RCR/IMR in Surefire L1?

Hi everyone,

I was just wandering if it is common to use RCR or IMR cells in a Surefire L1 or L2? I know that in these particular lights that the driver is in the body rather than the head, and that it is a boost driver. The ones I have tested boost to an open circuit voltage of around 7ish volts with primaries, and around 8+ volts with RCRs.

I know for sure that it does work, because I have tried it. The LED was brighter and nothing seemed to be bothered by it, ie no hot tail spring, flickering, or color change in the light.

My question is are any of you using rechargeables in these lights on a daily basis? Has anyone ever had a driver or other go out as a result of doing this?

Bump.

Old thread - let's bump it up. I just got an L1, NIP, that I plan to use when I'm not in an incan mood. My buddy Scout24 told me that he researched and found that there did not seem to be any issues with using RCRs in the L1. I dropped an AW IMR in my brand new L1 - output jumped from 128 lumen to 230...

I know, I know - 120 sounds high already, but I trust my sphere. 230 is noticeably brighter than 128 - and I hate wasting batteries - so my L1 will always run on RCRs or IMRs. If I smoke the LED, I'll send it to you to mod!!? :thumbsup:

All the usual caveats about "at your own risk", etc... I wasn't able to find anyone who poofed one running RCR's, some people running them exclusively for long periods of time... Opinions varied, but if some common sense is used as far as not running wide open all the time, it all seems good. I'll personally take the chance, the output bump is worth it to me. Someone said if the LED lifespan is cut from say 50k hours down to 15k, it'll still outlive me... Dan- sorry for not being more detailed in our talking, I figured we'd be thinking similarly about this and the risks as they are...

Ya I do it too. 2 x 18650s behind a 200 lumen surefire E2DL head is pretty nice too.

Thanks for thinking of me run4jc, you know I got your back if it poofs

scout24 said:

All the usual caveats about "at your own risk", etc... I wasn't able to find anyone who poofed one running RCR's, some people running them exclusively for long periods of time... Opinions varied, but if some common sense is used as far as not running wide open all the time, it all seems good. I'll personally take the chance, the output bump is worth it to me. Someone said if the LED lifespan is cut from say 50k hours down to 15k, it'll still outlive me... Dan- sorry for not being more detailed in our talking, I figured we'd be thinking similarly about this and the risks as they are...

Click to expand...

Thanks, Greg, for the clarification, and I apologize for mis-stating your comments! Your assessments all appear to be logical and I agree that the ability to A) use rechargeable batteries and B) have increased output, are worth the loss in life and risk of . Wow - I usually run my lights around 10-15 minutes a day.....hmmm - if the light will run on RCRs for 15k hours...15 minutes a day...that's around 60,000 days of actual use - that's 164 years!

vestureofblood said:

Ya I do it too. 2 x 18650s behind a 200 lumen surefire E2DL head is pretty nice too.

Thanks for thinking of me run4jc, you know I got your back if it poofs

Click to expand...

But if it does , having seen VOB's work, it would be great to have the mod done by you! When you modded the last L1 with an XM-L, did you use the existing optic or did you modify that also? Thinking - a nice, warm XPG or XML might be perfect!

I have done both. The factory optics in a KX2 head make a decent beam, however the older L2s with a mop reflector were even better. I have also replaced the KX2 optics with a custom reflector and this is probly my favorite of all, very soft and smooth with a good throw.

No mis-statement at all, Dan! My quote was "no L1 death!" in response to your asking if we'd kill the L1's with RCR's... I had been unable to find anyone who stated they ran them and poofed one. Lots of warnings, lots of "no problems found"... I REALLY like this light at the higher output, and will personally take the chance, not that it's a slouch on primaries.

EDIT- Playing with lights tonight, always a scary thing, and thought "Hmmm... How about an L1 sized Aviator?" Anyone else with me???

Same here on the output, although only the 16340 will fit in mine... Anyway, been running it this way exclusively with nary an issue.

scout24 said:

EDIT- Playing with lights tonight, always a scary thing, and thought "Hmmm... How about an L1 sized Aviator?" Anyone else with me???

Click to expand...

Didja? Huh? COOL IDEA! Did it work? Now I gotta try it.....

vestureofblood said:

I have done both. The factory optics in a KX2 head make a decent beam, however the older L2s with a mop reflector were even better. I have also replaced the KX2 optics with a custom reflector and this is probly my favorite of all, very soft and smooth with a good throw.

Click to expand...

Are you in the mood for an experiment? I absolutely love the tint on all my incan lights, but I love the form factor, brightness and throw of the L1. It is a nice carry light and a good backup for some of the "hot rod", temperamental incans I carry on early dog walks.

I know that the thread is on RCRs in an L1 but this is relevant to the topic- could you put a nice, warm emitter that would be at least as bright as the XRE (??) that came in it? I'm getting 230 lumen using AW RCR...

Maybe we should take this offline?

I did try that lego, Dan. A2 head threads are different, but it's a neat looking mockup with the L1 body. I'm not sure how the electronics would handle a single RCR, or how runtime would be if it were doable. Warm L1 mod sounds really nice, maybe Vesture will chime in? I know he's modded a few. To stay on topic: As I understand it, the voltage to the LED is the issue being explored in this thread. So, a newer emitter with a higher voltage tolerance would negate this concern? The board seems tolerant of higher voltage as I understand it. Vesture- PM incoming...

the L1 runs in direct drive with rcr. my L1 sports a neutral xpg. With rcr it blows my LX2 away. As this is not regulated and runtimes will be short I prefer using primaries.

run4jc said:

Are you in the mood for an experiment? I absolutely love the tint on all my incan lights, but I love the form factor, brightness and throw of the L1. It is a nice carry light and a good backup for some of the "hot rod", temperamental incans I carry on early dog walks.

I know that the thread is on RCRs in an L1 but this is relevant to the topic- could you put a nice, warm emitter that would be at least as bright as the XRE (??) that came in it? I'm getting 230 lumen using AW RCR...

Maybe we should take this offline?

Click to expand...

Yes even a warm XML will be brighter than the factory XRE, especially powered by an IMR 16340.

scout24 said:

I did try that lego, Dan. A2 head threads are different, but it's a neat looking mockup with the L1 body. I'm not sure how the electronics would handle a single RCR, or how runtime would be if it were doable. Warm L1 mod sounds really nice, maybe Vesture will chime in? I know he's modded a few. To stay on topic: As I understand it, the voltage to the LED is the issue being explored in this thread. So, a newer emitter with a higher voltage tolerance would negate this concern? The board seems tolerant of higher voltage as I understand it. Vesture- PM incoming...

Click to expand...

An XML can handle a much higher current than XRE so wearing out the emitter is not a great concern. The issue you can run into with this is the VF of XML is actually lower than most XREmeaning draw a higher current at the same voltage, so if the XRE was being driven at 1.4A on an RCR cell the XML may be driven at 2 amp powered by the same cell. So doing the swap like this could possibly mean only use of an IMR or primary cell.

Thread bump!
I've read quite a bit on the L1 with primaries and 16340s. I would just like personal input or experience regarding burning out the electronics or led using a 16340 for extended use.
Has anyone burned out theirs? :candle:

I've watched this topic closely over the years and I know that some folks really like using the 16340's with these fine lights.
The LED isn't much of a concern IMO but the driver would naturally be harder to replace.
IIRC there have been one or two CPF reports of a lithium-ion cell killing these lights, but I know many others have had no issues.

I've never tried LiIons in my two 'user' L1's yet, but now that they are getting XM-L2's I'm very tempted ...

RCR123 16340s are all I use in my L1. It is still one of my favorite lights.

ETA: A middle ground would be the K2 Energy LFP 123A 3.2V battery that SF sells. It gives most of the benefits of the RCR123s without the higher voltage that could cause the poof. I just checked and I don't notice a difference in output when comparing the K2 3.2V batteries to the AW 4.2V batteries. Unfortunately I only have one L1 so I cannot do a true side-by-side comparison.

Thank you for the replies!
Hi Kestrel! I remember reading one member who burned his electronics using a 16340 for 30min(can't remember who), yet flashlightguide.com ran his light until the cell was depleted.:thinking:
If I was getting XML2s on mine I would be tempted too.:devil:

Thank you Dingle. I suppose the LFP are safer, unfortunately they are hard to find in my country.

Bumping an old thread. I just received a Gen 6 L1 and I'm checking if anyone has had any long term issues running a 16340?

I have always used the black AW 4.2 volt batteries. Results to my eye are that it is significantly brighter with these batteries. I have run this 6th gen till battery was depleted on high setting several times, no issues other than some heat.
i still love the L1 form factor even with all the other lights that are available. Oh, I had three of these gen 6 lights, all have worked with the 4.2 volt batteries. Two of them were gifted and still continue to work. I kept one for myself and use it frequently at work.