Any issues with leaving flashlights in car in the heat?

[WHT_GE8]

I want to keep my Jetbeam M1X (on 18650's) in my car, but here in Florida it gets insanely hot in there. Can any damage be done to the light? Or should I just completely avoid it?

 

[wipeout]

The Flashlight should be fine, the only problem would be the battery leaking. I've lost a couple of LED lights that way.

 

[StarHalo]

Your 18650s will not last very long in the intense heat; as a general rule, you should avoid rechargeable cells in extreme hot or cold.

 

[Luminescent]

I want to keep my Jetbeam M1X (on 18650's) in my car, but here in Florida it gets insanely hot in there. Can any damage be done to the light? Or should I just completely avoid it?

Just don't leave it on the dashboard

If the light is in your glove box or, even better, under a car seat, it shouldn't get so hot that there is any problem with either the light or the batteries.

Having said that, I agree 100% that batteries could be more of an issue in cars, due to heat hastening the chemical processes that lead to internal corrosion and ultimately to leaking.

I always used Duracell batteries for years under the mistaken impression that they were essentially leakproof no matter what.

Then I found an old flashlight that had been socked away in the bottom of an unpacked box for about 10 years, and both batteries has leaked like a sieve (I've never seen such a mess).

In fairness, both batteries were a couple years past their 'best used by' freshness date, but under those conditions I would expect them to give less juice, but NOT leak and destroy my property. I will NEVER buy Duracell alkaline batteries again for this reason (though I do use their excellent 1000mAH NiMH AAA's)

One problem that folks often have with a car flashlight is that it doesn't get used for years, and yet is stored under the worst possible conditions (due to the heat you mentioned). This not only accelerates the self discharge rate of the batteries, it also increases the rate of internal corrosion that might lead to leakage (so the problem that I saw after 10 years, might happen after only 2 or 3).

NiMH batteries are designed to deal with heat without leaking because they get actually generate heat and get hot when charging, so if you want to use low self discharge NiMH that should be fine (though putting them in the car will increase the self discharge rate so I would recharge them at least every three months)

Alkaline batteries should also be fine, if you store the flashlight in an area of the car that is lower down and doesn't see quite as much heat, and make sure that they get changed at least once a year.


Energizer's otherwise excelent L91 and L92 lithium batteries are only rated for storage and operation to 60C (140 F) and you could easily exceed that in Florida, so I would avoid them and all other Lithium batteries.

If you are locked into 18650's then I would store the light under a seat in a metal box (under a seat for the lowest temperature, metal box so that if the lithium batteries let go it won't set your car on fire).

- Luminescent

 

[TooManyGizmos]

.
I don't leave my baby in a hot car , un-attended , to suffocate !

You need to EDC , so it's always with you , and not in your car 3 blocks away.
.

 

[sparkysko]

140 or 160F (I forget which) destroys nimh and lithium rechargeables.

I always leave the windows cracked if I have a lithium cell in the car.

 

[pipspeak]

So that rules out having a rechargeable light like the Innova T4 or Pelican 7060 as a car light then? Does the light itself not provide some level of insulation against extreme in-the-sun-all-day heat?

 

[TooManyGizmos]

May help to keep it in a thermal-lined lunch bag ?

 

[Luminescent]

140 or 160F (I forget which) destroys nimh and lithium rechargeables.

I always leave the windows cracked if I have a lithium cell in the car.

Any elavated temprature will shorten the cycle life.

I had a NiMH quick charger that would reliably heat the cells up to more than 150 F at the end of the charge cycle (checked with one of those non-contact thermometers). This didn't destroy the cells, and they didn't leak, but I did find that it shortened the cycle life from hundreds of cycles, down to dozens.

On the other hand, I have an old Radio Shack 6 hour charger that was designed back when NiMH cells had lower capacity. This is the charger I now prefer, because, unlike most chargers made today, when used with modern high capacity NiMH cells, this older charger it doesn't overcharge them (which is what causes them to become exothermic and heat up).

The only down side of that RS charger is that it uses a simple timer based circuit and is to stupid to know if the cell just needs 'topping off' so I always make sure to have the batteries fully discharged before charging them.

By keeping the overcharging and heat down during charging, I now have about 400 cycles on the NiMH 1000mAH AAA batteries that I use in my MP3 player and they are still going strong.

So heat does matter, and I have little doubt that if you left a NiMH flashlight on the dashboard of your car in the blistering desert sun, you could probably nuke the battery in a single afternoon, but in the govebox or under the seat, just expect your charge/discharge cycle life to drop from hundreds to a few dozen cycles.

If your usage is such that you only need to recharge your batteries every few weeks, then you could still get a year or more of good use out of the cells before having to replace them.

- Luminescent

 

[Roberts30]

May help to keep it in a thermal-lined lunch bag ?

+1 Great Idea :thumbsup:

 

[WHT_GE8]

I have a P1D Q5 on my keychain which is always with me. But it would be nice to have that bright M1X when I need it or just to show off. Either way its not worth the risk in my opinion...

 

[StarHalo]

The ideal battery config for car storage is any number of Energizer Lithiums or 1x123 only. The trunk is the coolest/safest part of the car for summer light storage, but if you must have the light in the cabin, store it in an area that's completely out of the sunlight, including the storage area itself (no glovebox).

 

[sparkysko]

I personally would never leave a lithium rechargeable battery in my car during the summer (without cracking the windows). Too much risk for a fire.

NIMh would probably be okay.

I usually have a couple pounds of lipos in my car during the summer with the windows cracked and using a fireproof bag, still freaks me out.

 

[kimck99]

Hi,

I purchased two Akoray K-106 lights to be stored in the car for emergency use. I intended to use Energizer e2 batteries.

Questions:

1. Aside from the negative affect from the heat, is it better to not put the lithium primaries in the flashlight when storing for extended period of time?
2. Do lithium primaries leak like the alkaline batteries?

I have the plastic 2xAA battery cases so if necessary, I plan to put the batteries there and the flashlight into a zip-loc bag/plastic container.

Your advice is appreicated.

 

[shark_za]

2x cars = 2x Romisen RC-N3 each with 2x Energiser e2 Lithiums in.

For the heat and long wait times before use this is perfect for me.

 

[Nite]

MY cars EDC light is Powered by IMR cells.

How do these handle capacity loss and storing at 85% in heat and cold.

 

[Painful Chafe]

Well, since highly respected climate scientists, very well respected globally I must add, recently had to admit that the earth is now cooling and we have reached a temperature summit the heat thing may not be so bad. They actually said "We have to face the facts that Global cooling isn't happening." Boy those sure are harsh facts to "have to face". "Yeah! We aren't destroying to Earth, America isn't killing the planet. Maybe we aren't so bad! Yeah!" Did I mention that these were some of the leading scientist around the world who used to support the man made global warming theory?

And that another group of scientist are busy sending emails back and forth to each other trying to keep some of the research they did that disproves global warming or at least disproves the evidence that they used to "prove" global warming exists. The emails are discussing shredding it and deleting it. They are doing this because other groups are suing using the Freedom Of Information Act to get this research. These other groups have been trying to get this info for 10 years! They must be getting close because these scientists are a little panicked.

If you light does fry, don't ask the mult, multi-millionaire AL Gore for a couple of bucks to fix it. With all this global warming hoaxy thingy not working out like he had hoped, his several companies that would have made squillions of dollars off the hoax might not do so well after people who hear these facts. They might not be so inclined to buy his snake oil. I can help though. I own oil and Exxon stocks and energy mutual funds:thumbsup:.

The above statements were done in fun, to add a chuckle to your day. Even if you don't believe it, you can have a chuckle at my expense. It was not meant to excite anyone and cause a tizzy.

But on the bright side, if man made global warming is a hoax, you don't have to worry about your light getting to warm....... Getting too cold on the other hand?........?

 

[DM51]

Painful Chafe, your post is very near to crossing the political line for CPF, but I accept that it is made in good humor. I hope other members will do so too, and accept it in that spirit. I have changed one word to tone down the political aspect.

Members are advised that argumentative/political replies are not required, and will be removed.

 

[Nite]

I personally would never leave a lithium rechargeable battery in my car during the summer (without cracking the windows). Too much risk for a fire.

NIMh would probably be okay.

I usually have a couple pounds of lipos in my car during the summer with the windows cracked and using a fireproof bag, still freaks me out.

what about IMR?

DO they also lose capacity?

 

[Jarl]

what about IMR?

DO they also lose capacity?

IMR will behave exactly the same as conventional li-ion under extreme heat or cold. So yes, they will lose capacity.

As for venting with flame due to heat alone, not going to happen if stored out of direct sunlight, sorry. Looking at temps in the region of 130'C (260F) to do that, unlikely much?