What do I need to get started using my Quark AA with a 14500 battery?

LivingDaylight · Dec 29, 2011

I've done some searching but I can't seem to find any clear info on this.

I got a Quark X AA2 for christmas, and I plan to also buy the single AA body to go with it. I understand that I could dalso use a 14500 cell with that head since it is within the voltage rating and has the same form factor as the AA. Is this correct?

I have a few other questions:

Are 14500s rechargeable? I only have a cheap eneloop charger. Which one would you recommend?
Where is the best place to buy the batteries?
How would brightness and runtime compare to the single AA?

Thanks!

kreisler · Dec 29, 2011

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?258759-Running-14500-s-in-a-Quark-AA-R5

LivingDaylight · Dec 29, 2011

kreisler said:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?258759-Running-14500-s-in-a-Quark-AA-R5

That is some good info, thank you. What about the battery itself though? Is it rechargeable? Where would I buy it and a charger?

Outdoorsman5 · Dec 29, 2011

Yes, 14500 are rechargeable. They are Li-ion which is most likely the same type of battery found in your cell phone, laptop, ipad, & lots of other devices. You cannot use your eneloop charger with a Li-ion battery. You must use a charger designed for Li-ion batteries. The best & most recommended around CPF is the PILA charger. I use a charger (cytac dual bay charger) that I got from 4sevens which seems to work just fine. I monitor voltage very closely with a multimeter though just to make sure it is doing its job properly.

Stick with quality brands like AW and Redilast. You can get AW brand batteries from 4sevens.com, goinggear.com, and others.

Brightness will be comparable to the brightness when you use 2 regular AA batteries in the AA2 body. When using the 14500 you will still have access to all output options, and runtimes are very good. On my new XM-L Neutral head using an AW 14500 I got 58 minutes on max and 2 hrs on high. I have not yet tested any of the other output settings with a 14500.

Get educated on how to handle Li-ion batteries before buying them. Go to batteryuniversity.com to learn more.

LivingDaylight · Dec 29, 2011

Outdoorsman5 said:
Yes, 14500 are rechargeable. They are Li-ion which is most likely the same type of battery found in your cell phone, laptop, ipad, & lots of other devices. You cannot use your eneloop charger with a Li-ion battery. You must use a charger designed for Li-ion batteries. The best & most recommended around CPF is the PILA charger. I use a charger (cytac dual bay charger) that I got from 4sevens which seems to work just fine. I monitor voltage very closely with a multimeter though just to make sure it is doing its job properly.

Stick with quality brands like AW and Redilast. You can get AW brand batteries from 4sevens.com, goinggear.com, and others.

Brightness will be comparable to the brightness when you use 2 regular AA batteries in the AA2 body. When using the 14500 you will still have access to all output options, and runtimes are very good. On my new XM-L Neutral head using an AW 14500 I got 58 minutes on max and 2 hrs on high. I have not yet tested any of the other output settings with a 14500.

Get educated on how to handle Li-ion batteries before buying them. Go to batteryuniversity.com to learn more.

That's essentially the same setup I will have. Would you say it's worth the extra expense and trouble to go with a 14500 over a single AA?

Gregozedobe · Dec 29, 2011

Excellent advice from Outdoorsman5.

For charging my 3.7v Li-ion batteries I am very happy with these (most versions have a display for the voltage so you can monitor progress) :

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...l-Worlds-smallest-Li-ion-charger-with-display

LivingDaylight · Dec 29, 2011

Gregozedobe said:
Excellent advice from Outdoorsman5.

For charging my 3.7v Li-ion batteries I am very happy with these (most versions have a display for the voltage so you can monitor progress) :

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...l-Worlds-smallest-Li-ion-charger-with-display

That is very cool. How do the clips attach to the battery? I can't think of a way to get an alligator clip on an AA battery, are those different somehow?

Edit: Magnets! I read it a bit more carefully. That is a very clever design.

Outdoorsman5 · Dec 29, 2011

LivingDaylight said:
That's essentially the same setup I will have. Would you say it's worth the extra expense and trouble to go with a 14500 over a single AA?

To me and many others it is definitely worth it, and I believe the Quark AA was designed more for the 14500 than any other battery. Having the output of a 2 X AA Quark in a single-cell light is very nice, and makes the quark AA my favorite edc light. The ergonomics of this light are perfect to me (not too small & not too big.) I really like that I can use a standard AA battery in a pinch if needed as well. Also, get the deep carry pocket clip with it...perfect for edc.

LivingDaylight · Dec 29, 2011

Outdoorsman5 said:
To me and many others it is definitely worth it, and I believe the Quark AA was designed more for the 14500 than any other battery. Having the output of a 2 X AA Quark in a single-cell light is very nice, and makes the quark AA my favorite edc light. The ergonomics of this light are perfect to me (not too small & not too big.) I really like that I can use a standard AA battery in a pinch if needed as well. Also, get the deep carry pocket clip with it...perfect for edc.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on it. Thanks for your help!

One other question: If I bought the quark 3-9 volt head could I use two 14500s in my 2AA body, and get similar runtime and brightness as the quark X 123-2?

Outdoorsman5 · Dec 29, 2011

LivingDaylight said:
One other question: If I bought the quark 3-9 volt head could I use two 14500s in my 2AA body, and get similar runtime and brightness as the quark X 123-2?

Yes, the 3-9v head would work fine with two 14500 cells in the AA2 body, and the output & runtimes would be comparable to using two RCR123 batteries in the 123x2 body. The only problem with this setup is that you wouldn't be able to use standard AA batteries with the 3-9v head. I've tried, and only the moonlight mode works when using alkaline bats.

If you want the extra output of a 3-9v head then you'd be better off with the Quark X 123x2 using two RCR123 Li-ion batteries. The overall size of the light would be smaller plus you'd have the option to use primary CR123 batteries as well.

What do I need to get started using my Quark AA with a 14500 battery?

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