Batteries for a Catapult V2

[CamoNinja]

Going to order a V2. What are the best 1860 batteries and charger to get ?

Thanks

 

[skyfire]

maybe, AW 2900 mah 18650, these are flat top cells, but ive tried 2 in my V1 catapult, and worked fine.

or readilast 2900 mah 18650. readilast is sort of new, but from disected pictures of their 18650s, the PCB seemed well constructed.

best simple charger is probably the Pila charger, their are many good hobby chargers too.

 

[tre]

Since you don't already know what the best 18650 is, I'm going to assume you don't know anything about using lithium-ion (LiCo in this case) batteries. They can be very dangerous. Please do some reading so you don't burn down your house or blow your hand off. LiMn are safer for a series 18650 setup like the catapult but have less run time (2900mah vs 1600mah).

 

[Rod911]

I have a V1 and I now use AW's IMR cells (ie. LiMn). I previously used LiCo cells, but switched because the output with IMR cells were brighter than the regular LiCo cells.

As for run-time, I wasn't concerned about the reduced capacity due to the fact that I have another set of AW IMR cells as back-up as well as more than a few LiCo cells hanging around the place.

 

[CamoNinja]

Tre, I've been reading a lot about them on here and the web. Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

[HKJ]

I have a V1 and I now use AW's IMR cells (ie. LiMn). I previously used LiCo cells, but switched because the output with IMR cells were brighter than the regular LiCo cells.

That does not make any sense, the Cat V2 has a perfect stable output down to 4.5 volt, i.e. any battery that can delivery above 4.5 volt will have the exactly same output.

 

[Rod911]

That does not make any sense, the Cat V2 has a perfect stable output down to 4.5 volt, i.e. any battery that can delivery above 4.5 volt will have the exactly same output.

To my eyes, I've always thought the IMR cells produced a brighter output. Because ones experience doesn't always equate to another person's experience, I thought I'd just back it up with some numbers.

I do not own any sort of sophisticated multimeters or lux meters or whatnot. Details of what I used is noted at the end of this post.

TL;DR, IMR cells produced the better result against LiCo cells.

First off, I was comparing AW IMRs with some TrustFire red/black cells. They both had a starting voltage of 4.11v. When I checked the power draw for each set, the former drew 1.93a and the latter, 1.70a at high. Finally, when it came to testing the lux values, I measured them at one metre. After letting the Catpult stay on for a minute, the AW IMRs returned a lux value of 21,700. On the other hand, the TrustFire cells came back at 20,600.

Testing equipment used:
- DX multimeter (sku.619)
- Nokia N900 with Luxus widget used to measure lux

 

[HKJ]

First off, I was comparing AW IMRs with some TrustFire red/black cells. They both had a starting voltage of 4.11v. When I checked the power draw for each set, the former drew 1.93a and the latter, 1.70a at high. Finally, when it came to testing the lux values, I measured them at one metre. After letting the Catpult stay on for a minute, the AW IMRs returned a lux value of 21,700. On the other hand, the TrustFire cells came back at 20,600.

When I wrote 4.5 volt it was for two batteries (2.25 each), because Cat V2 is supposed to use two batteries.
The difference in current draw is due to difference in battery voltage, but will not affect the lux reading, because the light is stabilized.
When doing lux reading, try moving the light a little bit and see how much you lux reading change. Keeping the same alignment when replacing batteries are rather difficult. The output of the led will also decrease a bit over the first few minutes the light is on (due to heat).
Also note that in use the difference between 20600 and 21700 is invisible to the eye.
If you are interested in my measurements they are in my review.