Malkoff M61 series w/ 2AA batteries

Trying to figure out what I can do with a Malkoff M61L or M61LL, a G3 body, and a 2AA spacer with two AA batts. I know the optimal setup is an M31, but don't have one of those, and don't want to get one just for this.

Question is, will 2AAs run an M61L or LL at all, even if out of regulation? How much light might I expect, for how long? Will it damage drop in in any way?

thanks!

Since you have the modules on hand, give it a whirl and let us know how it turns out. You will not damage any M60/61 series with 2AA's. Over voltage is where you run into problems. Undervoltage means it will always be running below regulation.

candlelight001 said:

Trying to figure out what I can do with a Malkoff M61L or M61LL, a G3 body, and a 2AA spacer with two AA batts. I know the optimal setup is an M31, but don't have one of those, and don't want to get one just for this.

Question is, will 2AAs run an M61L or LL at all, even if out of regulation? How much light might I expect, for how long? Will it damage drop in in any way?

thanks!

Click to expand...

I've run a Malkoff M61 off of 2 AA L91s in an L2R for awhile... It ran fine.. didn't flicker.. seemed a bit dimmer... didn't leave the drop-in in long enough to know what the runtime would be though.

I have an M61WL. It lights up on 2xAA. It's tough to estimate the lumens, especially in the middle of the afternoon, but it's definitely usable light. My best guess is that it's somewhere in the 25-40 lumens range.

It's nice to have a body that can run 3x123 or 2xAA, but you're gonna have a lot of rattle in there, and without a spacer, your light is gonna be spotty.

I don't know if it will damage the drop-in. Since it's running out of regulation, below the voltages it can take, I believe that it shouldn't have enough power to damage anything, but I'm far from an electrical engineer.

Please report after testing if you can - not much recent info has been posted on these configs on CPF.

2xAA Alk vs 2xAA NiMH would also be interesting - the slight difference in voltage between these two might be significant with respect to output. Edit: The reason I ask is that there was a huge difference in output with the Malkoff M60LL re: 2xAlk vs 2xNiMH.

I just tested an M61 with 2AA Nimh and got 18mA at the tail with usable output, nearly the same output as the low in an MD2.

It will run with two AA's - I have tried two (very bad, partially discharged) NiMH AA's in the Malkoff MD3 body. It lights up, but of course unregulated, medium/low level light.

Trying it with a pair of NIMHs and the M60wL. Definitely puts out usable light. More than enough for indoor tasks, waiting for dark to test outdoors. After 1 hr, the batteries read 1.33 v. After 2.5 hours they read 1.28. Turning it off till dark.

I just put in 2AA Alkalines into a Surefire G3 with a Malkoff M61WLL. I will try to do a runtime test with a camera to monitor any drop in output; will post my findings when I am finished.

I've tried all my Malkoff dropins in a C3 on 2 L91s. I don't have a way to measure tailcap current and am fuzzy at best at estimating Lumens. The M60W, M60WL and M61WL were all dim, with the M60 the most dim. The M61WLL seemed to run better than half its normal output. I've taken to running the M61WLL in a C3 body with a dummy so I can use L91s if I run out of 123s. AA batteries will rattle a bit in a C3, but a folded piece of paper or any other appropriately shaped insulator solves that problem.

Edit: Output appeared to be around 70 lumens on a fresh set of alkalines and after three and a half hours output had dropped to about half.

I had a look over the photos I had taken and I left the auto-adjust feature on which adjusted the brightness accordingly which lead me to believe that output was constant. The previous post has been deleted by me and this as it's replacement

I wonder what the outcome of a M6x module in a MD3 host with a hi/lo ring if there is any light output in the low position using 2 eneloops?

mbw_151 said:

I've tried all my Malkoff dropins in a C3 on 2 L91s. [...]

The M60W, M60WL and M61WL were all dim, with the M60 the most dim.

The M61WLL seemed to run better than half its normal output.[...]

Click to expand...

Great info, this corresponds with previous CPF reports regarding the M60 vs M60LL and the M61, all on 2xAA.

Thank you very much for your report with regards to the quite-usable output with the M61LL on 2xAA (regarding L91 lithiums, but also probably AA alkalines, which will have close to the same voltage under minimal loads - at least compared to 1.2v NiMH's.)

Ran the M61wl for another 4 hrs last night. Still plenty o usable light, batteries in the 1.3v range when I pulled them out. I'm concluding that yes, you can run the M61s on 2AA and you'll get usable light for a long time. A nice backup option.

I have run an M61W on 2xAA (eneloop) in an MD3 body with a delrin sleeve that I made. The output was (like others have said) very low compared to the normal M61W output, but it was in the realm of cheap incan 2xAA flashlights like I used before I found CPF.....and spend thousands of dollars on flashlights....

MartinDWhite said:

I have run an M61W on 2xAA (eneloop) in an MD3 body with a delrin sleeve that I made. The output was (like others have said) very low compared to the normal M61W output, but it was in the realm of cheap incan 2xAA flashlights like I used before I found CPF.....and spend thousands of dollars on flashlights....

Click to expand...

Any chance you had a hi/lo ring in that MD3 head to see if you got a moon mode in the low position?

Interesting. Anyone do a runtime test with a set of eneloops and a malkoff m61LL?