Rechargeable

Why does MagLite forbid usage of rechargeable batteries in their MagLED and regular MagLite?

Because they don't believe in technology that isn't at least 20 years old.....




Seriously, don't worry about it. They run much better and longer on rechargeables.

Maglite do not want you to use rechargeable cells in your regular Maglites because they would prefer to see you the expensive MagCharger kit instead.

Look at the instructions on just about any major manufacturer's lights (Mag, SF, SL, etc.), and they'll generally only recommend one kind or even one brand of cells. Sometimes this is mostly just to keep safety certifications (ProPoly), but other times it's because using cheap, low-quality cells could result in property damage or personal injury (SF recommends only using SF123A cells in lights speced for CR123As, even if they could happily run on non-SF primaries or Li-Ion), or because they want to keep performance as close to specs as possible.

I've found that some bulbs (especially fluorescent) burn out much faster using lower voltage Ni-CD batteries. NiMH batteries can vent hydrogen when they go bad and it's best to use them in lights with a platinum catalyst to absorb the hydrogen. Lithium batteries can explode and with a higher voltage, so can the bulb. Carbon Zinc batteries leak a lot. Many flashlight companies including Mag have deals with the top 3 alkaline battery companies to replace the light if their leaky batteries ruined it. Mag wants you to use batteries that guarantee that they won't have to pay to replace your light. Are these enough reasons?

Liability. If someone uses cheap/non-conforming cells and sues the dealer or manufacturer because they have a problem, the person being sued is somewhat protected by that statement.

For example, if I tell someone to use protected cells and they don't, whatever happens to them as a result generally won't be considered my fault unless something else I said contradicted that advice, or the fault can be found to be something that would have happened with either battery technology (inherently faulty design). This is much much more critical with the shift towards Lithium cells.

Regards,
Eric

MikeSalt said:

Maglite do not want you to use rechargeable cells in your regular Maglites because they would prefer to see you the expensive MagCharger kit instead.

Click to expand...

I second that. Its all about the money!

In general they do it to prevent idiots who are clueless about complicated electronic devices like flashlights from doing something wrong, like putting in too many, reverse polarity, etc. But to a flashaholic... the companies are full of it, so pay no attention to their ominous predictions of doom and gloom.
The SF recommendations of only SF cells are, I agree with TigerHawk, a way of keeping specs consistent, as well as a way to hopefully keep cheap CR123s out of the lights, and conveniently a great way to sell more cells to consumers.
I'm sure there are other good reasons too but I haven't heard one yet that has stopped me.