Performance (brightness/runtime) of E2L on Lithium Ions

From what I gather, you can run an E2L (KL1 head) on either a 17650/70 or Pila 168S/600S, or use 2 R123As.

Is there a difference in brightness between a single 3.7V cell, the standard 2xCR123 primaries, and 2 R123As? How long before regulation fails or the protection kicks in in each configuration?

I don't really have a "thrower" in my arsenal and was thinking about the E2L (and of course, an E1/FB1 body to go with it), but only if it ran well enough on rechargables. Otherwise I'd just stick with the cheaper SL PP 4xAA.

Thanks.

I havent tried running it for a long period of time, but i briefly tried running one of AW's 17650 cells in it and I didnt notice any deterioration in the output. I would suspect that the runtime wouldnt be bad either. E2Ls arent particularly hard wearing on cells, considering that it runs for a good couple of hours before it even begins dimming.

Can someone please explain the difference between 17650/70, Pila 168s/600s, R123a's?

my current inovas take 123a batteries so I use surefire batteries. These other batteries must be similiar or identical size. Are they better more powerful batteries that will last longer then 123a batteries? How do you know if you can use something other then 123a batteries in a flash light?

I love this thread already.

I have a couple KL1's, in the form of a E1L and E2L.

Both on Li-Ions, and happy to say it.

They work flawlessly on them for me, the E1L i get 1:15 hours and the E2L i get 2:30 till lights out.

Now i only have ran mine down till out twice, probably 10-15 charges inbetween and same run times.

Otherwise every other night they get charged and spares go into the lights.

Output, darn straight thier putting out more, the E1L is what the E2L would be on primaries or a little better, the E2L is aswell putting out more, not as much as a gain however as the E1L recieves, but still i swear i see it.

The Heads are reported capable of 3x123 primaries, and i feel safe running them hot off charger on 2XR123 protected 4.2's.
I pay strict attention to the E2L's batteries staying matched pairs and noted arrangement, FOREVER.

So (I) wouldn't bother with a single cell in the E2L over my 2xR123's, it barely is losing any runtime to the primaries before they would drop out of reg in another 30 minutes and start dimming, where as i am on my second set of Li-Ions and guilt free, two sets equals atleast 5 hours in it.

I know , i know the run time is no 6 hours, but mine never ever seen 6 hour run time on primaries, it comes out of reg far before then and dims. To me, that is noticeable and warrants me swapping out with fresh batts, this costs money. With my Li-Ions, i am VERY HAPPY as this lends to money spent on primaries now going to other things.

Per piece the Li-Ions, were cheaper then per piece primaries bought at my local pricing.Not versus online however, but for the price i could buy these and use them 9 times and throw them out and still be on par with primaries and my usage. Note i dont like dimming lights, no regulation, means i am switching out batteries.

I use my lights for everything now, seriously, no nagging feeling on the wallet each time you light up anymore.

If one can use the light properties of an KL1, they are great lights for modularity and power capability for a stock head.


Happy blazing.

IF

CyByte said:

Can someone please explain the difference between 17650/70, Pila 168s/600s, R123a's?

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Pila's batteries are basically the same as the other ones, just with their own names (and higher price). The 17650 battery is 17mm diameter X 65mm long. More info here.

R123As are rechargable CR123A size cells, but not every light can use them. These have a nominal voltage of 3.6-3.7V, but can be up to 4.2V hot off the charger. This could instantly fry a light that wasn't designed for it, or cause it to run way to hot and damage it that way. R123As won't even fit in some lights. There are 3.0V lithium ion R123As, and if they fit in your light, they should work fine, albeit at a much shorter runtime. Lithium CR123A batteries are typically 1300mAh capacity, while li-ions are typically 700-750mAh (the 3.0V ones are 700). This may or may not be OK for you, depending on how long you need them to last before recharging (ie: don't want it to go dead mid-shift).

Lithium Ion batteries come in 2 flavors, protected and unprotected. Unprotected cells are typically slightly more efficient as they're unrestricted by protection circuitry. IMO, they're not worth bothering with unless you must use them (unpros can fit in some flashlights where pros can't). If there's a short, or you drain them too much, you can not only damage the cell and ruin its usability, but they can actually spout flame and even explode. Same if you reverse the polarity in a light or on the charger. Protected lithium ion cells won't do this. Creating a short or draining them to a nearly-dangerous level will cause the protection to kick in, and the cell is unusable until you pop it back in the charger.

Thanks for those figures IonFire. One question though; when the batteries die, do they dim and dwindle, or do they cut off instantly? On my McLux PD, the battery simply cuts out, but on the Rainier or FF3, they dwindle for quite a long time (~45 minutes of good brightness, but with a tail that lasts a good 1:15 past that point), getting very, very dim, but not shutting down.

Yes its lights out instantly on protected.

But we all here have back up lights so we can change out, if we need the extra light to do it right.

For shame if we dont lol



IF

Actually I prefer it if it simply cuts out. Means it's regulating properly. I keep my rechargables topped off, and have backup cells in my backpack if need be, as well as my keychain light (which has a backup cell as well). Actually, most of the time I'm quintuple redundant, since I have an 85/55/35 lumen bike light and I'm usually riding my bike if I'm out of the house.

can rechargables or these larger batteries be used in an Inova T3?

CyByte: can rechargables or these larger batteries be used in an Inova T3?

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I have a T3 and use AW:s protected 17670 but i had to make the batterytube wider with sandpaper mounted on a rod and i used a drillingmachine to make the job.

It is a little dimmer than primary cells but not much.

Anders