Frustrated with Surefire

I just ended a 15 minute conversation with the head of customer service at Surefire about the B90 batteries used in my L7 flashlight.

Since I buying my L7 in 2005, I have noticed that the B90 battery self-discharges faster than any ni-cad battery I have ever used. It is also the worst in terms of lifespan as its capacity degrades faster than any ni-cad battery I have ever used. (Yes, I use the light exactly how and for the purpose Surefire intended.)

Surefire sent me two replacement batteries at a point which were no better and I have purchased several replacements. All performed poorly.

I've read the B90 threads here and came to accept the limitations of the B90. (I do have the latest charger.)

I'm frustrated that, according to my understanding, the head of Surefire Customer Service told me: Even though customer demand keeps the L7 in production, Surefire is not spending any more time or money developing it or the 9N. Evidently, this includes getting their battery supplier to upgrade the quality and/or capacity of the ni-cad cells used in the B90. Surefire is spending all of its money and time developing non-rechargeable lights.

Evidently Surefire is unwilling to talk to their battery supplier and pay more for higher quality/higher capacity ni-cad cells. How much time and money can that cost? All I want is a decent quality proprietary battery BECAUSE I CAN'T BUY ONE ELSEWHERE.

The L7 is in the catalog because there is continuing customer demand for a rechargeable LED. There is continuing demand for replacement batteries. Surefire can't or won't do anything to improve the quality/capacity of the ni-cads. How hard can it be to pay for better cells and pass the cost on to your customer? I'd pay $25 -$ 30 for a quality battery instead of $20 for crap.

I paid and Surefire continues to charge a premium price for the L7. A price commensurate with the other Surefire lights that are evidently receiving the benefit of all that R&D money. I'm amazed Surefire has the balls to charge what the do for the L7 knowing the propriatary battery is substandard. I believe the fix is easy. Evidently,they don't care.

When SureFire doesn't provide the products/accessories people want it gives opportunities to others to step up and meet that need. Plenty of examples of this from "one-man-bands" to actual businesses.

I'm sure that CPF members will be able to help you achieve better runtime from self-built battery packs. There are threads on this topic that no doubt will be shared with you here.

Good luck

Al

from their so call business point of view, i doubt your request will be fruitful.

alternative u can look for nicad batteries solder in a single tude from webby.

or if u are willing, change to NIMH instead ....

if i am not wrong, the B90 consist of 3 x 2/3A equalling out to a 3.6v battery.

let me do some searching for u ....

I believe the B90 pack is made up of 3x 2/3A size NiCD cells (overall length should be about 3.40in.). You could build your own using these (or have the vendor build it for you):
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=569

Alternatively, these NiMH cells will give you double the capacity (1400mAH vs. 600-700mAH for the B90):
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=223

Even the higher capacity NiMH packs should cost about half that of the B90.

roadie said:

if i am not wrong, the B90 consist of 3 x 2/3A equalling out to a 3.6v battery.

Click to expand...

If roadie is correct, there are a few different 2/3A NiMH cells available to consumers, with one semi- button-top cell available at Battery Junction:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/k2eh-g23a1050p.html
Good price, and more capacity than a NiCad cell of the same size.

double post, database errors...

i found some good rep battery sellers....

they are here and here


soldering the battery via diy is not recommended unless u got some equipments as the gaps between the first and second cell, and the second and thrid cell, are abit difficult to 'join' them properly by yrself.

hope i did help.

CPF member Silverfox created and sold custom made rechargeable batteries to replace the stock B90 in the past. I have several that I have been using in my 8NX and they work much better than the stock B90's. They fit in the stock charger as well. I don't think he is making them anymore but he may have some other suggestions for you.

The original thread is here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/107901

I did enough research into this issue when it first surfaced to conclude that the chargers were cooking the cells, and that the cells used in the B90's are (IMO) garbage.

To save you some $$$ with a custompack (I've made custom B90 and Stinger sticks since the late 90's, pre-CPF...and they can get pricey using premium sub-c cells).

To save you the headache with B90's, go purchase a replacement Streamlight Stinger stick, and head to radio shack and purchase a bag of 9volt battery connectors. Remove the small nipple from the battery connector and solder it to the top (positive) end of the Stinger Stick.

You now have a "B90" but with Streamlight's excellent battery stick.

One other thought in case none of that works out for you. Try contacting CPF member Lux Luthor as he makes battery packs with a special tab welder gizmo (forget what it's called but it's what is used to make battery packs properly). I think he could put together what you want. OTOH I see he hasn't been on CPF for almost 6 weeks. :shrug: Not sure why as he was a regular.

As the link in post #9 will explain, the B90 pack is three subC's, not three 2/3A's.

Bill

Sub-C's offer even more choices, including ready made NiMH sticks such as:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2527

a shame that the batts were junk, even when they were "top-notch" technology XX years in the past.
Imho 8X and 9N were the best lights in SFs product range - for "normal" users who not get CR123s for free from some department.
Dunno of the actual B90 led models, but they also would benefit from better cells.

Making Your homemade sticks is not too difficult, even soldering cells with homebrewn equipment is possible --> the remote-control ppl do this for ages now.
Its not too good for the cells, thats for sure, but: actual Sub-Cs are about 3500-4000 mA, loosing 10-20 % and the remaining stick still houses more than double the power of the original.

Pretty sure I gave some info and step-to-step instruction with pics in several threads dealing with that topic.


PS: I just wanted to type that the "get Stinger Battery stick" is genius,
but did some search:
http://www.apexbattery.com/streamlight-poly-stinger-flashlight-battery-flb-ncd-1.html
those are the same crap! 1500 mA! what a joke.
The 3500-4000 mA cells are Ni-Mh not Ni-Cad, thats right.
But for our uses here, thats a difference like Cree <-> Seoul led
--> to be ignored

Re Stinger battery packs, I have found the stock packs to be very durable even though they are only about 1800mAh. They do well sitting in a charging cradle for one or two years and then ready to go. However, in that case they need replacing about about 2 years, or so. NiMh do not do well sitting in a charger non stop. Surefire and Streamlight made good choices using NiCd, but Surefire's NiCd's have never proven reliable, particularly when used with the older first gen chargers.

Bill

rmteo said:

Sub-C's offer even more choices, including ready made NiMH sticks such as:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2527

Click to expand...

+1

Has anyone actually used this aftermarket battery with the improved version of the Surefire charger (red, green, and blinking green LED)? http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2527

I seem to recall reading somewhere this battery is not the exact size of the OEM battery.

Thanks .....