A2 ?

What brand of RCR123 batteries will fit in the Surefire A2? I have the light purple 800 mah (unprotected) I got from Lighthound but they are just a little to big on the + end.

MP and Powerizer fit in my A2's, though sometimes sizes vary from battery to battery.

Thanks

Is it ok to use RCR123's in an A2?

Other than potential premature burnout of the LED's and the reduced runtime, there have been no ill-effects reported (so far).

Catseye said:

What brand of RCR123 batteries will fit in the Surefire A2? I have the light purple 800 mah (unprotected) I got from Lighthound but they are just a little to big on the + end.

Click to expand...

I have two sets of these batteries which fit in my newer round body A2. It may be hit or miss.

I've cycled these through about 60 times and I'm on my second lamp. No noticeable ill effects.

My AW cells don't fit. Maybe the ones I ordered from fifthunit will...

I also wonder if RCR123's will be harder on different colored LED's. My A2 is Red.

so.... the leds will die from it but the incan won't becuase of the regulation it has?(the buck like regulation)

chesterqw said:

so.... the leds will die from it but the incan won't becuase of the regulation it has?(the buck like regulation)

Click to expand...

The incan will be fine. In theory, the LED's life will be reduced but, like I said, I've seen reports of people using li-ions in their A2's for a long time, and they haven't noticed ill effects.

White LEDs may be the most sensitive to the increased voltage because of how the phosphor might respond. Like greenLED said, the main risk is reducing the life of the LEDs. I have cycled Li-ions through my green A2 close to 150 times now with no problems (other than having to replace the lamp after 60 hours, which was double its advertised life). You could look at it this way, the Li-ions power the incandescent for approximately 30 minutes before they need to be pulled and recharged. So I have saved over $150 in the cost of primary batteries, enough for a new A2. However, my A2 is still going. I'll report here if ever I have any failures from the LEDs, but I don't expect any. TMK, SF uses Nichias which seem to be a bit sturdier than other brands and may be the best choice for driving them above specs.