Will I be able to run a R17670 in a quark 123^2 body with a low voltage xm-l head?

I plan to buy a quark 123^2 body and mate it with a NW 2AA XM-L head I have and run it with R17670. Would the battery fit in the quark 123^2 body given that it's slightly bigger than a CR123? Would I get significantly more runtime than say with a setup using R14500?

arjay said:

I plan to buy a quark 123^2 body and mate it with a NW 2AA XM-L head I have and run it with R17670. Would the battery fit in the quark 123^2 body given that it's slightly bigger than a CR123? Would I get significantly more runtime than say with a setup using R14500?

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I think people have had luck with the 17670 in the 2x123 body. Check the voltage rating (0.9-4.2v) on the low-voltage head, and compare it to the voltage (3-4.2v) and capacity (1500 mAh) of the AW 17670 vs an AW14500 (900 mAh).

AnAppleSnail said:

I think people have had luck with the 17670 in the 2x123 body. Check the voltage rating (0.9-4.2v) on the low-voltage head, and compare it to the voltage (3-4.2v) and capacity (1500 mAh) of the AW 17670 vs an AW14500 (900 mAh).

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The capacity of the battery should not be a problem. Any 4.2V battery will run the 4.2V Quark head, provided it fits in the tube. 4sevens even had 1X18650 tubes for their Quark flashlights but discontinued them only because they had some machining issues.

Cataract said:

The capacity of the battery should not be a problem. Any 4.2V battery will run the 4.2V Quark head, provided it fits in the tube. 4sevens even had 1X18650 tubes for their Quark flashlights but discontinued them only because they had some machining issues.

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1500 mAh vs 900 mAh means about 50% longer runtime compared to a 14500. Yes?

Note: Be sure to use protected cells and switch as soon as Turbo gets dimmer, as the low-voltage head can suck a Li-Ion down to 0.9v (!)

AnAppleSnail said:

1500 mAh vs 900 mAh means about 50% longer runtime compared to a 14500. Yes?

Note: Be sure to use protected cells and switch as soon as Turbo gets dimmer, as the low-voltage head can suck a Li-Ion down to 0.9v (!)

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Close... more like 60% more runtime, or about 1.6667 times the runtime - just to be anal . Double capacity means double the runtime as long as you are not pulling more current than what the cell is rated for (no worries to be had with the Quarks in this case)

+1 on protected cells... good cells are well worth the price difference.

I plan to buy a quark 123^2 body and mate it with a NW 2AA XM-L head I have and run it with R17670.

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I have used this exact combination with no problem. I use AW 17670 cells and they fit in the aluminum body but did not fit the titanium body. Its my favorite Quark combo for size and power. The discontinued 18650 tube allows much longer runtimes but the flashlight feels so much bigger in the hand and the pocket that I prefer the smaller 17670 in the 123^2 tube.

**EDIT** I had to remove the silver AW sticker from the cell so that it would fit in the tube. It's a tight fit so some cell / body combinations may not work.

AnAppleSnail said:

I think people have had luck with the 17670 in the 2x123 body. Check the voltage rating (0.9-4.2v) on the low-voltage head, and compare it to the voltage (3-4.2v) and capacity (1500 mAh) of the AW 17670 vs an AW14500 (900 mAh).

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Where can I find AW14500 with 900 mah capacity? all I can find are 14500 (750mah) and 17670 (1600mah). With that I should get more than double the runtime correct?

cave dave said:

I have used this exact combination with no problem. I use AW 17670 cells and they fit in the aluminum body but did not fit the titanium body. Its my favorite Quark combo for size and power. The discontinued 18650 tube allows much longer runtimes but the flashlight feels so much bigger in the hand and the pocket that I prefer the smaller 17670 in the 123^2 tube.

**EDIT** I had to remove the silver AW sticker from the cell so that it would fit in the tube. It's a tight fit so some cell / body combinations may not work.

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How much runtime do you get on turbo with this setup? if the cells won't fit, will I be able to just sand down the battery tube to make them fit without compromising the tube?

arjay said:

Where can I find AW14500 with 900 mah capacity? all I can find are 14500 (750mah) and 17670 (1600mah). With that I should get more than double the runtime correct?

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Check AW's thread in the market place. Not sure about 900mAh 14500, I have 750mAh ones, which run with the exact same specs as RCR123's at 750mAh.
If you mean more than double the runtime from 750mAh to 1600mAh, then yes.

arjay said:

How much runtime do you get on turbo with this setup? if the cells won't fit, will I be able to just sand down the battery tube to make them fit without compromising the tube?

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You could always sand down the inside of the tube - or have it machined. If we're talking about thousands of an inch, it wouldn't compromise anything, but I know you'll have some fun cursing while doing that. The tolerance on cell size are usually tight enough, so I wouldn't worry too much. Worst case scenario, you'll have to remove both the head and the tailcap to push the cell out when changing it.

arjay said:

How much runtime do you get on turbo with this setup?

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I've never tested it myself, but selfbuilt did runtimes on the coolwhite XM-L high voltage head and they should be similar. Thread is here:
4Sevens Quark AA-2 X and 123-2 X Review (XM-L): RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS and more!

Runtime as measured by Selfbuilt on Turbo with a 17670: 1hr 13min.

This is with the high voltage head. I would guess the low voltage head has a similar regulated runtime. One of the disadvantages of he low voltage head is that the light just goes out without any warning when the protected circuit on the cell hits the low voltage limit.