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The Lounge 2017

MC408

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
878
Location
northern California
Thanks Ven. Good info and simplified so I can understand. I got the nite core i4 charger and yes I read through sky Lumen must read. If I am understanding correct, it's bad to drain the batteries before storage or drain too far at anytime for that matter. , so leave them half charged when not in use and out of the light? It's ok to recharge often and not wait until the battery gets low. Right?
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
Yes you can recharge often, some of my cells get charged more than once in a day! Store around 3.6v(around nominal voltage) for long periods. No need if its going to be stored for a week or 2, but if its going to be months.............year then storage voltage.

The i4 although a good charger, its a little long in the tooth and slow with 4 bays full of cells. If your light collection is going to grow with v54 lights etc etc, then its worth investing in another charger(or 2 or 3). Ideally one that will support 1a on all 4 bays, better with options of even higher rates(usually limited to 2 bays, not all 4) of 2a+. This rate is ideal for the larger 26650 cells............

I would at 1st get used to the light and find out how much use your getting and to what the V of the cell/s. Little bit of a pita at 1st but saves taking up too much thought down the line. If you know you get roughly 1.5hrs of use and your down to 3.*v , then you may use it 20m a day.............then on the 4th day you may get into a habit of topping off(just rough examples).

If i use a light for 10m or so, i wont top cell off as its a bit of a waste of time for me personally. So i will top off after several uses and can usually get it pretty close (guessing voltage).

Back to chargers, the advantage of a charger with a digital V read out really is user friendly. Pop cell in and straight away get a V reading, this in itself learns you and keeps it user friendly. (no breaking out a multi meter each time friendly).
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
opus bt c3100 v2.2 has kept me content for a while now, up to 2a on bays 1+4, 1a on all 4, lowest rate 0.2a for smaller cells, has test,refresh.............for not much over $30 it is a good option imo.
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,107
Yeah that's a good charger. It's also known as the Opus BT C3400 I think which is the version I bought and am very happy with.

I have a question for you guys while we're on the topic of batteries. My mother-in-law bought me a stock Olight s2r Baton. She tried to charge it up for me but made a mistake. She took off the tailcap and removed the plastic spacer. However, instead of replacing the tailcap she tried to put the magnetic charging dock on the battery itself while it was inside the light. It sparked. She then later on tried charging it and everything seemed ok, but she called and I told her to leave the battery outside.

Anyway, I bought another fresh battery and have been using that as a precaution. However, the original battery measures around 3.6 V and seems to be stable. I don't see any bulges or anything super weird about it. I kept it in a plastic bag for a few days and the bag didn't bulge up or anything (like fumes causing that or anything). Do you guys think I should recycle it? Or do you think the protection worked fine and I don't need to worry about it?

Thanks!
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
Sounds like she shorted it for a split second, if holding 3.6v i would say fine. Charge up and monitor, see if holds full V(dont see why it would not).
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,107
Sounds like she shorted it for a split second, if holding 3.6v i would say fine. Charge up and monitor, see if holds full V(dont see why it would not).

Thanks ven! Yeah maybe I'll give that a shot and just supervise it really well.

Let it snow, Newlumen! Looks fun to me but I know how it can get old if it happens all the time.
 

MAD777

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
4,443
Location
White Mountains, NH, USA
... However, the original battery measures around 3.6 V and seems to be stable.... Do you guys think I should recycle it? Or do you think the protection worked fine and I don't need to worry about it?

Send it to wimmer, who has constructed a concrete bunker specifically for these situations. Why do you think his cat stays in a tree, a block away? ;)
 

MC408

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
878
Location
northern California
opus bt c3100 v2.2 has kept me content for a while now, up to 2a on bays 1+4, 1a on all 4, lowest rate 0.2a for smaller cells, has test,refresh.............for not much over $30 it is a good option imo.

thanks guys! Can someone send me a link for this charger at a good price. It's $52 on amazon and a BINH of eBay sellers have it for $32ish. Looking more closely, they are in China so it makes me leery. If someone knows where to get a legit one at a good price, I'd appreciate it!
 

Newlumen

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Messages
4,398
Location
United States

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,107
thanks guys! Can someone send me a link for this charger at a good price. It's $52 on amazon and a BINH of eBay sellers have it for $32ish. Looking more closely, they are in China so it makes me leery. If someone knows where to get a legit one at a good price, I'd appreciate it!

I see one on Amazon for $40, at least if you're in the US. That's the Opus BT-C3100 v2.2.
 

Bdm82

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 27, 2016
Messages
1,000
Location
Illinois
opus bt c3100 v2.2 has kept me content for a while now, up to 2a on bays 1+4, 1a on all 4, lowest rate 0.2a for smaller cells, has test,refresh.............for not much over $30 it is a good option imo.
I agree fully. I have several but this is my most used. The adjustable charge rates makes it useful for the smallest and largest batts i have. And the voltage display has kept me from charging batts when they really didn't need it.

Mine came from gearbest, one of their frequent sales on it as advertised on their cpf thread. Around 32 on sale. But a 3 week wait from China.

The 3100 and 3400 are the same, just different model number for a different reseller.

Only downside is the fan is a bit noisy. (But you shouldn't be charging while sleeping anyway.)
 

MC408

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
878
Location
northern California

MC408

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
878
Location
northern California
Mine came from gearbest, one of their frequent sales on it as advertised on their cpf thread. Around 32 on sale. But a 3 week wait from China.
.)

i see its $33 on gear best but never heard of or bought from them so I wasn't sure. If good to go, that's the best deal probably.
 
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