Quark AA2's on regular alkalines

Folks have advised in another thread that the Quark AA2 tactical or turbo may be good as a bicycle light--

my question to the broader group is that do these lights function well on straight, run-of-the mill alkaline AAs? I have a couple of CR123 lights, and am looking for a (possibly) more affordable light to run for lengths of time. Costco has their AA alkaline batteries at 48 for around $10. if i can get an hour's decent runtime out of 2, i think i'm doing well. if i need to buy lithium AA's, then the savings goes away.

Essentially, the question is this--4sevens says the runtime for these lights is 1.3 hours--can i get 1.3 hours out of set of alkalines?

I run NIZNs in my Quark 2aa. It is similar to running Lithium AAs because of the slighter higher voltage (approx 1.6 per cell). You can get 4 NIZNs and a charger on Amazon for less than $30. If you are going to be using the light as a bike light I think that rechargeable is the way to go.

Alkalines are at their best in low-current-draw applications. So they would likely give you very good runtimes on the lower settings, but they're not likely to do well at all on the higher settings.

I have a Quark AA2 (and the AA tube as well) Tactical, as well as a couple of other AA lights. I like the idea of being able to use normal alkalines in a pinch, but I always use rechargeables (eneloops for me). The up front cost is higher, but from there on it's effectively free lumens.

Be fore-warned... All it takes is one Alkaline leak and your light will be ruined. Whatever $$ you think you are saving, may then be eaten up by the cost of a replacement light. I am not trying to stop you, but hopefully you will weigh out your options carefully. Threads like these come up 1-2 times every month, and I have tried to list both the pro and con user threads.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/235983

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262092

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/256601

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/256548

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/257178

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/256630

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/252708

kramer5150 said:

Be fore-warned... All it takes is one Alkaline leak and your light will be ruined. Whatever $$ you think you are saving, may then be eaten up by the cost of a replacement light.

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I think that's everstating things a bit. Alkaline leaks *can* ruin your light, but a leak is far from *guaranteed* to ruin your light. Vinegar and q-tips are your friend.

It's also worth bearing in mind that the "spew hot gasses then explode" failure mode of lithium primaries is MUCH more spectacular (and potentially fatal) than alkaline leakage.

I wouldn't recommend running alkalines on max in a Quark AA. They will be even more prone to leak than usual due to the high current draw at that power level. Also, I think you'd find runtime disappointing, independent reviews have shown the Quark AA^2 to get 1 hour or even a little bit less to 50% output, not 1.3 hours - even with NiMH, and runtime would be even less with alkaline batts.

Ive been running the NIZNs I bought on amazon in my
4aa healamp and the higher voltage seems to make the
high mode brighter than regular alkys (maybe less sag?)+ theyre rechargable. I like em.

GregY said:

I think that's everstating things a bit. Alkaline leaks *can* ruin your light, but a leak is far from *guaranteed* to ruin your light. Vinegar and q-tips are your friend.

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There are no absolutes or guarantees in this realm. Its more about increasing the odds in the owners favor. Sure, not all alkaline leaks cause light failure.... provided you are diligent enough to check routinely.

the use would be this--riding with the lights on turbo for around 30 minutes per night, so conceivably the batteries would be changed every 2 days. at 20 cents per battery, that's not a bad deal.

if the alkaline failure is caused by the high draw, then that's a concern. if the alkaline failure is caused by leaving the light laying around--that's not even in the equation.

while i've never used these batteries in a high-draw deal like a hot-rod LED light, they've never failed on me in cameras or in my headlamps.


i'm not operating from any sort-of preconceived outcome to this question--if this is a bad idea, its a bad idea and I'll just go with the rechargeables or even the 123a versions of the lights.

if you're planning to go through so many batteries, why not get rechargeable ones?

luke_DF said:

if you're planning to go through so many batteries, why not get rechargeable ones?

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ditto, doesn't make sense to just throw all those alkalines away after you're done with them. just pick up a set of eneloops. They will handle the draw better and you won't be filling up your trash can with dead batteries

funkymonkey1111 said:

the use would be this--riding with the lights on turbo for around 30 minutes per night, so conceivably the batteries would be changed every 2 days. at 20 cents per battery, that's not a bad deal.

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if you plan to use your light for more than 4 weeks total (which is your rechargable break-even point), nimh cells are FAR cheaper. 40 cents per battery change vs 1/2 a cent per battery change, and nimh will require less battery changes since they will last longer than alkaline.

and the light will be brighter in addition to running longer.

Ragiska said:

if you plan to use your light for more than 4 weeks total (which is your rechargable break-even point), nimh cells are FAR cheaper. 40 cents per battery change vs 1/2 a cent per battery change, and nimh will require less battery changes since they will last longer than alkaline.

and the light will be brighter in addition to running longer.

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Lots of good advice in this thread.

Low self discharge nimh cells (like eneloops) are incredibly useful. Pick up a few for your light, and you'll find yourself using them everywhere. They have pretty good (not great) capacity, work well in both low and high draw applications (flashlight on high, or a tv remote), don't leak....

Alkalines are for "just in case". :thumbsup:

how about these NiZn batteries that natedog referenced? (or is that better suited for another thread)?

Saint_Dogbert said:

I wouldn't recommend running alkalines on max in a Quark AA. They will be even more prone to leak than usual due to the high current draw at that power level. Also, I think you'd find runtime disappointing, independent reviews have shown the Quark AA^2 to get 1 hour or even a little bit less to 50% output, not 1.3 hours - even with NiMH, and runtime would be even less with alkaline batts.

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About an hour on Eneloops or similar, and 1.3 hours on freshly charged 2600 mAh NiNH in my experience, which agrees with reviews. Why fill landfill sites with dead alkaline batteries?

I got my NIZN on amazon w a charger for pretty cheap.
they've got a bit more kick than the eneloops.
not sure how they compare for runtime but I have a P4
headlamp that runs on 4aa and it lasts way longer than
I ever seem to need. throwing away a buncha alkys every week
is kinda gross too.

funkymonkey1111 said:

how about these NiZn batteries that natedog referenced? (or is that better suited for another thread)?

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I have NIMH (eneloop and rayovac 4.0) in addition to my NIZN but I prefer the slight brightness boost of the NIZN in my Quark Mini aa and aa-2. :twothumbsI also like the quick charger that NIZN. I just top them off once a week and am good to go. Have not done any run time test though...

kramer5150 said:

Be fore-warned... All it takes is one Alkaline leak and your light will be ruined. Whatever $$ you think you are saving, may then be eaten up by the cost of a replacement light.

Click to expand...

How likely is this to happen? I can say that in all my years of using alkaline batteries, the only time I've had them leak is when they were left for an extended period of time in an unused product. But for a product that has been actively used, I've never had a battery leak.

the.Mtn.Man said:

How likely is this to happen? I can say that in all my years of using alkaline batteries, the only time I've had them leak is when they were left for an extended period of time in an unused product. But for a product that has been actively used, I've never had a battery leak.

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There is no statistical or mathematical formula or "likelihood". Alkaline leaks occur completely at random. I personally have had brand new ones (duracell) leak... just sitting there doing nothing. My most costly aklkaline destructions were with a Denon home theater remote and an Airtronics RC transmitter ($400 damage in total). One time a week old unused cell leaked on my keyboard and dissolved the paint down to the bare plastic (pic).


On average, there are 1-2 "Alkalines ate my light" posts every month.

Do a forum search for "Alkaline leaks". There is no distinct time, age, or failure mode assocoated... there is no direct cause / effect. Its literally a roll of the dice.

Duracell and energizer offer full money back guarantee and will reimburse the full $$$ amount for any product their batteries destroy. This is the financial equivalent of admitting their products are destructive and failure prone to random varying degrees.

OP... dont do it.. .Just Say NO

I am tired of stating this every month so I am just going to leave it in my sig line. Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

the.Mtn.Man said:

How likely is this to happen? I can say that in all my years of using alkaline batteries, the only time I've had them leak is when they were left for an extended period of time in an unused product. But for a product that has been actively used, I've never had a battery leak.

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I agree with you.
I live at 6000 feet above sea level with relatively dry air which may be a contributing factor.