Voltage protection

I'll make this one quick- With protected batteries, do I need a light with voltage protection? It is a 1 led thrower, and runs on 1 18650 that is protected.

Short story, no. The battery will(should) do the job for you.

FRITZHID said:

Short story, no. The battery will(should) do the job for you.

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So it would end up being more of a pain than good?

In vinhs' mods, he tweaks them pretty high. There's a good chance a protected cell will trip off on high/turbo modes. Idk the model light you have, it may or may not.
The circuit he uses is designed to protect your batt. I ordinarily run unprotected imr cells in my single cell lights since they all have lo-volt protection & warning. I'm also fairly diligent on cell safety, rarely even let the light go onto protected mode. I like my high modes ready when I need them.

FRITZHID said:

In vinhs' mods, he tweaks them pretty high. There's a good chance a protected cell will trip off on high/turbo modes. Idk the model light you have, it may or may not.
The circuit he uses is designed to protect your batt. I ordinarily run unprotected imr cells in my single cell lights since they all have lo-volt protection & warning. I'm also fairly diligent on cell safety, rarely even let the light go onto protected mode. I like my high modes ready when I need them.

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Thanks for that! I'll have him keep the protection on!

Keep in mind, there may be issues with battery not keeping up!.... But there's nothing wrong with starting slow. Use the higher end batteries for better performance!

FRITZHID said:

Keep in mind, there may be issues with battery not keeping up!.... But there's nothing wrong with starting slow. Use the higher end batteries for better performance!

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Not sure about that I have 4: Protected nitecore 3400 and 2600mah batteries. They seem to run my nitecore TM26 at turbo just fine! I'm debating getting some RCR123 batteries from AW to run my TM 26 because they run at a higher voltage when paired up. Voltage sag is a killer on that light since it is running 4 XML-U3 emitters at 4k lumens! haha

Lantern32 said:

Not sure about that I have 4: Protected nitecore 3400 and 2600mah batteries. They seem to run my nitecore TM26 at turbo just fine! I'm debating getting some RCR123 batteries from AW to run my TM 26 because they run at a higher voltage when paired up. Voltage sag is a killer on that light since it is running 4 XML-U3 emitters at 4k lumens! haha

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You still get my point.
Most of my lights won't run turbo on protected cells..... I use single cell lights tho.... Tweaked by me.
Some want over 8A. They like imr cells.
I have one light, 4s that will do max on protected but only high quality, and they still kick-off before danger levels. I don't use that light allot, it's inconvenient, but I get better performance when running balanced, unprotected cells.
Guess some exp, comfortability with tech, etc impacts that.

FRITZHID said:

You still get my point.
Most of my lights won't run turbo on protected cells..... I use single cell lights tho.... Tweaked by me.
Some want over 8A. They like imr cells.
I have one light, 4s that will do max on protected but only high quality, and they still kick-off before danger levels. I don't use that light allot, it's inconvenient, but I get better performance when running balanced, unprotected cells.
Guess some exp, comfortability with tech, etc impacts that.

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If I ran a light on unprotected cells running at 8 AMPS... the light would explode before I even knew something was wrong! Maybe I prefer my lights to get a little too hot . I do get your point. I might need to pick up some unprotected cells from Panasonic...

Lantern32 said:

If I ran a light on unprotected cells running at 8 AMPS... the light would explode before I even knew something was wrong! Maybe I prefer my lights to get a little too hot . I do get your point. I might need to pick up some unprotected cells from Panasonic...

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They are fun! And fyi, haven't poofed a lamp yet but I'm insane so, Wada I kno? Lmcfao

FRITZHID said:

They are fun! And fyi, haven't poofed a lamp yet but I'm insane so, Wada I kno? Lmcfao

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Haha, you got skills! I use to have an old HID lamp, and I had 2 car batteries hooked up in a backpack as my power source... It had a temperature sensor in it to protect the light, and I disconnected it so it would run on max beam as long as I wanted. I also went to a machine shop and machined a large heatsink with many small, deep fins. Stuck it to the light with heat paste. It was pretty insane. The metal on the wires connected to the batteries got soo hot that they melted holes in my backpack! Did I mention I boosted the output of the lamp too? The thing caught on fire eventually, but it was well worth it!

Lantern32 said:

Not sure about that I have 4: Protected nitecore 3400 and 2600mah batteries. They seem to run my nitecore TM26 at turbo just fine! I'm debating getting some RCR123 batteries from AW to run my TM 26 because they run at a higher voltage when paired up. Voltage sag is a killer on that light since it is running 4 XML-U3 emitters at 4k lumens! haha

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I don't feel like that's really a viable means of combating voltage sag in a high current draw light.

Get some cells that will better handle the current draw, don't just try to increase the voltage by using smaller capacity cells.

Lantern32 said:

If I ran a light on unprotected cells running at 8 AMPS... the light would explode before I even knew something was wrong! Maybe I prefer my lights to get a little too hot . I do get your point. I might need to pick up some unprotected cells from Panasonic...

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Wrong word, but there are 30 and 80 amp cells smaller than I believed before someone told me about them.

the light would explode

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I thought it was pretty awesome and that CPF should know about it! Shouldn't say "explode," though. It's kind of the wrong word.

If somebody had to reach for the dullest tack in the box, they would get me.

The point, I use a decent charger (Nitecore D4) and protected 18650s. In doing so, if the flashlight is protected or unprotected, I don't have to worry about hurting my brain with worry.

I'm just like ParrotQuack, protected offers me blissful ignorance of having to watch for signs.
Life is good, ymmv.

I vote for "blissful ignorance."

...:wave:

Exactly, I'll be using my lights during simple times and stressful times, no need to compound the stressed times anymore worrying about destroying my lights or cells, because I needed them to their limits.
There are cavalier attitudes around here IMO, about protected an non protected cells, I won't be swayed by that.
If the cells were as ubiquitous as NiMH AA, and cost as little, I'd be the same maybe, but here cells are as much as the lights themselves and hard to acquire.

I've read the reviews for the much more expensive Orbtronic (Panasonic inside), protected 18650 batteries and they have the best reviews of all the available high drain 18650 batteries found on Amazon. Why's that?

I use protected, Panasonic NCR18650B batteries for comparison purposes.

Parrot Quack said:

I've read the reviews for the much more expensive Orbtronic (Panasonic inside), protected 18650 batteries and they have the best reviews of all the available high drain 18650 batteries found on Amazon. Why's that?

I use protected, Panasonic NCR18650B batteries for comparison purposes.

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Not sure! I bought the M2Xvn, so I am using a Panasonic unprotected high-drain battery. I just make sure my voltage doesn't get to 3.4 volts...