Can Surefire C2 accomodate 18650?

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, but I wasn't sure which one was best.

I am trying to figure out if a Surefire C2 will accomodate a 18650 cell so that I can fit a P-60 dropin to it. I posted to another thread, but did not want to hijack, and thought it better to ask here.

I am trying to gather as many opinions as possible before going and purchasing the light.

1) Is there anyone out there that has done this, i.e., sanded down a Surefire C2 so that a 18650 will fit?

2) Is there anyone out there who has tried this and failed?

I have at least one report from another member saying it would be a poor idea. I have read about people doing this, though.

Thoughts?

LEDAdd1ct

You do not have to use an 18650. Use a 17670 in your stock C2. The 17670 just has a bit less capacity. I'd recommend protected cells such as AW's 17670, Pila 600s, Ultrafire 17670, etc.

The 18650 will not fit in a stock C2 unless you:
1. bore out the inner diameter of the body, or
2. replace the entire body with a Leef 1x18650 body.


I would imagine that the quality of the boring would depend upon the equipment used and the person's expertise. This would provide you with the features of the light you bought.

If you replaced the body you would give up the pocket clip and ergonomic rubber grip ring allows the light to be operated with a handgun.

You can definitely bore it out; however you'll be better off with one of NR's options. If you can find someone with a mill or some such machine, they could do it in a snap.

CPF member highorder can bore it out for you. For the price of $15+ postage IIRC.

NotRegulated, I am reluctant to purchase another set of cells when I already own three 18650 cells. Additionally, trying to find and purchasing the Leef body would add a lot of additional cost on to the light, and deprive me of features in the regular C2 body which I would be paying for. I am most intrigued and interested in the boring option.

depusm12, could you provide more information on this service? Have you used highorder before to bore tubes, and if so, how was the quality of the work, i.e., was it even throughout?

I have heard that after boring, the tube may become "thin". If I go through with this, I intend to purchase the HA-III version in Olive Drab shown here:

http://www.surefire.com/surefire/content/c2_large2.jpg

Would boring it out, *if* done properly and with care, make the tube fragile?



LEDAdd1ct

C2 that boring screwed up.

section highlighted is toooooo thin and caused the visible "bump"

Russianesq said:

C2 that boring screwed up.

section highlighted is toooooo thin and caused the visible "bump"

Click to expand...

Ouch! That does look pretty bad. Thank you for the picture- definitely worth a thousand words.

I assume that was done mechanically, with some sort of drill with a special head, and not by hand, with sandpaper? The reason I ask is because I wonder if one does it by hand by manually sanding it down, a little bit at a time, it would be less dangerous to the body. I definitely do *not* want to mess up a $115 flashlight...

"You do not have to use an 18650. Use a 17670 in your stock C2. The 17670 just has a bit less capacity. I'd recommend protected cells such as AW's 17670, Pila 600s, Ultrafire 17670, etc."

Okay, so if I *did* decide to go this route and use 17670, I wouldn't have to modify a single thing, because they would fit in the body of the C2 as is?

If so, would I be able to charge them in my 18650 charger? I use this one here:

http://blackforce.stores.yahoo.net/bach.html

LEDAdd1ct

That Pila charger is not just an "18650 charger" but is a Pila charger that will Charge All Pila Batteries (Pila 600P & 300P Pila 600S & 300S).

I would just order a couple of Pila 600s batteries.



NOTE: I did notice that Bug Out Gear USA's website is indicating that Pila is discontinuing the 600S series. Can anybody else confirm this?

Also, I would try to confirm whether or not anybody else is using the Pila IBC™ 4-stage Charger to charge non-Pila batteries.

Do you not like the idea the NR mentioned about the Leef Body? Are you wanting the stay with the Surefire body?

Russianesq said:

C2 that boring screwed up.

section highlighted is toooooo thin and caused the visible "bump"

Click to expand...

If you don't mind my asking, was this a 'do-it-yourself' attempt, or did CPF member do this, or was it an outside source...such as a machine shop? I know that we have skilled members that would bore out a C2 body without doing this.

LEDAdd1ct,
If you are concerned about extra costs associated with buying and charging 17670's you might consider this:

For the price of one Pila 600s battery ($22) you can buy one AW 17670 battery ($11) and DSD charger ($12) for roughly the same price.

I purposely do not recommend the Ultrafire multi battery charger because I have one and one of the spring loaded battery holders already broke off with less than three times use.


Keep the Pila charger for your 18650's.

NotRegulated, I use my Pila charger to safely charge my AW protected 18650 cells all the time with no problem. I will not touch Ultrafire batteries, only protected, with preference to AW.

Patriot36, I too would like to know if this was a professional attempt or a "DIY" gone awry...about the Leef body- I have nothing against it, and the fact it can accomodate 18650 without modification is something very good. However, prices seem to be around $50 for the body alone, which would be $50 additional to a very expensive (Surefire) flashlight. The 17670 approach seems to eliminate having to bore out the body. Also, where would one buy the Leef body? Lighthound is out of stock.

But I really do wonder if that photo was from a "mishap" or...

?

NotRegulated said:

You do not have to use an 18650. Use a 17670 in your stock C2. The 17670 just has a bit less capacity.

Click to expand...

To be fair, "A bit less capacity" is about an amp hour. My 17670 cells are 1500mah, and my 18650's range from 2200 to 2600. That's 46% to 73% more capacity.

I was considering the same light and am now leaning towards this.

Might consider this as a host Dereelight-CL1H V3.0
Review

Lighthound have the Mirage_Man 18650 bodies still available, and with a C2 bezel, an E2C-adapter (also from Lighthound, and available) and a McTc-tail from the Shoppee, you get something like this:



I see Mirage_Man is also selling the body, but I see they do not have the non-collar version left, only the version with a collar.

LEDAdd1ct said:

NotRegulated, I use my Pila charger to safely charge my AW protected 18650 cells all the time with no problem. I will not touch Ultrafire batteries, only protected, with preference to AW.

Patriot36, I too would like to know if this was a professional attempt or a "DIY" gone awry...about the Leef body- I have nothing against it, and the fact it can accomodate 18650 without modification is something very good. However, prices seem to be around $50 for the body alone, which would be $50 additional to a very expensive (Surefire) flashlight. The 17670 approach seems to eliminate having to bore out the body. Also, where would one buy the Leef body? Lighthound is out of stock.

But I really do wonder if that photo was from a "mishap" or...

?

Click to expand...

For sure the 17670 is the least expensive option and doesn't give up much in capacity.

I didn't know the Lighthound was out of stock either...oops sorry. I should have looked first. That said, the Mirage Man body look really nice also.

LEDAdd1ct said:

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, but I wasn't sure which one was best.

I am trying to figure out if a Surefire C2 will accomodate a 18650 cell so that I can fit a P-60 dropin to it. I posted to another thread, but did not want to hijack, and thought it better to ask here.

I am trying to gather as many opinions as possible before going and purchasing the light.

1) Is there anyone out there that has done this, i.e., sanded down a Surefire C2 so that a 18650 will fit?

2) Is there anyone out there who has tried this and failed?

I have at least one report from another member saying it would be a poor idea. I have read about people doing this, though.

Thoughts?

LEDAdd1ct

Click to expand...

Get a Leef body HA-III natural finish.

democopy said:

I was considering the same light and am now leaning towards this.

Might consider this as a host Dereelight-CL1H V3.0
Review

Click to expand...

democopy, remember the CPF mantra: when in doubt, "buy both." I intend to buy one of those, *and* a Surefire C2 (if all this battery mind-debating/case choosing pans out), and make them *both* hosts to a P-60 LED drop-in. Of course, with the Dereelight, all I need to do is put in a cell and turn it on. But hey, two cool lights instead of one.

ja10, which brand of 17670 cells are you referring to? AW's, or someone else's?

labrat, thank you for the suggestion.



LEDAdd1ct

LEDAdd1ct said:

ja10, which brand of 17670 cells are you referring to? AW's, or someone else's?

Click to expand...

I have a few different brands. I was mistaken on my AW 17670's though, they are 1600mAH and not 1500mAH (see them here). My 18650s are AW 2200mAH and the 2600mAH unprotected LG cell, which I found here.

In my opinion, the 18650 is worth even the 38% longer runtime that you get with AW's cells.