Quark X 123^2 on a 14500

GForGeep · Jan 10, 2012

just as the title suggests, does anyone know if a Quark X 123^2 will work with a 14500 in the AA body? how bright and how long will it run for? i really want to make my next light purchase a quark, but i want a really bright single AA format with the possibility of a 14500 for more lumens. I've read quite a few threads but none addressed my question (last thread i checked out was the Quark AA^2 using a 14500 in AA body)

I've been posting quite a bit of questions lately and i apologize if i'm annoying anyone. I'm new to the forum and i am doing my best to search through all the threads before asking a question.

americanpiegamer188 · Jan 10, 2012

The 123^2 head is (3.0V~9.0V)

Any of the other heads is (0.9V~4.2V)

A 14500 is 3.7v
2x 14500 is 7.4v
1x AA 1.5v
2x AA 3.0V

The only reason to get the 123^2 head is if you planned on using 2 lithium batteries. Either 2x 14500 or 2xCR123.

TL;DR - The 123^2 head will work for 1x 14500 but not for 1x AA

GForGeep · Jan 10, 2012

Thank you for clearing up my confusion americanpiegamer188, it crushes my hopes, but i'm glad to know the reality. would the 123^2 head be worth running on a 14500? or would runtime just suck? i'm tempted to get the 123^2 and a lot of RCR123s since it's not that much larger than the quark AA. are there better batteries i could use in the 123^2 X that would help with runtime?

roadkill1109 · Jan 10, 2012

GForGeep said:
Thank you for clearing up my confusion americanpiegamer188, it crushes my hopes, but i'm glad to know the reality. would the 123^2 head be worth running on a 14500? or would runtime just suck? i'm tempted to get the 123^2 and a lot of RCR123s since it's not that much larger than the quark AA. are there better batteries i could use in the 123^2 X that would help with runtime?

Hey guess what? You could get an 2xAA body and run that head off two 14500's thereby having fantastic runtimes in the process! You will however end up with a longer light, but with the runtime as a tradeoff, might be worth looking at!

I have a spare 2xAA tube at home which i attached my TurboX head (also 9.0volts like your 123^2 head) then ran it off two 14500's. Fantastic runtimes!

If you are looking for the ultimate Quark EDC, you could get an XML 2XAA Quark then get a AA body THEN run it off one 14500 cell.... there are lots of CPFer's rocking that here.

I've been pushing Dave to offer the XML Quark head only, unfortunately he said, NO. hahah....

I've tried running a 9 volt head on a single 14500, not that bright... looks just bit over moonlight mode, plus im sure it is over-taxing the single 3.7volt cell.

americanpiegamer188 · Jan 10, 2012

Why not use get a non 123^2 head?

Then you can run:
1x AA
2xAA
1x 14500
1x CR123

But NOT 2x 14500 or 2x CR123

GForGeep · Jan 10, 2012

roadkill1109 said:
Hey guess what? You could get an 2xAA body and run that head off two 14500's thereby having fantastic runtimes in the process! You will however end up with a longer light, but with the runtime as a tradeoff, might be worth looking at!

I have a spare 2xAA tube at home which i attached my TurboX head (also 9.0volts like your 123^2 head) then ran it off two 14500's. Fantastic runtimes!

If you are looking for the ultimate Quark EDC, you could get an XML 2XAA Quark then get a AA body THEN run it off one 14500 cell.... there are lots of CPFer's rocking that here. I've been pushing Dave to offer the XML Quark head only, unfortunately he said, NO. hahah....

I've tried running a 9 volt head on a single 14500, not that bright... looks just bit over moonlight mode, plus im sure it is over-taxing the single 3.7volt cell.

now that XML 2AA with AA body is what i was thinking, but that runtime might not be so great, will it? i wish 14500 had more mah than an RCR123 since it appears to be a bit bigger. the only problem with that setup is price. xml 2aa ($69) plus AA body ($20) for 280 lumens @$89. the regular quark AA is $55 and i think puts out 205 lumens. are the extra 75 lumens noticeable (with throw taken into consideration) and worth the extra $34? Normally i'm such a max-output-lumens kind of guy, but after my RRT0 550 fail purchase, i'm starting to rethink what's more important in a light.

Edit: After rethinking things, you're right, can't buy the XML head on it's own so it's better to get the XML @AA then get the body, and if anything, get a regular quark head later

roadkill1109 · Jan 10, 2012

GForGeep said:
now that XML 2AA with AA body is what i was thinking, but that runtime might not be so great, will it? i wish 14500 had more mah than an RCR123 since it appears to be a bit bigger. the only problem with that setup is price. xml 2aa ($69) plus AA body ($20) for 280 lumens @$89. the regular quark AA is $55 and i think puts out 205 lumens. are the extra 75 lumens noticeable (with throw taken into consideration) and worth the extra $34? Normally i'm such a max-output-lumens kind of guy, but after my RRT0 550 fail purchase, i'm starting to rethink what's more important in a light.

Well, ive been using it for quite sometime now, and runtimes on 14500 are longer than on RCR123's. The mAh is a bit misleading. I use 14500's with 2000mAh (1600 actual) and they last longer than my RCR123's which are 800mAh.

The Regular AA Quark is running an R5. the Quark XML's start with dual cells (2xAA and 2x123's)

XML's in Quarks are floody lights. If you want to consider throw, you'll have to look to the Turbo-line of Quarks and some of the Maelstrom models too.

Yes, i agree, you have to decide what you look for in your lights.

Here's how i did it, I EDC a Quark w/14500 and use it as my general light, when i need throw, i grab another light.

I was in the search for what could trump my Quark AA, and what i found was the Sunwayman V10A, also running on a 14500.

As for my flashlight collection, i have a penchant for throwers rather than flooders.

GForGeep · Jan 10, 2012

roadkill1109 said:
Well, ive been using it for quite sometime now, and runtimes on 14500 are longer than on RCR123's. The mAh is a bit misleading. I use 14500's with 2000mAh (1600 actual) and they last longer than my RCR123's which are 800mAh.

The Regular AA Quark is running an R5. the Quark XML's start with dual cells (2xAA and 2x123's)

XML's in Quarks are floody lights. If you want to consider throw, you'll have to look to the Turbo-line of Quarks and some of the Maelstrom models too.

Yes, i agree, you have to decide what you look for in your lights.

Here's how i did it, I EDC a Quark w/14500 and use it as my general light, when i need throw, i grab another light.

I was in the search for what could trump my Quark AA, and what i found was the Sunwayman V10A, also running on a 14500.

As for my flashlight collection, i have a penchant for throwers rather than flooders.

Good to know the Quark AA was that good to you to last so long. how is the SWM V10A as a thrower? how bright does it get on a 14500? and how long does it run? I hate all of these choices when it comes to flashlights. the people around me just don't understand how intense flashlight discussion/selection can get

roadkill1109 · Jan 10, 2012

GForGeep said:
Good to know the Quark AA was that good to you to last so long. how is the SWM V10A as a thrower? how bright does it get on a 14500? and how long does it run? I hate all of these choices when it comes to flashlights. the people around me just don't understand how intense flashlight discussion/selection can get

Yeah, i go everywhere with it. It's my Go-To light. Now it shares duty with the SWM V10A. The V10A is not a thrower, the hotspot is very wide and is really designed for general use. It runs 460 lumens (manfacturer rated) on a 14500 cell. So far since i started using it last week, i've had to swap out 14500's just once so far, and i use these lights daily, alternating between the two.

If you are in the market for a small thrower light, try checking out the Lumintop L1C or the P1C as these are small XPG R5 throwers, each about 200 lumens max.

Frankly speaking, just decide first on your wants and needs before finding the flashlight for you. There are just TOO many out there and so much to choose from.

This forum is a great help, you can get varied opinions from hundreds of flashaholics around the world and that will help you decide which light is for you.

GForGeep · Jan 11, 2012

roadkill1109 said:
Yeah, i go everywhere with it. It's my Go-To light. Now it shares duty with the SWM V10A. The V10A is not a thrower, the hotspot is very wide and is really designed for general use. It runs 460 lumens (manfacturer rated) on a 14500 cell. So far since i started using it last week, i've had to swap out 14500's just once so far, and i use these lights daily, alternating between the two.

now how long can the V10A run on high with the 14500 safely? Im very careful with my jetbeam and I'd rather have a light I don't have to worry about running it too long on turbo

roadkill1109 · Jan 11, 2012

GForGeep said:
now how long can the V10A run on high with the 14500 safely? Im very careful with my jetbeam and I'd rather have a light I don't have to worry about running it too long on turbo

Well, when it starts to get hot, i lower the output. Depending on the current climate, it can vary from about 3 minutes to about over 10 minutes before it gets too hot. I havent tried holding it against the air conditioning vent and wait how long it can run on max before dimming.

I dont let my lights run long and run hot as this will greatly reduce its life.

GForGeep · Jan 11, 2012

would i be better off getting the V10R and the AA extender? or just stick to the V10A if i were to get a Sunwayman?

roadkill1109 · Jan 11, 2012

You could get the V10R with the AA Extender, If you plan to use CR123's along with AA's. Me i just want 14500's better since they have longer runtime so i went with the V10A.

GForGeep · Jan 11, 2012

the V10A doesn't run the 14500 too hard in turbo?

roadkill1109 · Jan 11, 2012

nope, just right at 460 lumens.

GForGeep · Jan 11, 2012

I mean it doesn't draw more than 2A at 460?

Quark X 123^2 on a 14500

GForGeep

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