Batteries for Olight X7 Marauder

My 10 Amp Orbtronic 3500mAh batteries (Model ORB3500P) do activate Turbo S mode when fully charged. I mean FULLY. That is, when they measure 4.19+V. Once they drop to about 4.14V w/o load, they sometimes fail in activating Turbo S mode. They never can drive the Turbo S mode once they are a bit below 4.10V w/o load. The X7 calls for batteries with a discharge current of at least 8A. What I reckon is that the voltage sag of my batteries under load at Turbo S mode is too much.

If so, I think 30+Amp IMR batteries would be more practical, despite their lower capacity. After all, having to top the batteries off every so often and keeping them at such a high state of charge for the sake of occasional bursts of 9K lumens is not that fun. Am I correct in assuming that voltage sag is the culprit and that IMR batteries could cure this up to a more reasonable point?

Bucur said:

My 10 Amp Orbtronic 3500mAh batteries (Model ORB3500P) do activate Turbo S mode when fully charged. I mean FULLY. That is, when they measure 4.19+V. Once they drop to about 4.14V w/o load, they sometimes fail in activating Turbo S mode. They never can drive the Turbo S mode once they are a bit below 4.10V w/o load. The X7 calls for batteries with a discharge current of at least 8A. What I reckon is that the voltage sag of my batteries under load at Turbo S mode is too much.

If so, I think 30+Amp IMR batteries would be more practical, despite their lower capacity. After all, having to top the batteries off every so often and keeping them at such a high state of charge for the sake of occasional bursts of 9K lumens is not that fun. Am I correct in assuming that voltage sag is the culprit and that IMR batteries could cure this up to a more reasonable point?

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What's the current draw of the X7 on turbo? I would think that fresh 10A cells would work, perhaps the 30Q from Samsung? 3000mAh/15A.

Are your Orbtronic cells in good condition? Just because you can charge them up to 4.20v, or 4.18v, doesn't mean that they can handle high current draws, or have any voltage left, to move things along.

My modified SupFire M6 pulls almost 8 amps on turbo, so I went with the blue Samsung 25Rs, but that was two full years ago and things have gotten better.

Anyhow, it sounds like a good time to drop some coin on some Sony VTC6s.

Chris

For the ultimate charge and ultimate expense, use Sony us18650vtc6 (green).

For a tiny smidgen less charge but a whole lot less expense, use Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh (pink).

my orbotronics, white/green label eagletac 3400's, efest 35a's, Samsung 30a's, vtc5's, and green label olights didn't work. the lg mj1's worked perfect. I have the black label olight's on the way

Samsung 30Q are heap and do the job very well

the voltage drop is what let you not enter turbo
low drain cells like many 3400mAh are even worse than this graph

Thank you all for your replies. Unfortunately, the X7 calls for button top batteries. Flat tops won't work. After reading a lot of HKJ reviews, the button tops I am considering are:

· Keeppower IMR18650 2500mAh (Black)
· Efest IMR 18650 2500mAh Button Top

Olight's dedicated "X7 batteries" are not on my list because I don't expect them to outperform my existing ORB3500Ps. If they do, this would only be a marginal gain. After my experience with the ORB3500Ps, I have the impression that unless a select few IMR batteries are involved, my X7 Marauder will remain like a supercar that can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds only when its huge tank is fully full. Once the fuel gauge drops by a single dot, it converts to a sub 5 seconds car. I am after a supercar with a smaller tank that can act like a supercar most of the time. In other words, my aim is to be able to get occasional bursts of 9K lumens with half full, maybe even with 1/3 full batteries, albeit with lower total capacity.

Chris- I don't know the exact current draw of the X7 at Turbo S mode but in view of Olight's battery recommendation, I conclude that this is less than 8A. The ORB3500P batteries in question are brand new. At first charge out of the box, they were about to be overwhelmed. After a few cycles, they are now OK but only when FULLY charged.

My X7 runs on the specified Olight high drain cell. They have no worries starting Turbo S under 4 volts. Sorry, I cant post a photo, but the wrap has the following nomenclature on it....
3.6V 3500mAh 12.6Wh PCB High Discharge Current 10A and ORB-186S35
Maybe that ORB could mean something ?....

Bucur said:

Thank you all for your replies. Unfortunately, the X7 calls for button top batteries. Flat tops won't work. After reading a lot of HKJ reviews, the button tops I am considering are:

· Keeppower IMR18650 2500mAh (Black)
· Efest IMR 18650 2500mAh Button Top

Olight's dedicated "X7 batteries" are not on my list because I don't expect them to outperform my existing ORB3500Ps. If they do, this would only be a marginal gain. After my experience with the ORB3500Ps, I have the impression that unless a select few IMR batteries are involved, my X7 Marauder will remain like a supercar that can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds only when its huge tank is fully full. Once the fuel gauge drops by a single dot, it converts to a sub 5 seconds car. I am after a supercar with a smaller tank that can act like a supercar most of the time. In other words, my aim is to be able to get occasional bursts of 9K lumens with half full, maybe even with 1/3 full batteries, albeit with lower total capacity.

Chris- I don't know the exact current draw of the X7 at Turbo S mode but in view of Olight's battery recommendation, I conclude that this is less than 8A. The ORB3500P batteries in question are brand new. At first charge out of the box, they were about to be overwhelmed. After a few cycles, they are now OK but only when FULLY charged.

Click to expand...

Get button top Samsung 30Qs

harro said:

My X7 runs on the specified Olight high drain cell. They have no worries starting Turbo S under 4 volts. Sorry, I cant post a photo, but the wrap has the following nomenclature on it....
3.6V 3500mAh 12.6Wh PCB High Discharge Current 10A and ORB-186S35
Maybe that ORB could mean something ?....

Click to expand...

Thank you for the info on the Olight battery option. They seem to be slightly better but 4V is still too high a threshold. IMHO, this is not unexpected. Such a threshold, even with HDC (high discharge current) protected ICR cells, seems to be a design parameter of the X7. My aim, however, is being able to use the 9K lumens output at much lower states of battery charge.

niktak11 said:

Get button top Samsung 30Qs

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I didn't know that someone modified them as button tops. This is a very good choice, indeed. Available through Amazon as well! Thank you.

Wow to add 30 cent of Button top and clear cover they triple the price of the cell

at Banggood the button top are even cheaper than the flat top

22.01€ for 4 button top
http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-Samsun...Top-18650-Battery-p-1067185.html?rmmds=search

23.31€ for 4 flat top
http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-INR186...ttery-for-Samsung-p-1004736.html?rmmds=search

Yep. They triple the price. Fortunately, the original battery itself is inexpensive. Otherwise, they would have tripled an already expensive price! :huh:

Thank you for the links but Amazon is such a great convenience for my particular conditions that I have to swallow the price tag. I already placed my order.

In the past, I converted flat top batteries to button top by means of a drop of soldier. However, I now refrain from this with high end batteries to be used in such a power hungry flashlight.

Bucur said:

In the past, I converted flat top batteries to button top by means of a drop of soldier. However, I now refrain from this with high end batteries to be used in such a power hungry flashlight.

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That's probably a prudent course of action with the current draw, on turbo, of the light.

Good luck.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

That's probably a prudent course of action with the current draw, on turbo, of the light.

Good luck.

Chris

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Thanks but unfortunately, I have not been very lucky, so far. The message I just got from the seller at Amazon Marketplace reads: "Hi, I just found that this listing is for button top battery. Ours is flat top. I apologize for this confuse, do you want to cancel the order or flat top will also work for you? Looking forward for your reply. Regards".

I cancelled my order and placed it with another seller. It will now take months for me to get them because they will be delivered (to Boston) later than the departure date of my relative from the USA. I will eventually receive them but I would have liked to report the outcome in this thread within reasonable time.

Flat tops are locally available but as you point out, prudence should overrule pragmatism at this level of current draw, especially with unprotected batteries in series.

Actually undertook a small test, to see how far down the cells could be drawn, before they wouldn't start turbo. This applies to the genuine Olight HDC 3500mAh. Interestingly enough, my Acebeam HDC 3400 mAh performed similarly. Turbo S was lost at about 3.6 Volts and Turbo soon after, at about 3.5 Volts. At 3.4 Volts, high was all the Olight HDC's would support. Nothing more. Bear in mind, this is in no way scientific testing. Just taking them down in steps, then after a rest, checking them with a DMM. Then about 2700mAh, give or take, from the Opus, for each cell, to bring them back to 4.19-4.20 Volts.

harro said:

Actually undertook a small test, to see how far down the cells could be drawn, before they wouldn't start turbo. This applies to the genuine Olight HDC 3500mAh. Interestingly enough, my Acebeam HDC 3400 mAh performed similarly. Turbo S was lost at about 3.6 Volts and Turbo soon after, at about 3.5 Volts. At 3.4 Volts, high was all the Olight HDC's would support. Nothing more. Bear in mind, this is in no way scientific testing. Just taking them down in steps, then after a rest, checking them with a DMM. Then about 2700mAh, give or take, from the Opus, for each cell, to bring them back to 4.19-4.20 Volts.

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My tests are similar to yours. However, I wonder if we mean the same thing by "start". Technically, Turbo S "starts" all the time in my case but when the batteries are below a threshold, it immediately steps down to a level which is much brighter than 1800 lumens (the regular thermal step down figure from Turbo S, Turbo and High). It shines at a level which resembles Turbo. I would guess that this is a bit below 5500 lumens, though. This is what I mean by "my batteries cannot drive Turbo S". Otherwise, my X7 is lit at Turbo S mode and it is very bright. Dark room with white walls makes the distinction between restricted and unrestricted Turbo S easier to see.

Also, the threshold voltage is not consistent. The last time, my X7 stepped down from Turbo S to the above mentioned restricted level at first try. I turned it off and then, let it shine at Medium mode (1000 lumens) for a while. When I tried again, unrestricted Turbo S was available. I checked the voltage after a rest period. This was 4.034 ± 0.002V per cell. That is, the consumption during the Medium mode period did not impair but improved performance. I mean, in some cases my batteries at 4.034V can drive the Turbo S, in some other cases the same batteries at 4.14V cannot.

Also, in my case, Turbo S and Turbo are not "lost" within about 0.1V from each other. Turbo is available long after Turbo S is restricted (but not lost). Again, I wonder if what you mean by "lost" and what I mean by "restricted" are the same thing. In any case, I conclude that voltage sag under load cannot be examined by means of rest voltage checks.

Agreed, it was just a simple test to see where turbo and turbo s would not operate from. Im sure that if the light remained on, that it would run longer on the higher settings. Mind you, for ICR chem and pcb, its probably not a bad effort though. Good luck finding the cells you require, and i would be interested to hear what they are, when you do find them.
Cheers from Aus.

Thanks Harro. I will definitely report back when I have the Samsung 30Qs but this can be as late as March 2017, if the new seller does not deliver them earlier than promised or I do not make a special arrangement for receiving them earlier. Until then, nothing is wrong with my X7 and with my cells, though.

I agree with you on ICR cells with PCB. When my batteries are full, they can drive the X7 at Turbo S mode even longer than the 2.5 minutes that Olight claims. Not bad at all. Olight does not claim anything regarding how far depleted batteries can drive this mode. Besides, they warn customers that the light will not even enter Turbo S mode unless the batteries are capable of 8A discharge rate. In this case, the light may need to be reset for enabling the Turbo S mode with batteries of proper discharge rate.

From this perspective, unprotected batteries can be considered like a modification that assumes some risks. Naturally, Olight does not take this risk but end users can, if they wish. I will eventually report on how the X7 behaves with 30Qs.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

harro said:

My X7 runs on the specified Olight high drain cell. They have no worries starting Turbo S under 4 volts. Sorry, I cant post a photo, but the wrap has the following nomenclature on it....
3.6V 3500mAh 12.6Wh PCB High Discharge Current 10A and ORB-186S35
Maybe that ORB could mean something ?....

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Olight Rechargeable Battery

Lexel said:

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I have both set of MJ1 and 30Q, both are pretty new and at their 5-6th cycle. I can hardly tell the Turbo-S duration difference on them. Both are slightly better at maintaining Turbo-S than my 2 years old LG HE4, though. However, MJ1 is the longest to reach the low battery warning.

Bear in mind that X7 runs them at 2S2P. So it's 7̶A̶ out of 2S2P, which is theoretically "just" half of that per cell. I believe MJ1 and 18650GA should both work best on the X7. I think starting at 3.8V per cell, no more Turbo-S for you

I also tried them in 2S1P configuration, which is great to reduce weight. It gave you 30 and only 30 seconds of Turbo-S I think