Thank you for the explanation!
If I understand correctly, if the battery discharging rate is at least the same as how much charge the light is pulling, I can use the cell. Is this correct?
I have a few more follow-up questions, if you could clarify for me:
1) Besides runtime, and short prevention as you described, does the discharging rate affect the light in other ways?
2) How to determine how many amps the light is pulling?
3) If the light can only draw 2100mAh = 2.1Ah (M61HOT), does a 10A discharging rate differ from 25A? If so, how?
These batteries aren't designed for flashlights. So keep that in mind. They are for vapes, motors and other devices requiring a lot of battery power. You won't have a 1 LED flashlight pull 25amps. The LED and driver will fry in a split second. Plus the tiny little wires will have a bunch of resistance and 25 amps won't reach the LED. I'm sure there's some chinese lights with 30 LEDs that pull 25 amps, but I don't mess with those.
If I understand correctly, if the battery discharging rate is at least the same as how much charge the light is pulling, I can use the cell. Is this correct? As the battery voltage decreases from use then the discharge amps will increase. So you will need a battery that has a higher discharge rate than what the driver/LED is pulling. The formula is Watts = Amps x Volts. Watts will remain constant so when one of the variables is higher the other is lower, and vise versa.
I have a few more follow-up questions, if you could clarify for me:
1) Besides runtime, and short prevention as you described, does the discharging rate affect the light in other ways? Current is what gives the light sustaining output. Current = discharging rate. So as long as you have a discharging rate that is higher than demands then the light is not affected. It's similar to having the throttle on a gas motor 1/2 way rather than wide open.
2) How to determine how many amps the light is pulling? Amp meter. Also every LED has a datasheet that gives pretty accurate measurements. For a LED to reach X lumens, it must have X amps. So you can have a good idea from the datasheet.
3) If the light can only draw 2100mAh = 2.1Ah (M61HOT), does a 10A discharging rate differ from 25A? If so, how? No performance difference. won't use near or more than 10 amps. Here is why:
Watts = Amps x Volts
Watts = 2.1 x 3.7
Watts = 7.77
Let's say you use a protected battery that shuts off at 2.5 volts.
7.77 = Amps x 2.5
Amps = 3.10
Based on above you'll never use more than 3.10 amps, assuming your battery drain limit is 2.5 volts.
So your garden water hose may can flow 25amps, but you're only flowing 3.10 amps through the water hose.
Think of it like a water hose.
Volts is water pressure. Current is how much water is flowing.
Like a pressure washer.