized.

I have been thinking about going with a 17670 as a rechargeable and using the AA^2 head on the 123^2 body.

As for the 123^2 head I was thinking about putting that on the AA^2 body and using 2 14500 batteries. Will this work? Seems like the volts would be inline (2 x 3.6v = 7.2v) and the range for the 123^2 head is 3v to 9v.

Any thoughts on switching the head on the 123^2 and AA^2 and running the li-ions? Input would be greatly appreciated. I know the risks of li-ions and have done gas rc-cars with li-polies in the past.

I think the next light is going to be a xpg version of the zebralight, when they come out. My wife was wanting a headlamp for reading/knitting and it would justify me getting something else for myself.

 

[PJD]

Voltage wise it should work fine. However, the extra length of the 14500 cells might be an issue. A regular AA cell is right at 50mm, and an AW 14500 cell is just a hair below 52mm in length, making the overall length of 2 14500 cells almost 4mm longer than 2 regular AA cells. I've been trying to run my Quark RGB head on a Quark AA^2 body using 2X14500 LIon cells, but the extra cell length causes a contact issue that results in the memory function not working. It may work just fine with the Quark 123^2 head, but for me it's definitely an issue as far as the RGB head is concerned. YMMV...hope that helped!

PJD

BTW... :welcome:

 

[Morelite]

Just be carefull and don't mix the heads up and acidentally put the 2xAA head on the 2x14500s or on the 2x123 body with 2 123s in it.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

I have been thinking about going with a 17670 as a rechargeable and using the AA^2 head on the 123^2 body.

My 17670's arrived today and that's precisely what I'm doing right now until my 132-2 head gets here in the next few days (I hope). It works really well.

I've bought one of every tube available and I'll soon have a 123-2 head as well as my AA2 head so I can make any combination I like but as the last chap wisely said, gotta remember not to accidently use two high voltage batteries in series on that AA2 head.

 

[pjandyho]

Why don't you just get 2 RCR123s to run in the 123^2 instead? Is the run time more inferior compared to running the 17670 using the AA^2 head? How about output difference?

EDIT to add: I am currently running 2 AW RCR123 on my Quark 123^2 neutral white and they are working fine in my opinion. Run time seems very good and seems to last the whole night of usage switching between medium and turbo levels although I did not really do a run time test on turbo.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

Why don't you just get 2 RCR123s to run in the 123^2 instead? Is the run time more inferior compared to running the 17670 using the AA^2 head? How about output difference?

EDIT to add: I am currently running 2 AW RCR123 on my Quark 123^2 neutral white and they are working fine in my opinion. Run time seems very good and seems to last the whole night of usage switching between medium and turbo levels although I did not really do a run time test on turbo.

Personally, the reason I won't do it is I've been way to scared off by horror stories on here of having to match rechargeable Li-ion cells in multi cell applications and hearing of mismatched ones firing up or exploding so with my first step into the murky waters of the Li-ion rechargeable ocean I'm sticking to single cells unless and until my confidence grows a bit.

 

[CaseyS]

I've been using a 17670 with a NW A head on a 123^2 body for several months as my EDC and think it's a great combination. The 17670 is a tight enough fit that I have to take both the head and tail off to push the battery out, but it's not so tight that it's ripping the battery cover.

 

[pjandyho]

Personally, the reason I won't do it is I've been way to scared off by horror stories on here of having to match rechargeable Li-ion cells in multi cell applications and hearing of mismatched ones firing up or exploding so with my first step into the murky waters of the Li-ion rechargeable ocean I'm sticking to single cells unless and until my confidence grows a bit.

You don't really have to worry if you get protected cells. AW RCR123s are very reliable and at most it would just do an "auto shutdown" when the safety feature cuts in.

Anyway, your use of 2 14500 Li Ion in the AA^2 body is no difference too. They are all running at around 4.2V each when fully charged, whether RCR123s or 14500 (AA). So what are the differences?

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

Anyway, your use of 2 14500 Li Ion in the AA^2 body is no difference too. They are all running at around 4.2V each when fully charged, whether RCR123s or 14500 (AA). So what are the differences?

nah, that's not me doing that, that's the original poster's plan, I just jumped in on his thread to say I'm doing 17670 on AA2 in a 123-2 tube and it works great.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

I've been using a 17670 with a NW A head on a 123^2 body for several months as my EDC and think it's a great combination. The 17670 is a tight enough fit that I have to take both the head and tail off to push the battery out, but it's not so tight that it's ripping the battery cover.

What I have been doing is to take off the tailcap and hold the light upside down in my fist and bang the back corner of my fist down hard onto my palm (not hitting the torch though) and I find the battery pops out about a quarter of an inch of an inch and I can grab it and slide it out. Beats opening her up at both ends which I reckon would drive me bananas.

 

[LumaNaughty]

Just be carefull and don't mix the heads up and acidentally put the 2xAA head on the 2x14500s or on the 2x123 body with 2 123s in it.

Yeah, too bad they don't label the heads with the voltage ranges on them...

 

[CaseyS]

What I have been doing is to take off the tailcap and hold the light upside down in my fist and bang the back corner of my fist down hard onto my palm (not hitting the torch though) and I find the battery pops out about a quarter of an inch of an inch and I can grab it and slide it out. Beats opening her up at both ends which I reckon would drive me bananas.

That worked for me too. Thanks for the tip.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Yeah, too bad they don't label the heads with the voltage ranges on them...

On the brass-color ring next to the threads in the head, mine says:

"QAA-2T"
and
[serial]

I believe the other types are labeled similarly, although I'm not sure exactly what they say. I hope that helps with "What's this head expecting" questions.

QAA-whatever will be .9-4.2v. I don't know if there's a Q123-1 designation. The 3-9v one is likely to say Q1232 or something. What do yours say?

 

[LumaNaughty]

QAA-whatever will be .9-4.2v. I don't know if there's a Q123-1 designation. The 3-9v one is likely to say Q1232 or something. What do yours say?

I just looked at both my 123^2 and AA^2 and they don't have any writing on the heads, Mine are XPG R5 versions. However, the circuit boards are noticeably different in each of them.

As a side note I find myself carrying around the 123^2 a lot more. I like the size and look of it a lot more...

 

[Vesper]

LumaNaughty, :welcome:

Love your username.

 

[LumaNaughty]

LumaNaughty, :welcome:

Love your username.

Thank you, I was watching Angles and Demons (good movie) last weekend while surfing the forums. Thought it would be a good fit...

 

[Morelite]

On the brass-color ring next to the threads in the head, mine says:

"QAA-2T"
and
[serial]

I believe the other types are labeled similarly, although I'm not sure exactly what they say. I hope that helps with "What's this head expecting" questions.

QAA-whatever will be .9-4.2v. I don't know if there's a Q123-1 designation. The 3-9v one is likely to say Q1232 or something. What do yours say?

Yep, I just checked my single AA Ti XP-G model and it is marked QAA (along with a long serial? number) in very small laser etched letters on the outer brass ring near the battery contact.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

I put an orange dab of paint on a blank part of the circuit board just so I can be sure at a glance.