Primary vs. Rechargeable. What's in your HDS?

[peter yetman]

Then i go out looking for a lost cat(imaginary one),...

You are never going to find a lost imaginary cat, no matter how many lights you use.
P

Actually that would make a good sig line.

 

[subwoofer]

It really needed to be a multiple choice as I have two and use them differently.

In this case I had to vote for the one I use more power in, the 2xAA, and I go for NiMh not Alkaline. So for the highest power use, it has rechargeable cells.

The other one is more of a standby light and its super low output is what I use the most. So for this it is CR123 as the shelf life is very long and with no protection circuit, can be drained very very low. In this light, using it the way I do, a CR123 is lasting upwards of three years, so I'm OK with them being primary. Bearing in mind rechargeables age, even though it might be better to use a rechargeable cell, if that cell is only charged two or three times in ten years, was that better than 2 or three primaries?

 

[ven]

Perfect excuse for a back up light! If my CR123 dies, I can just use my other HDS for any unfinished feline location duties.

Might as well carry a spare cell in another HDS, fumbling in the dark swapping out cells , or a quick draw of your 2nd HDS from a hogo holster wins hands down.

You are never going to find a lost imaginary cat, no matter how many lights you use.
P

Actually that would make a good sig line.

:laughing:..................depends on how good your imagination is

It really needed to be a multiple choice as I have two and use them differently.

In this case I had to vote for the one I use more power in, the 2xAA, and I go for NiMh not Alkaline. So for the highest power use, it has rechargeable cells.

The other one is more of a standby light and its super low output is what I use the most. So for this it is CR123 as the shelf life is very long and with no protection circuit, can be drained very very low. In this light, using it the way I do, a CR123 is lasting upwards of three years, so I'm OK with them being primary. Bearing in mind rechargeables age, even though it might be better to use a rechargeable cell, if that cell is only charged two or three times in ten years, was that better than 2 or three primaries?

Good to see you about subwoofer

If charging 2 or 3 times in 10yrs, agree primaries make for a better choice. Would go as far as charging just once a year, primaries would be my choice in a HDS imo as well(just my opinion).

 

[peter yetman]

:laughing:..................depends on how good your imagination is

You spotted my major affliction.
P

 

[InvisibleFrodo]

I am a rechargeable battery guy through and through. I love rechargeable batteries for the environmental friendliness as well as being so much more economical to use. They literally pay for themselves.

Once a primary has been used, whatever has been used is gone and can't be replaced. At a certain point you have to choose between taking a battery with a half charge or leaving it at home. Or having a full spare.

Rechargeable batteries can be fully charged so you always have a full battery. Primary can make sense as a backup battery, especially if you rarely or never use your backup battery.

Primary batteries make sense to me if the light is being used as a backup or emergency light. If the light will sit unused for months or maybe even years at a time, primary batteries are the way to go as the light will be ready when you finally need it.

For daily use and pocket carry, it's rechargeable. All the way.

 

[InvisibleFrodo]

18350s from keeppower are up to 1200mah and come in protected and unprotected flavors.

 

[peter yetman]

Sadly, 18350s don't fit in an HDS.
P

 

[InvisibleFrodo]

Oh I know. But as has been pointed out, the engineering work has already been done to design an 18650 tube. An 18350 tube is literally the same design with less distance between the tail threads and the head threads.

 

[flatline]

Keep a rechargeable 123 in the light, but a primary spare in the holster.

This is what I do. However, I have never actually needed the spare cell.

--flatline

 

[Modernflame]

At a certain point you have to choose between taking a battery with a half charge or leaving it at home. Or having a full spare.

True, but a CR123 at half charge is equivalent to a fully charged 16340. I fully appreciate your concerns about the environment, though. Recharging batteries is itself part of this hobby, but sometimes I tire of maintaining lithium ion cells. They are little divas. I have another light that I used last night only because the 18650 in it had been @4.1v for too long and needed to be discharged. Don't take me wrong, it was still fun. I'm a flashaholic but I enjoy the simplicity of primary cells.

 

[Modernflame]

You are missing "both" in the poll.

I considered an "all of the above" type of option, but in a room full of twitching HDS addicts, I thought everyone would go for it. I suppose the idea is to discover which power source is truly the most preferred. So far, the 16340 is the clear winner.

 

[Sos24]

I use 16340 on a day to day basis. Sometimes when I'm traveling, I do not want to bring a charger with me, I will use primaries due to the higher capacity. I will insert a fresh primary before leaving and carry a spare primary or two.

 

[bigburly912]

Primaries. I like my longer run times. I did recently buy a few AW rechargeable though

 

[tech25]

Where from? I thought they are out of production.
I like the runtime on the 18650 and when I travel I bring just 18650 lights but for day to day I might be switching to the 16340 format.

 

[bigburly912]

Forum member.

 

[jon_slider]

Sometimes when I'm traveling, I do not want to bring a charger with me.

that makes sense, I dont carry a regular charger either, I carry batteries with built in chargers.

Pictured
16340 that is charging through a mini USB phone cable
Spare mini USB rechargeable 16340
Olight Universal charger for any battery, either Eneloop or Liion that needs charging if it lacks the USB feature on the battery.
One CR123 as a last resort backup.
Plus a spare light, as a spare 16340 battery carrier or backup light

 

[Sos24]

that makes sense, I dont carry a regular charger either, I carry batteries with built in chargers.

Pictured
16340 that is charging through a mini USB phone cable
Spare mini USB rechargeable 16340
Olight Universal charger for any battery, either Eneloop or Liion that needs charging if it lacks the USB feature on the battery.
One CR123 as a last resort backup.
Plus a spare light, as a spare 16340 battery carrier or backup light

How do you like the Olight charger? I've been debating getting one. I started a thread about it and the Nitecore LC10 looking for input.

 

[jon_slider]

How do you like the Olight charger? I've been debating getting one. I started a thread about it and the Nitecore LC10 looking for input.

The Olight Universal Charger works fine imo.

Though it starts out at 610mA, on a 16340 at 3.67v, the charge rate on the universal charger steps down as the battery fills up, and the battery does not get warm in the process. I take that as a good sign.

After 20 minutes the charge rate is down to 330mA. at the end of 55 minutes the charge rate is down to 140mA. imo a 1 hour recharge time on a 16340 that started at 3.67v and finished at 4.1v, all good.

I replied to your thread also.

as a side note, those USB rechargeable batteries have built in chargers that start out at 330mA, and also taper down. iow, the built in charger starts out lower than the Universal Charger. Bear in mind the recommended charge rate for a 16340 is 500mA, so yes the Olight Universal starts out a bit high, but it never gets the battery even slightly warm, so imo the Olight Universal Charger is fine to use occasionally, such as in a travel kit.

Nitecore makes a similar model, I suspect it also starts out a bit high, but have not verified that yet.

 

[tech25]

Forum member.

Thanks

 

[jon_slider]

Where from? I thought they are out of production.

a google found this

IMR is a high discharge rate technology, it has no extra brightness benefit in HDS since they are regulated and are not high drain. Also some IMR are flat tops, not button tops, both work in HDS, but I have lights that only like to work with button tops, because they have physical rings around the positive post, to prevent contact if a battery is inserted backwards.. so I avoid flat top IMR, and prefer to only own button top cells, that work not just in HDS, but in other lights also.

LiFeP04 is not compatible with HDS, they confuse the light into thinking the cell is a Primary cell and will overdischarge them

Protected LiCo is not needed in HDS, since the light has built in overdischarge protection, but it never hurts to have redundant protection. Though they tend to be longer than unprotected, this is not necessarily a problem in a double spring HDS

UnProtected LiCo is fine in HDS due to the built in protection in the light

but after all that, the battery I like is the Olight Protected and mini USB rechargeable, because I dont need anything but a phone cable, to charge it back up. And it is safe to use in other lights that dont have the sophisticated battery recognition and overdischarge protection features of HDS.