yay, finally switched over to rechargeables

Yah, finally manage to make a dummy cr123 so i can convert all my lights to rechargaebles. had rcr123s locally and the only thing still on primaries was my lux 5 pr and my kl4, no one made dummy cells here so had to scratch build it out of putty and a metal rod, its rough but finally, i can have true guilt free lumen



the image shows the rcr123, the dummy 123 and the metal rod i used
the dummy was built from polyster putty (i do modelling work),
bit rough but i wish i have a lathe to machine things

At the risk of exposing the true depth of my ignorance, why do you need the dummy cell?

At any rate, nice work. I love to see creative homemade solutions to real problems.
:goodjob:

looks very nice roguesw, :thumbsup:

rando, thanks no worries mate, we all ask questions, those who dont ask miss out on things
as for the dummy 123,
my lux 5 Pr and the KL4 will not run on more than 6 Volts (2x123) and i only have 2 cell bodies.
my rcr123 are 3.7 volts hot off the charger, so running two of them will net 7.2 volts, it will blow the drivers in the Pr and the KL4
so to be on the safe side i made the dummy so that i can still run rcr123
because the drivers in the Pr and the KL4 are boost circuit, it can run if the cell has a voltage higher than 3 volts. at 3 volts its barely lit, but on 3.7 volts, its at full brightness, just minus the run time,
hope this helps
cheers
des

I see. I thought the rechargables had a lower voltage, so you would be able to use two rechargable cells as direct replacements for non-rechargables. Admittedly, I was basing this off of the 1.2v NiMH aa opposed to 1.5v Alkaline aa. Is this a lithium only issue or should I reduce the number of cells if I'm using NiMH to replace alkalines? What if it's direct drive without any circutry to damage?

I will mourn for anpther flashaholic brother lost to the Li-Ion devil ... :nana:

BTW ... there are one-cell bodies for the E-Series out there ... aplenty!

bernie

rando, i believe in this case its the driver dictating what voltage i could and couldnt run. i really depends on how the luxeon is setup, if you have a direct drive, best to investigate how u want to use nimh chemistry and how to set it up.
yes, with the regular rcr123, they come off the charger at 3.7 volts, however, jsburlys and awr sell rcr that are rated at exactly 3.0 volts and there are many battery sizes today as well as voltages that makes it so much fun trying to come up with new options for power.

kiessling, come over to the dark side (li ion side)
i am resisting the temptation of the 1x123 size, its so hard, its a daily struggle,
but i have to keep higher goals in mind (modding kl4 )
btw, your obsession with the Mclux series and the PR head is one of the reason why i have two Mcluxs for 2x123 type bodies i still envy ur golden dragon from the early days of the mclux evolution,
Des

roguesw,

That's cool. Is this 'polyster putty' available at hobby shops or is it's use just an 'insider's trick' used by those who do modeling for a living? I'd like to experiment with some.

Thanks

sub umbra, no insider trick, just regular polyster putty from the model shop
easy to use,
just apply small amounts and build up your cylindrical shape, when you reach desired diameter, sand smooth and you're good to go
or the faster way would be, find a cylinder similar in diameter to the cell you want
fill with the putty, then insert rod and let dry.
alternative to polyster putty is epoxy or even plasticine that air dries.
have fun
des