New flashlight now need battery and charger

I think I'm going to be addicted to this flashlight stuff in the long run. I ordered the fenix tk75 2015 version. I need the battery and charger now. A lot of people recommended the Panasonic protected one. I went to gearbest but did a search on here that they hopped from China and it takes awhile for them to delivered. Can you guys recommend me a dealer in the states that have affordable batteries and is dependable. I also need a charger. Preferably can charge CR123 batteries as well as I have those for my arlo security cam.

There are many good sellers/dealers in the States, but be sure to check GoingGear.

There's a few good chargers out there. I use a Nitecore D2- it charges just about everything reasonably well (NiMH, different li-ion sizes) and it was cheap. There is a 4 bay version. Xtar also offers something similar that I see often recommended.

Illumination Supply is US based, as is Going Gear. Illumination Supply still has the Keeppower 3400 mAh protected batteries with Panasonic NCR18650B cells for $10, which is what I got when I bought my BLF A6.

Make sure you have read up on li-ions, including their dangers, care, and use. Also, HKJ here on these forums writes excellent reviews for chargers and batteries- be sure to check them out.

Welcome to CPF and enjoy your stay! :welcome:

ok protected or unprotected? This is my first real flashlight so I want some good batteries. There are mix opinions on protected/unprotected? I also plan on buying a few pd35 tac or another fenix tk75. Probably one tk75 is enough for emergency and pd35 for everyday use. I also plan on buying the nitecore d4 charger. In the description it says its able to charge rcr123. So does that mean it can take cr123 battery as well? I'm planning to buy some cr123 rechargeable batteries for my security cameras and it will be nice to have the same charger able to charge the 18650 as well as the cr123 batteries. Also should I go with button top or flat top? Is there a specific one that fenix lights use only?

So far the protected I found is this one.
It is $12/one.
http://goinggear.com/panasonic-ncr18650b-3400mah-button-top-protected-battery.html


(4 protected for $20? Seems too good to be true?)
https://www.fasttech.com/p/2204400



unprotected
$8/one
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=167&search=panasonic+18650

$5.50/one
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=167&search=panasonic+18650


$9/one (what is high discharge?)
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=167&search=panasonic+18650


$6.50/one
http://www.batteryjunction.com/panasonic-ncr18650b-3400.html

I think post #5 here...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...1-18650-Are-protected-batteries-ALWAYS-better
Will hopefully answer your question about protected or not.

Not saying other posts have no value. Just that one is a door opener to a bunch of whys and why nots.

bykfixer said:

I think post #5 here...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...1-18650-Are-protected-batteries-ALWAYS-better
Will hopefully answer your question about protected or not.

Not saying other posts have no value. Just that one is a door opener to a bunch of whys and why nots.

Click to expand...

I probably stick with protected. Like in bed, its better to stay protected. I read on that thread that its not bad to have unprotected battery on 1 cell flashlight, but its recommended to have protected batteries if you have more than 1 in a flashlight.

None of the links you posted appear to be proper protected batteries. :/ Panasonic themselves only make bare cells, which other companies add protection circuits and their own branding to. The protection circuit can reduce performance slightly by limiting drain and aggressive voltage cutoffs, but the tradeoff is safety. By placing these limits the battery is far less likely to fail catastrophically, especially when you are still learning and practicing proper care and maintenance. It also limits some of the intrinsic danger of multi-cell formats.
Be sure to check out battery reviews! They will often help you determine if it's the right battery for you in terms of quality and size.
CR123A strictly refers to non-rechargeable lithium primaries. Make sure your device can handle the additional voltage of a proper li-ion before using one (CR123A is 3V, li-ions are 4.2V). However, there are different chemistries with a lower max voltage in this size, but in my experience not everything is well labelled. RCR123A are supposed to be about 3.7V tops. The 16340 is supposed to be 4.2V. Just make sure your device can handle additional voltage, and that you know exactly what you are getting.

Edit: Forgot to mention I'm currently using a Keeppower protected Panasonic 3400 mAh NCR18650B that sells for about $10. I bought mine off Illumination Supply. It's worked very well in my BLF A6 and has been well reviewed here on the forums.

supaflyz said:

I probably stick with protected. Like in bed, its better to stay protected. I read on that thread that its not bad to have unprotected battery on 1 cell flashlight, but its recommended to have protected batteries if you have more than 1 in a flashlight.

Click to expand...

The reason that unprotected cells are not to bad is that most lights that use one cell have discharge protection built in. In other words, the light will not let a battery discharge below a voltage that will harm the battery (the voltage varies depending on the flashlight). This is duplicative of the protection curcuit in the protected batteries, therefore not really necessary. If you use a smart charger, they do the opposite by not letting the battery overcharge. The Nitecore D4 you mentioned is a good one for this as is the Xtar VC2/4. At least those are the two i have (plus a Pila charger). I used to think that protected was the way to go, but after using unprotected cells for quite a while now, i'm convinced. On top of that, i had the protection circuit on a young battery (less than a few months old) go out on me. Luckily it was under warranty. Its now a unprotected cell Good luck and keep reading on the batteries

Illumn have keeppower 3500 mah protected for $10.99. I think u need button top. Free shipping $50 or more.. Go check it out.

I thought those green Panasonic wear the good ones alot of people are recommending. Keep power is good too?

Yes. Keeppower 3500 is Sanyo based $10.99. Keeppower 3400 is Panasonic based $9.99. Either one will work. Fenix store have extended runtime kit ( new pattern that will match your 2015 model) if you want to purchase in the future.. The cost is like $26.99 with the coupon code.

Anyway, I have good shopping experience with illumn. They ship fast. Good luck.

Ok so it comes down to the keep power 3400mah from illumn.com. Those are basically $10/one.

I found a new website liionwarehouse that has authentic bstteries I believe. I read that the mj1 battery is also very good.
http://liionwholesale.com/collectio...n-18650-button-top-battery?variant=1925834564

http://liionwholesale.com/collectio...on-top-wholesale-discount?variant=12530399684

Those are $8/one.
The reason I asked is because I'm planning to buy a bunch of these to use. I think it is recommended to use same brand and same voltage and not mix brand for flashlights? My flashlight arrives tomorrow and I have no batteries. Still deciding before I click on checkout

Ok so it comes down to the keep power 3400mah from illumn.com. Those are basically $10/one.

I found a new website liionwarehouse that has authentic bstteries I believe. I read that the mj1 battery is also very good.
http://liionwholesale.com/collectio...n-18650-button-top-battery?variant=1925834564

http://liionwholesale.com/collectio...on-top-wholesale-discount?variant=12530399684

Those are $8/one.
The reason I asked is because I'm planning to buy a bunch of these to use. I think it is recommended to use same brand and same voltage and not mix brand for flashlights? My flashlight arrives tomorrow and I have no batteries. Still deciding before I click on checkout

I lean more toward the Panasonic cell. The link you posted claims to use a good PCB, but I've never heard of the site. A quick search seems to show that they are fairly new and I could only find a limited number of customer reviews, primarily from vapers. It's hard to say one way or the other. I know Illumination Supply is legit and have dealt with them before. Beyond that, I don't know what to tell you. It depends on if a couple bucks savings per cell is worth the risk to you.

Also, it's recommended to use essentially identical batteries in the same charge state (charge and use them together, don't use a half charged battery with a full one, etc), of as close to the same age as possible. Don't forget to check them periodically with a multimeter as well.

I finally got the light. This thing is bright! Never been so excited over a light since I got them laser pointers while in middle school. Ok I loaded 4 of 18650 KeepPower 3400mAh Panasonic NCR18650B Protected Button Top for my light. These are the right ones right? I'm buying them from illumn.com. I'm going to try them out first before trying 4 more.

It fit perfect Keeppower 3500 on Fenix battery carrier.

This is my tk75vn with the extended runtime kit.

supaflyz said:

I finally got the light. This thing is bright! Never been so excited over a light since I got them laser pointers while in middle school. Ok I loaded 4 of 18650 KeepPower 3400mAh Panasonic NCR18650B Protected Button Top for my light. These are the right ones right? I'm buying them from illumn.com. I'm going to try them out first before trying 4 more.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are good to go! :thumbsup:
You will have to let us know how you like your new setup!

@Newlumen: Ahhh, Vinh does great work. Nice pics.

Most important is 4 matching cells, if you go protected like the KP's, they are a tight ish fit in the carrier(will fit though).

Charger wise , ideally a 4 bay that can charge 1a per bay, many drop down to 0.5a(or even less and its just way too slow).

My most used charger right now is the opus bt c3100 v2.2(also 3400 and a later version............crazy and confusing which does not help new buyers!).. Either way, it will charge 2a on bays 1 +4, 1a across all 4 bays so keeps charge times reasonable . Also any nimhs it will charge also..............good all round charger, can be found for around $30 + or - $5 which is good value IMO. Handy voltage readout, so easy to keep an eye on things...............

Bit more expensive(no nimh support) the xtar vp2(2 bay charger that can do 1a on both bays), will req 2 of them ideally so it can get a bit costly............very good chargers though.

Cheaper but no V readout, the xtar xp4 panzer is another good value charger, 1a for all 4 bays!

Xtar VP4*battery*charger