which batteries?

a while back i was told by the local gun shop not to use anything but surefire batteries in the lights since they can overheat the bulb and casue it to blow. i thought it was bs, but sure enough it happened. this was before the led craze and it was with an incandescent model. but my question is. will this only happen with the incan bbulbs, or is it likely to happen with the leds as well? i have received many led lights with other brand batteries so im wondering if this is the case. thanks

Hmm....I've used many brands of CR123s.....such as Surefire, Batterystation, Titanium, Duracell Ultra, Energizer, GE/Sanyo, Panasonic, and Streamlight batteries in my lights.

My lights range from Surefires (a2 and 9p) to an Inova X5, brinkmann maxfire, dorcy super 1 watt.

The only issue with batteries I have ever had was with my A2 and Batterystation brand cells. They cause the light to strobe intermittingly after being used in the incan only mode for extended periods. I am assuming it is because the BS brand cells apparently cannot sustain the current draw the regulator in the A2's incan circuit is demanding, and heat up.

Other than that, I haven't had any problems.

dragoman

the one that it happened to for me was the m3. it was pretty crazy to see it pop. i think i was using kodak batteries at the time, but i have used kodak batteries regularly in my gladius and never had a problem, and as i said in another thread, it has gone off several times during edc and been on for god knows how long and been hot as hell, but the bulb hasn't burned out. im thinking that the heat sink in the leds prevents it from happening versus the incans. but i want to check with the pros.

maybe it was just a coincidence... If it has many hours of use on it- then it may have just popped because it was time to pop... Surefire lamps are rated for (i think) ~20 hours runtime... I find it hard to believe that different brands of 3V primaries could overdrive the lamp to the point of popping... Many folks here drive 9V lamps with a pair of lithium ions, and in lamps that are considered "high current" this actually drives them harder than 3x3v primaries would.

there have been a number of posts stating that mixing battery brands, or mixing old and new batteries in the light will cause them to explode..

I don't think we are talking about mixing brands, just using different brands. I hope we all know that mixing brands within the torch is a bad idea.

What you experienced was more likely a coincidence. You're correct in assuming it was BS. I wouldn't rely on any information given you by a store clerk. (bear in mind that if they really knew what they were talking about, they'd probably be working elsewhere.) The other factor to take into account is that Surefire is not in the business of manufacturing batteries, they just have their label slapped onto a battery made by one of the major manufacturers, just as Kodak does (and many other brands.)

s.duff said:

a while back i was told by the local gun shop not to use anything but surefire batteries in the lights since they can overheat the bulb and casue it to blow. i thought it was bs, but sure enough it happened. this was before the led craze and it was with an incandescent model. but my question is. will this only happen with the incan bbulbs, or is it likely to happen with the leds as well? i have received many led lights with other brand batteries so im wondering if this is the case. thanks

Click to expand...

thanks for the info guys. i knew you all would know the answer