Nitecore EC4GT fail (EDIT - see update)

I edited the original post. Originally I thought my nitecore EC4GT had failed while prepping my house during a flood from a cyclone( hurricane) earlier in the year. It had not failed, brain was rattled from the emergency, read last post for explanation. I posted this correction on a couple of forums as soon as I realised my error (about 5 months ago) Unfortunately only realised I had posted here as well, when I came back here today. Hence the correction. Apologies to all and to nitecore, who in Australia btw were happy to accept a return had the light been at fault.

Re: Nitecore EC4GT fail

Good move mate, anything that's important deserves the use of a Malkoff (or Elzetta/Surefire). Saw the weather turning bad up north on the news, stay safe!

Re: Nitecore EC4GT fail

it took me a long time to remember where I put this post, I frequent a lot of hunting and outdoors forums.

I am recanting my post, the EC4GT was working fine.

Beginner mistake, when the SHTF I got distracted and loaded wrong pair of batteries in it, which were mostly discharged. In other words it plain ran out of power. God knows whether that could have been dangerous(?), as I understand these dual battery lights should used matched pairs for the batteries life, and these other two were just a couple I had nearby...

I am very glad I came across my post again as I don't like giving bad reviews where not deserved. I don't mind looking like an idiot to admit in this emergency my concentration was at fault. When storing the light without its batteries from now on the container will be stuck to the side of flashlight so there will be no errors!

I didn't end up getting a malkoff once I realised my error, though I would still love one some day.

mickb said:

I edited the original post....

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Thank you for the update, and I have added that info to your title, as well.

Cheers !

Re: Nitecore EC4GT fail

mickb said:

When storing the light without its batteries from now on the container will be stuck to the side of flashlight so there will be no errors!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately that is really the only practical way to use this light. It drains cells so quick that leaving them in is just too risky. I love the light, but I NEVER use it because of this.

I have a few EC4 variations, and I do like the dual 18650 runtime. To deal with infrequent use/ parasitic drain I like to use the plastic tabs that Olight and a few others manufacturers ship inside their lights that come with batteries. They break the contact, and although they do require removing the tail piece to remove the tabs, they take up less space than storing the cells outside the light. Thanks for the clarification on the cause. I don't know if they have Harbor Freight down under, but here they have "free with any purchase" coupons for inexpensive multimeters. I have around 6 that are kept in vehicles, bug out bags, etc so wherever I have multicell lights I have a meter nearby. I have a quality meter for when needed that I use when I do my bi-annual battery check/O-ring lube. The greatest danger is if the cells have a large disparity/voltage mismatch. For my "lights to go" or bug out bags I keep sets of matched cells stored in two cell containers to avoid mismatch potential problems...

Thanks for the replies folks. As a casual flashlight user I originally assumed the batteries stored in the light was a good idea, then learnt about drain and took to storing them outside it, which also fell down as I failed to insert the correct ones. Being ex military I should have known better that SHTF and emergencies will find any weak links in a plan. Well its 'Lessons learned' as they call it or making procedures 'soldier proof'.( indicating if it can survive all the ways a soldier can screw it up, its a good procedure!)

Crazyeddiethefirst said:

I have a few EC4 variations, and I do like the dual 18650 runtime. To deal with infrequent use/ parasitic drain I like to use the plastic tabs that Olight and a few others manufacturers ship inside their lights that come with batteries. They break the contact, and although they do require removing the tail piece to remove the tabs, they take up less space than storing the cells outside the light.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea. The thing that really kills me is the cap. It's ironic that the light I need to remove the cap from most is the most difficult to remove! Otherwise I would use this a lot. I love the UI and mode spacing. And the tint on the EC4SW...just plain white!