Issues running H60W and H60 with CR123A?

I have two H60 headlights, one Warm and one cool. With a correct sized spacer (I made the spacer) one of them has been run for about 5 minutes on a CR123A. Are there any issues with this?

zebralight states that those models are 18650 li-ion only...

which is why ive never picked them up... i dont know what will happen with 2x primaries... maybe others have tested it?

skyfire said:

zebralight states that those models are 18650 li-ion only...

which is why ive never picked them up... i dont know what will happen with 2x primaries... maybe others have tested it?

Click to expand...

I think I can guess what would happen with 2 primaries...he is talking about 1 primary and a spacer.

I don't think it would work very well. A 123 primary is only 3 volts, an 18650 when fully charged is close to 4.2 and if it's protected, it will stop providing power to the light somewhere around 3.5 volts IIRC.

Zebra is very meticulous about their drivers and they are very narrow ranged in their voltage for their lights. While you may have gotten your light to ignite with a 123 primary, I'd bet it's either not as bright as it would be with a genuine lithium ion RCR, or that it's going to overtax the battery and try to draw more from it than it can safely provide.

If you really want to use 123 cells, use RCR 16340's as they will have the same voltage range as an 18650 and should work better.

I personally would just bite the bullet and carry the extra weight of the 18650; with the newest ones that are out, you get four times as much energy as a single RCR123.

Edit: If you do decide to use RCR123's (16340's) use only one and a spacer; using two could your light.

I am using only 1 CR123A, two would probably blow the light, since it is rated for 2.7 to 4.5 volts. Since the 2.7 volts is less than and 3 of CR123As is does seem to work. I suspect that it would cut off before the battery was even near used up.

It was just a thought, because I carry CR123A backup batteries for my other lights, though they all normally run on 18650s or 18350s.

You should check the marketplace. Someone there makes and sells 18650 sized spacers that you can use with AA's. They might have them available for 16340's as well. That way you could run the light on a single RCR123 and it would perform just like an 18650 except for the run time.

I am the one that makes the spacers. They are available in anysize, since I custom make them all in my garage.

The spacer I am using for this is a 18mmx31mm.

B0wz3r said:

You should check the marketplace. Someone there makes and sells 18650 sized spacers that you can use with AA's. They might have them available for 16340's as well. That way you could run the light on a single RCR123 and it would perform just like an 18650 except for the run time.

Click to expand...

MartinDWhite said:

I am the one that makes the spacers. They are available in anysize, since I custom make them all in my garage.

Click to expand...

classic!

Okay then. That little digression aside, which I didn't know about nor was stated, my previous comments on voltage still apply.