Traditionally anything 2x 18650 is for higher power not longer run time, someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. And honestly if your going to pay $25, why not pay $40-50 for a good drop in?
I guess I’m not exactly understanding. Most of the “high power” P60 drop ins don’t do 2x18650 (like the mtnelectrics I linked), while the P60’s that take the 2x18650 (like the solarforce) are low amps.
So I’m sort of looking for a higher power / higher amp drop in that will take 2x18650.
The sportac (more expensive) look good but the variable won’t do 2x18650, which is typical (fine) for a triple, but, notably, WILL do 2xCR123 primaries.
Rufus, I get I could get a custom for a lot of $$. Are there any non custom / ones that will work 2x18650 off the shelf?
What about off the shelf drop ins that are higher power that would do 2xCR123?
I’m assuming that when you specify 2.5A - 3A you are talking about current to the emitter. 3A at ~8V from 2 batteries would be very high power — and you wouldn’t want that in a P60. What kind of lumen output are you looking for?
3A to the emitter (about 10 Watts) is easily handled by 1x18650. 2x18650 will only give you longer runtime. You can get that by swapping batteries when needed, unless you are in some kind of unusual environment or situation.
If you need more power than that, you can still get it from a 1x18650.
I can’t see any advantage to 2xCR123, unless you have a Surefire host (or something similar) that can’t accept an 18650. I think you would be very unhappy about the cost of operating a 2xCR123 light. I’m sure that the only reason Sportac dropins are designed for 6V is for the Surefire crowd.
Buck drivers (to handle 2x18650 cells) tend to be more expensive than simpler linear drivers, they tend to be bigger than will fit in a P60 pill and/or have limited features. The one buck driver that I just found that is small enough for a P60 pill and delivers 3A is $19, and it is a single mode driver.
gypo, thanks for all of your feedback. I want to be able to run a wide range of battery types, 2.7 to 9v, like the solarforce drop ins do. But, as many have shown, these tend to be underdriven on one 18650.
Gypo, do you know of any P60 drop ins that have more power (say over 2.5 amps to the emitter) but that will also handle dual 18650s?
I’m not looking for parts, I’m looking for an off the shelf drop in. Do you know of any you could recommend?
Thanks!
I haven’t seen anything like that. FWIW, here is why I think they aren’t popular.
Drivers that can handle the wide range of voltages tend to be more expensive than simple linear drivers. And they are probably less efficient. I think that drivers that handle wide ranges of voltages that also boost current when running on the lower voltages are even more expensive. And they tend to be large.
Given that a single protected 18650 can easily deliver 2.5 Amps to an emitter, most everyone is happy with single cell P60s. My newest protected Panasonic 18650 can deliver about 8 Amps — far more than a P60 could deal with.
There just isn’t enough benefit to 2x18650, for most purposes, to include the more expensive and more complicated drivers. I believe that the market that caters to Surefire wants multi cell dropins because they prefer primary CR123A cells over rechargeable cells. So those like Sportac strive for 6 Volts to satisfy that market. Those dropins (like Malkoff) are constructed to be extra rugged to meet the standards of reliability that Surefire customers look for and therefore cost more. Sportac is probably the low end for that market.
“I’m not looking for parts” — Yes of course. I just talked about part to illustrate why a P60 with those characteristics might tend to be expensive.
Well, I’m happy now to know why you think what I’m looking for isn’t popular, AND, that you haven’t seen anything like what I asked about. It is still what I’m looking for, and maybe some of the more experienced folks on the forum have seen something that Gypo hasn’t.
I’ll definitely keep my eyes open. Looking under every rock and stone is a predilection of mine, so if one is out there I might notice.
BTW, if Richard at Mountain Electronics (RMM on this forum) was making custom builds (I don’t think he has the time these days — maybe sometime soon again), he could put one together from parts he carries — but it would run around $33 — largely due to the cost of the driver. If he happens to stock a less expensive driver that he could use to build something for you, I’ll drop you a line. Cheers!
