andrewnewman
Enlightened
I've been considering adding the Nitecore MT10A to my collection by upon reading the manufacturer specifications I'm having second thoughts. With an AA NiMH cell the light appears to be a respectable EDC light with a good UI and some cool features. With a lithium 14500, the thing is a scary hot rod. With a lithium battery they claim that the HI setting pushes 500 lumens and turbo almost TWICE that!!! In addition to questioning the utility of this (and corresponding low runtimes) I'm a bit worried about safety.
Nitecore seems to encourage the use of IMR chemistry but doesn't require it. Their compatibility chart (which incorrectly identifies LiFEPO4 as a primary cell) lists both IMR and (generically) "Rechargeable LiIon" as compatible. A 14500 isn't a very large battery, to illuminate at ~1000 lumens you would have to pull an awful lot of current. Would this thing trip the protection circuit on a protected LiCO battery? Worse, if someone got ahold of an unprotected LiCO 14500, would it cause unexpected venting with flame if you were to run it in Turbo (even with step down)?
Nitecore doesn't claim any special circuitry to drop the battery current under particular circumstances (and I'm not even sure how they would do that since they seem to identify the battery by it's resting voltage). They, more or less, say that if the batter dimensions are correct, just drop in any old cell. This seems crazy.
Thoughts?
Nitecore seems to encourage the use of IMR chemistry but doesn't require it. Their compatibility chart (which incorrectly identifies LiFEPO4 as a primary cell) lists both IMR and (generically) "Rechargeable LiIon" as compatible. A 14500 isn't a very large battery, to illuminate at ~1000 lumens you would have to pull an awful lot of current. Would this thing trip the protection circuit on a protected LiCO battery? Worse, if someone got ahold of an unprotected LiCO 14500, would it cause unexpected venting with flame if you were to run it in Turbo (even with step down)?
Nitecore doesn't claim any special circuitry to drop the battery current under particular circumstances (and I'm not even sure how they would do that since they seem to identify the battery by it's resting voltage). They, more or less, say that if the batter dimensions are correct, just drop in any old cell. This seems crazy.
Thoughts?
