Hi, i have read and looked at 26650 sized lights with great interest. Could you tell me what off the shelf charging systems are available for these cells? I've stuck with the more common cell sizes 16340, 14500, 17500, 18500 and 18650 as i have chargers that i can simply pop these cells into and they'll charge up nicely.
This is the major obstacle to 26mm lights. There really isn't one. We used to get them on CPFM, but the supplier closed his tent and left, in a hurry.
This is true if you want a cradle/cell holder to charge your cells, but there are dedicated chargers for this size and type of cell (size in terms of capacity and charge rate.) They are available from Battery Space and others. You can get LiIon chargers for single cells, a specific number of multiple cells (in series) and switchable units covering one to xxx number of cells.
sdnative makes well regarded cradles for multiple 18650s and has considered making dedicated cradles for 26650s. The easy short term solution is to get his 3x 18650 cradle and use the two outer positions for a pair of 26650s. See
this thread for pictures and
this thread for other information.
The cradles from sdnative require you to wire them up to suit your needs, but he might be willing to do that for you if you're not equiped to do it yourself. Then it's just a matter of connecting your preferred charger. That can be done with alligator clips (supplied with some chargers) or you could equip the cradle with a coaxial power socket (in-line or not, as you see fit) to mate with the in-line coaxial power plug used on some chargers.
If you're going to charge bunches of batteries, a hobby charger is a good idea. It does require more work on your part,especially initially, and most require an external power supply, but it is much more versatile than a simple dedicated LiIon charger. As with most things, decent ones are available from cheap to fairly expensive.
Whichever charger you get, you aren't required to use a cradle if you don't want to. There are various workable solutions using clamps, magnets etc. There are threads exploring a number of creative solutions for charging LiIon cells to be found on CPF, mostly in the batteries and electronics forum.
Lastly, a number of folks have found that the typical 18650 two bay chargers will accommodate a single 26650 (e.g. Pila, Ultrafire etc.) That's probably acceptable for infrequent charging of a limited number of cells.
Whatever you choose, be sure to make safety the first priority when charging!
- Syncytial.
