Zebralight H51W Runtime

[papageorgio]

Hey Guys,

I emailed Zebralight already, but I wanted a 2nd opinion, or a 3rd, 4th, 5th :) So i LOVE this headlamp and i dropped a fully charged Duracell NIMH in it and I couldnt get the light to go into the 200 lumen setting. My NIMH's are only about 2 years old and dont have a lot of cycles on them, but i figured maybe they are just worn out. So to test my theory, i dropped a fresh alkaline in there. WOW, full power no problem. NICE! However, it ran for full power for about 5 mins before dropping to the lower setting. This was a little disappointing. Zebralight told me that using an eneloop should make a difference and give considerably more runtime. The thing is, my duracells give me max output in all my quarks for a long time with no issues. Any thoughts on this? I know alkalines arent ideal, but is 5 mins all i should expect or do you guys think my light is defective? I've heard eneloops are great, but ive got a bunch of these other batteries that seem to work well in all my other lights except the Zebra. Thanks! :)

 

[Brasso]

Try cleaning all the contact points. I've found this to be a problem area with regards to brightness of the ZL's.

 

[tygger]

NiMH performance has a lot to do with the charger. The MAHA C9000 for example will give you a good idea what condition your batteries are in. As far as alkalines go, I'm surprised you got even 5 min runtime at full output. There's a reason they're not recommended for high drain applications. Stick with NiMH or L91's. Alkalines as emergency backup only and used conservatively (no high/turbo modes). You surely don't want a leaky battery in such an expensive light.

 

[ZebraLight]

The current from the bettery at the H1 level of the H51s/SC51s is well over 2 Amp. The only battery that can sustain that kind of current is the Eneloop.

 

[B0wz3r]

I prefer to use L91's in my H51w... full output and lots of run time. In fact, I just got in from cutting firewood for the last three hours, and was running my H51w on M1 pretty much that entire time, and still was able to hit 'turbo' mode no problems.

The reason you're getting full output out of something like a Quark AA^2 is because two cells double the voltage so the light can pull more power to hit its maximum output. To be able to get that kind of output from a Quark AA, you need to run something like a 14500 li-ion; which are specifically designed to sustain high outputs.

 

[papageorgio]

This makes a lot of sense guys, i appreciate it. Thanks Zebralight as well I appreciate you guys paying attention and clarifying further! The first email from Lillian didn't go into that level of detail and i just wanted further confirmation. Looks like I'll need to invest in some Eneloops. You guys think the standard "kit" charger is sufficient? I don't want to get off topic, but charging 4 batteries at a time is just about all I would need it to do. So, Zebralight.....Any pics of the Q50 yet? ;)

 

[tre]

Looks like I'll need to invest in some Eneloops. You guys think the standard "kit" charger is sufficient?

I have a couple of those "kit chargers". They are no good. It is a non Intelligent timed charger that would consistently under charge my Eneloops by a lot. Get the Eneloops with the charger. If you are looking for a good "cheap" charger, buy a Lacrosse BC-700. It can be had for about $35.

 

[Napalm]

I have a couple of those "kit chargers". They are no good.

If you're referring to the Sanyo chargers that come with Eneloops, it depends on the particular model. Some of them are good, some are dumb. Problem is that they're hard to differentiate just by the looks. The one with only 2 batteries slots (MDR02) is a good one and easy to identify. The good model with 4 batteries is the MQR06 but beware it looks similar to some dumb models. Rule of thumb: if it says on the package that it can charge only one battery ("charges 1-4 batteries), it's probably a good model. If it says "charges 2-4" batteries and needs to charge batteries in pairs (either 2 or 4 batteries at a time), avoid.

Nap.

 

[B0wz3r]

The best thing to do, if you're willing to spend the money, is buy a Maha C9000 charger; they're simply the best charger for eneloops and nimhs in general. Pricey, but if you use your lights a lot, it'll prolong the life of your batteries and you'll spend less on new ones in the long run.

If you're interested in getting into lithium-ion rechargeables, the WF139 charger can be had for about $20 or so and it works well with protected cells. If you get a WF139 I wouldn't recommend you use anything but protected cells with it.