Need substitute for Olight 186C30

[Kitchen Panda]

Does anyone happen to know if the ORB-186C35 will work in an Olight H2 Nova and give the full 2200 lumen capability of the lamp?

"Don't buy a proprietary battery" they said. "Stay away from weird customized cells" they said. But I said "The Nova H2is so pretty and *bright*, I must have one."

Just under four years of *very intermittent and easy service" later, the ORB-186C30 battery has failed. Oh, it seems to have 3.7 volts from button to base...but it won't charge, and most importantly, it won't light up the headlamp. Swap out the 186C32 battery from my S2R Baton II and the Nova works OK on the lower settings, but of course won't sustain the 2200 lumen setting for more than a second or two. The 186C30 will neither light nor charge in the S2R Baton II.

Go to "olightstore.ca" and can't find anything on their Web site, very hard to navigate till you realize "batteries" are lumped in with "accessories". Can't search for 186C30 but looking at all the blue-wrapped batteries and can't find it. They do list a 186C35 which is billed as a replacement for the Perun (the original 18650-format replacement for the Nova H2, not the later Perun 2 that takes a customized 21700).

But the 186C30 says on the side "For *ultra* high drain devices" and the illustration for the 186C35 just says "For high drain devices", just like the label on the 186C32 in my S2R Baton II. And I already know *that* battery won't run the Nova at full output at all.

Does anyone happen to know if the ORB-186C35 will work in an Olight H2 Nova and give the full 2200 lumen capability of the lamp?

Could I be experiencing some kind of shut-down on the 186C30 battery that can be reset somehow? I thought that only happened at low voltage? The headlamp was literally working the day before, though for the last year or so this 186C30 would not allow the H2 to go to full power either. I has just cleaned all the contact surfaces in the headlamp hoping that would allow full power again, and it seemed to work...but the next day the headlamp was dead. I though I'd somehow left it on over night, but when put on charge, it wouldn't charge (magnetic charging cable lamp wouldn't turn red), and pulling it out and measuring voltage showed 3.7 volts from button to base.

I sent olightstore. ca an e-mail at their contact address and have had no response yet. This is different from my experience with Quark (in the old days) and Fenix, who were pretty responsive to customer inquiries.

If they gave some amp ratings for batteries and lamps, this would be a big help. Maybe the 186C30 went obsolete when the 186C35 came along? Or maybe the bad battery life was why they don't sell the H2R Nova any more? Aggghhhh...no transparency.

If Olight batteries go total fail like this with little warning, perhaps I should get two replacements so I have a backup for the S2R as well.

 

[NiOOH]

Not familiar with this light, but 2200 lm calls for a battery that can deliver quite a bit of current. 10 A max may be on the limit, or even not enough. Even if the cell can deliver it, the protection cirquit may not. I'd go with something that is rated at 15 A continuous, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Kitchen Panda]

These batteries are Olight's weird custom cells with an extra ring around the positive button, to allow charging while still in the light. At 100 lumens per watt and 3.6 V nominal voltage under load, that works out to more than 6 amps, so I agree it's better to get a high-discharge cell.

I just had a response from the Canadian outlet and it was less than helpful; there's a later model of my headlamp, but it's not shown on their website that the battery will work in the Nova. And they are out of stock, too, saying it will be 2 months before they have new stock. Good thing is there's lots of vendors out there for the 186C35, bad news is I'm not 100% sure it will work.

 

[Got Lumens?]

I have had similar problems with Olight's custom in light charging.
I have had some success by cutting some electrical tape taped to the positive end and exposing just the center contact.
This allowed me to use a smart charger, like the Xtar VC4S to revive the cell.
The tape also allowed using a smaller 90mAh charger with magnetic ended leads to fully charge to the batteries current
capabilities. Those proprietary cells, like others, were only rated for ~500 charging cycles, and limited in capacity.

I do have a couple of Olight's that use their magnetic base charger as You described.
I have found the setup did not work well after things got oxidized as You described, and started failing to charge.

Foursevens had a run of their proprietary Maelstrom 18650 cells that would work, but have sold out.
No word on next batch, or restocking.

My work around has been using a standard High Discharge cell that requires removing from the light to charge.
As long as the HD cell is rated for 5C or more, You should be able to obtain the 2200lm output mode of the light.

I would be cautious of no more than 30 seconds sustained use on Turbo mode. It can fry the LED. I have melted the
optics of another light, I had, powered by HD 21700 cell that was mistakenly left on High over night .

Kind Regards
GL

 

[Kitchen Panda]

TL DR It's too late for me, but stay away from proprietary batteries, especially from Olight, especially if you live in Canada.

Well, it's been a couple of days. Olightstore.ca says that the 186C35 should work in the Nova H2R as it is the replacement for the very similar Perun (18650 format) headlamp. They have no stock and don't expect any for *two months*. I tried "flashlightworld.ca" and they don't have any Olight batteries either, and made some well-meaning but ineffective suggestions on alternatives to the Olight proprietary battery. I have in the past dealt with Battery Junction, which seems to have stock of the 186C35 at a reasonable price - no idea what shipping will be from the US, lately that's gone up to the point where the shipping company makes more revenue than the vendor. But Battery Junction says they can't ship the batteries.

That's some pretty spectacular damage done by the LED lights - I can empathize, as I early on discovered that I could melt things like the lining of a parka hood with the full brightness of the H2R - which to this day has a tiny flaw in the plastic lens. This is why, I guess, Olight brought out the Perun with a sensor that would shut down the lamp if it was too close to another surface.

I have had some luck using non-Olight cells in the H2R as an experiment - they need an insulator to prevent contact with the charging ring at that + end of the cell, and some kind of conductive "shim" like a tiny magnet to make contact - but they do work. I think for now I'll take the cell from my Baton and use it in the H2R when I need a headlamp, and take another 18650 to use in the Baton.

500 cycles...hmm, that seems a lot but then I did buy the lamp in August 2019. Somehow I doubt I fully charged this battery 3 times a week for 3 1/2 years...so I don't think it lasted even 500 cycles.

Thanks for the feedback. I expected no easy solutions, and I've been trying to get a spare battery for this lamp since I bought it with no luck. And now I'm suffering the hideous consequences.

Hmm, Fenix headlamps have single-ended charging ...time to go shopping ?


Bill

 

[NiOOH]

I see your pain. These proprietary batteries were a bad way to go. They are unreasonably expensive and not always widely available. For me, I've taken the decision no to buy ANY light that uses a proprietary cell, at least that cannot be replaced with a standard one without any modification to the cell/light.
Charging in-light has never been a big thing for me. I much rather have at lest two batteries and an external charger, so I can use the light while charging the spare battery.

 

[Oval386]

TL DR It's too late for me, but stay away from proprietary batteries, especially from Olight, especially if you live in Canada.

Well, it's been a couple of days. Olightstore.ca says that the 186C35 should work in the Nova H2R as it is the replacement for the very similar Perun (18650 format) headlamp. They have no stock and don't expect any for *two months*. I tried "flashlightworld.ca" and they don't have any Olight batteries either, and made some well-meaning but ineffective suggestions on alternatives to the Olight proprietary battery. I have in the past dealt with Battery Junction, which seems to have stock of the 186C35 at a reasonable price - no idea what shipping will be from the US, lately that's gone up to the point where the shipping company makes more revenue than the vendor. But Battery Junction says they can't ship the batteries.

That's some pretty spectacular damage done by the LED lights - I can empathize, as I early on discovered that I could melt things like the lining of a parka hood with the full brightness of the H2R - which to this day has a tiny flaw in the plastic lens. This is why, I guess, Olight brought out the Perun with a sensor that would shut down the lamp if it was too close to another surface.

I have had some luck using non-Olight cells in the H2R as an experiment - they need an insulator to prevent contact with the charging ring at that + end of the cell, and some kind of conductive "shim" like a tiny magnet to make contact - but they do work. I think for now I'll take the cell from my Baton and use it in the H2R when I need a headlamp, and take another 18650 to use in the Baton.

500 cycles...hmm, that seems a lot but then I did buy the lamp in August 2019. Somehow I doubt I fully charged this battery 3 times a week for 3 1/2 years...so I don't think it lasted even 500 cycles.

Thanks for the feedback. I expected no easy solutions, and I've been trying to get a spare battery for this lamp since I bought it with no luck. And now I'm suffering the hideous consequences.

Hmm, Fenix headlamps have single-ended charging ...time to go shopping ?


Bill

The Olight H2R used the Samsung 30Q/Button Top battery for their "proprietary" battery. I took one apart. It was a pink wrapped 30Q with a narrow metal strip coming up from the (Neg) side of the battery to a metal ring at the top, providing a negative terminal for their "proprietary" battery.
Any Samsung 30Q battery or equivalent high discharge current meeting or exceeding the 30Q specs will work and provide the full 2300 lumens and run times. But it MUST be a button top, as the original was, in order for the light to work. Only caveat is they WON"T CHARGE within the light because of the negative ring terminal not being there. All my 30Q's work in my two H2R's.
But by not having that ring the tail (version one tail cap) cap will not conduct since there is no negative battery contact at the tail cap. So, you can't use the steel wool trick to start a fire. Version2 tail cap resolved that issue at the tail cap.

You'll find a lot, but not all, of the Olights will work with a button top battery. The S2R Baton II's will work with a button top 18650. Even the Seeker 2's and 2 Pro's will work with a button top 21700 battery. But again, they don't charge within the light.

 

[Kitchen Panda]

The Olight H2R used the Samsung 30Q/Button Top battery for their "proprietary" battery. I took one apart. It was a pink wrapped 30Q with a narrow metal strip coming up from the (Neg) side of the battery to a metal ring at the top, providing a negative terminal for their "proprietary" battery.
Any Samsung 30Q battery or equivalent high discharge current meeting or exceeding the 30Q specs will work and provide the full 2300 lumens and run times. But it MUST be a button top, as the original was, in order for the light to work. Only caveat is they WON"T CHARGE within the light because of the negative ring terminal not being there. All my 30Q's work in my two H2R's.
But by not having that ring the tail (version one tail cap) cap will not conduct since there is no negative battery contact at the tail cap. So, you can't use the steel wool trick to start a fire. Version2 tail cap resolved that issue at the tail cap.

You'll find a lot, but not all, of the Olights will work with a button top battery. The S2R Baton II's will work with a button top 18650. Even the Seeker 2's and 2 Pro's will work with a button top 21700 battery. But again, they don't charge within the light.

Short answer: The Olight 186C35 seems to work OK in the Nova H2R.

Thanks for the feedback! By coincidence, just as you were posting that, a courier dropped off the two new Olight batteries I ordered a couple of weeks ago. i was relieved to see that they were shipping from Mississauga, not from Shenzen. I tried one as soon as they got here and it seemed to hit all the brightness levels, including"turbo". But I know these are never shipped at full charge, so I left it on the charging cable till after supper. It appears to work properly - these are marked " ORB 186C35" and are also stamped "HDC 10 Amp" on the Olight wrapper. The Olight Canada Web site says they work in the H2R, but the hang-tag doesn't have that model checked.

The problem I had with the two non-Olight "button" top batteries I have is that the button is rather large and seems to span both contacts of the charging cap. I no longer recall what the behavior was but it wasn't good. I tried making an insulator out of some plastic report cover material, but was
not satisfied. It worked, but seemed a bit fussy if I ever had to change a battery and forgot about the gimmick - and I'd have to take the battery out for charging regularly.

So, I decided I'd pay the bandits and simplify my life. I'm also going to tell myself that I can really see the difference of an alleged 15% capacity increase over the stock battery.

I can confirm that my old 186C30 indeed has a pink wrapper inside marked Samsung INR18650-30Q as you stated. Did you open up the cap, are there any electronics in there? Doesn't look like it comes off easily. I didn't see a metal strip, teh negative ring cap seems to becrimped or spot welded to the case which is also the negative terminal of the battery. Much as I'd like to experiment with adding a charging ring to non-Olight batteries, I don't want 12 watthours discharging all at once through whatver duct-tape and baling-wire contrivance I have improvised, even if that does cost me my Possum Lodge membership.

Bill