Fenix MC-10 blows thru batteries quickly

Good morning!
In March 2010 I bought a couple of Fenix MC-10's from 4 Sevens. They're bright, but they both burn thru fresh Eneloop NiMH's in a ridiculously short time. Easily less than a half hour. I bought a couple of Quark AA's at the same time. They're almost as bright as the MC-10's but run for hours.

I didn't do anything about the MC-10's disappointing battery life at the time. I tossed them in a drawer and tried not to think about it. But it's been bugging me, so I thought I'd ask here on the forum.

Thanks!

Ask what exactly?

Well, I'm wondering if other MC-10 owners have also been disappointed with battery life? I've got a good-quality charger, & dozens of Eneloops and Imedions that get cycled through several LED flashlights and other electronic gizmos. So I feel pretty safe saying it's not poor battery mgmt.

BTW, I grabbed a freshly charged Eneloop and fired up one of the MC-10's this morning. It lasted about a half hour before dying.

One of the reviews I found got a 3 amp tailcap current for this light. That works out about right for the runtime and approximate output.

AnAppleSnail said:

One of the reviews I found got a 3 amp tailcap current for this light. That works out about right for the runtime and approximate output.

Click to expand...

Agreed! I checked with a fully charged almost new Powerex NiMH cell and obtained about 2.6 to 2.7A.

I had two of Fenix MC-10 angle lights. The changeable angle head was neat and actually useful, but the short run time on max output was disconcerting. While I had the lights, I learned to use them sparingly on max. I eventually switched to Zebra headlights.

Telkwa said:

Well, I'm wondering if other MC-10 owners have also been disappointed with battery life? I've got a good-quality charger, & dozens of Eneloops and Imedions that get cycled through several LED flashlights and other electronic gizmos. So I feel pretty safe saying it's not poor battery mgmt.

BTW, I grabbed a freshly charged Eneloop and fired up one of the MC-10's this morning. It lasted about a half hour before dying.

Click to expand...

Okay i will test with a GP Recyko battery because thats what i have at the moment.I will let you know what happens

Well i tested the GP Recyko 2100 mah battery and i got about 40 minutes before it started to slowly dim but at that time i estimated about 70% of brightness still left

moldyoldy said:

I had two of Fenix MC-10 angle lights. The changeable angle head was neat and actually useful, but the short run time on max output was disconcerting. While I had the lights, I learned to use them sparingly on max. I eventually switched to Zebra headlights.

Click to expand...

Moldy mentioned max output. RTFM newbie. I didn't realize there were three brightness settings! I'll leave it at mid-range and see how that affects battery life.

I appreciate the scientific responses. Does anyone have the time to link me to some instructions? Is it as simple as opening up the flashlight and clipping a multimeter in between, keep a little tension on the back of the battery with a finger, then push the "on" button? Does anyone have a link to a chart that will tell me how to figure out approximate runtimes with various battery combinations? If there was a two-cell version of the MC-10 barrel I'd consider buying a couple of them, but because of the swivelhead there probably isn't...

Check this out for measurements. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Simple-guide-to-using-a-DMM-for-measurements

Thanks very much! Might have to get one of those ZTS battery testers.

Which version of the MC-10? I have the one with the Osram LED and that pulls around 2.5 - 2.7A on anything other than Eneloops. I get around 2.3-2.5A with Eneloops. Pretty much only used medium mode with this light.

I tried using NiZn batteries and pretty much killed one of those. Killed a few regular NiMH batteries too.
(Edit: killed as in loss of capacity and increased IR)

I think mine is the Osram golden dragon.


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