Solarforce L2i AAA -- Will a 18650 fit ?

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I have a Solarforce L2i, 3AAA , single mode torch with the R2 Cree and was wondering if I can fit a protected 18650 cell in it instead ... I have also sent for a Solarforce L2 R2 Cree 18650 5 mode torch plus some 18650 protected cells which have not yet arrived in the UK from Hong Kong ... Would the L2i only need a plastic spacer tube or will it need other modifications to get it to work with the 18650 cell ... I have a cheaper Saik SA-8 3AAA 3 mode that comes with the plastic tube and apparently will accept a 18650 though I can't try till the cells arrive ... Also, will the L2 18650 accept the 3AAA cassette from the L2i ?

Apparently it can take a few weeks to arrive in the UK from Hong Kong and I just want to know if these queries are possible without any drilling/boring out.

Many Thanks
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march.brown said:

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I have a Solarforce L2i, 3AAA , single mode torch with the R2 Cree and was wondering if I can fit a protected 18650 cell in it instead

Click to expand...

The 18650 will be too long.

march.brown said:

Also, will the L2 18650 accept the 3AAA cassette from the L2i ?

Click to expand...

The 3AAA cassette diameter is too big to fit in an L2.
Norm

18500 / 17500 / CR123A with adapter / 1xAA if its low voltage pill , 14500 .

Norm said:

The 18650 will be too long.

The 3AAA cassette diameter is too big to fit in an L2.
Norm

Click to expand...

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Many thanks for the info ... I will use the 5 mode L2 with the 18650s when all the bits eventually arrive from Hong Kong ... The L2i, being a single mode, will be OK for general house use using the readily available Eneloop AAA cells ... Wife can't be bothered playing with flashlight modes, so a simple on/off switch will be fine ... Shame the Eneloops are only 800mAh though ... I will use the 3 mode Saik SA-8 with 18650s and keep its AAA cassette as a standby supply ... The AAA Eneloops can be left in the cassette and recharged every year or so.

How do the 18650s compare with Eneloops for "shelf-life" ? ... Can the torch be left in the car for emergencies (for months on end) without worrying if there will be enough power in the batteries to provide a light ? ... I suppose I could get one of those little rechargeable ones that sit in the cigar-lighter socket and are permanently on-charge therefore permanently ready for use ... I would rather use one of my 18650 or AAA lights though ... I know what my Eneloops will do, but as yet I don't know the 18650s capabilities.
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old4570 said:

18500 / 17500 / CR123A with adapter / 1xAA if its low voltage pill , 14500 .

Click to expand...

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Many thanks for the info ... I hadn't considered using 18500 cells ... At 1600mAh, they are double the capacity of my AAA Eneloops ... So that's a possibility ... Will the 18500 charge OK in my Ultrafire WF-137 charger if I make a 15mm spacer ?

Shame there isn't a **600 3.7V cell as the L2i cassette is 59mm long ... The Saik SA-8 cassette is 76mm long.

I might just leave the Solarforce L2i as a 3AAA torch and just use it as a backyard/home/kitchen torch ... Spare Eneloop AAAs are only in the next room.

I will be using a Nkoray K-106 as the EDC pocket torch as I can easily carry a spare Eneloop AA cell or two.
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Good thing about the L2i when combined with the low voltage pill is the variety of batteries you can use .

Thats why I got one , same deal with the Saik [ got one as well ] only the Saik will take a 18650 . On mine the driver blew @ 6volts or 2xPrimaries [ CR123A] and I replaced the driver with a 2 mode driver [ Hi-Lo ] . That was about 9 months ago and its still going strong .

I have just received my first 18650 Ultrafire 2400mAh protected (grey) cells and have tried one in the Solarforce L2i ... I made a carrier/spacer out of plastic pipe that is used for WC/toilet overflow in the UK as it is a perfect fit in the body of the L2i ... The 18650 will fit the L2i even though it is 69mm long ... The tail cap will screw in but I left a 4mm gap just in case I damaged the battery or the torch ... Ideally a ring or washer of the appropriate size would be useful to put between the body and the tailcap to prevent too much pressure on the ends of the 18650 cell ... The ring could easily go at the head end too as there is more thread to play with ... A nice stainless steel one would look great.

Now if I could find a 3.7 Volt (preferably protected) rechargeable cell that is no more than 69mm long and 23mm (or less) in diameter, this would be perfect for the L2i ... If I can find a nice stainless tube/washer, I would definitely use the 18650 as it has three times the capacity of the existing AAA cassette system ... Measurements would have to be 28.5mm internal diameter or maybe a few thou' more to allow it to slide on ... Thickness would need to be about 1mm to 1.5mm, and the length could be 5mm ... All we need is someone with a lathe to try out the modification ... I think that it would be worth the trouble to give three times the battery life.

This make the L2i an even better single mode torch for the home.
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Over the next few days I will look for some thin-wall 30mm OD metal or plastic tubing to try this out ...As long as it is over 28.5mm ID, it should be OK.
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They do fit , but there is a fair bit of compression on the springs , and I tried before with and found some 18650 would not allow the tailcap to screw down all the way ..

My unprotected Trustfires fit , but only just ..

I run the low voltage pill , and I want to be able to use a single AA / 14500 so compressing the springs is not an option for me .

My L2i is more of an emergency/survival light , that I got to use with other batteries rather than 18650 .. AAA / AA / CR123A / 14500

My two ? Emergency lights !

both will run , AAA , AA , CR123A , 14500 , or any battery that falls in the voltage range and can fit in the body and be jerry rigged !

old4570 said:

They do fit , but there is a fair bit of compression on the springs , and I tried before with and found some 18650 would not allow the tailcap to screw down all the way ..

My unprotected Trustfires fit , but only just ..

I run the low voltage pill , and I want to be able to use a single AA / 14500 so compressing the springs is not an option for me .

My L2i is more of an emergency/survival light , that I got to use with other batteries rather than 18650 .. AAA / AA / CR123A / 14500

Click to expand...

I find that the head can be unscrewed well over 5mm without making the torch unreliable, which is why I want to fit a 5mm spacer there ... The spring would not be compressed too much with the 5mm spacer ... My L2i will work with a protected 18650 (69mm long) with a 5mm gap where I would like to fit the spacer ... The 5mm gap makes it look untidy ... It is only a matter of getting a 5mm spacer from somewhere ... I hope someone will have an answer as to where to get a spacer from ... I might look at brass curtain rings too ...
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march.brown said:

I find that the head can be unscrewed well over 5mm without making the torch unreliable, which is why I want to fit a 5mm spacer there ... The spring would not be compressed too much with the 5mm spacer ... My L2i will work with a protected 18650 (69mm long) with a 5mm gap where I would like to fit the spacer ... The 5mm gap makes it look untidy ... It is only a matter of getting a 5mm spacer from somewhere ... I hope someone will have an answer as to where to get a spacer from ... I might look at brass curtain rings too ...
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Click to expand...

The other way would be to remove the contact spring on the driver ..

Thats around 2mm compressed ..
You could also file the top of the reflector away , around 2mm of extra material there ... That would give you 4mm or there abouts ..

I had to do this when making my L2micro to fit the Cr123A .

Otherwise you could have some one turn up a spacer with a lathe , from some black plastic . [ $$ ]

Here you can see what I mean ...

old4570 said:

The other way would be to remove the contact spring on the driver ..

Thats around 2mm compressed ..
You could also file the top of the reflector away , around 2mm of extra material there ... That would give you 4mm or there abouts ..

I had to do this when making my L2micro to fit the Cr123A .

Otherwise you could have some one turn up a spacer with a lathe , from some black plastic . [ $$ ]

Click to expand...

If I opt for the spacer, I can still use the torch with the 3AAA cassette just by removing the spacer ... I will look for some tubing in stainless or alloy or plastic that would do for the spacer ... I know that I can just leave a 5mm gap between the head and the body but it doesn't look nice that way ... Perhaps someone will sell suitable 5mm spacers on Ebay (eventually), once it has been realised that the L2i can be used with a protected 18650 battery.

Many Thanks for your replies.
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Well, I found a hard black plastic screw-top (for a container) that was the right internal diameter ... I cut off about 7mm and then sanded the ends flat to give a 5mm spacer for the head-end ... This is perfect and now means that the L2i can be used with a 18650 in a 1.5" long plastic tube or 3 X AAA in the cassette that was provided with the torch ... If I want to use the cassette with the 3 AAAs, I only have to remove the spacer.

As it is a single mode torch, this will be the household torch which my Wife will use when we have the (almost never) power cuts ... I will eventually look for a metal spacer to replace the plastic one because I think it would look better ... I will look at 25mm (OD) copper pipe initially and see how it goes.

I tried first with a 7mm spacer but I didn't think there was enough thread contact ... A 6mm spacer worked OK, but the 5mm is perfect.

I must admit that a chrome, copper or particularly a gold-plated spacer would look better than the plastic one on the Solarforce L2i as it is the sand colour one.

I do have a preference for torches that take 3AAA and 18650 batteries ... Personal preference I suppose ... Maybe it's belt and braces.

I don't think my Wlfe would be happy with the three mode or five mode torches that I have bought, so I have omitted to tell her of the multiple purchases ... After all, I don't want to know about all the money wasted on her shoes and handbags (purses) ... My purchases are for safety purposes only, not for pleasure.

A few weeks ago, I just didn't realise how many torches I actually needed.
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