Olight t20 help

Just wanted some opinions on which rechargable cells to use( brands, voltage, etc.) Which cells worked best for you and gave the best performance and run time.


Also I remember seeing a post that had all different brand cells and runtimes and such, but I seem to be over lookin it. Anyone know where it is?

The Olight T20 specifications say it takes CR123 and rechargeable batteries (RCR123)... I think AW would be a good choice.

www.olightworld.com says:

1. LED type:Cree 7090 XR-E Q5, 3W;
2. function:Illumination,five levels.205lm(1.5h)-120lm(3.8h)-65lm(10h)-33lm(30h)-15lm(70h),Strobe(205lm/1.5h) and SOS,205lm(3.5h)-33lm(10h);
3. Battery: Use 2 x CR123A batteries or 2x4.2v rechargeable batteries;
4.Working Voltage:range from 3v-8.4V
5. Size:124mm(L)*25mm(D)
weight:65g
6. Accessories: one Holster,one lanyard ,two spare O-rings, one tailcap.

Sounds like rechargeables are fine...

I'm sure everyone will say AW's are the best.

I would use the surefire or panasonic batteries. Panasonics have a slightly less amp/hr rating but is a little cheaper in price. First choice is surefire batteries. I am using the panasonics in mine.

Evan,

You will want to use 3V Li-Ion rechargeable cells, not 3.6/3.7V li-ion cells or you'll only have 1 level of output.

AW's cells do not have the voltage adjusting diode so would be a poor choice for the T20 in my opinion as the light would only have 1 level of output on a fully charged cell.

Surefire batteries are made by Panasonic USA. The Panasonic cells are rated at 1550mah which is a higher rating than those of the Surefire cells. Any perceived or even factual difference in performance is due to batch variation and sample size.

MattK,
That is exactly what I was looking for. I ordered my Olight from BJ and really liked the customer service. Anyhow as it says from Olight you can use 4.2 rechargeables is there any advantage of the 4.2 compared to 3.0 li-ion. And could you possibly give me a BJ part # for the cells. And last question. What are the advantages and disadvantages of rechargables over say surefire of panasonic.

Thanks for the help!

3.6V.3.7V4.2V li-ion rechargeables are all the same. 3.6/3.7 is their nominal voltage and 4.2V is their maximum, fresh off the charger voltage but that all refers to the same li-ion chemistry so what I said above regarding a single level of output still applies. Yes, it can USE the 3.6V/etc li-ion rechargeables but you only have 1 level of output, not 5, to maintain 5 levels of output you need the 3V RCR123A batteries
like these: http://www.batteryjunction.com/4parc390reli.html

Surefire and Pansonic cells are the same battery. The Panasonic cells cost less. It's that simple.

MattK said:

You will want to use 3V Li-Ion rechargeable cells, not 3.6/3.7V li-ion cells or you'll only have 1 level of output.

AW's cells do not have the voltage adjusting diode so would be a poor choice for the T20 in my opinion as the light would only have 1 level of output on a fully charged cell.

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Thanks for that info, Matt. I had no idea the higher voltage would cripple the multi-mode. 3V it is!

Matt: I bought a Q 5 T 20 from you, and it gives 5 levels on 3.7 volt or the 3.0 volt batteries. THe output seems the same no matter which ones I use. I also have the Pan 123a...they are the best!

Weird - they're not supposed to do that - consider it a bonus feature for you.

We also have Rayovac CR123A's right now - same factory/cell as the Panasonics and a few cents cheaper to boot.

Update/Correction: I had forgotten that the last batch of T20 Q5's have an upgraded circuit that can handle 3-8.4V rather than 4-6V which allows the use of 2 x RCR123a 3.6v as well as a 17670 (unprotected only, protected do not fit) - this updated batch began shipping a few weeks ago.

I have a T20. I like the light. I like the different modes. It surely is bright. Something in the back of my head says I wish it was a surefire. Well I do have a surefire but it does not have all the features. So my question is what is wrong with the Olight that makes me want a surefire that does the same? Is it just the name? I am sure that some of you have thought similarly. Why change when the light does the job?

fxstsb said:

I have a T20. I like the light. I like the different modes. It surely is bright. Something in the back of my head says I wish it was a surefire. Well I do have a surefire but it does not have all the features. So my question is what is wrong with the Olight that makes me want a surefire that does the same? Is it just the name? I am sure that some of you have thought similarly. Why change when the light does the job?

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I had started a thread asking folks why they sold their Olight T20 (quite a few have come through the CPF marketplace over the past couple of months) and got an interesting range of responses. And now after using the light for a while, I can see one thing that I find annoying--the difference between the levels. They're just too close together to be really useful. I wish it had a greater spread, like on the U2. Otherwise, it is a great light... I'm not selling mine, as I find it useful and quite small for a 2xCR123 light. It makes a good "trench coat" light, too, because it looks classy.

See later post

I bought a T20 Q5 from Matt a couple of months ago. Works great on AW's protected (black label) RCR 123's. A little over an hour on high, about 2 hours 20 minutes on level 2. I use mine outdoors a lot, and there's a huge difference between level 1 (205 lumen) and level 2 (120 lumen). I guess if you're white wall hunting you may not notice a big difference, but outdoors you will. I'd like the low to be lower, with the new tactical lights, Olight's fixed that. I basically use mine as a 3 level light, 1, 2 and 5, so I can't really comment on the usefulness of 3 and 4.

After I set the light on Level 2 with 123 RCR's, I can then pop in a AW unprotected 17670 and it'll run for almost 2 hours. If you don't set it first, you may have to cycle it a half dozen times or so to get level 1 or 2, mostly it tries to run on 3 or it strobes. As the battery warms up it's easier to hit level 2. I have honed out the body so a protected AW 17670 fits, without the label. It fit before honing, but was way too tight. Now it slides in and out with little force. Very little honing was needed, there was only one part of the tube that was not concentric and now it is.

I've had several of the larger "pocket thrower's" and the T20 is the first one I've had that fits in any pocket of a standard pair of jeans.

fxstsb said:

I guess this is as good a place to post this as any. I did some comparisons with various lights. I made some measurements and have concluded that brightnes is not everything. Size does not matter either because the beam patterns at about 75 ft were so similar. To me what matters is features, ease of use/carry and construction. So here goes. All light measurements are in Foot Candles (X10) measured at 1 ft.
Trustfire CR-T2 (Cree 5 mode) 205 fc.
Ultrafire 2 CR123 Xenon 110 fc
Ultrafire 2 CR123 Chineese LED 205 fc
Surefire G3 3CR123 P90 128fc
Surefire G3 3cr123 Bugout's most powerful LED 259 fc
Ultrafire 3CR123 Xenon 210 fc
Hugsby G2 LED 171 fc
Olight T20 std 183 fc
Surfire 6P Zenon 134 fc with UCL 143
3AA Maglite LED 68fc
2AA Mini maglite TerraLux Green 36fc
2AA Mini Maglite Terralux UV 41fc
Deal Extreme SKU 8807 190/108 fc
The hugsby had a larger diameter battery compartment (18.5mm)
As weak as the Hugsby was and in comparison with the Ultrafire 3XCR123
The pattern and illumination were similar.
Obviously the reflector has much to do with the pattern and the amount of light concentrated.
I would post the pictures but don't see a button that will allow me to do that except fro a URL.

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New Measurements added.