Surefire 870 Light Problems

[AAshooter]

I just got off the phone with the technical support folks at Surefire about my Surefire light on my 870 shotgun. They didn't leave me with warm fuzzies.

The last time I used my shotgun was for a night class. The first night I discovered my batteries were dead in my light so I used the single-cell 123 batteries in my light rather than the 2-cell 223 package (since I did not have one) recommended by Surefire. I think I went through 3 lamp assemblies that night. You can imagine my excitement with that.

The following day, I ran around in a panic to find the SF223AC batteries and used the 2-cell pack the following night with no problems.

I just found out that Surefire not longer supplies the 223 battery packs. Apparently they are restricted by Federal law in distributing shock resistant batteries. Instead they now recommend that you use the 123 batteries.

Here is a portion of their response to an earlier e-mail:
"You need to be aware that it was not by choice that we discontinued the 223AC battery. The federal government will no longer allow us to ship the "recoil resistant" batteries. The only solution at this time is to use the 123A batteries."

This is particularly frustrating given the following information from their web site:
"SureFire shotgun replacement forends feature a shock-isolated bezel/lamp assembly and a machined barrier between the lamp and battery stick to prevent the battery stick from slamming into the rear of the lamp during recoil. Batteries within the battery stick are separated by a fiber washer and held within a plastic sleeve as further insurance against recoil-related failure."

So I called Surefire and I explained my issues with using the 123 batteries, the support person first questioned whether they were Surefire batteries or not. He says Duracell and some of the other run a little hotter for longer battery life and they tend to blow lamps.

He said it "should" work fine on the Surefire 123 batteries. He said some people have problems with the rear battery's positive terminal inverting so he said some people exchange the batteries position half way through their battery life. I assume so you only beat up the rear battery half as much. Of course, that gave me a lot of confidence in the robustness of their solution.

He also said you could tape them together and it might help. Another confidence builder.

I shared with him that his answers seemed to be somewhat vague and I wasn't feeling confident in the product with the 123 batteries. I asked if they have done any extensive testing with this solution. He told me they have but didn't have any details.

He also suggested that if I wasn't confident with the light perhaps I should consider returning it to the dealer for refund.

Needless to say, the whole conversation just reduced my confidence in using Surefire's solution for the 870. I feel like Surefire is leaving me hanging. Not a good feeling for a defensive light.

Any ideas or suggestions?

They did say they would send me a complimentary lamp for my problems. Given the price of lamps, I appreciate it but I felt they were throwing me a bone (which I happily accepted).

[Neophyte]

I think the surefire battery sticks are basically two 123A batteries in a plastic sleeve with fiber washers as spacers. Maybe you could just make your own using heatshrink tubing and washers. Ask them if they can send you the fiber washers they used, or at least point to a source. Ask around online or at the gun shop for an old stick to use as a template.

And what federal law or agency would prohibit "recoil-resistant" batteries, anyway?! Honestly, my BS meter is twitching a bit. See if they'll give specifics.

[AAshooter]

They also weld a conductive strip between the two batteries so there is a hard electrical connection, not just a rely on a physical one. Additionally the batteries do not have the positive "end cap" of "bump" on them.

[GunsnRovers]

It would be relatively easy to go to a place like Batteries Plus and have them make up the packs for you.

Folks do weld their own, but it's easy to frag a battery if you screw it up.

Access to a good spot welder makes terminals easier to make.

As for Surefire asking you which brand you were using, that's a cop out on their part. For a long time, they were selling Sanyo cells. Then they switched to Duracell. At the time, Duracell (who does not make a 123 lithium) was sourcing from Sanyo. Surefire, to my knowledge, has also used Panasonic cells. The battery world is actually very small in terms of manufacturers. Lots of cross branding and labeling going on. It's often very hard to tell who is making batteries for who.

When I worked for Sanyo Energy from 1993 to 2000, we made Duracell their rechargeables and lithium batteries. They made our alkylines.