One good way to clean the lens is to use lens cleaning clothe and fluid designed for cleaning camera lens. But be careful not to touch the reflector as it will be very difficult or impossible to clean completely.
Nitecore TM15 @ 2450 lm
- Thread starter Ualnosaj
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Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
sbbsga
Enlightened
So, I decided to try charging my new cells in the TM15W, I then took a voltage reading after a few hours. To my surprise, three were at 4.15V and one was 3.63V.
The problem was, I believe, due to the leaf spring on my sample - not pushing hard enough to make contact with the head. The strange thing was, I did not hear any rattling when I shook the torch.
My first attempt was to bend them slightly upwards by lifting them with a piece of string but that failed as well - even if that worked, I would still worry that they would sag again.
Next, I took a piece of glo-ring that was lying around (which probably had cross section of 2mm and inner diameter of 19mm originally) along with a pair of tweezers, I gingerly stretch and tuck it under the springs to boost and hopefully prevent them sagging over time. Turns out, that worked brilliantly! All cells were discharged and charged evenly.
The ring tension is not enough to peel the springs up when cells are out but sufficient enough to keep itself firmly in place as shown below.
Now, I do not know how common this is or whether it should be a major concern but this solved my problem and if you guys have alternative solution, I am eager to know too.
In case you were wondering, the built-in charger terminates at 4.17V on mine.
The problem was, I believe, due to the leaf spring on my sample - not pushing hard enough to make contact with the head. The strange thing was, I did not hear any rattling when I shook the torch.
My first attempt was to bend them slightly upwards by lifting them with a piece of string but that failed as well - even if that worked, I would still worry that they would sag again.
Next, I took a piece of glo-ring that was lying around (which probably had cross section of 2mm and inner diameter of 19mm originally) along with a pair of tweezers, I gingerly stretch and tuck it under the springs to boost and hopefully prevent them sagging over time. Turns out, that worked brilliantly! All cells were discharged and charged evenly.
The ring tension is not enough to peel the springs up when cells are out but sufficient enough to keep itself firmly in place as shown below.
Now, I do not know how common this is or whether it should be a major concern but this solved my problem and if you guys have alternative solution, I am eager to know too.
In case you were wondering, the built-in charger terminates at 4.17V on mine.
Last edited:
recDNA
Flashaholic
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Had gou turned on the flashlight without knowing voltage difference I wonder if it would have exploded in your hand? Ouch.
sidecross
Flashlight Enthusiast
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I would think it would not since the light is not wired in series, but is wired in parallel.
sbbsga
Enlightened
Probably yes and no, because the singled out cell was not part of the circuit. Even if it was, it would probably just trip. Hopefully electronics experts are reading and could confirm this.
StandardBattery
Flashlight Enthusiast
It's unfortunate that checking the built-in voltage indicator would not have shown the problem in this case with all the cells loaded. In theory the remaining cells would have had to deliver 1.5x as much current with the one cell not connected. In actual use the connection may have been intermittent and that would have caused the current from the two other cells to spike hi-low. I'm not sure if it would have tripped the protection circuits in the cells, not knowing the absolute current involved, but runtime certainly would have been less and it would have likely reduced the life of the other cells. This is an interesting problem, I would say it's a good idea to check the voltage on all the cells before and after charging to be sure they are healthy. Of course as Nitecore recommends always using batteries of the same charge, type, and age.
sbbsga
Enlightened
Oh yes, definitely. I still take before and after readings with a DMM as usual.
Soltani231
Newly Enlightened
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Anyone experience problems with the light not charging when initially plugged in? About 20% of the time I have to unscrew the tail cap and put on again for it to start charging.
sbbsga
Enlightened
Is the body-head contact clean?
skeeterbait
Newly Enlightened
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Are some of you using different length cells at different times? Perhaps using a longer set one time and then using a shorter set another is causing the shorter set to not make good contact? I have strictly used sets of Nitecore 2600 MAh and I have had no problems what so ever. I always check voltage before and after charging and they have always been uniform across every cell. With parallel interface, the only way one cell can get out of spec with the others is it isn't making contact or it is simply a bad cell.
dwminer
Enlightened
Soltani231
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Several times when I plugged the Nitecore AC adapter to the light when it needed charging, it didn't start to blink in the faster charging cadence that it's supposed to. The blue indicator was completely off. To get it to go into charging mode I had to unscrew the back and then tighten it.
levelflight
Newly Enlightened
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Is there a chance you had the light in lockout mode when you plugged it in?
I've noticed with mine that the light has to be in standby mode to 'accept' the charger. Unscrewing the battery compartment would take the light out of lockout mode and enable the charging circuit to activate.
I've noticed with mine that the light has to be in standby mode to 'accept' the charger. Unscrewing the battery compartment would take the light out of lockout mode and enable the charging circuit to activate.
sbbsga
Enlightened
Yes, true. It will not charge in lock-out mode.
Soltani231
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recDNA
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Can anyone compare this with the zebralight s6330?
Look at the last few pages of the S6330 thread. I seem to recall someone there did just that!
Look at the last few pages of the S6330 thread. I seem to recall someone there did just that!
Yes, it's a very touchy subject over there because it appears that the TM11 and the TM15 seem to both be brighter than the 6330, by looking at the photos shot by a new ZL6330 owner who also owns those others.
Also, the German site TaschenLampen did some ceiling bounce tests which seemed to indicate that the 6330 didn't even get up to the 2000 lumen mark.And the show comparison beamshots with various lights. The 6330 is about equal to the $59 Sky Ray King in the photos, which is rated at 2000 lumens. They concluded that the 6330 was a 1750-1850 lumen light after their ceiling bounce tests.
http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/zebralight/21446-review-zebralight-s6330-3.html
So, be prepared for some denial and defensive excuse making if you go over there to discuss that matter. Some members of "the herd" aren't taking it too well.
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recDNA
Flashaholic
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Glad I asked here. I'm not a zl fan but I don't want to start any battles.
StandardBattery
Flashlight Enthusiast
That's kind of funny, but I can see what you would say that. I personally feel we need a few more samples, but I have the TM-15 running on CR123A cells right now and I can tell you I am VERY impressed with the output. I'm still in sort of disbelief that it's even possible to have so many lumens in such a torch with decent runtime. Since I have the TM-15 I can wait a bit for the Zebralight now, as I really don't want it in cool white anyway. The CPFM deal on the TM-15 was just too good to pass up, and I'm glad I went for it. That deal made the Zebralight look expensive.
