E1L with RCR123 3.0 volt?

Can I safely and effectively use Soshine 123RCR 3.0 volt batteries in a Surefire E1L? These have the KX1 head. Someone in the know please let me know, I would appreciate it.

That should be fine although your runtimes will be much lower than with primaries.

I know my runtimes will be lower, (although brightness may increase) I just wanted to be sure I wouldn't hurt the light. I know the 3.7 Volt stuff is a no no, but I was hoping the 3.0 volt stuff should be ok. Anyone else want to chime in and confirm our thoughts here? Your knowledge is appreciated.

it's what I use, no problem so far. I use tenergy 3.0v.

also, it's not a problem to run the 3.6V on e1L (at least the KL1 head) since the KL1 head is meant for a max of 6 volts.

I think the KX1 head is the latest version. Right?

If so, my E1L works fine on high but flickers on low with a Tenergy 3.0V LifeP04 battery. my E2DL does the same thing... sometimes.

It depends on the writing on the head of your E1L
The old KL1 head can run from 3v-9v
The KL1 came on the Gen1 of the E1L and E2L
It had the squared beam

Edit sorry I missed KX1 in the OP

The older KL1 will run OK with 3V up to over 8V - a lot of people say 9V is OK. It is brighter with mor voltage.

The newer KX1 single level (07-early08 version) will run brighter on RCR123 3.0V than a primary. I use two different kinds of 3.0V RCR and both are OK. I have tried 3.6V and it strobes slowly from high to some lower level.

The newest KX1 is dual level (08-09) and I have not seen one. I have heard it will act the same way as the earlier KX1 on 3.6V, that it will strobe.

When I resistor my KX1 to a low level it PWM's - probably like you are seeing SteveG. The KX1 wants more voltage and can't get it. The E2DL won't even light up on a 3V primary since primaries sag to ~2.6V or so under the load of the E2DL current draw.

I can recommend the Soshine batteries. THe quality is much better than many of the cheap batteries. I have both 3.0 and 3.7 batteries.

Yes you can. But running RCR123 3V on low mode when the battery is still fresh, it will somewhat flicker. High mode is perfectly fine. Once you drain the battery ~3.0, the low mode will stop flicker.

dealgrabber2002 said:

Yes you can. But running RCR123 3V on low mode when the battery is still fresh, it will somewhat flicker. High mode is perfectly fine. Once you drain the battery ~3.0, the low mode will stop flicker.

Click to expand...

This is right. I just tried a couple batteries that were charged yesterday and used briefly today in another lamp... both my E1L and E2DL work fine on low on these barely used batteries.