Can the TigerLight be left charging?

[Joel]

I'm a CPF newbie thinking of purchasing my first TigerLight. I'm pretty absent minded about charging my flashlights. I was wondering if I could leave my TigerLight in the charging cradle? Would it automatically trickle charge, or would I ruin the light? Thanks!

 

[tkl]

if i recall, the book that came with my tl said if you're not going to use it over a week remove it from the charger.

 

[brightnorm]

Originally posted by Joel:
I'm a CPF newbie thinking of purchasing my first TigerLight. I'm pretty absent minded about charging my flashlights. I was wondering if I could leave my TigerLight in the charging cradle? Would it automatically trickle charge, or would I ruin the light? Thanks!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">If I remember correctly, inventor Randy Teig stated he had it on the charger for more than a year with no problem.

General advice: If you want to leave it on charger, "relieve" it at least once weekly either by using it or taking it off charger for a few hours or more. If you use it, don't run it down past noticeable dimming.

Rate of self-discharge is about 1-2% daily so even after a week off charger you should notice only minor dimming.

I leave it "permanently" on charger and relieve it as above.

Brightnorm

 

[binky]

Yes, it's meant to be stored in the charger for up to a few days but the instructions say not for weeks.

I also don't have the instruction booklet in front of me and it's not on the Tigerlight.net website, but I recall reading that the reason the NiMH battery type was chosen was so its style of use could be that you'd use the light for a while, stick it back in the charger, then use it some more, etc. This is in line with LEO's having it in their vehicles for nightly use and they wouldn't have to worry about memory effect, overcharging, or anything about the battery except maybe over-discharging.

 

[binky]

BTW: regarding over-discharging... I accidentally left my new light on last night and eventually noticed. "Didn't I leave this on?" Well, yes, it was on but I had run it down completely. OOPS.

I stuck it back in the charger and only then could I really judge that I had really left it on (by using the LED charging-notification light on the charger) so I promptly switched it off and let it charge. I was very worried. It's running fine tonight.

 

[Monsters_Inc]

I had the same experience as binky, leaving a light on, but it wasn't a rechargable. Upon removal, 1 of the AA cell measured 0.2 volts! I was lucky the batteries didn't burst.

Leaving it on and forgotten is IMO safer than leaving the light on and forgotten...

 

[Joel]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I've decided to hook the charger up to a heavy duty appliance timer that I have. The timer will go on once a week just for a couple of hours to top off the charge. (I'll experiment to find out the optimal "top off" time) Thanks again!

Joel

 

[binky]

Joel - about the heavy duty timer, you might want to consider putting some sort of inexpensive surge supressor between the timer and the charger if it's just one of those timers that uses a mechanical relay that launches a helluva spike on the line when it goes "click". Just a thought.

 

[brightnorm]

Here is Randy's description of how he uses his Tigerlight. This is copied from his 11/24/02 post
in thread "Tigerlight Facts".

Brightnorm

__________________________________________________


"........The NiMH battery looses up to 2% of it's charge per day. As for leaving it on the charger 24/7. What some of our customers do is to get the light fully charged and then leave it in the charger cradle but just back it out to the point that the LED goes off. Then everyso often pop it back in to top it off.

As for me I am not organized to schedule myself that way. If I don't clean my gun at the range right after I shoot, it may never get done. I leave my light on the charger 24/7 There is nothing special about my battery or my charger, and I have had no regrets. The battery will last longer if you take the care to get it off the charger once in a while. By the way I do have serial # 001000001....."

--------------------
Randy Teig
TigerLight Inventor
VP Production And Development

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I've settled on a system where I charge the light overnight, then leave it off charge until the next payday (2 weeks later). At 1-2% per day, even off charge for two weeks it's definitely plenty bright, and I'm assuming runtime will still be acceptable. Next payday, I recharge overnight again. Sometimes I run it down between charges in regular use, in which case I recharge that night, but then go back to my every-pay recharging.

Joe