With the new NANJG 105C driver I didn't have enough room for protected cells. The tailcap wouldn't screw on fully and the light would come on even when the switch was off (the negative end of cell was contacting the switch retaining ring). This can be solved, but you're going to have to find a washer or two to substitute for the large white spacer in the tailcap.
Also, you'll need to trim the nub off the inside of the boot. The boot is held in by the stainless trim ring, so that needs to be unscrewed. I just used my needlenose pliers in the indents of the ring to break it loose.
So..if I read correctly the X9 cannot take protected 18650s after replacement of said 2.8A driver?. This has me a little confused as it seams others on here have also modded the driver and made no mention of being unable to use protected 18650. If you don't mind Mitro...would you mind explaining to me why there is a difference in clearance between the stock driver and custom driver and the extent of that difference (i.e..is the replacement thicker then the stock one, or does it have to be mounted in a different location?).
The NANJG 105C has components on the contact side of the driver which makes it necessary to have a spring (included) and it takes away at least 3mm from the space in the battery tube. Maybe some people won’t have any problems, but it was very apparent with mine once I put a Callie’s Kustoms 3100 in it.
I refrained from installing the NANJG 105 because on my sample it would lead to the same issues that mitro has encountered.
Waiting for good unprotected batteries in hope of avoiding body rework that NANJG would call for.
At the moment, with stock driver, I'm getting 2.05A measured from an AW 2200 (computed about 2.2A in real use), which is quite bearable. The reflector size and quality make up for the lower power. Of course, we strive for both...
Will this upgrade going to be an issue using AW 2200mah and XTAR 18700 2600mah protected batteries? bought this driver to upgrade my X9 using these batteries.
The gasket the diameter of the board and the metal disk will both add their own thickness. I'd rather just dremel-cut a couple of turns off the spring, leaving only as much as needed for the battery shoulder to clear the board components (taking into account some pressure against the spring). That, IMO, would be the most space-conscious solution.
Not shure if that would be enough, though.
If the above doesn't work, a well-known solution is to remove the entire spring and replace it with a fat blob of solder thick enough for the battery to clear the components. You might need to periodically clean the tin oxide on that blob to keep the light at top performance. I have done this on another light and as far as I can tell, the oxide doesn't seem to be a problem at all.
You don't need to have the spring on the nanjk driver..I have one light that had issues with spacing and I removed the spring..the button on the top of the cell makes contact just fine with the pad of the driver..
edit:sorry..I forgot this was the one driver I had modified to drive at 1.4a..all the 7135's on the spring side have been removed to accomplish this..that's why it works without the spring..
Absolutely. No need to bother rigging something up on the driver end. Mine is working nicely on unprotected or protected cells and also with or without the lanyard ring.
All that is needed is a way to shorten up the switch assembly. As well as swapping out the spacer I mentioned above, it could be cut,filed, or sanded down to shorten it.
In hind sight, knowing how both of those lights perform, would you get a Keygos if you had an X9 or vice versa? You know, if you wanted only 1 decent thrower.
I'm trying to decide what 18650 light to get next and wondering if I should get a C8 variant like the Keygos or go for a slightly more floodier light.
I like the Keygos for what it is and is towards the top for performance per dollar, but the X9 still wins hands down. And this is despite not being driven as hard as it could (~1.85A). I think the X9 is still worth the extra $10 and it's clearly a better thrower. The reflector is considerably bigger. The size is also great for a flashlight primarily used around the house or in one particular location. The Keygos is much more compact and travels better. The X9 also has a great feel holding underhand. The tube is the perfect length for me as my thumb seems to find one of the indents just behind the heat fins and the back of my palm rests towards the end. It's quite the comfortable grip for just being a straight tube. If you want a thrower and don't need a compact design, definitely go with the X9 over KE5/C8 types. It's also very nice looking in person. The photo's don't do it proper justice.