Rerversing batteries to stop accidental "ons"

Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

A frequent complaint from backpackers and hikers about LED flashlights equipped with on/off buttons is accidental turn-ons.

Could this problem be solved -- without damage to the light -- by simply reversing the batteries?

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Welcome to CPF TAHAWK!

I guess it depends on the model of flashlight.

Some flashlights have phyiscal or electronic protection so they are not damaged by the batteries being inserted the wrong way round.

If you let us know what sorts of flashlights you are referring to we should be able to tell you whether the batteries can be reversed or not.

Al

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Reversing the batteries on some led lights will blow the led. For example, BugOurGear 3W led drop in. No polarity protection. Removing the cells would do the trick, but not convenient. Maybe unscrewing the head of the light till no contact is noted, or the tail cap. I do not carry edc lights that activate accidently by design, and have switched out switches (Kroll's,) to twisty tailcaps when possible.

Bill

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Just do what the people that sell stuff do... stick a plastic tab between one of the cells and contacts that you have to pull to allow current to flow. A cheap method is to use a piece of tape.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

good idea lynx.

figuring out what can and cant be reversed and survive would be a disaster, some of them curcuits in the led lights can not cope with a single reversal. some of them wouldnt much care, but if you mixed up the instructions with another light it could cost you $18+ or more.

ya have to open it up to reverse em so drop in a plastic tab instead.

there are some lights that are totally prone to turning on when packed, and some that wouldnt ever turn on, unless you had a monkey in your pack. take the right one with ya

switch covers? plastic tube that slides over the switch area.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

On a 2 or more cell 123-lithium-powered light, reversing the rear cell provides very positive lockout. (Pardon pun!) The "wrapper" on 123's extends over the corner of the neg end, and neg-to-neg, (unlike alkalines) there's no way they can make contact. (Obviously, this assumes you normally load the cells with the + towards the front of the light.) I have one light in my "camping bag" I do that with.

Larry

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Could you please be more specific as to what models suffer from this problem? IIRC, newer Petzl headlamps have a "lock" position (Zoom and Zora I've had don't). I've never had my BD Gemini turn on by itself in a pack. The mini-Maglite on the other hand.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

I guess you could insert a small tab or tape one of the battery contacts, but you then have the problem of having to fumble with that in the dark... and possibly drop the batteries... you get the idea.

Welcome to CPF!

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Seems kinda odd, I'd also like to know what kinds of lights spontaneously come on in a backpack, I'm assuming ones with clickies on the side of the body...but many are recessed a bit for the sole purpose of preventing accidental activation.

A few suggestions though; pack smart! If you have a holster/sheath for the light, you can always pack it inside, that's an extra layer of padding to prevent the switch from being hit. You can also just put the lights in last (on top). Also, if you're going to disable the light by putting stuff between the batteries, you could also just take the batteries out...either way you've got to open the light (hopefully not in the dark!) to make it work. Loose batteries can be put inside packed clothing to prevent them from contacting anything metal and they don't take up much extra space.

The best advice I'd say though is to get a backpack with pouches on the outside. Zippered pouches on the side or very outside of the pack are great for things you want stored, but not rattling around with your other stuff...mostly things like cameras, other fragile stuff, and flashlights! As a bonus these things are also easier to get at when you need 'em. The other alternative would be to stow them separately on a belt holster, or clipped to the outside of the pack, or to your clothing in a comfortable spot.

Hiking with a pack can be hard work if it's heavy. Since your arms may be tired, many people just skip the flashlight and go with a headlamp that's light and durable. They can wear it over a hat if they want and it's always there when they need it.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

In some multi celled lights that I keep for emergency I just reverse one of the cells and back off the head. + to + or - to - won't cause a problem will it?

TIA,
-LT

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Could damage some electronically controlled or regulated lights

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

[ QUOTE ]
Lunal_Tic said:
In some multi celled lights that I keep for emergency I just reverse one of the cells and back off the head. + to + or - to - won't cause a problem will it?

TIA,
-LT

[/ QUOTE ]

it wouldnt in most cases, spinning the last cell around on cells that dont connect like was said above, should also be effective.
BUT
if you connected the +s or the -s and there was body connection or some other connection connecting the OTHER side up too making the batteries parellel, then that could cause a charge of any low cell, and a potential total disaster specially for something like lithiums.

basically you should know what the connection BECOMES after you make that change. if it disconnects everything, like the situations stated, then you would have a nice battery carry case if it ONLY connects one end together, then you have half a parelell connection, and that is not a problem.

if it reverses the voltage to the curcuits, then avoid that.

also dont alway trust the batteries own insulation, if its getting abused, and the method chosen could break through the insualtion, then it could connect still.

when reversing a single cell.
it wouldnt be adequite to have 0V potential ONLY. If the switch turns on (depending on the light again), your batteries are set up for charging eachother.
hmm how would i show that.

Bulb+..switch..+BatteryA-....-BatteryB+...-Bulb

or could be shown like this

|.Bulb..switch..+BatteryA-...|
|.Bulb............+BatteryB-....|

switch goes on in this situation, in say a Incandescent light, and through the bulb the batteries are in parellel and CAN charge the low one.
charging lithium primaries might be very bad, even through a bulb or curcuit as a resistance.
li-ion or ni-mhy should just balance out thier voltage a bit.
alkalines could end up charging and leak.
basically any primary cell that did NOT like to be charged and was connected THROUGH stuff SOMEHOW could be a problem. rechargables of the same value would just have a tendancy to balance out or drain balance eachother.

if it survived any charging WHEN THE SWITCH goes on, and make a complete curcuit, then it would still be working just fine when you got to where you were going.
meaning all would seem ok, it might BE ok, but it could also cause a real bad problem.



with the insulation stopping the battery connection when reversed it would look more like this

Bulb+..switch..+BatteryA- (no connect)
(no connect) -BatteryB+...-Bulb

basically there everything is disconnected, unless your banging it around somehow damaged the insulation. the likely hood of that would be known by the user who is doing it.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

to put a plastic disc in there, only has to do what the switch would do. if its a series pair, then a simple hunk of plastic could be placed anywhere that would stop the connection.
between the batteries, at the head, at the tailspring, any ONE of these would work. its not like you have to isolate every battery in there, and fiddle with pulling tape or tabs throughout the light.
one at the tailcap would do a disconnect in the average flashlight.
so you wouldnt have to fiddle with the batteries any more than yo do with a reversal. just gotta find a place to store the durn insulator
how about a plastic hunk that could be moved from the Tail, to around the batteries, without jamming up.
it would take out battery slop, and give a place to store the plastic at the same time.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

VidPro,
Good idea and I have a little to add to it. Get a plastic disk and drill out the center so it will fit on top of the battery + pole. When performing battery isolation, just put the disk on the tailcap to isolate the - end of the battery. To fire it up, move the disk on top of the battery so the + pole sticks through to make contact.
Never lose the disk that way and it will work as long as you are not using an Arc AA/AAA or Peak single cell lights.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

I have a problem with inverting batteries or using tape/plastic to isolate the batteries because if it's your only light and you need it in a hurry or worse, in a panic, you're out of luck. Takes too long to get the light up and running and you can drop batteries or parts. That can be bad Mojo.

Would some electrical tape over the switch work? By folding over the last fraction of an inch (or centimeter if you prefer) you can create a quick grip tab so it comes off in a hurry. Either that or 1). retire the offending light, 2). carry a different light, or 3). carry the light in a holster or case on your pack or belt so the switch won't come on accidently.

Been there and done that, and any combo of the above has worked for me.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

i use rubber bands on my keyfob alarms , and the garage door opener. you can still operate it, its just harder to operate. doesnt last long, looks ugly, but it works.
otherwise it goes off in my pocket at the worst possible times.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

You could take something like a piece of pipe insulation and make a carrier for the light so you don't accidentally hit the switch.

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Anybody remember the McLux? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif I don't want to make any false claims, so I'll phrase it thusly: The Mclux was the first light that I'm aware of, that incorporated a physical lockout of the switch. A switchguard that forced the user to shove something (typically the thumb!) into the hole at the end to activate the thing. VERY difficult to have it accidentally discharge in a pack. The continuation pieces of the McLux line have all at least had the option of this physical "lockout." The benefit of this type of lockout, of course, is that it is always ready for instant use when desired, and you never forget to lock it out when you're done.

I also helped design an electronic lockout for uController lights. But in my book, there is just nothing better than a physical lockout - be it a twistie or a guard.

I'm glad others have found the great benefits of a light that can be positively locked out! I am wondering why this thread was started about LED lights specifically, though. Don't incandescent lights have the same problem?

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

[ QUOTE ]
greenLED said:
The mini-Maglite on the other hand.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Minimags are prone to accidental activaction ? Are they turned on by rotating the head ?

Petzl link to reversing battery's polarity warning

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

Minimags are easily turned on when the head rubs your pants. Had a guy at work that carried around dead batteries in his minimag because of that. Slapped a Kroll on his mini and that solved the problem.

He liked the Kroll tailswitch so much that the mini was soon replaced with a Streamlight Luxeon Jr. When I go out in the desert, the Kroll tailswitch is activated by body armor. I take a socket and slide it over the tailswitch and put heat shrink around the switch (ugly but it works) Makes the light a bit of a pain to turn on or replace the batteries but in that situation I really need the light to work.

I wore a Peak Matterhorn AAA light around my neck on a lanyard 24/7 for five months. It never turned on accidently and has not done so on my keychain either. It all depends on the light design.
Now for someone to make a switchguard for a minimag to be attached with epoxy.... hmmmmmmm....

Re: Rerversing batteries to stop accidental \"ons\"

[ QUOTE ]
chmsam said:
I have a problem with inverting batteries or using tape/plastic to isolate the batteries because if it's your only light and you need it in a hurry or worse, in a panic, you're out of luck. Takes too long to get the light up and running and you can drop batteries or parts. That can be bad Mojo.

[/ QUOTE ]

For sure.

TBH, I'm having trouble envisioning someone who can't figure out how to pack a flashlight (of whatever configuration) without it going on by accident but who is capable of taking one apart and putting it back in operating order in the dark.