The amount of room needed for the leads may have an impact, but then perhaps a larger/wider slit would help to accommodate them. Plastic conduit has a bit more internal space as posted above.
I’ve used a circular saw to cut a slit in several 10 foot sections of conduit (to better protect buried cable) and didn’t loose any body parts; but I wouldn’t recommend it either. 
Awesome. I was thinking something very much along what you built, except I will add insulation everywhere it can go. Probably also tin the contact surfaces as per OL’s updates on using copper (kinda looks like you’ve done that on one end).
Maybe the OD varies by geography/supplier? Home depot specs show same OD as PVC?
ID is a bit larger at .81 vs .75, so might be more room for the parallel rig.
I’d hazard a guess they still sell rolled heater hose for vehicles and braided hose for bilge pumps somewhere . . grew up there, but get back less and less often . . . OC is just not the same any more.
The O.D. of the pipe I have is just under 1”
virtually the same diameter as a C cell
That is very nice looking work you did there. Do you know off the top of your head what gauge copper sheeting you used?
That’s bloody brilliant! And I like the harbor freight background
Great ideas all for finding the right pipe to sleeve 18650s. I will hit a plumbing supply house around the block tomorrow, and lowe’s. I’ll find it yet!!!
As I said, I modded some pf those translucent sleeves that come with a lot of 18650 lights to stop the battery rattle. I then neatly layered a “ring” of electric tape to bring the diameter up for a tight fit in the defiant battery tube. Works GREAT, but does not have the slick look of the pipe-sleeve.
If you haven’t done it, I HEARTILY recommend the 18650 mod in this thread. This light may be a spotlight beast, but it also is a 18650 miser. Almost 40 minutes with ONE samsung unprotected pink pack-pull 2600 only brought the battery level down to like 4.02. And one 18650 versus three c-cells REALLY lightens the load!
Thanks to everyone for their pipe-hunting tips. I won’t give up until I find the right diameter!!! I feel in my bones that my luck will change tomorrow.
It just hit me. You can fabricate your own pipe quite easily. Use a sheet of thin plastic or hard cardboard to wrap into a tub shape. If you use cardboard, be sure to monitor for wear so you don’t get a short. Those thin plastic throw away cutting board sheets that they use for cooking would probably be a great material.
dchomak,
I realized the brilliance of your wooden insulator design after I commented above. You eliminated the need for a spacer like the pennies I was using. I wish I would have noted that a spacer thicker than 4 pennies would be better. A thicker spacer would give more spring compression (lower resistance generally). Other than that, it looks like you have about the lowest resistance setup that can be made for this app. If I wasn’t a diy kind of guy, I would be offering to purchase some of those from you.
dct73,
Thank you for your kind words.
I was at my Home Depot today and bought the last of the 3/4 inch pipe that they had. From now on, anybody that wants some has to deal with me.
Seriously, If anybody can’t find it just PM me and I will send you some, no strings attached.
Here is a pic of the display, they sell short pieces, precut to 2’ as a courtesy to anyone that needs just a short piece. It didn’t sell so they put it on clearance. They had 5 left so i bought all 5. Marked down from $1.09 per 2’ length to $0.23.
where in ct are you? i could use some
Some guys have all the luck . . $0.90 each here . . our small town never gets good markdowns since there is no competition.
Even the guy in plumbing didn’t have a clue where or what they were . . and he was standing in front of a box full of them!
Fits nice in the C tube, 3/4” dowel fits inside tube and loose cells need o-rings.
EDIT: Dummies fit great using your measurements, though I used 8-32 instead of 6. Lotsa fun drilling by hand! 2.6Ah with Keeppower IMR and no mods.
Also bought a couple 1” copper tubing straps to flatten out and use for parallel leads - think they will be long enough - 1 might even be good for the two cells if I cut them in half. Resistance was the same as holding the leads together. $0.24 for 1 strap.
Wow — I’ve got a garage full of power tools, and it didn’t cross my mind to run any kind of a saw through the pipe to make a slit. How’s that for “can’t see the forest for the trees”?
Next time I do something like this, I’ll secure the pipe to a scrap of wood and run the whole thing through the table saw.
I did the "cut a slit in PVC pipe" trick in order to fit a 3/4" conduit inside a 1" (I think it's 1") white PVC pipe because the 1" PVC needed "expanded" a little. I did this to fit 18650's into a D cell Mag mod. Pretty sure this particular pipe method was posted over in that other forum. I believe I used a hacksaw to cut mine in a vise.3
Ah, found photos I have on PhotoBucket:
-Garry
I just got my driver and I did my 2x18650 mod in series. No adapter needed, just a spacer.
I also keep 3C compatibility. More details later.
I am in West Hartford. I used Invertory Checker HERE and find that they have them in New Milford, Bridgeport, Danbury, Derby and Trumbull. Are any of those near you?
BTW, the SKU is #293305
yup i go by the derby everyday and live in danbury -thanks!
My Defiant 3xC/2x18650 mod post is now complete. Enjoy!
Try this stuff:
So how do you guys think a hard driven XR-E would do in this light? Would it make it the ultimate thrower?
-Garry