Rear Light that uses 18650 batteries?
#26
Junior Member
While not a light in itself, you may purchase 18650 battery boxes with a 5V USB output to power any USB taillight you choose, so long as it's capable of illumination while charging. I plan to purchase a couple of these along with more Panasonic/NCR batteries to power my knock-off MagicShines as well as extend the duration of my USB taillights. Here's an example of a 4-cell battery box.
https://www.ebay.com/p/4x-18650-Wate...-4v/2222278130
https://www.ebay.com/p/4x-18650-Wate...-4v/2222278130
#27
Senior Member
The 18650 is not an odd battery. It is one of the most common Li-ion batteries and you can get it with a good capacity and reliability using Panasonic 18650B batteries. I recently paid $22.96 for four of them. I have a two cell, dual LED front light that flashes 800 lumens for 16 hours straight on the Panasonic batteries.
#28
Banned
18650 at 3.7v, maybe you can make up a dummy battery ,
and use 1 in a 2AA battery light + the dummy ..
alkaline bring 1.5v, x 2= 3v, so you are .7v over that.
with 8 of them in series is 29,6v,
a series-parallel
can double the A/hr capacity
and give you 14.8v .
....
and use 1 in a 2AA battery light + the dummy ..
alkaline bring 1.5v, x 2= 3v, so you are .7v over that.
with 8 of them in series is 29,6v,
a series-parallel
can double the A/hr capacity
and give you 14.8v .
....
Last edited by fietsbob; 09-07-18 at 12:48 PM.
#29
Senior Member
Thanks CMD. I purchased the Orbtronics 3500mAh when I bought a Zebralight XPH50 Mark IV Plus flashlight (2300lm) and wasn't getting the 1.8 hours (1hr 48minutes)as advertised and figured it must have been the batteries. So, I guess it is the light then but I'm not sure. Maybe if I Google search reviews again I'll find that others are having the same issue.
Actually I'm not really impressed with the Zebralight I have. Since the beam pattern is so wide I feel it is really only useful on the higher modes ( H1 and H2 ) when mountain biking. I have yet to do any rides using mine simply because of the bad weather in my area. I'm sure when I get the chance to use on a ride, the batteries are going to drain much more faster than the typical torches and cells I generally use. That's because I'm sure that any lamp using an XHP35, 50 or 70 emitter is going to have to include a voltage step up converter in order to power the emitter with just one 18650. Because of that I'm not really too worried about run time as I'm sure the lamp will throttle the output once the lamp heats up. Almost sorry I bought the Sony's because they really won't make that much of a difference in output and will likely drain faster than the LG's.
I will say that the 90° ( angled version, Mark IV with XHP35 ) is the smallest, lightest 18650 torch I own. I just wish the beam pattern wasn't as wide. I also wish it had included a 650 lumen mode. It has a 500 lumen mode but so far that mode is not bright enough to be real useful ( except on turns ). Works well on the high modes but if I'm running high all the time it is really going to drain the battery really fast.
#30
Full Member
Zebralight headlamps come in 3 different beam patterns. It sounds like you need the 80 degree, 12 degree spot version.
#31
Senior Member
What's ticking me off right now is that I really can't give it a decent test run because where I live ( after three days of rain ) my area is about to be hit with the remains of hurricane Florence. This might end up being one of the worse hurricanes to ever hit the east coast as it looks to be a slow mover. Might be weeks before any trails dry out and when they do there will likely be downed trees all over the place.
#32
Full Member
That was what I bought. There are two versions, All Flood and the 12 degree spot / 80 degree spill version. Not really much of a hot spot when in use. It works but I have to run the higher modes if I really want to see. As a senior MTB'er I tend to poke along at times. This little torch will heat up fast. When it does it will throttle back the output. If I'm running the 875 lumen H2 mode after about ten minutes I expect the output will likely drop down to somewhere around 700-750 lumen, depending on how hot it gets and how fast the battery drains. If I can get an hour and 20 minutes from one battery and still be able to see well I'll be fine.
What's ticking me off right now is that I really can't give it a decent test run because where I live ( after three days of rain ) my area is about to be hit with the remains of hurricane Florence. This might end up being one of the worse hurricanes to ever hit the east coast as it looks to be a slow mover. Might be weeks before any trails dry out and when they do there will likely be downed trees all over the place.
What's ticking me off right now is that I really can't give it a decent test run because where I live ( after three days of rain ) my area is about to be hit with the remains of hurricane Florence. This might end up being one of the worse hurricanes to ever hit the east coast as it looks to be a slow mover. Might be weeks before any trails dry out and when they do there will likely be downed trees all over the place.
You stated in your OP that you bought the 90 degree. That comes with frosted lens. The 12 degree spot does not have that lens. Then there is also the flood version, so there are actually 3 models.
#33
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18,650 is sure a lot of batteries.
Sorry, somebody had to post that.
Sorry, somebody had to post that.
#35
Senior Member
I just now compared wall beam patterns with my BLF-A6. To me it looks like both are using the same size / type of reflector. The main difference I see in the A6's spot is that it is a bit more intense ( A6 using XP-L NW emitter ) The Mk IV has almost the same size spot but slightly wider spill than the A6. Damn, wish like hell the A6 was using the XP-L HI as the HI version would have even more throw. Looks like I might have to order me an XP-L HI NW. The emitter on the A6 looks like it would be real easy to switch out.
( edit; Sorry, I did say something about having the 90° version....sorry, my bad. I do have the one with a so call spot )
Last edited by 01 CAt Man Do; 09-12-18 at 03:43 AM.
#36
Senior Member
Apples to oranges. Just because an orange isn't exactly like an apple doesn't make it odd, it's just different....You need to remember that most AA cells sold are usually non-rechargeable alkaline. You use them till they are dead and then you trash them. A single 18650 cell can be recharged up to 500 times and yes there are also rechargeable versions of AA cells both in NiMh and Li-ion versions. Now you could multiply that 660 million quote ( for 18650's ) times 500 and make an argument that those 18650's would be around a lot longer and end up costing a lot less but....Why argue over something so stupid. If these cells are available either in the millions or billions I think it fair to say that both are quite common. Down side on 18650's is that you can't buy them at your local drug store. You can however buy them on-line very easily or from a local Vape or battery store. Yes, 18650's used to be "Odd"....that was 10yrs ago. They ain't odd no more.
#37
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They are also in laptops and cars. They are common, but consumers don't see them often, as they are embedded.
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#38
Senior Member
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...67273894904111
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf
#39
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I'd like to use my 18650 batteries in a rear light for my bike.
This would work - but I don't know how well.
#40
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#41
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It's a rational choice which some of us might disagree with. Soldered in connections are more reliable. And quality control means that cells that appear to be identical to consumers are different, as shown in rigorous testing.
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#42
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Uh, yeah. I know you're not suggesting riders carry a soldering iron with them to swap out batteries, and I'm guessing you didn't mean the light manufacturers are adding anything to Panasonic's 18650 quality control. Wanna take another shot at making your point?
#43
☢
Walk into any 7 Eleven and ask for AAs and be directed to their location. Now do the same with 18650 and tell us what you get. I'm betting a vacant stare. If these are "common" you should have no trouble purchasing them in any store and with virtually universal recognition and understanding of what they are. Now stop it. I grow weary of debating these irrational posts.
#44
Senior Member
Walk into any 7 Eleven and ask for AAs and be directed to their location. Now do the same with 18650 and tell us what you get. I'm betting a vacant stare. If these are "common" you should have no trouble purchasing them in any store and with virtually universal recognition and understanding of what they are. Now stop it. I grow weary of debating these irrational posts.
#45
Full Member
I can't remember the last time I had a cylindrical stand alone battery fail.
Meanwhile I routinely replace proprietary battery packs that fail when the electronics die. In almost every case the individual cells were still good. Our tech services had quite a selection of unprotected 16340, 18650 and 14500 cells to root through to make new packs. As well as NiMH and older NiCad cells.
Proprietary battery packs are great for selling replacement packs at a huge markup or getting the consumer to replace the whole unit. I've been using AA NiMH flashlights as my bike lights since 2013 and haven't had any issues with the lights and got well over twice the expected recharge cycles out of the batteries before they required replacement - which was cheap and easy. Best part is the batteries never actually failed, they just showed decreasing capacity to the point that I was annoying at how often I had to change during a ride. Guys I ride with are on their third or fourth set of lights with integral proprietary batteries and ride at night much less often than I do.
Meanwhile I routinely replace proprietary battery packs that fail when the electronics die. In almost every case the individual cells were still good. Our tech services had quite a selection of unprotected 16340, 18650 and 14500 cells to root through to make new packs. As well as NiMH and older NiCad cells.
Proprietary battery packs are great for selling replacement packs at a huge markup or getting the consumer to replace the whole unit. I've been using AA NiMH flashlights as my bike lights since 2013 and haven't had any issues with the lights and got well over twice the expected recharge cycles out of the batteries before they required replacement - which was cheap and easy. Best part is the batteries never actually failed, they just showed decreasing capacity to the point that I was annoying at how often I had to change during a ride. Guys I ride with are on their third or fourth set of lights with integral proprietary batteries and ride at night much less often than I do.
Convoys are crazy cheap.
#46
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I mean knowing which cells are likely to give long service without catching fire is a job the consumer shouldn't take on, so paying more for them can be worthwhile. To ensure the consumer doesn't do that, the maker might solder the cells in. That also makes the contacts more reliable. You may disagree with this decision, but it is, at least, rational. I've repaired a lot of Apple products, such as iphones and computers. Over the years, they've gone from very difficult to repair to exceedingly difficult. I'm not happy that I'm no longer able to do the repairs, but I am happy that they are more reliable than before. I still buy Apple products, even though I'm not entirely happy.
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#47
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Quite right. I don't even know how to pronounce it. In my mind, it's "one eight six five oh" but maybe people say "eighteen six-fifty."
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#48
Senior Member
.... I've been using AA NiMH flashlights as my bike lights since 2013 and haven't had any issues with the lights and got well over twice the expected recharge cycles out of the batteries before they required replacement - which was cheap and easy. Best part is the batteries never actually failed, they just showed decreasing capacity to the point that I was annoying at how often I had to change during a ride. Guys I ride with are on their third or fourth set of lights with integral proprietary batteries and ride at night much less often than I do.
Someone mentioned using a simple 18650 torch like a Convoy. Nothing wrong with doing that. Works for me.
#49
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@01 CAt Man Do, which are the decent cheap tail lights? I don't like most of the cheap lights I've tried, but @DWMkee turned me onto a cheap headlight that is surprisingly good.
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#50
Senior Member
@01 CAt Man Do, which are the decent cheap tail lights? I don't like most of the cheap lights I've tried, but @DWMkee turned me onto a cheap headlight that is surprisingly good.