Please excuse my unfamiliarity posting on CPF, just in case this ends up where it shouldn't. It is through CPF, specifically the extensive review by Selfbuilt, that I bought a Liteflux LF3xt a month ago. The flash is just as versatile and handy as I anticipated. But the other day I was using it standing on its tail as a night light. Wanting more light, I set it to maximum brightness and just happened to touch it two minutes later. It was fortunate I did. It was extremely hot. I turned it off, opened it, removed the battery to a safe place, and let everything cool down. Amazingly, the light still works and appears to be functioning normally.
The CR123A I had been using when the light overheated was probably 8 years old and had been used in another light briefly. The LF3xt had reported its voltage as 2.8 but it had worked without a problem for a couple of weeks prior to the near-catastrophe when it overheated.
The number of dangerous failures I've read about have me concerned. I am not sure what caused this failure but installing a brand new CR123A (reported at 3.2 volts) the flash light appears to work properly and not to overheat. But I'd like to know for sure the probable culprit. Can an older lithium battery fail in this fashion? Or might there be a problem with the LF3xt itself that could precipitate another episode of overheating? If the former, I will be sure to use only fresh primaries. If the latter, I will need to send the light back for inspection. Thanks in advance for your valuable advice.