Surefire 6P options?

Hey everyone. Let me start off by saying if this is in the wrong spot sorry, I'm new and this looked like the right board. I recently got a surefire 6p which I am going to use as my backup light carried on my duty belt. I want to go with rechargeable batteries and was wondering what would be the right choice. I am also curious what type of bulb assembly to go with. If my research is correct I can put two rcr123 rechargeables in a 6p but I won't be able to go with the surefire lamp because the voltage would be too high. I think I can go with one of the led drop ins which should work fine w/the rechargeable batts. I am wondering what bulb to go with if I want to stick with an incan bulb. Lumens factory has a HO 9v bulb which seems to fit but would it work with only the 7.2v from two rcr123's?? If the batts would power that bulb would it be noticeable dimmer w/much less runtime?? Any input/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Be sure you read up on Li Ion safety. Only use quality protected cells and remember when they run out of power they simply shut off. You won't have much warning like the slow dimming from a primary cell.
Yes you should be able to run 2 RCR123s in a 6P without much problem.
Be sure the LED Dropins are rated for ~9v as there are some that only go up to 6V.
As for the Lumens Factory 9V bulbs, they will be brighter on RCR123s. THe reason for this is when you load CR123 Batteries with any decent amount of current draw their voltage "sags." So 3 CR123's under load aren't going to give 9v, rather they'll be somewhere in the 7's iirc. Lithium Ion cells have less sag, so with their initial voltage or 8.4 volts (not 7.2) with less sag you'll be running at a higher voltage, thus a brighter, whiter incan beam.
Myself, I don't know if good quality RCR123's can handle the Lumen's Factory EO bulbs or not. I'm sure one of the Incan Lords around here will know though.
Good Luck :twothumbs

I want to go with rechargeable batteries and was wondering what would be the right choice.

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If you are sticking with the standard 6P body, then your two rechargeable choices would be 2 x RCR123 (7.4V-8.6V starting), or 1 x 17670 (3.7V-4.3V starting).

I am also curious what type of bulb assembly to go with.

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If 1 x 17670, recommended (regulated) LED off-the-shelf, drop-in choices include Deerelight (4.2V-6V) and 6V Wolf Eyes modules. If 2 x RCR123, LED off-the-shelf, drop-in choices include Wolf Eyes, Malkoff and BOG.

I think I can go with one of the led drop ins which should work fine w/the rechargeable batts.

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The SF P60L will allow you to use 1 x 17670 with slightly lower overall output.

I am wondering what bulb to go with if I want to stick with an incan bulb. Lumens factory has a HO 9v bulb which seems to fit but would it work with only the 7.2v from two rcr123's??

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2 x RCR123s will allow you to use any of the LF D26 series modules (all 9V) , as well as the SF P90 and P91. You only need to weigh runtime vs. output tradeoffs.

I have a 6PL and was wondering about upgrading to rechargeable…

I was thinking about getting a one cell extender and using two 17500 Li-ions. Would this be better than a single 17670? What kind of brightness/runtime would I get with either of these setups?

Thanks much,
Flash

I have two 6P's (one original round body, the other a first run "newer body"). Both have the P60L LED Lamp Assembly in it.

I've run unprotected RCR123A's, Protected RCR123A's, and Protected 16340's. All work fine with the P60L LED LA.

I also have the P60 LED installed in a 9Z/Z3 Combatlight (another original round body) with 3 primaries - so it's able to go up to 9v.

I also have one installed in a 3P running a single RCR123A or 16340. Works fine there too.

-Steve

A cheap LED option is the DX SKU#6090, 3v-18volt, 3 watt, $10. It works fine on the rechargeables and puts out plenty of light.
:candle::naughty:

I was thinking about getting a one cell extender and using two 17500 Li-ions. Would this be better than a single 17670?

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The only drawbacks would be the additional length of an extender and loss of mAh (17670 = 1600, 17500 = 1100) per battery. However, 2 x 17500 would allow you to go with 9V modules. Brightness levels and runtimes would depend upon the module used. 2 x 17500 is what I use in my 6PD.

I was also thinking of the Surefire option, this is buying the KR2-BK rechargeable kit, but I'm not so sure about its pros and cons…anyone care to chime in, especially Size15s?


thanks,
Flash

The B65 is Ni-Cad < NiMH < Li-Ion. Another drawback would be the use of either a Z29, or cut-down dummy for Li-Ion interchangeability.

if you are prepared to go to the extra length, use 2x17500s. Much better run time than 2x RCR123s.

If you go with the 2xRCR123s, note you absolutely can not run the P91 on these! It draws way to much current.

Here is a link with everything you need to know and more:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=161536

If you're looking for what I think is currently the best simple LED setup for the 6P, then my recommendation would be to use a good quality 17670 battery (i.e. AW 17670) and the Dereelight 3SD drop in module which you can get more info on from the following link...

http://www.dereelight.com/drop-in-modules.htm

This particular Dereelight LED module is super bright, offers 3 stages of light output with a nice spread between stages, uses the Cree Q5 LED (WC bin), has mode memory so you're not stuck having to cycle through all the modes every time the light is turned on, is a constant current constant output design with very good regulation, has over discharge protection, efficiency is optimized for the 17670 and 18650 batteries, etc. There are plenty of P60 drop-in modules to choose from through many different sources, but there are none that I know of that offer all these features in addition to driving the LED at 1.2 amps on high. Dereelight also has a very good reputation here on CPF with fast shipping, excellent tech support via PM through CPFMP with a quick response to questions, etc, and these things certainly ad up when I'm choosing products that I intend to purchase as opposed to simply looking at price.

You can use a battery charger like the ~$16 Ultrafire WF139 to charge different popular lithium batteries ranging from 14500 to the 18670 (including the 17670). Make sure to buy the optional DC adapter with this charger if you ever plan to charge batteries in your car, motor home, etc.

The 17670 simply slides into your stock 6P tube without any other modifications and offers you the highest capacity (~1600mah) in a single sized rechargeable battery for your stock tube. You can get more capacity from using two 17500's, but I prefer the simple single cell configurations and also prefer a light that's optimized for the lower voltage of single cell batteries.

If you want to take the battery capacity of your light to an even higher level, you'll need to have your 6P tube properly bored out with a lathe to accept a slightly fatter battery, the 18650 (i.e. Tenergy 2600mah 18650, or the AW 2200mah, or the LG 2600mah). You can also buy a new tube from lighthound.com that's made by "Leef" which accepts the Surefire 6P head and tail cap and supports the 18650 battery, but this option often costs significantly more than having your 6P tube bored out. I've seen where other members here on CPF have paid ~$15 to have their 6P tubes bored, so this option is more cost effective. If you have your 6P tube bored out to 18.4mm, your light will be able to accept most brands of 18650 batteries and there will be *plenty* of meat left in the tube so that you're not impacting its structural integrity by much. I would not recommend grinding out the tube yourself or sanding it out with sand paper wrapped around a wooden dowel, etc. I know some people have done it, but none of these methods will give you the precision uniform factory looking results that you can achieve with a lathe.

Too maintain the versatility of your 6P so that it can still use the factory P60 and many other modules that require the use of a large negative contact spring, the 6P tube should only be bored out at 18.4mm up to about ~77mm from the end of the tail cap threads. This should leave about ~4mm of the original bore left towards the front of the light so the negative contact spring (the large spring) has plenty of material to rest against. This is yet another reason why a precision tool such as a lathe should be used instead of grinding with a Dremel tool or sanding with a wooden dowel, etc.

does anyone know where to get bodies that support C heads and C tailcaps that accept 1x18650/2x18500 li-ion batteries?
Thanks much,
Flash

Lighthound. But not in stock, as you may be aware of. Perhaps Leef has some options in his BigLeef line...

Thanks! but having it in stock doesn't help me much…
Also, what kind of runtime and brightness can I expect on a 17670/17650(I don't know which one to get) using the P60L lamp assembly?

Thanks much,
Flash

17670 (aka 168S). Brightness and runtime likely to fall between charted 6PL and G2L graphs. See: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/176621

Beastmaster said:

I also have one installed in a 3P running a single RCR123A or 16340. Works fine there too.

-Steve

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What about runtime with RCR123A and 16340.

ok, I took this picture to try to see if you guys could just eye the inner diameter of my light.


Thanks very much,
Flash


BTW the primaries I'm using are about 16mm in diameter.

With a 3P and a P60L LED LA?

With Primaries, I got 4 hours and 3 minutes. This was with a slightly used primary too. Light was equivalent to the original R30 lamp assembly.

With an UltraLast 134A rechargeable (3.2v), I got 55 minutes of bright (about 30 lumen light), with 3:22 total runtime.

My latest test - UltraFire 16340 - bright light of 1:10, then 4:27 of useful before I just got bored and shut the light and stopwatch off.

-Steve

GG8778 said:

What about runtime with RCR123A and 16340.

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will the P60L run that dim(30 lumens) if I use a 17670?
Thanks,
Flash

Probably brighter. It's a buck only circuit, and supposedly it's target sustained input voltage is 3.2 to 3.7v at .35amp/1watt consumption.

Now that I've cycled the UltraFire 16340's through 5 full charge cycles to break them in, I'm getting way brighter light with a single 16340 - near what I get with an E2L and a KL1 head (45 lumens or so). I just got back from a snow run, and made use of the light tonight when one guy had to look at something in his engine compartment.

It's useful. SureFire doesn't recommend it being used in a 3P, but it's sucky anyways with a single primary. It's not bad with a rechargeable.

-Steve

flash_bang said:

will the P60L run that dim(30 lumens) if I use a 17670?
Thanks,
Flash

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