My Surefire L1 works with rechargeables too..

Hi all,

I recently got on trade a Surefire L1. I have some 3v li-on rechargeables and they work great. In the past my Surefire E1b would flicker with these 3v rechargeables, so needless to say it pleases me to have them work.


I also have these cheap ebay 3.6v li-on rechargeables and it also works great. In fact, I just put my IMR 16340 cell in it and it appears brighter and it works perfect too. The tail current with IMR cell is .79mA. It will not work with the AW CR123 black cells, but it does with all my other CR123 li-ons.

Do you folks think it is not a good idea to run the L1 with 3.6 and 3.7 li-on rechargeables?


Thanks,
bigC

It has been experienced that the driver can take a 3.7 (4.2) 16340 and goes direct drive at those currents, as the cell depletes it will enter regulation.

I have tried in one L1 an AW black label and it works, just fiddle with it as it seems they are shorter than the IMR, clean the contacts, etc.

however no one of course can assure you that this will be ok in the long run, but still there hasnt been a soul (that i have read or seen) that has had a bad experience with this.

i dont know if all L1 versions have these characteristics, but it surely is a big plus for the L1 cree.

here is the previous thread

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/174283

Thanks for the link.:thumbsup:.I was worried I would ruin the L1.

It's not confirmed due to an RCR, but I've killed one. I have a dead Cree head that just went out after several hours running on RCR123. I measured it at 1.05 Amps, which seemed OK, but after a few weeks of ocassional use, it just blinked off once when I turned it on.

To be fair, I've been running several L1 heads on RCR123's, 14500's, and 17500's for a long time. Newer LEDs are coming out with lower Vf's, so the risk is going up for everything except K2's - they are tough and can take over 2 Amps.

Interesting,

What went out, the led or the drivers?