First off… Greetings from cpf! I finally made an account here after lurking for months lol.
I just ordered myself a dry 3 xml from Intl outdoor and was wondering about batteries. I was planning on using aw imr batteries but after reading some posts here it appears that imr batteries and turbo mode are a no no.
Would it be fine to run them on high mode for short bursts? I don’t want to fry the leds or the driver and I don’t mind getting different cells If I have to.
Any feedback on imrs and this light would be appreciated. Thanks!
Greetings, and welcome to the BLF family, JMPaul320!!
Since the DRY, in turbo mode, runs in direct drive, you stand a much higher chance of damaging the LEDs by running IMR cells. If you limit it to only short bursts you may be ok but I'm not offering any guarantee. If you got the model with the auto step-down driver and you don't abuse it you will possibly be ok but I honestly wouldn't recommend it.
Good quality Li-Ions will give an easy 3.5-4.5A to the LEDs in turbo mode. Anything beyond that will actually make less light and more heat. I run Panasonics in mine and get 3.6A at the tail but others have reported more. I really recommend you get a set of good quality Li-Ions for this light. As it is it gets crazy hot very fast. I can't imagine how it would be on IMR cells with their ability to deliver massive power. There just isn't enough mass on the DRY for me to trust it to handle the potential heat issues.
Ok thanks I will just return the imr cells to light hound or perhaps put them in the market place… maybe I’ll just get their high quality unprotecTed cells instead… Or is there a different cell that you would recommend?
Edit: I’m looking at these http://www.lighthound.com/AW-18650-Unprotected-2200-mAh-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_106.html
I'm not familiar with those and hesitate to recommend them as they seem a little underwhelming. I'm sure others here who know more about cells than I do will chime in shortly with some great suggestions.
In the mean time, poke around in here to see what batteries appeal to you. You will find all the best options and the best places and prices at which to get them: http://budgetlightforum.com/forum/batteries/rechargeable
The BLF Battery Database is the best place to check to see what batteries are available, what the manufacturer's rated capacity is, and what real world tested capacity is. It's a fantastic resource that our members have composed!
Ok... one more thing... should unprotected cells be used since turbo runs direct drive at a high current? I would use aw 3100 protected cells but I don't want to pop the ic protection km turbo mode
AW cells are overpriced, get protected Sanyo UR18650FM based cells (such as HiMax 2600mAh, Spark 2600mAh, Xtar 2600mAh etc)
Protection shouldn't trip at currents under 6 amps, so shouldn't be an issue. The reason it says to use unprotected is simply due to size of the battery carrier, if your cells fit ok then use them.
If they don't I recommend getting 3x Sanyo 2600s from intl-outdoor or 3x Panasonic NCR18650a from orbtronic or somewhere. These are both the same as used in AW and other reputable brands 2600 and 3100mah protected cells anyway, but much cheaper.
The problem is that IMR cells have the ability to dump large amounts of current out. Which when the XM-L is directly hooked up to the batteries can overheat the leds and kill them.
Yeah sorry, when I said 'if your cells fit use them' I meant the protected 3100s. Definitely not the IMRs, as they could push over 5-6 amps to the LEDs and kill them quite quickly. I find with the DRY output starts to drop if current goes above around 4A at the tail, so much more than that is probably not doing much good output or longevity wise for the light.
I will measure the aw protected cells and see if I can find dimensions for the battery holder. I found a thread on this but no one tried the 3100 cells for fitment
What you can do is just make a spacer for the battery holder out of washers if they don't fit.
Aloha and welcome to BLF jmpaul320!
Oops. I never realized your were new here. 
So Welcome! 
Is something is overpriced that is Spark 2600mah $18.7 for one cell + shipping.
Spark are certainly overpriced, but AW's aren't much, if any, cheaper.
Orbtronic, Callies Kustoms and intl-outdoor are the best value atm I think.
If you have any old laptop batteries lying around those generally have some good cells in them.
i went with the SANYO UR18650FM from intl out door... too bad i didnt order when i bought the dry, now the light will probably arrive a week ahead of the cells...
i ordered 6 cells for now, since they are so cheap, i got the metal battery carrier while i was at it as well...
maybe i will try a few other cells but it looks like for the price these will do nicely
edit: and thanks for all the help and insight on the batteries, I had previously been paying nearly $20 a cell for aw 3100mah or redilast, does not seem at all necessary at all anymore (i have about 8 or 9 of them now)... will be interested to see how the sanyo do in the dry
old laptop battery pack cells might be good by capacity, but they generally have increased internal resistance, making them not-so-good for high-current applications (such as DRY flashlight)
Or you could say that makes them better, even Xtar 2600s (Sanyo 2600s with PCM, so higher internal resistance) give too much current to my DRY and cause output sag.
It's good to have you here, jmpaul320!
