Better is a relative term. High drain cells can probably squeeze out a few more lumens, but not a lot. You have the Shockli 5500mah, right? You could try a 30T, but I doubt you would see a difference with your eye. You might measure a couple hundred more lumens, but the SST40 is pretty much maxed out. It tends to peak at about 9 or 10 amps. Beyond that, the extra heat it produces results in a reduction in lumens and possibly a burnt led or reduced life led.
Fitting a 21700 should be easy, just center the front of the battery on the driver spring, then put the tail cap spring on the center of the rear of the battery and screw together.
I’m not sure you understand the ratings your quoting. Max amperage and max continous amperage is only good for comparing one battery to another. It’s irrelevant in matching a battery to a flashlight. People seem to get this mixed up all the time.
The Shockli 5500mah is not a high drain cell, it’s a high capacity cell and should be just fine for this light.
If you went to a high drain cell, like Golisi 4300, iJoy 4200, Aspire 4300, Samsung 30T, etc… PLUS used Turbo a lot, then you are taking higher risks. People have tried these cells on the SST-40 and it survived, but they were not run for long on Turbo so maybe it will burn up quickly or not so quickly, who knows. These cells will squeeze out a few hundred more lumen, which is good if your measuring lumens, but your eye will not see a difference. In my opinion, it’s not worth the risk to use them.
So I would stick with the Shockli 5500mah.
On a side note…
The battery situation for the xhp50.2 version (this thread I notice) seems to be a bit different. That led can handle at least 19A with no problem. High drain cells might be fine with that led and probably give a bigger jump in output.
Now that I think about it, we really don’t know what the upper amperage limit of these newer copper wire SST-40 leds are. The older gold wires burnt up around 9.5-10A. I’m not sure anyone has torture tested the newer version. Output might still peak around 10A, but it might handle 11A or 12A. Who knows.
It won’t run well without a battery directly from usb. That being said, it’s an awesome light to keep in the truck. That’s where I keep mine. Just throw in a good 26650 battery and you can keep it charged using the usb port in your truck. Besides, you wouldn’t want to be limited to staying inside your truck with it anyways. I use mine on camping trips and recharge it while I drive. Doesn’t get much better.
Yea its custom i have it written some where in the thread back ages ago or maybe its in the SST40 thread its either 26 or 28mm i can’t remember exactly but i think its 26mm. The reflector hole opening is huge like 18mm. if i remember correct. That being said you can make a 20mm MCPCB work. \
Meh i was close lol
Gasket size is 23mm overall
Reflector is 62mm (outer ) Looks almost 60mm inner
Thanks everydaysurvivalgear!
Bottom opening in reflector is 18mm That is extremly huge. So without the right centering ring it will be a pain to center a led.
28mm MCPCB. Had hoped for something a bit smaller. Like a standart 20mm. But i will have to check if i can make it fit.
To bad there are no 3030 boards in this size.
I’m not a shill, just thought I’d share this US based deal. Arrived fast.
I picked up these vapcell 5900 26650 for $16.99 on eBay. Nice case too. Fit 2x 26650, and 1x 18650,14500, 10440. Actual shipper was mahbattery.com
I’ve been told these are the Shockli 5500 mah but just relabeled. Cheapest I could find them.
I also somehow got a $5 coupon so I snagged some 4200 mah 26650 for $10.99 that are still on the way. Maybe they will give even more lumens. Albeit with loss of runtime.
FT03 is still in transit but USPS has it marked as “expecting package” as of August 8th.
