Help me with some ?'s plz

I am looking at the new Tri EDC and have some questions. I dont want to kill the thread again and hope some people with knowledge will help me instead of poke fun like last time. Starting a new thread maybe is better so here it is.

While I wait for the next batch someone please tell me what the differences are between the 2 boards he is talking about. I am new and not sure what 4500 and 6500 mean.

Also whats with all the cautions on the battery. Please tell me what not to do so I dont do something stupid. Some other members helped me out and said a Pilla charger was best to get so so they dont over charge. All the cautions of discharging and over charging scare me. Why not use a protected cell? Seems a liht with 700 lumens will suck down the battery pretty fast so how is it not going to kill the battery?

Sorry for the questions but I am trying to learn. Any input would be appreciated.

Brian-
Without overstepping my knowledge, and deferring to those here who know way more than I do, I'll give it a shot. 4500 vs. 6500 refers to tint of the emitters, 4500 being warmer and 6500 being cooler...
The pila charger works great, and is the one I use, based on recommendations of those who know way more than I do about battery chemistry, etc. Big step up from some of the less expensive chargers, you get what you pay for.
AW's IMR cells are able to discharge at a higher rate than others, and are what Mac recommends, so they're what I use. If I understand correctly, other cells that are discharged too fast may go so IMR's it is. They work fine in all my other lights, so why not? Overcharge and overdischarge are the fastest way to kill cells, so the Pila, and recharging sooner than necessary, seem prudent. I don't use my Mac's EDC on high for more than a solid minute or two at a time, once or twice a day, and swap cells every couple of days. Low and medium work nicely... I expect the Tri-EDC to need the same level of attention from me, and I'm okay with that. This is an alcohol- fueled dragster of a light, and needs what it needs to run without biting you or hurting the light... You wanna play, you gotta pay. Hope this helps.

4500K and 6500K are Kelvin Scale ratings, and have to do with the 'color' temperature of white in the beam. The lower number is warmer and the higher number is cooler.

You can read about the Kelvin Scale here.

Thanks for the info.

So which do you guys think is best and why for 4500 vs 6500? Is one brighter then the other or is just the difference in tint?

For the battery issue this means if you run the cells until the light doesnt work any longer you kill the battery? With my 123 primaries I just run them until the light dims then start again with fresh ones. If I did this on the unprotected cells Mack linked us to that would kill them?

I guess the only safe thing is to do as mentioned and switch the batteries out every few days and top them off. I would buy like 4 of them to have them ready and I typically carry one in my pocket to have on hand when I am out an about.

I prefer the white tints for LED's but everyone has their own opinion. The 4500 will be closer to an Incan tint (regular Mag bulb) and the 6500 is going to be much whiter. The white tints tend to wash out colors but look brighter. It's all personal preference. I have some really nice warm tint drop-ins. I recently read a post that had a link in it that showed the color difference between 4500 and 6500 LED tints but I cannot find it now.

Yes, if you continually run the RCR123 batteries down low, they will die. I just use good judgement. If I see the light is getting dim and it is a direct drive, I change out the batteries. You can also check them with a DMM if you would like. This gives you a good idea where the batteries voltage is at when the light started to go dim. AW has a chart in his FS thread that gives the batteries life at a certain voltage.

It's always a good idea to have extra batteries so you are not waiting for the one you have to charge when it gets drained.

If you carry a IMR 123 in your pocket, keep it inside something so it does not short out. You do not want an IMR 123 battery shorting out in your pocket.

Brian1911 said:

Thanks for the info.

So which do you guys think is best and why for 4500 vs 6500? Is one brighter then the other or is just the difference in tint?

For the battery issue this means if you run the cells until the light doesnt work any longer you kill the battery? With my 123 primaries I just run them until the light dims then start again with fresh ones. If I did this on the unprotected cells Mack linked us to that would kill them?

I guess the only safe thing is to do as mentioned and switch the batteries out every few days and top them off. I would buy like 4 of them to have them ready and I typically carry one in my pocket to have on hand when I am out an about.

Click to expand...

A loose battery in your pocket is dangerous?

Ah man I am going to blow my leg off not knowing about this stuff. I dont carry anything in my pocket other then that battery so how can it short out?

Somebody please learn me about this stuff, lol.

If it's going to be the only thing in your pocket, you will be fine. You would not want anything else conductive in there though.

Brian1911 said:

A loose battery in your pocket is dangerous?

Ah man I am going to blow my leg off not knowing about this stuff. I dont carry anything in my pocket other then that battery so how can it short out?

Somebody please learn me about this stuff, lol.

Click to expand...

Ok cool. I keep the flashlight on one side and the battery on the other. I imagine something metal would have to touch both terminals of the battery, front and back, at the same time to create a problem.

I am all excited for Monday and hope to get in on the next run of the Tri EDC. If someone can please confirm my battery and charger choice I would appreciate it.

http://www.oveready.com/batteries-c.../pila-ibc-lithium-charger-cc/cv-/prod_44.html

Seems in this link I need those 16340 batteries and their spacers. Other then that I think I will buy 4 batteries and have one in my pocket as back up for this powerful light.

Someone told me this was the best charger because it will charge the cells then kick off and not trickle which can be very bad for Li cells. Any info on charging practices would greatly help me. I just want to know when to charge the cells and if its as simple as just putting them on the charger and done.

I read Mac say the light engine shuts off at 2v or something so I guess that would prevent us from killing the battery? So does this mean I dont have to be paranoid about pulling the battery every time I use the light and charge it? Can we really run the light until its off then charge?

I am trying to not be annoying with this stuff so any help is very much appreciate.

Brian1911 said:

A loose battery in your pocket is dangerous?

Ah man I am going to blow my leg off not knowing about this stuff. I dont carry anything in my pocket other then that battery so how can it short out?

Somebody please learn me about this stuff, lol.I keep the flashlight on one side and the battery on the other. I imagine something metal would have to touch both terminals of the battery, front and back, at the same time to create a problem.

Click to expand...

I have first hand experience with this. I (foolishly) had an IMR16340 in my pocket alongside some change and a small pocket knife. Didn't mean to leave it there - had dropped it in my suit pants pocket with the intent of putting it in my briefcase just a minute later - oops - forgot all about it. An hour or so later when I was at my office I noticed that my pocket was feeling very warm against my leg. Duh. I quickly reached in, turned the pocket inside out and let everything quickly fall out and hit the floor. The IMR was VERY hot - had melted the label off - and was smoking. The change that was in my pocket (now on the floor) was too hot to pick up. Oddly, the pocket knife was not warm.

I don't know what shorted it out, but something sure did. It's embarrassing to tell this story on myself, but I do so for the good of the community. My lesson? If I'm going to carry batteries in my pocket, carry them with nothing else and capped (a friend sent me some cool rubber caps for the batteries - no idea where he got them.) Better still, just don't carry them in my pocket! That's a lot of 'juice' in those IMRs and by the very nature of the chemistry, they can dump that juice quickly!

Brian1911 said:

I am all excited for Monday and hope to get in on the next run of the Tri EDC. If someone can please confirm my battery and charger choice I would appreciate it.

http://www.oveready.com/batteries-c.../pila-ibc-lithium-charger-cc/cv-/prod_44.html

Seems in this link I need those 16340 batteries and their spacers. Other then that I think I will buy 4 batteries and have one in my pocket as back up for this powerful light.

Someone told me this was the best charger because it will charge the cells then kick off and not trickle which can be very bad for Li cells. Any info on charging practices would greatly help me. I just want to know when to charge the cells and if its as simple as just putting them on the charger and done.

I read Mac say the light engine shuts off at 2v or something so I guess that would prevent us from killing the battery? So does this mean I dont have to be paranoid about pulling the battery every time I use the light and charge it? Can we really run the light until its off then charge?

I am trying to not be annoying with this stuff so any help is very much appreciate.

Click to expand...

I love this charger. Good choice. You can get spacers HERE. I love OVEREADY, but in the event they are out of stock, you can also get the charger HERE. (make sure you use the CPF discount code - cpf).As for the batteries, I've run mine to shut off only once. It flickered, and when it did I just shut if off. Ever since then, I always try to switch batteries before they reach that point. It just makes good sense to NOT run them to that point - I literally put mine on the charger at the end of every day, and rotate through my supply. I don't know if that helps, but it is working well for me!

:shakehead Close call Run4JC!!! Yikes. I get nervous just reading about it. It is something I never thought twice about before as I don't carry spare batteries in my pockets usually. Does it apply to primaries as well? I guess you were lucky to not end up leaving the office in a pair of boxer shorts with the ends all charred up. :naughty:

Wow it would be some bad luck to have that happen. I will take a small strip of tape and cover the ends before putting the battery in my pocket. I carry one every day but nothing more then a plastic tube of chap stick and a pocket knife which is clipped to my pocket and not loose or near the battery.

So is it possible with this charger to just leave the battery on it? I am hoping for its price difference it does something better then the others but i dont understand what that would be.

Well, since the cat's out of the bag,

:devil:

How did you guys manage this? You would have to have something metal touch both ends of the battery and for a prolonged period of time.

I carry an Oakley pouch for my glasses in my pocket which I can drop a battery in but a strip of Duck Tape covering the ends should solve this problem.

Any input on my charging questions?

Brian1911 said:

How did you guys manage this? You would have to have something metal touch both ends of the battery and for a prolonged period of time.

I carry an Oakley pouch for my glasses in my pocket which I can drop a battery in but a strip of Duck Tape covering the ends should solve this problem.

Any input on my charging questions?

Click to expand...

Brian - I was just dumb. Change, pocket knife and a battery all in the same pocket? :shakehead Obviously, there was enough conductive metal and enough time that

As far as tape, even plain 'Scotch' style tape will block the path...

And as far as the charger, there's a good review of it over here. This review is from 2008, so this charger has obviously been around for a while.

Although the thread remains on topic, IMHO the topic may be in the wrong forum so I'm going to bow out of the discussion

I got all the info I need now, thanks guys. I didnt realize I should be in another forum with this one.