Haiku Batteries. Which Do You Use? Primaries or Rechargables?

[benzz]

I'm kind of a noob too. Would you guys recommend AW 16340's for my 3v Sundrop?

 

[pjandyho]

I'm kind of a noob too. Would you guys recommend AW 16340's for my 3v Sundrop?

Definitely.

 

[benzz]

Awesome, thanks pjandyho. Is there a charger that is capable of charging 16340's and 18650's?

 

[kaichu dento]

Awesome, thanks pjandyho. Is there a charger that is capable of charging 16340's and 18650's?

You might like the selectable output charger that our own Cottonpickers is selling in the Marketplace. They're really compact and have a real-time display showing the voltage with a switch next to it so you can select which output level you want.

Hopefully in the next couple days I'll be able to check out my Haiku with a couple different cells in it!

 

[pjandyho]

Awesome, thanks pjandyho. Is there a charger that is capable of charging 16340's and 18650's?

You can also look at 4Sevens or Pila IBC charger. Personally I am using Ultrafire WF-139 for the last 4 years and it have been very reliable. I also bought a 4Sevens charger when I bought the Maelstrom S12 and 26650 batteries. So these two charger combined will allow me to charge up 3 batteries at one go.

 

[nbp]

I've been using primaries. The first cell lasted like 3 mos. of EDC before it locked up in High mode to tell me it was dying. So I don't feel too bad.

 

[pjandyho]

I've been using primaries. The first cell lasted like 3 mos. of EDC before it locked up in High mode to tell me it was dying. So I don't feel too bad.

After it lock up on high, did you change your battery or did you continue to run it down? The circuitry for McGizmo is so different. With other lights it just go dimmer and not let you access high. With McGizmo lights it just locks on high and not go low. I haven't tried running it all the way down so was wondering does it maintain high until it dies suddenly, or does it step down slowly until the battery could not provide the juice to power it?

 

[nbp]

I changed it after that since I was keen on having a low mode. I don't really know what happens if you just keep running it. :shrug: Sorry bro.

 

[Minicoop831]

I changed it after that since I was keen on having a low mode. I don't really know what happens if you just keep running it. :shrug: Sorry bro.

I tried with a surefire that locked on high I ran it down, it starts to flicker and flickers......for a long time.........lol lots of time........then once the flicker stops it eventually will only turn on at the instant you press in the switch until you hit the point it becomes a dead rock

 

[pjandyho]

I tried with a surefire that locked on high I ran it down, it starts to flicker and flickers......for a long time.........lol lots of time........then once the flicker stops it eventually will only turn on at the instant you press in the switch until you hit the point it becomes a dead rock

Thanks for the reply. I still have a depleted CR123 left over and I will put it in the Haiku XM-L and try running it down just for the fun of it.

 

[Minicoop831]

Thanks for the reply. I still have a depleted CR123 left over and I will put it in the Haiku XM-L and try running it down just for the fun of it.

One thing I forgot to mention was that I used a sundrop with the nichia 83 led, I'll try it with a haiku next time around

But I think the engines for dons 3v are all the same except which led you choose

 

[malamalama]

Actually, my bedside haiku batteries fall under the 'other' category because I took the McClicky 2xAA from my Makai and switched it with the haiku. Now it runs with two eneloop AA and I find it easier to carry around the house. It also helped the makai since the balance was really head heavy with the 2xAA. My other haiku runs on surefire primaries.

 

[pjandyho]

One thing I forgot to mention was that I used a sundrop with the nichia 83 led, I'll try it with a haiku next time around

But I think the engines for dons 3v are all the same except which led you choose

They are the same 3S but if I am not wrong, the Sundrop draws a lot lesser from the battery than a regular XM-L or XP-G Haiku. If I am not wrong, Sundrop is drawing somewhere like 330ma and the Haiku is going for 650ma?

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

I had to crack the light to see what was in there. I thought it would be an IMR, but it was a primary.
I voted Primary - Other as I have been using Rayovac CR123s lately and been very happy with the price to performance I am achieving.

 

[nbp]

I put two AW RCR123s on my Lighthound order today, along with some primaries. I am eager to try the li-ions and see how they do. Figure I can shove them in my Haiku and Mule since those are my EDCs and see the most use. Primaries for all the lights that only get occasional usage. Gotta love 10 yr shelf lives.

 

[nbp]

Got my AW RCR123s in today. Forgot that 16340s are too short for my Pila IBC even with the provided spacers. Cut down some bolts and ground them nice and smooth to use as spacers and charged those babies up!

Now they are in my Haiku and Mule EDC combo, and I gotta say they really run nicely. The shifts are very crisp with the extra power. :thumbsup: Now I have two McGs on li-ions and two on primaries. I'm interested to see what kind of run-time I get. I'll probably just run them till the mode changes get wonky and then charge them. I read that the increased resistance of the bolt spacers decreases charged capacity of the cells so runtime can suffer a bit. I think I had a primary in my Haiku for 3 months, so even if now I go to charging every couple weeks or once a month, that's really not that big of a deal. Yay Guilt Free Lumens!

 

[stanmog]

Some of the battery nomenclature is very confusing to a neophyte. Are these batteries: AW Orange 16340 3.7v 550 mAh LiMN rechargeable battery equivalent to the black label AW 16340 batteries, and as safe to use?

Thanks
Stan

 

[Robe]

Some of the battery nomenclature is very confusing to a neophyte.

Totally. That's why I haven't bought any yet. So confusing heh.

 

[MikeBarHoot]

Thank you for this thread. I've got my first McGizmo, which will be a Haiku, in transit and I found this information very helpful!

-mike

 

[DTF]

Primaries only. I've been using the primary 123 batteries for what must be a couple decades now, mostly with an early incan Surefire E2D. My experience from that use is that these batteries last a very long time. Took me a couple of years to go through a Surefire package of 12. With the dog and using flashlights in my photography, I'm using flashlights a lot more these days, so, went ahead and got a 50 count box of Duracells from Battery Junction at a good price. This should be good for at least a year or more.

The other half of using primaries is a good battery tester. Been using the ZTS MBT-1 that tests every type of battery that I have; even coin cells and all types of lithiums.

I've used rechargeable's in the past, mostly AA's for strobes, where capacity was a critical issue. But, it took significant, time, energy, money to get it done right. Unless that extra capacity is a critical issue, rechargeable batteries just aren't worth it, IMO. And, nobody can deny the safety issues... just ask Boeing.

Believe I have read that Don doesn't use rechargeable batteries either. Can't recall off-hand why not.