18650, charge in the headlamp vs charge externally trough mini USB?
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Yes I edited that. It doesn't bother me as my other headlamp blinks also when low.
Timothybil
Flashlight Enthusiast
HKJ here on the forum and/or on his web page has miles of reviews of cells. chargers, and I think charger/powerbank combos. Worth checking out.
yes I did look at his page, I find it quite overwhelming, what would be good if I got some recommendations for 18650 and a good reliable charger combo.
But maybe I'd have to open a separate thread for this.
From what is widely available in the USA, I have always had good results with Xtar and Nitecore chargers, Sony and Sanyo 18650 cells.
Sent from my LG-V520 using Tapatalk
here is an update:
mainly thanks to your explaining the technical ins and outs of lithium batteries, and of course the safety aspect, I am now confident I can safely operate these batteries.
My initial choice of the Fenix headlamp has evolved into a Zebralight.
The reason I chose this one is because it has an actual shutoff when a low voltage is reached.
and also because of the proven quality of this brand, my zebralight-h50 from 2008 is still in perfect order, although I must admit it doesn't get much use anymore.
This is what I bought today:
Zebralight H604d XHP50.2 Flood 5000K High CRI Headlamp
I asked advise from NKON about which protected batteries to use with this light,the told me protected was not necessary because the light itself has built in protection.
They recommended LG INR18650-HG2 3000mAh - 20A or Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh - 15A ,so I bought a couple of each.
I think it might be a good idea to purchase a charger which has testing ability,i am looking at Zanflare C4 or the Opus BT - C3100 (V2.2)
until I figure out which one would be best I will use the little charger I bought today as well.
Nitecore UI1 USB battery charger.
Cheers
mainly thanks to your explaining the technical ins and outs of lithium batteries, and of course the safety aspect, I am now confident I can safely operate these batteries.
My initial choice of the Fenix headlamp has evolved into a Zebralight.
The reason I chose this one is because it has an actual shutoff when a low voltage is reached.
and also because of the proven quality of this brand, my zebralight-h50 from 2008 is still in perfect order, although I must admit it doesn't get much use anymore.
This is what I bought today:
Zebralight H604d XHP50.2 Flood 5000K High CRI Headlamp
I asked advise from NKON about which protected batteries to use with this light,the told me protected was not necessary because the light itself has built in protection.
They recommended LG INR18650-HG2 3000mAh - 20A or Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh - 15A ,so I bought a couple of each.
I think it might be a good idea to purchase a charger which has testing ability,i am looking at Zanflare C4 or the Opus BT - C3100 (V2.2)
until I figure out which one would be best I will use the little charger I bought today as well.
Nitecore UI1 USB battery charger.
Cheers
RetroTechie
Flashlight Enthusiast
Depends on what you use the headlamp for...
In some situations, a headlamp that switches off to protect the battery from overdischarge, could be far more dangerous than a headlamp that dims or starts blinking. Think people climbing in caves, mountain biking at night, people working on oil rigs, miners, etc. In such a situation, better damage a cell & keep seeing something (be it vaguely or flashing) than be totally in the dark just when it counts.
Replacement cells are cheap - accidents often are not.
sure, in these situations it could be dangerous to lose all illumination at once, I, however, use the headlamp mainly in work situations where it's never completely dark, so no problem for me.
As I wrote earlier, having no shut-off after running to low might be a risk in my situation.
If I move to a well lighted area or outside and I forget to switch my headlamp of, which has happened several times, I'd rather have the light being shut-off.
this has happened to me with a AA eneloop, perhaps not too good for the health of the battery, but no safety risk.
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have several Zebralights. You won't be left in the dark from a low battery. It steps down as the battery voltage gets low. The final step-down is to low (a few lumens), and that runs for several more hours before it finally shuts off completely.
I suppose the only way you might be surprised, is if you normally only use the light on low. In that case, it would just shut off when the voltage reaches around 2.7v. But you would have to run the light for more than 2 weeks straight before you drained the battery on low!
If you don't know the state of your battery before you go out, do a quad-click. It will blink out the battery charge (from 1 to 4 blinks). It's not a perfect measurement, but it's close enough.
I suppose the only way you might be surprised, is if you normally only use the light on low. In that case, it would just shut off when the voltage reaches around 2.7v. But you would have to run the light for more than 2 weeks straight before you drained the battery on low!
If you don't know the state of your battery before you go out, do a quad-click. It will blink out the battery charge (from 1 to 4 blinks). It's not a perfect measurement, but it's close enough.
the Fenix HL 50 I use gives about 150 LM and runs for about an hour and a half before stepping down.
So I hope to use the Zebra at a bit higher lumen and longer runtime, I got no need for very low or Turbo.
As it is now, factory settings, I have three for me unusable modes, turbo, mid which is too low and low.
So I'm going to figure out how to get to these intermediate steps, I found How to program Zebralight SC600 mark iv. so I guess I'll find a suitable set of levels.
yes I used this when it arrived, the battery was fairly empty, as it should I believe for transport.
When I was researching a new headlamp to replace my old Rayovac 1AA headlamp I strongly considered HL50 but my criteria was to get a headlamp with output of at least 50 lumens for 8 hours and the HL50 couldn't do that. It took 2AAs in a headlamp to get close to that but I didn't like the battery cover on it as it looked like a weak point and hassle to change batteries often. Looking back I would have to change batteries in the HL50 about 4-6 times to match an 18650 headlamp and 2-3 times for a 2AA headlamp. Finally it sunk in.... lithium ion just has HUGE power density compared to nimh there really isn't much comparison. I do have a nimh 1AAA keychain light I more hesitant to use lithium ion in such a light because I have had them come unscrewed in my pocket enough that the change in my pocket could short it and give me a bad burn. I once felt my pocket on fire and my light was on high in my pocket, and only about 80 lumens while some 10440 lights can do 300-500 lumens a lot more heat to melt your change with IMO.
IMO it was a game changer for me. Once I decided on 18650 format and lithium ion it was then just a matter of finding a good headlamp. I recently received a Sofirn SP32 in the mail and it is a nice 18650 light with close to perfect spacing of the modes and no blinking modes to stumble through just 4 modes and access Turbo with a double click. I have 3 or 4 cheap 18650 lights with Chinese clone emitters that work well enough for the price but none can match even the high mode on this light not to even think of the Turbo. After getting this light I wish I had bought another one as the price went up about $12.
One other great thing about lithium ion is you get a lot of power with only needing 1 cell, which makes it very easy to store and charge and change batteries. I have a half dozen duraloops that now sit and wait..... and wait for something to power.
