# Surefire E2E and MN03 Lamp



## Dawg (May 11, 2007)

Can it handle RCR123 LI Ions? Forgive my ignorance on the matter. I tried searching and came up blank. Thanks.


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## cbdudley (May 11, 2007)

The MN03 will not handle rechargeables. Do a search on "Lumens Factory" - they make high quality lamp assemblies that are designed specifically for this application.


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## savumaki (May 11, 2007)

cbdudley said:


> The MN03 will not handle rechargeables. Do a search on "Lumens Factory" - they make high quality lamp assemblies that are designed specifically for this application.



I use RCR 123 and a Lumen's Factory LA--works GREAT! Cheap light.


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## Dawg (May 11, 2007)

Thanks guys. I will have to get a few bulbs. I tried the MN03 with 2 RCR123's for just a few seconds, and I could tell by the nice white color it was being over driven. :laughing:


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## Dawg (May 11, 2007)

Good tip. I just ordered a few of the High output E series bulbs that run off 2 RCR123's

The shipping was kinda low. Like 6 bucks. Anyone that has them shipped to USA before? Chime in, how long to get em after the order is placed?


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## GeorgePaul (May 14, 2007)

Dawg said:


> Anyone that has them shipped to USA before? Chime in, how long to get em after the order is placed?


I have ordered LF bulbs directly from LF and it only took a few days (3-4, IIRC) to receive the order. I live in Redondo Beach, CA.


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## [email protected] (May 15, 2007)

Dawg,

Airmail shipping normally takes 7-10 days at most to reach the US.
Yes, the shipping is low because this is exactly how much the post office charge us and we are not making money on the shipping.
Now you know how much of a rip off the guys at ebay is charging people for shipping.

Cheers,

Mark


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## Dawg (May 18, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Dawg,
> 
> Airmail shipping normally takes 7-10 days at most to reach the US.
> Yes, the shipping is low because this is exactly how much the post office charge us and we are not making money on the shipping.
> ...


Thanks for responding in my thread Mark. You are absolutely correct about the Ebay scams. I do not buy much from there anymore because of the BS charges for shipping. I look forward to getting the bulbs. I am sure from what I have read here at CPF that I will be a regular customer. 

Mike


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## SmokeDiver (May 18, 2007)

+1 for Lumens Factory. Shipping to Chicagoland was about a week or so, lamps came well wrapped (read protected) and work just fine in my E2D.


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## ampdude (May 19, 2007)

Dawg said:


> Thanks guys. I will have to get a few bulbs. I tried the MN03 with 2 RCR123's for just a few seconds, and I could tell by the nice white color it was being over driven. :laughing:




I'm surprised it didn't burn out right away. Has anybody else tried this?:thinking:


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## FlashSpyJ (May 20, 2007)

is there much diffrence between the MN03 and the LF HO-E2A (6V 110 lumen)?
which one is the brightest?


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## Dawg (May 20, 2007)

ampdude said:


> I'm surprised it didn't burn out right away. Has anybody else tried this?:thinking:


Not only did it not burn out, it is still working fine. I use that particular light every night to walk my dog. Also, I just took delivery of a brand new E2D, and with them side by side, the beams are pretty much the same, as far as intensity and color. I guess the fact the bulb didn't fry is testament to Surefire quality.


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## ampdude (May 20, 2007)

Just to be sure, this was 4.2V RCR's and not the 3.0V ones right?

Were they fully charged? What brand and protected or protected?


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## Dawg (May 21, 2007)

ampdude said:


> Just to be sure, this was 4.2V RCR's and not the 3.0V ones right?
> 
> Were they fully charged? What brand and protected or protected?


They are Tenergy 900 mah and labeled 3.0v protected. But they come off the charger usually at 4.2 volts. Just for the heck of it, I checked the very same 2 cells that I tried and have been using for the last week in another light with a KL1 and they are currently at 3.97 and 3.99v respectively. They were only used a few times lightly since the trial in the E2e. They were fresh off the charger by the way when I tried them in the E2e.


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## ampdude (May 21, 2007)

Oh man, wish I had read your post just a couple minutes ago. Tried a couple of AW 4.2V RCR's on a spare MN03 I had just for giggles and it insta-flashed. :/

Dunno why yours would show up as that high a voltage as they are supposed to be regulated at 3.0V. Should show up around 3.2V when fully charged.


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## labrat (May 31, 2007)

Dawg said:


> They are Tenergy 900 mah and labeled 3.0v protected. But they come off the charger usually at 4.2 volts. Just for the heck of it, I checked the very same 2 cells that I tried and have been using for the last week in another light with a KL1 and they are currently at 3.97 and 3.99v respectively. They were only used a few times lightly since the trial in the E2e. They were fresh off the charger by the way when I tried them in the E2e.



So what you do is charging protected 3.0 Volts rechargeable cells in a charger meant for 3.7 Volts rechargeable cells?
I do not think this is very healthy for your cells!
There are chargers for the 3.0 Volts rechargeables, they do not top up the voltage as high as 4.2 Volts and will make your 3.0 Volts rechargeable cells last longer. And will also protect your cells from venting (and possibly flaming!)!
A rechargeable 3.7 Volts cell used with a lamp meant for 3.0 Volts battery will most certainly instaflash the lamp.
Tried in an E1e with a MN01, and the flash was really instant!
So I would advice you to get a charger suited for your rechargeables, for 3.0 Volts rechargeables..
And the Lumen Factory lamp for 6 Volts/110 Lumens IS brighter than the MN03, but the difference is not that much really.
But if you go up to 3.7 Volts rechargeables and the 7.2 Volts/150 Lumens lamp in an E2e/D, the difference will be very noticeable!


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## Dawg (Jun 4, 2007)

labrat said:


> So what you do is charging protected 3.0 Volts rechargeable cells in a charger meant for 3.7 Volts rechargeable cells?
> I do not think this is very healthy for your cells!
> There are chargers for the 3.0 Volts rechargeables, they do not top up the voltage as high as 4.2 Volts and will make your 3.0 Volts rechargeable cells last longer. And will also protect your cells from venting (and possibly flaming!)!
> A rechargeable 3.7 Volts cell used with a lamp meant for 3.0 Volts battery will most certainly instaflash the lamp.
> ...


Nope....not using a charger that is inappropriate with the Tenergy cells. I am using the Tenergy RCR123 charger that the batteries came packaged with. Like I stated earlier, the cells are marked 3.0 volts, but they come off the charger at over 4 volts. I just took 2 off the charger a few minutes ago and tested them at 4.11 and 4.12. I have been using these cells and charger for over a year. I have purchased the very same packaged battery and charger set for two of my friends from battery junction, and they like I, have had zero issues. 

I do not know why Tenergy labels their batteries as 3.0 when they are not. I just tried the MN03 lamp again with 2 Tenergy batteries that test at 3.84 and3.86 respectivly, and no instaflash. Maybe I have a freak bulb. It is very white and bright compared even to the new Lumens Factory bulbs that I have purchased. I am going to leave the bulb and use it and see how long it lasts.


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## Outdoors Fanatic (Jun 4, 2007)

ampdude said:


> I'm surprised it didn't burn out right away. Has anybody else tried this?:thinking:


My MN01 burned like in under 30 milisecs after I lit it up on a RCR123. Don't be stupid like myself to try this.


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## jayflash (Jun 4, 2007)

`Going off on a tangent...if you want much longer run time with almost the same brightness as the MN03/CR123 combo, use the MN02 instead. The 03 is only brighter than the 02 for the first few minutes when the CR123's are fresh. For most or their life the MN02 will be brighter with CR123 cells. The MN02/CR123 will give longer RT than RCR123 cells/MN03 but at a little less brightness.


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## Outdoors Fanatic (Jun 4, 2007)

jayflash said:


> `Going off on a tangent...if you want much longer run time with almost the same brightness as the MN03/CR123 combo, use the MN02 instead. The 03 is only brighter than the 02 for the first few minutes when the CR123's are fresh. For most or their life the MN02 will be brighter with CR123 cells. The MN02/CR123 will give longer RT than RCR123 cells/MN03 but at a little less brightness.


Lumens Factory bulbs on AW hi-current RCR's are better than the MN02 and primaries. Get the HO instead of EO with you want more runtime.


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## ampdude (Jun 4, 2007)

jayflash said:


> The (MN)03 is only brighter than the (MN)02 for the first few minutes when the CR123's are fresh.




I'm sorry, but this is completely untrue.


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## jsr (Jun 5, 2007)

Dawg said:


> I do not know why Tenergy labels their batteries as 3.0 when they are not. Maybe I have a freak bulb.


 
No freak bulbs and no mis-labelling here. There are 2 (main)types of 3.0V R123A cells:

1. 3.0V by Chemistry
2. 3.0V (actually more like 3.2V) by internal circuit.

The 3.0V/3.2V ones that use a circuit to drop the voltage charge at approx. 4.4V and have an open circuit voltage around 4V. Once load is applied, the circuit kicks in (circuit needs current to operate) and drops the voltage to 3.0V/3.2V. You have the Tenergy cells that are 3.0V by circuit and that's why you don't blow your bulb. BTW, the circuits takes a few ms to kick in.

For either type (chemistry or circuit), let the cell rest before powering the light or it will instaflash the MN03.

I prefer to run my MN03 on my 3.0V R123As as it's considerably brighter and almost perfectly white since it's being overdriven a bit. But the runtime's not very good.


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## jayflash (Jun 8, 2007)

Well, ampdude, I could be wrong or, possibly, made observations based on less than scientific procedure. I'm sorry if I've misled anybody. I was referring to primary CR123 cells - not rechargeable. The "3 volt" RCR123s would be different.

Perhaps in my case the LAs that I have and the particular cells used with them generated untypical results. Maybe I should have been more specific than: "a few minutes" and stated after approximately 15 ~ 20 minutes the output is about the same.

The MNO3 draws almost twice the current of the MNO2 so the voltage drop is more noticeable for the lamp requiring the greater voltage along with the CR123 cells being less efficient at the higher drain. With fresh cells my E2e's output matches my Wine Light's after not that much use and continues to drop. Perhaps this is not always case due to lamp and cell variations and their pairings.


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