Palmblaze Power?

[SayHey]

Hope I didn't miss this being addressed elsewhere...based on what I've learned thus far, it appears the Palmblaze flashlight is hard to beat in terms of "bang for the buck" value. The price of the light seems not to vary, but I note one offer thru Ebay by GoldenGadgets that includes an "Intelligent Charger" and two 3.6v rechargeable 580 mAh cells at no extra cost. My question: is this a safe and reliable source of power for this particular light? Are there better options for rechargeables or is the Palmblaze better left alone with primary 123s? I was about to place an order with Battery Junction, but this offer caused me to pause......thanks for any advice.

 

[MattK]

Hi SayHey and welcome to CPF.

The short answer is yes, rechargeables will work.

The right answer is that we've tested the PalmBlaze with a few flavors of RCR123A's (4 types - 2 types of 3V protected (diff capacities) and both 3.6V protected and unprotected) and didn't find them a good enough match to make them a recommendation for their use. The PalmBlaze already runs a bit hot because of it's small size and high current levels. The RCR123A's run EXTREMELY hot and because of this we don't think it's the right solution and continue to recommend primaries only.

 

[redledz]

hello Sayhey, check out these threads if you have not seen them. It appears that using rechargeables is questionable. I highly recommend Battery Junction also.


http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149427

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=144814

 

[SayHey]

Many thanks for the helpful info; guess I'll avoid rechargeables for now, if there is some risk to damaging the light. I'm now debating acquiring the PalmBlaze or the current special offered by Battery Junction on the D-Mini (both reflectors at a great price)....man, this is becoming an addiction, maybe I need a break!

 

[mhubble]

Go ahead and get the Palmblaze, you wont regret it. Its very impressive. Impressive enough for me to have two, one to carry and one for a weapons light. And get it from Batteryjunction, You can never go wrong with MattK.

 

[MattK]

Buy it all!

Thanks to all for your kind words about us!

 

[racer7]

I am using a Palm Blaze with rechargeable 3.6V cells. It will get hot and I agree that it might not be safe, left on inside something insulating and flammable. Matts reservations are very understandable given that he has no control over what any individual customer might do.

I've not run it longer than about 20 minutes continuous this way but see no reason not to use it this way with a bit of care. No damage to the light, yet, and it can be held.