Ultrafire C8.. Advice needed

[Makedonas]

Hello all...

I found this forum while trying to find out a bit more on some flashlights i was considering for use as a headlight for my bike.

The need to purchase a mount, as well as a new rear light is keeping me from raising my budget over 40 bucks (shipped to Greece... thats the real problem).

So I basically narrowed down my search to an UF C8... It comes with a set of UF 3000mA 18650 batteries and a WF-139 charger. Also its 5 modes, so the SOS and strobe modes would be perfect for while i'm on the bike. And all this for about 35usd shipped.

So whats my problem? Well, i was trying to find some info on how long these batteries would last and i fell upon this thread

So I'd just like to ask two questions:

1) Is this something that should worry me? Does UF have so low quality control or was it probably just bad use

2) I never really found something definate on a possible runtime...

And of course I'm open to suggestions on a more reliable/safe solution... but it just seems hard for me to find such an economical light with batteries + charger in one package!

Some pics of the light:

 

[Hrvoje]

Hello Makedonac, look at DX sku 20392. One of the best budget 18650 cell.

Hrvoje

 

[wolfy]

I have half a dozen of those UF 3000mAh cells, and they work OK, but they act more like 2600mAh cells than 3000mAh cells. Maybe they should have written 2700mAh on them.

Also have a couple from another batch/manufacturer (UF stuff isnt made by one manufacturer it seems), and the sizes do vary a little bit (according to my vernier calipers), so they also seem to have some consistency issues.

I use them on lights with lower power needs, like the UF C8, where you use one cell at a time and they seem to get their best performance that way. I wouldnt recommend them for high current situations, with 3 or more cells used together (lack of consistency = less trust), even though they have protection circuit built in.

So for use in a UF C8 (mine has an XPG in it so < 1.5A) should be OK, I havent had any get hot in usage or blow up this way. I havent tested the runtime on the C8 but indications are easily over an hour with fresh UF 3000mAh cells.

Hope that helps.

PS: With LithiumIon batteries, its always a good idea to check their voltage after charging. Any cells that cant reach 4v after charging may have problems. Some extra reading here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=235164

 

[old4570]

head on over to DealExtreme.com ..... lightake.com/products.do/category.59
You might be better of not going with a combo deal .

That particular battery has very high internal resistance , also not the best quality cell out there ... You can do much better ...

The charger is ok , but is challenged by some of the longer batteries out there .

Spend a little time here on CPF , and check out the sellers and there wares , read the reviews on the light you like , battery etc , and when you find something people dont actually hate with a passion , then you might be safe investing in it .

 

[qwertyydude]

That flashlight would probably be too focused a beam to be useful as a bike light. I have a couple of X8, same as c8 but with an XP-G and even that is too focused, with an XR-E it would be a practically a laser beam.

This in my opinion would make a good bike light, easy to mount, compact, multi-mode. And can't beat the price.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

 

[Makedonas]

Thank you all for the help!!

Hello Makedonac, look at DX sku 20392. One of the best budget 18650 cell.

Hrvoje

Thanks, the reviews on DX prove you right. They seem safer and everyone agreed about their full capacity.

PS: With LithiumIon batteries, its always a good idea to check their voltage after charging. Any cells that cant reach 4v after charging may have problems. Some extra reading here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=235164

Thank you for the link! This is exactly what I needed and i never would have found it (because i searching 18650 batteries on the search options)

head on over to DealExtreme.com ..... lightake.com/products.do/category.59
You might be better of not going with a combo deal .

That particular battery has very high internal resistance , also not the best quality cell out there ... You can do much better ...

The charger is ok , but is challenged by some of the longer batteries out there .

Spend a little time here on CPF , and check out the sellers and there wares , read the reviews on the light you like , battery etc , and when you find something people dont actually hate with a passion , then you might be safe investing in it .

Yea I think I'm going to stop looking at the combo deals and try to put something together myself. A bit tough while on a budget, but if everything was that easy it wouldn't be much fun would it :thinking:

That flashlight would probably be too focused a beam to be useful as a bike light. I have a couple of X8, same as c8 but with an XP-G and even that is too focused, with an XR-E it would be a practically a laser beam.

This in my opinion would make a good bike light, easy to mount, compact, multi-mode. And can't beat the price.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

Thanks for the heads up... since i don't know much about these lights and their properties/strengths I was just looking for the cheapest/brightest light i could get my hands on. Plus that C8 looked pretty mean

Price on the trustfire is indeed perfect for my needs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I'm now focusing on the Trustfire TR-801
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

Powered by Trustfire 18650 2400mA
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

How about this charger:
http://lightake.com/detail.do/sku.T...arger_for_10440_14500_17670_18500_18650-29247
It states in the description that it has 'auto shut off' function... is this a reliable charger? Looks identical to the WF-139 to me :thinking:

 

[old4570]

Trustfire TR-001 VS UF WF-139

VF-139 is challenged by longer batteries [ may not fit ] , tends to do a sort of pulse charging [ some folks dont like it ] , and earned a bad rep early on which has been some what hard to shake of due to overcharging , and not terminating on completion . [ later ones dont trickle charge ]

TR-001 - Does a good job of charging , fits a lot more batteries [ longer 18650's ] but does not terminate on completion , may slightly overcharge some cells if there left in there to long after completion . [ Mine seems to be ok in this regard ]

I own both , and I like both ... Pick your weapon !

Batteries , again highly subjective ... the Red and Black Trustfires are good for the money , but may not fit in a WF-139 ..

As for that light ? May get a little warm / hot if run on high for extended periods ...

$40 Budget ....

Light
Batteries
Charger

 

[a1penguin]

That flashlight would probably be too focused a beam to be useful as a bike light. I have a couple of X8, same as c8 but with an XP-G and even that is too focused, with an XR-E it would be a practically a laser beam.

This in my opinion would make a good bike light, easy to mount, compact, multi-mode. And can't beat the price.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

I have this light and it is a thrower with a narrow beam. Great helmet light in combination with a floodier P7 light on the bars for street riding. If you are going to have just one light, I'd recommend one of the XP-G lights. Should be somewhere between a floody P7 and a throwy Q5.

 

[Makedonas]

I don't mind it being a bit of a thrower.

The reason i'm going for a flashlight-bracket combo rather than a pure breed bike light is because it would also be nice for it to double as a flashlight. Also, wouldn't positioning it slightly downwards produce flood in the street ahead of me?

I'm just tempted to get more than one light now I knew I would want more than one even as I was registering to the forum :twothumbs

 

[a1penguin]

I started out with lights for the bike and now I have about 10 lights

Start out with the TR-801. If it is sufficient for your needs, great. If not, then you can consider adding more lights. I don't think directing the light down will turn it into a floody light. It will just light the road directly ahead of you. I ride the same road at night during commuting and now that I am familiar with the road, one flashlight is sufficient, but I feel better with two. A P7 style light would be an additional $30 or so.

If this light is for biking, there are several lighting related forms on other cycling sites: mtbr.com is probably the best for discussing torches and cycling.