Surefire Commander Rechargeable owners

[ebow86]

I just got a brand new Surefire 8AX commander, my question is pretty simple, what exactly is the little piece of round foam that fell out of the barrel when I took out the battery? It looks like it might have something to do with the tailcap, not really sure. Should I reinsert this little foam piece or leave it out?

 

[oldways]

Mine never had any foam that i know of. It works fine. The 8AX is a good light.

 

[ebow86]

Mine never had any foam that i know of. It works fine. The 8AX is a good light.

Are you close to your's? If so maybe you could do me a favor by looking down the barrell of the light and seeing if there is any small round piece of foam on the inside of the tailcap switch. Without the foam piece in place you should be able to see the inside of the rubber switch.

 

[oldways]

OK I looked. No foam, just the inside of the switch boot(black) and the white plastic? disc.

 

[ebow86]

OK I looked. No foam, just the inside of the switch boot(black) and the white plastic? disc.

That's a million. Any ideas what the little round piece of foam might be? I know size15's would know.

 

[oldways]

Dont have a clue. Mine is several years old and never had any foam. I would toss the foam and enjoy the light.

 

[ebow86]

Well I'm screwed. I was afraid of this happening and it did. Mine has come with the old charger that dosen't blink green when the cycle is complete, it just a constant green light. Ohhh man, now what?

 

[DimeRazorback]

Call Surefire.

 

[ebow86]

This is strange. On the bottom of the charger it states that the green light will blink when fully charged. I have had the pack on charger for close to 3 hrs, no blinking light. I have also tried taking the battery out and snapping it back in, no effect. Mmmm...

 

[oldways]

Mine does the same. It charges fine. I have charged the B90s many times with no problems.

 

[Size15's]

I've no idea about the foam - any chance of a photo please?

(The only 8-Series light I have is an 8NX)

 

[ebow86]

I've no idea about the foam - any chance of a photo please?

(The only 8-Series light I have is an 8NX)

sorry no camera. I have searched every thread on the CN400 charger. What's baffling me is why does the bottom of the charger say " will blink when fully charged" if this is indeed the oldest model that doesn't blink? Any chance you can fill me in on what might be going on with my charger Al?

 

[Size15's]

I think this issue of the charge not blinking has been raised before. Perhaps in a 10X thread?
Its all bit of a mystery to me I'm afraid.

 

[Mike 208]

I have the older model (8X), and it came with a green piece of felt that went inside the barrel ontop of the switch. I honestly don't know why it's there (my 6R and 9AX did not come with the felt), but it doesn't interfere with the lights' operation. As was already suggested, call Surefire and see what they have to say about this.

 

[angelofwar]

The old chargers were 12 hr chargers ebow...sorry... I have 3 different chargers for my B65's. 2 of the newer one's that start off red, turn green when "good enough to use" and blink when fully charged. My 2nd oldest one (a laser products version) just stays on green (for about 12 hours) and blinks when done (i.e. an "overnight" charger). My oldest, also a LP one, doesn't even have a cradle, just two plugs on wires the connect to the ends of the batteries...I don't even think this one has a light.

But, I seriuosly think you have the 12 hour charger. Pic's of the top and bottom of the charger might help. The foam thing sounds like a "shipping-plug" for the battery??? Just a guess.

 

[ebow86]

Ok here's the result of my testing so far

Completly discharged battery placed in charger 6:10 PM
Green light comes on approx 7:30 PM (didn't catch exact time it switched over)
Left battery sit on charger approx 1 more hour, no blinking green light


Runtime test
Run 1- 10 min
Run 2- 10 min
Run 3- 15 min (light is starting to yellow slightly)
Run 4- 12 min (getting very yellow now)
Run 5- 3 min (battery is dead completly)

So I got 50 minutes on the dot. Now, compairing my results with siverfox's in this graph, http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?71750-SureFire-B90-Battery-Performance
It looks to be like I got the same results as his "incomplete charge" test run, he got nearly 52 min
With his fully charged run, he got nearly 57 minutes.

I read that when the green light comes on the charger that mean the battery has gotten approx 85% charge, with the remaining 15% being feed whenever the green light starts to blink

Since my charger is only going to a solid green and not blinking green even after an extended period on time on the charger, I believe there is a posibility that I am only recieveing an 85% charge, I dont own a voltage meter so I can clarify anything.
Lets assume for a moment that I have the older charger that doesn't switch to a blinking green light when fully charged, then why does the sticker on the bottom of the charger clearly say "green light will blink when fully charged"? Doesn't make sense. I will wait to hear from more members here before I contact surefire and sort things out.

 

[angelofwar]

Another thing ebow that occured to me, it sounds like the battery may need some conditioning...

 

[ebow86]

Another thing ebow that occured to me, it sounds like the battery may need some conditioning...

Whats the best method for doing this, completly discharging then recharging again?

 

[angelofwar]

Yeah, run it through a few charge cycles (4-5 depending on condition of the cell). Also, about every 4-6 months run it down completely (1 volt / cell = dead), so, say for example, the B65 will stop powering a P60 at around 4.85. It's made of 4ea. 2/3A cells, so, every once in awhile, I need to discharge it (run-it-down) to about 4 volts (1 volt per cell), to help maintain a "healthy" balance of chemical reactions.

Hope this helps, and let us know if you can get the B90 back in operating condition!

 

[ebow86]

Well the light was brand new factory sealed with I recieved it today, so I'm not sure why I'm having these issues.