I was playing with a set of Hopes for a few weeks and the charger never squeaked or squeeled when I was using it…in fact I've got a mate who has just opened upa bike shop and has a small number of Hope lights in stock (at good prices) – I'll ask him to try them all and see if any of them squeak.

I did smirk when I read your post suggesting it was some sort of cooling operation – as the charger is encased in a sealed unit, I'm not sure how it could be cooling as there is nowhere for the hot air to go or cold air to be drawn in…

However if you think spending that amount of cash on a light and charging system gives you that facility then carry on…I suspect there is something not quite right with it to allow you to hear the squeaking though rather than a rather clever cooling system.

El Presidente! – Member
Also i suppose it is worth bearing in mind this is the first one to go up in flames (kinda) i have heard of.

I posted up on the old forum when mine went up in a puff of smoke (about a year ago)
got this more expensive charger as a replacement and it's been fine since then. (but I know **** all about this sort of thing)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

could someone point to a new charger that would work with the 18650 battery pack – smudge maybe could knock some up?

care to open it up and see what the squealing is coming from?

Er, no. 🙂 It's not a noisy sound, it's barely perceptible. But you can hear it when the battery's fully charged. When I described it as a cooling mechanism I meant it doesn't get hot in the first place, not that there's a wee fan in there.

Does smudge offer a battery / charger that would work with the DX light do you know – I'd be up for buying a spare battery 😀

Time to go home and see if my house is still there (then off for a ride in the Lakes) 🙂

Power pack whine is quite common, doesn't actually mean there is something wrong. Lots on google about it e.g.

http://superuser.com/questions/22683/high-pitched-whine-from-newly-built-pc

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=Cn8&q=power+supply+high+pitched&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

18650s aren't LiPo, they're LIon aren't they? Quite different.

Plus you could use a cheap timer plug (Ikea did them for a quid I think).. wouldn't rule out all possibility of charger explosion but it might help a bit. And stick them in a biscuit tin!

Does Smudge have a website by the way? Interested in what he has done so far

Sorry Mr Agreeable, I thought you were suggesting there was a fan in there…hence why I smirked…agreed, the Hope charger doesn't get hot…the charger I have for my DX batteries (the DX torch) – http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251 – doesn't get hot, the batteries however do get warm, but not that warm…the charger doesn't change temperature…I also ordered up the plug adapter from DX, figured in for a penny in for a pound and as I was getting the rest of it from there makes sense to buy it all at once.

Nasty!

As per stoner I never leave stuff on charge when I'm out of the house or overnight.

Ha ha sorry I assumed as db did that you meant some kind of active cooling.

Successful backpedal there, phew! 😉

I know nowt about electronics, as is clear, but from the forum reviews of the DX Bastid, isn't its charger only marginally more complicated than a straightened coat hanger with a couple of crocodile clips attached?

Why Bastid though? i'm still in the dark

😉

Why Bastid though? i'm still in the dark

Because it passes the swear filter & maybe he thought bast**d wouldn't?

The plug is a us one and as such the unit will be set up for 110volts and not our 240 so it not that supprising that some have gone pop. you would need to transfrom the voltage down to 110 to make it safe.

my dx charger did that too within a minute of turning it on!
kitchen smelt of burning plastic for days!

The plug is a us one and as such the unit will be set up for 110volts and not our 240 so it not that supprising that some have gone pop. you would need to transfrom the voltage down to 110 to make it safe.

the DX website claims the charger input is 100-240v, so you should just be able to plug it in.

I figure what I save on the cost of lights will pay for the extra insurance premiums if my house burns down.

for those that dont know I was sent an early Bastid DX light by 2unfit2ride for a strip down and checkout and did a review on here .

I had seen the term Bastid used by Ton on a few posts so nicknamed the light the Bastid as I thought it would be called that in a few boardrooms around the light makers world .
and it sort of stuck

not because I thought it was a bad light .

for the money it is a good light but it is a light / battery / charger / mount for £50 you would expect some failures and there have not been that many reported ones .

My DX charger never gets that warm, in fact the old 'vented' charger for my UK made and 3 times the price Fireballs got twice as hot!

No problems with the DX so far, it was £50 well spent. However I will be keeping my eye on it when it charges – never leave it when I go out (that goes with any charger).

To be fair Trout did warn of this in his review of my relatively early bastid light, it does get warm, but I think it doesn't get really hot.
I would love to know if the OP's charger really 'caught fire' or mealy melted?

In my mind there is a huge difference.

Cheers.

#
owenfackrell – Member

The plug is a us one and as such the unit will be set up for 110volts and not our 240 so it not that supprising that some have gone pop. you would need to transfrom the voltage down to 110 to make it safe.
Posted 2 days ago # Report-Post

No its not – taken from the DX site:

1x 100~240V AC Power Adapter (US Plug),

Sweet. Save a few quid buying cheap Chinese tat, and come home to a nice, warm fire..

Do Deal Extreme have good deals on fire extinguishers?