A few P3D questions

npkeith · Oct 1, 2007

I've had my eye on a Fenix P2- or P3D for the last few weeks (probably one of the premium rebels, but I might go for the CE models). Anyway, I had a few questions -

1) I've been lead to believe that rechargble cr123's are not a great choice - they go to a high enough voltage that you lose the low mode on the flashlight, and then when they drop enough to give access to all the modes, they are almost dead. Has anyone noticed this, and is there an alternative? I'm also really confused by the list of different battery models - I understand that an 18650 is supposed to be equivalent to 2 cr123's, but it is a little fatter and won't fit into a P3D. Is there another rechargeable that I can use to replace 2 cr123s?

2) I currently carry a Taskforce 1w (POS from Lowes) on my belt at work - I'm a nurse practitioner and I need a light for the "open up and say aah" stuff. Unfortunately, the ~20 lumens it puts out is too much to shine in someone's eyes at close range to check their pupils, and too dim for some of the holes I have to look into (lets just say I work for a surgical service and leave it at that - OK?) I'm thinking that an adjustable P3D is a good choice - right?

3) Speaking of belts - the holster that comes with a P3D has a belt loop right? In the pictures I can only see the nylon lanyard loop-looking thing at the top.

Khaytsus · Oct 1, 2007

npkeith said:
I've had my eye on a Fenix P2- or P3D for the last few weeks (probably one of the premium rebels, but I might go for the CE models). Anyway, I had a few questions -

1) I've been lead to believe that rechargble cr123's are not a great choice - they go to a high enough voltage that you lose the low mode on the flashlight, and then when they drop enough to give access to all the modes, they are almost dead. Has anyone noticed this, and is there an alternative? I'm also really confused by the list of different battery models - I understand that an 18650 is supposed to be equivalent to 2 cr123's, but it is a little fatter and won't fit into a P3D. Is there another rechargeable that I can use to replace 2 cr123s?

2) I currently carry a Taskforce 1w (POS from Lowes) on my belt at work - I'm a nurse practitioner and I need a light for the "open up and say aah" stuff. Unfortunately, the ~20 lumens it puts out is too much to shine in someone's eyes at close range to check their pupils, and too dim for some of the holes I have to look into (lets just say I work for a surgical service and leave it at that - OK?) I'm thinking that an adjustable P3D is a good choice - right?

3) Speaking of belts - the holster that comes with a P3D has a belt loop right? In the pictures I can only see the nylon lanyard loop-looking thing at the top.

The P3D does not have any such problem with RC123's, the P2D does.

The P3D has fairly low Low beam (9 lumens), but it might still be too much. It might be a good idea to have a separate light with a lower output. Programmable/adjustable levels would be very nice on a Fenix, however.

Grun · Oct 1, 2007

npkeith said:
I've had my eye on a Fenix P2- or P3D for the last few weeks (probably one of the premium rebels, but I might go for the CE models). Anyway, I had a few questions -

1) I've been lead to believe that rechargble cr123's are not a great choice - they go to a high enough voltage that you lose the low mode on the flashlight, and then when they drop enough to give access to all the modes, they are almost dead. Has anyone noticed this, and is there an alternative? I'm also really confused by the list of different battery models - I understand that an 18650 is supposed to be equivalent to 2 cr123's, but it is a little fatter and won't fit into a P3D. Is there another rechargeable that I can use to replace 2 cr123s?

2) I currently carry a Taskforce 1w (POS from Lowes) on my belt at work - I'm a nurse practitioner and I need a light for the "open up and say aah" stuff. Unfortunately, the ~20 lumens it puts out is too much to shine in someone's eyes at close range to check their pupils, and too dim for some of the holes I have to look into (lets just say I work for a surgical service and leave it at that - OK?) I'm thinking that an adjustable P3D is a good choice - right?

3) Speaking of belts - the holster that comes with a P3D has a belt loop right? In the pictures I can only see the nylon lanyard loop-looking thing at the top.

Probably best if you bought a simple pen light from the med bookstore for checking dilated pupils. P3D would be too much even at the lowest setting.

willrx · Oct 1, 2007

Belt loop-yes.

StandardBattery · Oct 1, 2007

I'd consider the P1D for it's small size and easier interface (some would debate). You'll neeed a different light to check pupils though as several have pointed out.

CandlePowerForumsUser · Oct 1, 2007

Q. Is there another rechargeable that I can use to replace 2 cr123s?

A. I think you can run 17670 on the p3d.

olrac · Oct 2, 2007

Khaytsus said:
The P3D does not have any such problem with RC123's, the P2D does.

The P3D has fairly low Low beam (9 lumens), but it might still be too much. It might be a good idea to have a separate light with a lower output. Programmable/adjustable levels would be very nice on a Fenix, however.

My P3D Premium is also fine with RC123's

wild68fury · Oct 2, 2007

I would recommend the P2D RB80.
https://www.fenix-store.com/product...d=327&osCsid=3f6ab780050373a27069a9a1c493595a
My P3D RB100 is too bright for my eyes even at the lowest setting. I use an old Inova X1 for checking pupils. :duh2: I think it is one watt like your Task Force but I do not remember it being too bright. The new Inova X1 is 2 watts and is probabally too bright so I would look at the P2D RB80.

Curious_character · Oct 2, 2007

CandlePowerForumsUser said:
Q. Is there another rechargeable that I can use to replace 2 cr123s?

A. I think you can run 17670 on the p3d.

The P3D won't run very long on a 17670 before it starts flickering. It doesn't get anywhere near the whole charge out of the battery.

c_c

Steve L · Oct 2, 2007

As other people have pointed out the P3D is too bright on low to shine in your eyes and it has the lowest low of the fenix's. I would suggest a Novatac 85P or 120P. They are programmable with a low as low as .08 lumens.

npkeith · Oct 2, 2007

Well, I just found an ancient solitaire incan at the back of a desk drawer - new AAA, works great. I can use that for pupil checks. I love the idea of a NovaTac EDC 120P, maybe tricked out with a PEU bezel and some trits...

Now if only I could persuade my wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed or SWMBO) that its OK to spend $150 on a flashlight....

But honey, its a *really good* flashlight - I can find it in the dark, and its tough... What? No, I'm not going to be in any situations where I need a tactical flashlight...But its *really* cool! Honey? Why are you laughing?

-Keith

Khaytsus · Oct 2, 2007

olrac said:
My P3D Premium is also fine with RC123's

erm, yes, that's what I said.

faucon · Oct 4, 2007

Curious_character said:
The P3D won't run very long on a 17670 before it starts flickering. It doesn't get anywhere near the whole charge out of the battery.

c_c

Hmmm, my P3D only flickers sometimes when I use 17670s, and then only on turbo, when it looks almost strobelike when flickering. So far I haven't noticed flickering at all with RCR123As in any mode.

jeremyison05 · Oct 4, 2007

My P3D runs fine on most RCR123's. However the MP brand sold by lighthound are a little loose fitting, and it causes the light to flicker some. However be assured this is not a voltage issue, but a contact issue. It works fine however with AW's protected batteries that are a little longer (I think height was the issue).

Curious_character · Oct 4, 2007

faucon said:
Hmmm, my P3D only flickers sometimes when I use 17670s, and then only on turbo, when it looks almost strobelike when flickering. So far I haven't noticed flickering at all with RCR123As in any mode.

Sorry, I was referring to turbo mode. It should run considerably longer on lower modes, but it'll still leave a lot of charge in the battery. The problem is that the voltage of a single freshly charged 17670 is barely enough for it, and at the heavy drain of the turbo mode it'll drop below the low-voltage threshold pretty quickly. How long it takes depends on the forward voltage of the individual LED. The couple of Q5 LEDs I've tried so far have a higher voltage (by about 0.3 volt) than most of the P4 LEDs, so when I modded my P3 with a Q5, it started flickering earlier. The time to flickering was 20 minutes with a P4 emitter, 12 with the Q5.

On lower modes, the cell voltage won't drop as much under load, so that'll keep it above the threshold for longer than just the lower current by itself will.

No problem running with with two CR or RCR cells -- the battery voltage is well above the threshold for the entire battery discharge period.

c_c

GregWormald · Oct 4, 2007

Sounds to me like a LiteFlux LF3 might work. Two easily accessible levels, one slightly more complicated--all levels programmable, works well with any rechargable.
I have mine set so low is very low--about 4 or 5 lumens, but you could go lower if you needed to.
Greg

Windscale · Oct 4, 2007

My P3D CE was happy with 17670 but not the P3D R100.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/173276

A few P3D questions

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