Olight S1R Baton and alternative batteries

So, I just placed an order for this flashlight. It will take a while for it to get here. Since I'm not 100% on the battery I thought I might as well ask.

Obviously, it's a bundle, so I had no say as to the type of cell. I think that it comes with an unprotected IMR. Am I right? Can this flashlight even handle this type of cell properly, i.e. cut the power when the voltage drops to the dangerous level, as to not over-discharge (and destroy) the battery? I'll be running this thing for hours every day in the lower modes (not the firefly) and I really don't feel like having to babysit the battery.

I'm not sure about the capacities of the RCR123A's, the currents or the runtimes. The thing is, I don't see myself ever needing the 900 lumens with this baby. It's nice that it's there but I would much rather have a cell that gave me longer runtimes, at lower output levels. *I have plenty of other flashlights for when I do need to beam lots of light.

So, am I good with the OEM battery or should I get me something else? Obviously, it has to be something that is fully compatible with the 'built-in' charger.

Thanks!

Not 100%, but I think it's protected. The design is olight's proprietary one, both positive and negative are both on the same end, on the base of the torch with the magnetic tailcap. It's how the base works as a charger IIRC.

Use it on the medium level? I have a S1 I'm more than happy with at around 500lm that I EDC frequently, and I have no plans to buy the S1R or the S mini.

I owned a S1R, and S1R TurboS.
The lights come with an IMR protected battery, so you don't have the risk of over discharging it. Unfortunately the light don't have the protection against over discharge and will over discharge non protected batteries.

cdm-dude said:

Obviously, it's a bundle, so I had no say as to the type of cell. I think that it comes with an unprotected IMR. Am I right?

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somewhat protected against overly high current draw, but... you can check out my deep discharge of the battery testing here...

cdm-dude said:

Can this flashlight even handle this type of cell properly, i.e. cut the power when the voltage drops to the dangerous level, as to not over-discharge (and destroy) the battery? I'll be running this thing for hours every day in the lower modes (not the firefly) and I really don't feel like having to babysit the battery.

Click to expand...

well, I have manage to damage the included IMR battery (ORB-163C05) after running the deep discharge reference above...

cdm-dude said:

I'm not sure about the capacities of the RCR123A's, the currents or the runtimes.

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capacity of the included IMR ORB-163C05 battery is claimed to be 550mAh. current draw on the older version S1R measured by yours truly:

cdm-dude said:

So, am I good with the OEM battery or should I get me something else?

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you may still be good with the OEM battery, the RED led at the side-switch will glow to warn you but you still need to take note tho...
the light will run the battery down to 0.00V where protection circuit will kicks in (or is it?!), it's kinda fun watching the Voltage drops very rapidly in the last few moments (~30 seconds) of the runtime... :laughing:
RCR123 from Fenix and KeepPower, etc. can work in the light but can't be recharge with the included Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC) tho...

Wow.. I didn't realize this battery had the 'double-contact' thing going on. Thanks for pointing that out to me!
The draw current in Turbo is impressive, even higher than what I'm getting with my Nitecore MT10A! (protected Li-ion)

So, basically, because of the way this flashlight's charging is set up I can charge in it only the bundled (or identical) cell. Got it! Glad I asked and didn't just go out and bought some other Li-ion battery. Since I will have to charge it like every or every other day, using an external charger is kind of a bummer. I guess, I'll just stick with the proprietary battery for now.

Loved your review of the product, rookiedaddy. I wish I came upon it sooner. I think I purchased the older, not the TurboS model. The difference between the models is still not clear to me, except the mode switching. Is there anything else I should know?

And what about that tail? I mean, with those terminals exposed like that, wouldn't dropping the flashlight, let's say, into a puddle short circuit the battery? What am I missing here?

cdm-dude said:

...
I think I purchased the older, not the TurboS model. The difference between the models is still not clear to me, except the mode switching. Is there anything else I should know?
And what about that tail? I mean, with those terminals exposed like that, wouldn't dropping the flashlight, let's say, into a puddle short circuit the battery? What am I missing here?

Click to expand...

The difference between older S1R and S1R Turbo S model is the addition of 600 lumens mode besides the mode switching change and longer "sustainable" runtime for Turbo (600 lumens) and Turbo S (900 lumens) mode.
why "sustainable"? because the runtime in Turbo/Turbo S greatly depends on the age and current draw of the battery.
also, besides the packaging and checking out the mode switching, you can tell if you have Turbo S via the serial number as the new S1R Turbo S version has serial number from G09140001 and onwards.
Don't think you need to worry about the exposed terminals, they are protected from "un-controlled" shorting...
The ORB-163C05 battery that's included in S1R also has a protected max discharge current of 5A.

rookiedaddy said:

The difference between older S1R and S1R Turbo S model is the addition of 600 lumens mode besides the mode switching change and longer "sustainable" runtime for Turbo (600 lumens) and Turbo S (900 lumens) mode.
why "sustainable"? because the runtime in Turbo/Turbo S greatly depends on the age and current draw of the battery.
also, besides the packaging and checking out the mode switching, you can tell if you have Turbo S via the serial number as the new S1R Turbo S version has serial number from G09140001 and onwards.
Don't think you need to worry about the exposed terminals, they are protected from "un-controlled" shorting...
The ORB-163C05 battery that's included in S1R also has a protected max discharge current of 5A.

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Got it! I'll check the SN but I'm still pretty sure I ordered the older model.

One last (and possibly stupid) question. Does this flashlight run underwater? I realize there's the built-in protection but I think once it kicks in, the power to the emitter has to be cut, or is the circuitry even more advanced than I think? *It is much easier to locate and retrieve a running flashlight after it's been (accidentally) dropped into a creek (at night).

Thanks again.

cdm-dude said:

One last (and possibly stupid) question. Does this flashlight run underwater? I realize there's the built-in protection but I think once it kicks in, the power to the emitter has to be cut, or is the circuitry even more advanced than I think? *It is much easier to locate and retrieve a running flashlight after it's been (accidentally) dropped into a creek (at night).

Click to expand...

It's good to be cautious. Allow me to point to the following video test and review by [DropForgedSurvival], starting at 3:56 minute...

hope this help answer your question...

Thanks.
I've seen the very same video, just forgot about it. I guess I'm just curious how is it that the charger can access the very terminals of the battery with no problem but apparently nothing happens to the flashlight's operation if there's a short.
This probably has nothing to do with it but I have to point out that not all water is made equal. Electrical conductivity of let's say, a puddle filled with rainwater will be very different from seawater. I'm not about to take the S1R scuba diving, it's just interesting how the internal circuitry is laid out.
This is not very important, really. If no one here knows the answer, it's totally fine. I don't really care, as long as the flashlight keeps going for a few minutes when submerged.

cdm-dude said:

...
but apparently nothing happens to the flashlight's operation if there's a short.
...

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Actually, if there is a high current short (e.g. using a conductive wire to short both contacts), the light will turn off (safety feature?). When this happens, you will need to loosen/unscrew the tailcap and tighten it back for the light to function again.

I did use the S1R once during rain, didn't encounter any issue (light was on until i turn it off when i got into my car) , but that is by no mean a benchmark of any sort, so YMMV.

You are right that the resistivity of electrical current for water in different conditions varied a lot. Perhaps other members with experience/equipment to measure resistivity of water can share more information in this area? :candle:

Creating a short with an actual conductor, i.e. a piece of wire is very different from bridging the terminals with some salty water. Even seawater can conduct only so much current, especially at those 'puny' voltages. But since the distance that the electrical current would have to travel is measured in millimeters, it could be an issue. So basically:

Rainwater: OK*
Tap water: OK
Metal: not OK.
Seawater: ?

There's obviously a threshold. I wonder where it's at.

*You probably know this but most household, non-weatherproof electric appliances and electronic devices can function just fine in the rain, at least for a while, anyway. Rainwater is mostly pure H2O and will not conduct any tangible amount of electricity unless the voltage is at least in the high thousands.
So: "Rain-proof" is not necessarily "waterproof", also because submerging something in water is very different from merely getting it wet under a showerhead.

decided to test S1R and H1R if still operational by submerging it under different water:

• Tap water >> :thumbsup:
• Rain water >> :thumbsup:
• Sea water >> :thumbsup:

So now I know... :laughing:

Awesome!
I've been using my S1R on a daily basis this whole time. So to me it's an EDU (Every Day Use), not just "carry".
Would prefer to have a non-contact, induction charging but knowing that there are no issues with just about any type of water is almost as good.
This model is the perfect EDC/EDU for the city dweller. *By "perfect" I mean "best of what's available", as there is always room for improvement.