Battery suggestion pls help

[Hen]

Hi all, i'm new to CPF. I really don't know much about batteries, chargers, or flashlights, so i'm here to learn. I just broke down last night and bought the Fenix T11 R2 since i heard its a decent flashlight and it is on sale. My question is whats a good recommended 18650 battery and charger? I am concerned because i heard some 18650 batteries are not compatible with certain flashlights. Any leads or suggestions?

Thanks.

P.S. i mainly use the flashlight to do home improvement work in the house if this concerns anyone.

 

[vali]

The most recommended 18650 cells in CPF are AW's. You can find them here. They are a bit pricey and a cheap and easy obtainable replacement could be the "black" trustfires.

The "best" charger for those cells is the PILA IBC but, like the AW cells, it can be a bit expensive. Most folks use the Ultrafire WF-139 without problems, but be aware that it is a budget charger.

BTW, you should read about the dangers of LiIon cells and how to take proper care of them. This chemistry in particular is not as safe as the usual NiMH people are used to. Use them right and you will be satisfied. Use them wrong and you can end with some issues... like fire (check the smoke & fire subforum).

 

[VidPro]

What he said ^ if you dont know what your doing at the LEAST get protected cell items. and avoid cheap knockoff junk, or your experiance with li-ion will be terrible.
like night and day. i have quality cells that have lasted 7-10years over and over again, and cheap china stuff that doesnt last 2-3 years over and over again.
For me it isnt just about the price either, i would be the first one to go cheap, but with that junk i spend more time fixing it than it is worth.

 

[march.brown]

Hi all, i'm new to CPF. I really don't know much about batteries, chargers, or flashlights, so i'm here to learn. I just broke down last night and bought the Fenix T11 R2 since i heard its a decent flashlight and it is on sale. My question is whats a good recommended 18650 battery and charger? I am concerned because i heard some 18650 batteries are not compatible with certain flashlights. Any leads or suggestions?

Thanks.

P.S. i mainly use the flashlight to do home improvement work in the house if this concerns anyone.

.
If you are only using the torch for home improvements etc., as opposed to security work, I would suggest using an AA torch.

It also depends on the length of time you will be using your torch for, and how much light intensity you actually need ... Since you will be mainly using it in and around the house, it would be easy to change batteries whenever they were getting exhausted ... One AA battery will have the same ampere-hour capacity as the 18650, but the 18650 has three times the voltage of the AA ... The energy content of the 18650 is about treble that of the AA ... It is easy to carry a couple of spare cells for any torch that you choose ... AAs are available at almost every shop in the world.

There would be less worry about using the AA rechargeables and there are some good low self-discharge makes available.

If you are going the 18650 way, there are some good threads on CPF that will name the best make of cell ... I use Ultrafire, but these and other cheaper makes don't get the best reviews ... I have been lucky with mine.

I have five torches using 18650 cells and a couple using AAs ... My every-day-carry is a tiny Trustfire F20, 5 mode with memory, using a single AA cell ... It is more than adequate for normal use with Hybrio rechargeables and so easy to carry a couple of spare cells ... I keep one of the 18650 torches in the car plus a 3AAA torch as back-up ... The house torch is also 18650 powered, as is the bedroom one and the study torch.

The 18650 torches are certainly brighter than my EDC, but it's horses for courses as they say ... If I go out at night, I take a Solarforce L2 which I still consider to be a pocketable size ... This is plus the EDC which is with me at all times.

Make sure that you read the threads on charging the 18650 cells and invest in a decent charger and a cheap Digital Multimeter too.

Good luck with your choices ... I say choices, as everyone on CPF seems to have several (or more) torches.
.

 

[Hen]

Thanks guys for your input. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on the torches. And maybe i jumped the gun and went ahead to purchase the Fenix touch. Can i use AA batteries on the Fenix t11 torch?

 

[vali]

No, you cant use AA batteries in it: they are smaller and have less voltage.

Dont worry too much about that. That flashlight is a good one, and if you buy a couple of decent protected 18650, take some care not to discharge them too much and be careful when charging you will be satisfied.

 

[Hen]

I was reading up on a site that regards to batteries and chargers. I followed through some stuff but got lost on the voltage part. So, i shouldn't discharge the batteries probably once a month. Recharge the batteries often, and never overcharge them. Is this right?

 

[VidPro]

for li-ion, never overcharge, over 4.20 +-.05
never discharge below about 3.0V max low discharge is 2.4v and you should recharge at least 1/2 way quite quickly when down that low.

Protection attempts to keep the battery between the 4.2 and 2.4 these are maxs and mins, leaving it low (even at 2.4) will eventually ruin it, overcharging it will ruin it.

they only last so many years, depending totally on if they are cheap junk or not, and they only last about 500cycles, after they reach end of life they are Ruined, and should not be used any more at all.

a ruined cell can be very dangerous when charged quickly, slightly dangerous when charged slowly. so you should basically check its condition before charging.

reverse charge and improper series assembly and use of a bad cell in series or parellel, way to fast charging, overcharging, charging a ruined cell, shorting or crushing blows, can cause catastrofic failure.

for storage they should be kept about 50% charged, which is commonly about 3.8v. they do not need to be cycled regularly and good ones (vrses ruined or bad) will hold 90% of thier charge for some 6months. a new cell that has been parked can sometimes be slightly improved with 2 cycles, after that there is no reason to purposfully cycle them. if they start loosing power in self discharge to an ammount that is noticable they are probably Ruined. they can be topped off at any time, but remember they store well at 50% so excessivly topping isnt usefull.

that is just a primer and all this stuff http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=161549

used PROPERLY and having proper protection people will even put li-ion on thier heads, and up to thier ears used improperly dont put it in your pocket next to your gonads

if it get to catostrofic failure, then you sometimes get a warning, a rumbling feeling , fissing, heat, if you get that happening, RUN.

if you wont read the manuel, understand a little bit about it, use the proper charge techniques, and treat it poorly THEN DONT USE THEM, They are some of the most power holding things we have available, and if people treat them poorly and dont take care of them some safety nuts will take them away from us, and it will be all your fault

Li-ion is a great battery, with lots of power and light weight, a little respect of the item and proper use and you have a awesome power source. with improper use you can have a complete disaster, so understand the proper use, and use protected batteries, even protected can be DAMAGED and shorted, so take good care of them, dont drop them and stuff like that.

 

[Hen]

for li-ion, never overcharge, over 4.20 +-.05
never discharge below about 3.0V max low discharge is 2.4v and you should recharge at least 1/2 way quite quickly when down that low.

Protection attempts to keep the battery between the 4.2 and 2.4 these are maxs and mins, leaving it low (even at 2.4) will eventually ruin it, overcharging it will ruin it.

they only last so many years, depending totally on if they are cheap junk or not, and they only last about 500cycles, after they reach end of life they are Ruined, and should not be used any more at all.

a ruined cell can be very dangerous when charged quickly, slightly dangerous when charged slowly. so you should basically check its condition before charging.

reverse charge and improper series assembly and use of a bad cell in series or parellel, way to fast charging, overcharging, charging a ruined cell, shorting or crushing blows, can cause catastrofic failure.

for storage they should be kept about 50% charged, which is commonly about 3.8v. they do not need to be cycled regularly and good ones (vrses ruined or bad) will hold 90% of thier charge for some 6months. a new cell that has been parked can sometimes be slightly improved with 2 cycles, after that there is no reason to purposfully cycle them. if they start loosing power in self discharge to an ammount that is noticable they are probably Ruined. they can be topped off at any time, but remember they store well at 50% so excessivly topping isnt usefull.

that is just a primer and all this stuff http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=161549

used PROPERLY and having proper protection people will even put li-ion on thier heads, and up to thier ears used improperly dont put it in your pocket next to your gonads

if it get to catostrofic failure, then you sometimes get a warning, a rumbling feeling , fissing, heat, if you get that happening, RUN.

if you wont read the manuel, understand a little bit about it, use the proper charge techniques, and treat it poorly THEN DONT USE THEM, They are some of the most power holding things we have available, and if people treat them poorly and dont take care of them some safety nuts will take them away from us, and it will be all your fault

Li-ion is a great battery, with lots of power and light weight, a little respect of the item and proper use and you have a awesome power source. with improper use you can have a complete disaster, so understand the proper use, and use protected batteries, even protected can be DAMAGED and shorted, so take good care of them, dont drop them and stuff like that.

Thank so much for the great explanation. Would there be a voltage reading on the charger or i will need a DMM?

 

[jmcf1949]

Hi Hen, I'm quite new to all this myself. There is a wealth of information in the "sticky" posted at the top of the Battery and Electronics section. Pay special attention to information provided by Silverfox. There likely isn't a more knowledgeable member on this or any other forum with respect to different battery chemistries.

Regards,

Jim - Semper Fi

 

[VidPro]

Thank so much for the great explanation. Would there be a voltage reading on the charger or i will need a DMM?

various RC chargers will give you close enough voltage readings, and allow for testing of the battery to tell its state.
the usual tray type chargers for low prices do not usually have enough indicators on them or readings, so with those you really need some sort of meter thing.
the price of RC chargers has dropped a lot due to high use of Li-poly and li-ion, so now you can buy cheap china RC chargers for $40-60, then you get more information and readings, BUT you need to make up some sort of connection ability for them, as they arent usually Drop-in simplicity.