Has anyone used orbtronic 16650’s in surefire’s?

Has anyone used these batteries in surefire's that are normally supposed to take two cr123's? If so, how did they do?

I have a current production 6px that I would like to use these in and plan on getting a 1000 lumen e2d defender that would also be nice with rechargeable cells. I don't know anything technical about lights or batteries and just want to make sure using these would be safe for the lights, batteries and myself. Would the runtime be better, worse or pretty much the same as using two 123a primary cells? What would be a good charger to use for the 16650's?

I have a Surefire 6p with a Malkoff drop-in and use Keepower 16650's with no issues. My charger is a Nitecore D4 and it charges every battery size I have.

I bought several Orbtronic 16650s about a month ago. They fit fine in my older model SureFire 6P, G2, and C2.

Checkout the Orbtronic site, they have good tech info.

orbtronic.com/16650-li-ion-battery-rechargeable-protected

They rate these with a max discharge capacity of 5 amps. I don't know anything about the newer Surefire lights, but that'll probably be enough.

Their website sells chargers too, by the way.

Megalamuffin said:

Has anyone used these batteries in surefire's that are normally supposed to take two cr123's? If so, how did they do?

I have a current production 6px that I would like to use these in and plan on getting a 1000 lumen e2d defender that would also be nice with rechargeable cells. I don't know anything technical about lights or batteries and just want to make sure using these would be safe for the lights, batteries and myself. Would the runtime be better, worse or pretty much the same as using two 123a primary cells? What would be a good charger to use for the 16650's?

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Make sure to read up on Li-ion cells so you have some understanding of how to treat them and what to expect from the cells as far as run-time goes. I'd say do that BEFORE you buy the Orbtronic cells and a charger.

The Orbtronic 16650 is a rewrapped and protected Sanyo UR16650ZTA limited to 4.20V. It is a good cell. I have several myself.

Stress_Test said:

They rate these with a max discharge capacity of 5 amps. I don't know anything about the newer Surefire lights, but that'll probably be enough.

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CR123A are specified at 1.5A max discharge (3.5A pulse).

Megalamuffin said:

Has anyone used these batteries in surefire's that are normally supposed to take two cr123's? If so, how did they do?

I have a current production 6px that I would like to use these in and plan on getting a 1000 lumen e2d defender that would also be nice with rechargeable cells. I don't know anything technical about lights or batteries and just want to make sure using these would be safe for the lights, batteries and myself. Would the runtime be better, worse or pretty much the same as using two 123a primary cells? What would be a good charger to use for the 16650's?

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First off, I just want to say that you should be fine with using your E2D with a 16650 (although you should do your research on the potential dangers of Li rechargeable batteries in flashlights and come to your own conclusion). That being said, my experience with the 16650 is on the SF Tactician (E2T-MV; 800 lumen with 2xCR123's).

I've used an Eagletac 16650 in my SF E2T-MV. Noticeably less lumen, but longer runtimes... albeit with even lower lumens as the cell discharges. @Jose Marin on this forum linked a written graph of his findings, and I find that my unofficial "eyeball" observations seem to mimic his findings (link to Jose Marin's graph). I would assume that the SF E2DC might similarly have significantly lowerd output compared to fresh CR123's. I've since took the 16650 out of my E2T-MV and made it a dedicated "defensive emergency" light with primaries (2xCR123's) for longer term storage.

I would assume that you will have noticeably less lumen with a 16650 on your 1000 lumen E2D Defender, although it would still probably be considered very bright. I found that if I had my light stored for a few months and brought it out, the voltage drop from storage made it seem like it was running at around 60% output compared to a fresh set of CR123's, and around 80% output compared to the 16650 fresh off of the charger. For the record, I have the older E2D Defender LED (200-300 lumens maybe?), and with the same 16650 it seems to be only putting out like 50 lumens on high (eyeball guesstimate). For rechargeable, user replaceable battery lights, I've swayed away from SF, and dedicated my E2D (older version), E2T-MV, and EDCL2-T for situation specific emergency flashlights, and use other brands for general purpose lights for working, everyday, or sporting activites. I have considered taking the 2xCR123 heads, getting and using 1xCR123 bodies with a 16340, but it seems like a lot of bother and expense for lights that have compromised general purpose specs, while further compromising the tatical lumen parameters.

You have to remember that 2xCR123's is 6 volts (nominal), and 1x 16650 is 3.7 volts (nominal). So you're starting off with a lower voltage with the rechargeable 16650. I don't know how these lights will fair with 2x16340's (though 7.4v nominal) or 2xLiPo equivalents (6.4 volts nominal). I'm afraid it might damage the LED over time so I haven't tried it... I also don't own any LiPo batteries.

I'll add, that although I have not ordered CR123's from online dealers, a pack of 12 SF CR123's bought directly from Surefire is less than a similar 12 pack of Energizer of Duracell from the local HD (although I don't emeber shipping costs). Even Cabela's Streamlight batteries are sold at $7 for a 2 pack (more expensive $/cell than a 12 pack of Energizer, Duracell, or SF) if you are looking to pick something up locally.

I tried an Orbtronic in my older EB2, the max brightness seems to be limited by voltage, looks almost like a pwm mode.

I have a couple in two of my 6Ps.

Thanks for all input.

It sounds like I will get more of what I want out of these lights by just running 123 primaries, which I don't mind buying, rechargeables are just so convenient. I have been using 3.2v rechargeable 123's that surefire recently came out with and they work well but with greatly reduced runtime.

If running 16650s, another alternative is to swap out the P60 head for one designed for use with LiIon cells, like the ones from Lumens Factory and Malkoff.

Timothybil said:

If running 16650s, another alternative is to swap out the P60 head for one designed for use with LiIon cells, like the ones from Lumens Factory and Malkoff.

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Would you (or any member) happen to know if the Malkoff 16650 and 18650 disable some of the function of particular SF models? For example, the gas pedal design of the EDCL-x T, or the twisty feature of the E2T-MV?

I use these in Surefire 6Ps daily. I've only had one problem. One arrived dead. I emailed their support and they ended up sending me another one right away. Very happy with them.

I ended up ordering a pair of orbtronic 16650's and the charger they recommended. I tried them out in my 6p with a malkoff m61wll drop in (80 lumens) and a 600 lumen 6px. I tried one in my old 130 or so lumen streamlight polytac, which was a very tight fit. I don't plan on using it that way and was just curious if it worked. Worked perfectly in both surefires and I didn't notice less brightness with either compared to new primary cells. If they could be compared side by side there may be a small difference but I don't have a way to test that.

I expect they will run a looooong time in my 6p with m61wll drop in. Really that drop it runs long enough it doesn't need rechargeables but no one ever disliked free lumens. I'm glad I went ahead and bought them, I think they will work well for me.

That's cool. Glad it worked out. I've been happy with the Orbtronic cells I've purchased.

Incidentally, I also have a Streamlight Polytac and it's the same way. There was one 16650 out of the group I bought that could fit without major difficulty, but it still took a push to get the cell in. And getting it out was tough of course. That light for me will just stay as a standby backup with lithium primary cells in it.

I have a Surefire G2x 600 lumen light. Would an Orbtronic 16550 power the light and run Ok?

Isn't a 16650 just like using two CR123's?

My other option is tk buy a couple sets of Surefire rechargeable CR123's.

Thoughts??

I'd honestly go the SF rechargeable route. If anything happens to go wrong, you can complain directly to SureFire. 3rd Party battery? Good luck getting some satisfaction from SF.

I took my old 6P and put a Lumens Factory drop-in in it and a Orbtronic 16650 and it runs fine. Same with a Pelican M6.

I was unwilling to alter my now discontinued 6P to fit an 18650.

I use them in most of my Surefires new and old LEDs. They work great! That is pretty much all I use in my Tactitian. I also use it in a 600 lumen G2 and 500 lumen Fury and they work great and get good runtime. I use them in the older e2d led, L4 and E2L.

I meant to also say the Keeppower 16650 also work well!

Both the Orbtronic and Keeppower 16650 protected cells work fine in my E2T Tactician. I measured about a 12% loss in full output vs. two CR123 batteries, but it was still north of 700 lumens with a longer and more steady run time. The only lights I use CR123 batteries in are WMLs and emergency lights kept in the cars.