Sorry beginners question P60 drop ins

I have just bought a surefire 6p led with a view to putting a new drop in in it. I have seen a solarforce that can handle 2.7-9.0 v. Would this mean I could run it on 2 rcr cells. The specs only talk about 1 or 2 18650's. I haven't really got my head around the whole voltage thing.

gst138 said:

I have seen a solarforce that can handle 2.7-9.0 v. Would this mean I could run it on 2 rcr cells. The specs only talk about 1 or 2 18650's.

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Yes only two 16340 cells would work. But you should keep in mind that a 16340 cell can not provide that high current that a 18650 cell can (i.e. if an Oveready High Power Dropin is used)

Oh it CAN get confusing. Don't worry. If your drop in can handle 2.7-9.0 volts you have lots of options. You can run 2 primaries. That's 6 volts. Regular 123 batteries. You can run 2 16340's that's the rechargeable version of the 123 primary.there around 8 volts for the 2 You can also run a single rcr. In a 6P that means a 16650 3.7 volts. this is probably your best bet. They have much more capacity then 2 16340's. 18650 won't fit. As long as as you don't go above 9 volts your ok. And you should be fine as there is really no way to go over 9 volts in a 6 P. And I'll just throw this out there. If your looking for a VERY good drop in take a peek at Malkoff. They have them for just about anything you might need. I bit on a pricey side " probably more then you paid for your 6 p" but trust me. They really are the best. Good luck

The voltage and battery options out there can very perplexing. Has your 6P been bored out to fit 18650's? If not, One 16650 cell MAY work. I have a few Solarforce drop ins with the same voltage specs as yours. One will work with only one cell (4.2) volts and the other wont. My take on Solarforce drop ins is they are decent for the money, but not the best out there.

Also, keep in mind there are so many variances in battery voltages. For example: a cell may read 3.7 volts on the wrapper, but charge to over 4.5 volts, and rest at 4.3 volts. I have some RCR123's with 3.0 volts on them, they charge to almost 4 volts and rest around 3.7.

There is also length issues to consider, two protected 16340 cells can be too long to work in some lights. The 6P should be fine, but just worth mentioning for others who may read this.

I would probably try: One 16650 to see what happens. I bet it will work.


You may want to read this post too. It could be helpful?
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?454803-16650-VS-17650-Li-Ion-in-m-2-cell-Surefire

Good luck

That's a nice range gst. You have lots of choices with that drop in.

Warms my heart to see interest in the P60 platform.

I feel a bit cheated that I didn't get into the P60 platform until after most vendor support had gone away...

--flatline

Thankfully, there's still a ton of support. The sheer number of C/P/G/D compatible parts out there is staggering. If it can't be done with a 6P, does it really need to be done?

(Ok, shy of 10,000lm showoff monsters, necklace lights, and super throwers...)

It's pretty easy to find hosts, but the number of vendors selling P60-compatible drop-ins is pretty limited unless you're willing to try no-name drop-ins off of Ebay.

We have threads for P60 hosts and P60 drop-ins, perhaps we should start a thread for tracking which vendors still sell reputable drop-ins. Off the top of my head, I can only think of malkoff, customlites, illumn, and lumens factory. I think the last time I checked mountain electronics they were out of stock for everything P60.

--flatline

Oveready has another batch of V5 dropins in the works, Sportac are still available iirc, and Vinh will build you one to spec. I believe Tana will do the same. A thread for dropins, bezels, tailcaps, switches, etc maybe? Keep it all under one roof?

Just wanted to reaffirm that building a flashlight using your choice of dropin is very satisfying, but can be a learning curve involving troubleshooting. Maybe not but it is easily doable, especially with the experts here. They probably went through the same kinds of things. My favorite flashlight (though not used everyday) uses a dropin.

scout24 said:

Oveready has another batch of V5 dropins in the works, Sportac are still available iirc, and Vinh will build you one to spec. I believe Tana will do the same. A thread for dropins, bezels, tailcaps, switches, etc maybe? Keep it all under one roof?

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That sounds great to me, but I have to wonder if the reason such a thread doesn't already exist is that it might violate CPF terms and conditions since it could be seen as recommending vendors that don't have a relationship already with CPF.

--flatline

flatline said:

That sounds great to me, but I have to wonder if the reason such a thread doesn't already exist is that it might violate CPF terms and conditions since it could be seen as recommending vendors that don't have a relationship already with CPF.

--flatline

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Recommendations are fine, just don't direct link to sales sites please

I'll check, but I believe as long as links aren't posted, and one person isn't answering every question asked with a recommendation for one mfgr's/ dealers products... I'll be right back.

Edit: Flatline- Go for it, start the thread. No links, but manufacturers/dealers/builders who offer parts or accessories to keep the platform running are ok.

I'll assemble some notes and start a new thread.

--flatline

flatline said:

Off the top of my head, I can only think of malkoff, customlites, illumn, and lumens factory.

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P60vn of course

Lumens Factory makes some awesome drop ins that accommodate a wide variety of input voltages. My current most used light is running a D26 drop in with a 16650 and I love it.

Is Vinz (not Vinh) still around, making dropins ?

archimedes said:

Is Vinz (not Vinh) still around, making dropins ?

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At least in the german Taschenlampen Forum, he is absent since > 1 year. If he is still active doing Dropins and Modding I do not know. I never had his email address nor contact with him.

WarriorOfLight said:

At least in the german Taschenlampen Forum, he is absent since > 1 year. If he is still active doing Dropins and Modding I do not know. I never had his email address nor contact with him.

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That is too bad.

I have only two of his dropins, they are beautifully made.

PFlexPro (Randy) makes P60 drop-ins. I have one (in addition to two Convoy S2+ PFlexPro lights) and highly recommend them. Potted, highly customizable, fantastic thermal management. IIRC, he advertises a free emitter upgrade, although I have not taken him up on this yet. But his store has been offline for a while. Hopefully he comes back soon.