[Closed] "5000" lumen light....

Got my battery box from Ollie/Marmaduke and the connector works fine with my lightmall's SSX2. Looks good, just need batteries now. I have 4 old (2008!) 18650's but ones performance isn't great and I use normally them in my backup torches

EDIT: Cruzcampo.. I was trying to remember where I saw that charger too.. it is on this thread [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/5000-lumen-light/page/3?replies=361#post-5374060 ]Here on page 3[/url] posted by Kbrembo (£13). For sale [url= http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__29064__HobbyKing_50watt_5A_X_Charger_Balancer_UK_Warehouse_.html ]here from their UK warehouse[/url]

I've got quiet a few 18650's from when i used to run P7 torches as my main Bar lights. I plan on putting these in a battery box and charging them outside the box with my charger ive had for a while.

They'll do for now to make up another battery but they are getting a bit old. Can anyone link me to some decent high quality protected 18650's to put in the box? ......Is it possible to get 3+ hours on full brightness with some decent quality cells?

Thanks

Can anyone link me to some decent high quality protected 18650's to put in the box?

If you have a decent charger you should be fine with unprotected. http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001980/1345500-panasonic-ncr18650b-18650-3-7v-3400mah if you don't mind the wait these should be good.

 

Hmm im not sure if my chargers classed as decent or not tbh. Ive had the thing years.

[URL= http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/JIM273/2013-10-25183252_zps27a94afc.jp g" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/JIM273/2013-10-25183252_zps27a94afc.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Edit: After doing a quick search it seems this is as basic as a charger as it gets and will overcharge so i dont think its much good even though ive been using it with no problems.

Maybe a noob question but the charger posted above which looks like its for RC batteries how would i charge 18650's from it? or is that even possible if they are not packed 😳

Off topic but a user with the initials P.D emailed me about the battery box. Just to let you know I can't reply because your mailbox is full.
Ollie

If you have a decent charger you should be fine with unprotected.

You wouldn't have protection against over-discharge or over-current. Over discharge of Li-Ion is not good, as it can lead to the formation of copper shunts in the cells, leading to particular or complete short circuit.

Unprotected cells should be used with an external protection circuit.

I do agree that a protected cell would be much better for someone who isn't used to looking after lithium polymer batteries. But for them to be over-discharged enough to become dangerous they would need some serious, repeated abuse at very low voltages.[url= http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20100022570_2010023645.pdf ]this[/url] NASA study shows how many cycles of heavy over-discharge the Lithium cells can take.

If anyone was using unprotected cells they would need to disconnect the light when it started to go dim to preserve the health of the cell.

Well, despite the batteries in that study not displaying any anomalous behaviour, they still conclude that that you should have over-discharge protection in a LiIon cell module. I recall reading elsewhere that an important factor was how long cells were left in a overdischarged state was an important factor in the formation of copper shunts, which isn't mentioned in that study.

If anyone was using unprotected cells they would need to disconnect the light when it started to go dim to preserve the health of the cell.

Except that if you're using a constant current driver, as is normal, the LED won't go dim until after the batteries are overdischarged. For example, the b2flex driver would keep a typical LED in regulation down to about 4.5V, which would be 2.25V/cell assuming 2S, which would definitely be overdischarged.

And, of course, over-discharge isn't the only concern. Over-current protection is also quite a good idea in the event of an accidental short.

Just for info:
Ordered mine from [b]Fasttech[/b].
Shipped email received on the 4th Oct (which was while they ewre on holiday iirc).
Delivered today. (so 25 days)
It didn't show on the tracking website for 15 days, then just showed Arrived in GB (last Thursday).

All looks good though. Charging now.
If there are copies around, I'm reasonably confident in this one. Very crisp printing and machining - and with half-decent instructions!

Box Received thanks Oli 😀

Now need to find some cells

Got boxes cheers, Oli

Just need batteries too.

@zippy that's the charger, any good you reckon?

no idea m8 your post asking about it jogged me into searching it out (as I was interested), but I'm happily using a a cheapy chinese jobbie I bought in 2008 - it just works, [and the house still hasn't burnt down 😉 ]

Drop Kbrembo a email, though to be fair the site have stuck their name all over it, so their rep is reliant on it being decent...
I'd also ask him how he's connecting 18650 batteries to it, as the supplied connector don't look very useful.

Further update.
Charger is a PoS, Battery is unknown due to charger being a PoS.
Connectors don't match my single XML DX special.

Lamp unit gets absolutely roasting even on Medium.
Beam pattern is somewhere in between Single XML and my modified Single XML (which used original Bastid peel reflector).
Not as floody as I like.

Not sure I can be bothered to persevere with it tbh.

Box came in earlier this week too - thanks Oli! Looks good, and works perfectly. The connector is threaded, so it links together with the head unit just like the stock battery.

There does seem to be a complete variation of quaility of lamps as well as batteries. Look at beam shots, mine doesn't seem quite a floody as some (I know beam shots are difficult to use as comparision), and had a 'slight' hot spot in the middle of a large lit area, but no where near as bad as the single XML.
Mine not exactly happy with the battery box/batteries I'm using as the 'meter' went to one bar and started flashing in just over an hour last night, but still ran for another 30 min on a the medium setting.. BUT I've just run it for 15-20 mines on full now on my desk and it's only just getting too hot to touch.

How are you charging with the battery boxes?
Charger for 4x18650 [url= http://dx.com/p/universal-intelligent-4-slot-rechargeable-battery-charger-2-flat-pin-plug-100-240v-156756 ]like this one [/url]

Or something else?

Oh, and if anyone's looking for a helmet mount, I've just seen these on at Halfords. Looks like you could take the mounting plate off and bolt the light on directly - which is what I've done with mine.

[url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_708511_langId_-1_categoryId_165636#tab3 ]Halfrauds helmet mount[/url]

£3.99 with a further 40p off at the mo.

Is this the best 'value' deal?

2 x head units
1 x battery
1 x charger
1 x cheapo rear light

£25 delivered?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SolarStorm-Ultra-Bright-X2-2-CREE-U2-LED-Black-Red-Bicycle-Bike-Light-5000-LM-T6-/300987700953?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&var=&hash=item461443d6d9

You aren't getting two head units... though I was taken in by that initially due to all the pictures with two head units included.

Package include:

1 X 5000Lm Bicycle Flashlight. It have 2 CREE XM-L U2 LED ( Black or Red Colour) (Can be used as Headlamp or Bicycle Light)
4 X Rubber ring for installation two of them in green and two of them in black as in the picture.
1 X 8.4v 6400mAh Battery Pack with battery bag in black colour
1 X Li-lon Charger ( Please choose the suitable plug type from UK, EU, US and Austrilia).
1x 5 LED Front Rear Bicycle Light with Install Holder( Not include battery )

Though £25 still seems very reasonable (not searched ebay to confirm if this is the cheapest TBH)

PS: AlexS - I'm just using a very cheap chinese 2 battery charge I bought in 2008..

£25 is 72p less than I paid from Fasttech, and the UK charger option is nice. Seems pretty good to me, spare O rings are nice too, keep losing them on the garage floor.

Is anyone getting batteries through from Fasttech?

Seems to have been / still is a problem with HK post now refusing to ship any batteries at all

deleted

My lights never made it past the battery police so have ordered a head unit and use UK battery suppliers.

bent udder -
Oh, and if anyone's looking for a helmet mount, I've just seen these on at Halfords. Looks like you could take the mounting plate off and bolt the light on directly - which is what I've done with mine.

Though £25 still seems very reasonable

i got mine from lightmalls. no back light but with battery pack and uk charger it was 20quid. great bit of kit for the cash, makes my trusty old 900lumen p7 look quite dull.

Glad you guys like the battery boxes! 🙂 I'm still getting people after them, so they seem to be popular.

How are you charging with the battery boxes?
Charger for 4x18650 like this one

Ollie

[i]Picked the same one up on Tuesday, going to try and get the light mounted really low and out front of it though.
Straight on top will put it up too high for me (Same height as just Cable tieing to the helmet)[/i]

I picked one up at lunchtime. You can unscrew the latching section on the mount, and remove the mount on the light, and fit the two together.

To do this, you'll need to take the mount apart and drill through the bottom to get a bolt in to the mount to screw into the thread on the bottom of the light.

I'll have a tinker this weekend and post pics - should be lower profile than my existing hacked mount - which is at the front of my lid, by the way - you can articulate the mount enough that it doesn't need to be on the top of your lid, although there is a slight issue with my lid tipping forward / waggling more than usual on lumpier descents if the mount is right at the front. Having it nearer the centre would address this problem.

Any news on those batteries, I've had 2 replacement s from eBay seller both lasting 40mins...my rucksack weighs a ton carrying 3 of them!

Any news on those batteries, I've had 2 replacement s from eBay seller both lasting 40mins...my rucksack weighs a ton carrying 3 of them!

I had some Ultrafire supposed 4000mah off an ebay seller - they lasted about half an hour on full charge with an X2 and one of Olly's boxes. After advice from Olly, it seems like the cells are bosh.

Contacted ebay seller and he's offered full refund, don't even need to return the cells - it shows how cheap and rubbish they are.

Not having much luck - one of the X2's LEDs has died as well after one use.

My battery life doesn't seem that bad compared to what some have been reporting here, but I'm having more than a bit of annoyance with the battery level lights - three lights means there's some juice, but two lights means there's about five minutes left on low, and I've not seen one light, I assume it flickers through it as it dies. Caught me out twice so far. Quite annoying.

Is that a problem with the light or a symptom of a crap battery?

It's a symptom of a crap battery. Think it was explained somewhere earlier in this thread or one of the other threads about this light.

You've effectively got the battery for free anyway so splash the cash on a decent battery from smudge or torchy.

not sure what happened to mine last night, it was on full with 3 bars showing then went straight to one bar flashing after turning itself off. unpluged it then pluged back in and it was ok for the journey home,(40 minutes on medium). dont trust it anyway and have ordered a smudge 5.2Ah.

Is that a problem with the light or a symptom of a crap battery?

Crap battery, It means that the discharge isn't nice and linear like you'd find in a Panasonic/Samsung cell, in the knock-offs the voltage will stay relatively stable for a while then suddenly plunge.

I have a battery discharge tester and I think it would be interesting to see a discharge log graph of the cells and their real capacity but I don't have a knock-off pack. Maybe I'll get one off ebay out of curiosity.

My head unit has just arrived. Plugged straight into my magicshine battery.
Not as bright as my 872 or floody.

Found these on the mtbr forum
[url= http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/gemini-duo-clones-876449-6.html ]gemini duo clones[/url]
[url= ]beamshot[/url]
Having ridden with somone who runs an 872 and I now have the ssx2 L2-U2 I think its got the balance between floody and spotty right. If you're riding slow on very technical trails YMMV

I've just ordered one of the Yinding duo clones from China to try out - there was a thread on here a couple of days ago about them.
As far as the X2 goes I'd say it's an OK cheap light. I've used it on a couple of rides and it has quite a nice near to mid distance flood, but for faster more open trails it needs to be used with a longer range light on the helmet.
I noticed the light output didn't seem that great on full power the other night - when I tested it at home I found the current drain was dropping from 2.4Amp to 1.7 Amp when it gets hot. You can't just leave this light on full power - the design doesn't dissipate the heat well enough.
The battery and charger supplied are worthless, and I definitely wouldn't trust it as my only source of light.

Mine arrived yesterday, a 30 day wait as someone walked from China with it in their pocket. The battery pack appears to work, but after charging it until the green light on the charger was lit only two of the charge indicator leds on the lamp lit up. My old T6 battery packs all fit the connector, and a walk out with the dog show that it's a good, bright light with a good spread. It didn't get very hot. Mine's the U2 version by the way. On the strength of that I've just ebayed a head unit only for £9, and ordered one of Olly's boxes. Now all I need to do is find some quality protected batteries. So. Where can I find some quality protected cells to charge in Olly's box? How much notice do we need to take of mah claims, as there now seems to be an arms race in ludicrous mah labelling.

I keep meaning to order some protected Panasonic 3600mAH's.
From what I've read, 4x 2600mAh units should last 2hrs on full (aprox figures) with the SSX2, so a set of 3600mAH should be more than fine for my needs & hopefully next years power hungry monster light.

As far as the X2 goes I'd say it's an OK cheap light. I've used it on a couple of rides and it has quite a nice near to mid distance flood, but for faster more open trails it needs to be used with a longer range light on the helmet.

There must be multiple LED or reflectors floating about under the same casing / name, as my FastTech ones on medium are good enough to road bike on at full tilt. Granted I don't have to work the bike much, but it was always the reach of previous lights that slowed me down, no such issue with 'my' X2.

Any reason not to buy these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170967764001?var=470227921819

Mine from FastTech haven't arrived, been 30 days now.....
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-waiting-for-lights-from-fasttech

Any reason not to buy these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170967764001?var=470227921819

(those ones are on Torchy the battery boy's site as a bad example of batts)

Scapegoat - those Ultrafires at best avoided. Nobody makes a 4000mAh 18650, the biggest genuine ones are Panasonic 3300s.
Stick to Panasonic, Samsung or similar and you'll get something that holds close to the claimed capacity.
Have a look at this :

[url= http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650Summary%20UK.html ]http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650Summary%20UK.html[/url]

You'll be paying 2-3 times the price of the Ultrafires for something decent quality.