@teacher. I guess the Xtar look easier because of the two button set up. I read on the this forum with Gear Best that there service is awful. Is there any seller in the United States for the Lii500? With these charger do you know if there any fake/copy that I have to look out for ? Since the Xtar is a quick charger, do I have to worry about heat.
Do you know if the Panasonic Eneloops have dates on them so I can can tell how old they are? I read alot on Amazon reviews people are getting old battery stock on different brand of batteries. I’m going to take your advice and get the non Pro Eneloops.
My flashlight collection so far is ThruNite Archer 2A V3, Ti4, Coast HP7 (I thought it was a good deal at $22 +tax) 3D Maglite, and Rayovac Virtually Indestructible 3AAA flashlight I use as a beater light, Nebo Tool 5620 light (gift) so it approximate 12 AAA battery, 2 AA battery until I get my 4 AA light. My small collection is slowly growing. On my Coast light there 4 Duracell Copper Top battery 6 month old and I only used the light here and there for about a hour and the battery is dying already is this normal to have this kind of drain. I have no high just medium and low it 410 lumens.
@ Venom… I don’t have a lot of time right now, but here is the bottom line……
The places I have listed have all been excellent to me or I would not recommend them to you.
Here is what I wrote about GearBest only yesterday…… Rating: GearBest.com [AVOID] - #797 by teacher
No one that I know of in USA has Lii 500.
In fact I just ordered another Lii 500 from GearBest today.
NO, you don’t have to worry about heat on the SV2.
But it will not do all the things the Lii 500 will after you learn how to use it. And until you do it is also automatic. :+1:
Yeah Eneloops have dates, BUT if you get them from the people I told you above (Thomas Distributing) you DO NOT have to worry about that. Again, I have Eneloops that I have had for OVER 10 Years and they are still working just fine. Over 10 years mind you…… That should tell you something about Eneloops.
Good choice, as far as “I” am concerned the PRO’s are not worth the extra cost.
And the reasons you listed above are great reasons for not buying your Eneloops from Amazon or Fleabay.
Yep, your collection will grow if you stay on here……
I don’t know about run time on the aklaline’s …. I have not used them in many years.
Gotta run, hope this helps.
Oh yeah, I noticed you got that paragraph spacing thing conquered. :+1: …
Alkaline cells don’t last very long at even modest current. The voltage sag is so much that it causes common boost drivers to pull even more current from the cell(s) leading to more sag and more current et cetera. They are also more prone to leaking when pushed and sooner or later will leak anyway used or not, pushed or not so it’s better to use good nimh’s in lights you don’t consider as disposable as the cells.
Probably taking out a oring would let gas escape under pressure if it would let water in under pressure. My experience with a vented battery path of least resistance was the switch it took out. And it wasn’t quiet, if a cell is venting you can hear. Its was a obvious hissssssssss switch all swelled.
I feel as long as people give advice and recommend idiot proof charger and idiot proof flashlights with known low voltage cut off and reverse polarity. And idiot proof protected cells. Then that’s the safest you can make for them to jump in. That’s all you can do.
I started with 8 protected cells. And never got protected cells after. Removed the protection on 4 of them shortly after receiving.
I know they can be dangerous when abused. But honestly once I received and got use to them. I was little mad I had waited so long because of all the horror stories and there oh so dangerous.
With regular new cell, charge, use recharge. Its no more dangerous then sitting on 20 gallons of gas thats being burned to take you where you want daily. As long as you have 3 brain cells left regular charge and use should be straight forward enough.
You can buy all the chargers and quality batteries here in the US. You don’t have to purchase from China. Although, I haven’t seen a Liitokala dealer here yet. A Nitecore D2 or D4 are great entry level chargers, and everyone sells them. Stay away from Amazon for batteries though. A lot of fakes sold there.
@ Venom Let me make it clear, I am not trying to talk you into getting a Lii 500. I am telling you what works well for me & what I have boiled it down to after much trial & error. Nothing more…. nothing less.
Ask 10 more people and you may well get 11 different answers.
You get what you want to get, it’s your money. :+1:
I did forget to mention Mountain Electronics, they are also wonderful people to deal with. Right here in the USofA too. Here is a link to them: Mountain Electronics
Alkaline is like a 4-cylinder sub-compact car; it will get you there but not much more and there’s not enough power to be concerned over.
NiMh is like a V6 sedan; more power and a little more chance of error but easily handled with safety.
LiIon is like a highly tuned supercharged racing V8; tons of power with a high risk of problems if abused, but relatively safe if handled well.
Just like you wouldn’t drive a race car to the corner store nor enter a sub-compact at a LeMans 24-hour race, just choose what fits best and use it properly then you’ll likely get what you wanted at the end. Nothing is perfectly safe and nothing is the best choice for everything.
IMHO the best balance for performance, safety, and economy is probably NiMh though I personally prefer the high performance of LiIon :sunglasses:
@teacher When you order from Gearbest is it best to use PayPal or any credit card, just in case something happens? As for shipping, which shipping option to pick for a safe arrival? Is any insurance necessary? How does the warranty work, do I have to ship any defective product to China?
I know you bought alot of equipment and you did all the trial and error so you know what works and what don’t. I appreciate all the advise/feedback and sharing them with me so I won’t have to buy a dozen chargers to see what works better and telling me about the paragraph spacing.
I have a old HP battery pack, can you throw them in the trash or do they have to be recycle?
Where I live, lithium-ion cells can be difficult to acquire nowadays. They’re not sold in stores, good brands don’t seem to be sold on-line in the country, and out-of-country orders are either impossible to ship because of restrictions, or very expensive to ship. It’s just too much of a hassle.
I always use Paypal. I used a credit card once on Ali, and it was stolen and $1000 was charged to it. So, no more credit card on Chinese orders for me, no matter how reputable the site it. Their security sucks. Paypal is safer, because you have to verify every purchase.
With Gearbest, I don’t purchase shipping if the item is cheap. If it’s lost, I normally take the risk. I suppose you can Paypal dispute it if you want. With more expensive items, I purchase the insurance. I had to use it once, and it was hassle-free. I suspect that Gearbest may have been more resistant if I did not buy the insurance.
I always use the free shipping option. It takes about 3-4 weeks. It might be a bit faster for you.
As for warranty work (it it breaks after you get it), forget it. You’d have to ship it back to China at your expense, and it’s almost always not worth it.
Hi Venom……. :+1: OK, I am gonna answer the questions 1 by 1.
The answers will be what “I do” that has & is working for me.
1.) When I order from Banggood or GearBest I use PayPal. I sign into my PayPal account and theen choose to pay with a Credit Card I have on file. That way I figure (right or wrong) that I have 2 layers of protection if something goes wrong. Plus, I am not sending my Credit Card information to China using this method.
2.) Shipping…. I will address this in-debth at the bottom of this post
3.) Insurance…. I have never paid for insurance.
4.) Warranty Work…. I have never had this issue. BUT, I would “assume” this is something you would have to take up with the manufacturer.
5.) “Shipping back to China”…. I think that would depend on the circumstances.
………a.) If you receive something that is DOA or dies shortly after you receive it… take that up with the vendor. Tell them the problem and request another be sent or a refund… whichever you want. IF they even ask you to send it back, tell them you will be glad to as long as you are totally reimbursed for any and all cost related to sending it back to them.
………b.) If the item dies on you after using it a while, that would be considered Warranty. Refer to #4 above and deal with the manufacturer & their policies in this case.
6.) Yes, sadly for my wallet; when starting out I knew very little. I bought things out of ignorance that I would not even consider now That is where the “trial and error” part came in for me.
………a.) It is my pleasure to try and share what is working for me. I do hope it will save you some money & frustration in the long run,
………b.) No problem on the paragraph thing. . I was typing something the other day and the same thing happened to me. I caught it in the Preview and saw what had happened and it just hit me that the same thing was happening to you.
7.) As far as the HP Battery pack goes, recycle… don’t throw in trash. Or, you could go to This Thread and read about taking the Battery pack apart and getting the cells out. IT must be done carefully, but it is really kinda of fun to do.
………a.) This is where the Lii 500 charger would come in handy. You would then be able to check the battery’s capacity so as to determine if it was still “healthy” or not. This is pretty much a must do as far as “battery pulls” go… as far as I am concerned.
Now, getting back to #2 above… concerning shipping. Below you will find a “walk through” of the entire ordering process from GearBest.
The information below is taken from THIS POST in another thread.
. OK, here goes……
1. Add item to cart.
2. Go to Cart in upper right of page and click on View Cart
3. Put in Promotion Code (if you have one)& click apply to see if it changes anything.
4. Then click “Proceed To Checkout”
5. Then scroll down to “Available Shipping Methods”. I pick “Priority Line”usually, one choice should then be “USA Express”; if it is that is what I pick. The cost will be displayed. (see below for more)
………a.) If I am in no rush, I pick the free standard shipping (Unregistered Air Mail) or for a few cents more Registered Air Mail. It will usually take longer to arrive…. but they have always arrived.
6. Then scroll down to “GB Points” and add them if you have any to add.
7. Choose payment method
8. Review order & shipping info
9. Add special instructions if you have any
10. Click “Place Your Order” . you will be taken to a payment screen then
11. Then click Proceed to Checkout
12. Now you can refer back up to 1.) … at the very top, if you choose to pay with PayPal as I do.
Hope this helps.
Below is a “copy & paste” example of the “Available Shipping Methods”.
Available Shipping Methods……Estimated Shipping Time……Shipping Cost (weight:0.34 kg)
Unregistered Air Mail ………… 15 - 35 business days ……………………$0.00
Registered Air Mail ……………….15 - 25 business days ……………………$0.xx
Priority Line……………………………7 - 12 business days …………………….$X.xx
………USA Express………………………7 - 12 business days………………………$X.xx
Expedited Shipping…………………3 - 10 business days …………………….$(?)X.xx
A few more thoughts.
I have only had 1 thing arrive DOA so far.
It was a Convoy L6 in my very first order from GearBest about a year ago.
I contacted GearBest in the manner they request.
The matter was solved immediately.
I told them I just wanted a working light
They told me they were out of stock
I said I would just wait
They said no, we give you refund
I said OK
They gave refund
When the light was back in stock, I ordered it from them again
End of story
Great experience and customer service in my case
Never any mention of returning the DOA light
All of the above took place in less than 24 hours
————————————————————
One experience with Banggood
I ordered a S70, it worked but the battery tube had been machine all weird.
I contacted Banggood and told them I only wanted a battery tube
They asked for pictures and video
I sent a couple of picture, but told them no video would be coming
They offered a tiny refund
I said no, they could just pay for the light to be returned if they would/could not send a tube; and send me a new light
They offer a bigger refund
I doubled what they offered and told them that is what I would accept as far as a refund
They gave the refund and we called it good….
——————————————————————-
All that was said to say this…… The customer Service people are working from a “script” in most cases.
They have certain thing they are required to do and say.
Their job is to get the customer with a problem to settle in a way that cost the vendor the least.
Your/our job as a customer is to make darn sure we do not get screwed in the process…. simple as that.
Getting mad and raising hell with the Customer Service people is just down right counter productive for your cause, as well as stupid.
Be nice, courteous, and FIRM……… simple as that. You/we will get a much, much more harmonious outcome.
~ Edit to add…………
Be sure to keep any “conversations” with Customer Service brief and to the point.
English is not their “native language” so keep it very simple.
And by all means make sure your grammar and spellings are correct. They are not mind readers.
Also something I find important is to keep your English as simple as possible. The customer support people are not native English speakers, and they may even use an automated translation program. So, make sure your spelling and grammar is simple and most importantly CORRECT. Do not use broken English and shortforms and bad spelling, or they may not understand what you want.
I have always found their customer support easy to deal with when I am polite, brief, and to the point. If you get screwed, only THEN burn them. No point to starting off the conversation with a flamethrower.
@teacher I don’t have a PayPal account but I was looking at PayPal My Cash Card. It’s just a reloadable card just put what you want in. Hopefully it work like a regular PayPal account.
About the battery pack, I not that brave enough to brake open the battery back. With my luck I’ll probably damage something.
This is a general question. Do you know anything about the usb chargeable flashlight? Do they overcharge the battery? Do you have to babysit them while they are charging? Is there alot of heat generating on the battery considering it charging in a tube? Do you have to constantly have to check the battery with a DMM so they don’t go to low in or to high power? Does the flashlight does everything for you and all you have to do is plug it in to charge?
Is the ZTS MBT-1 worth it or are there better ways to test a battery?
1.) As far as the PayPal My Cash Card goes, I am not familiar with it but it should work just fine.
2.) I understand about the battery pack. I’d say just recycle it then.
3.) Light with USB Charging
………a.) Yes, I know a bit
………b.) No, not as a general rule if they are working properly
………c.) No, I just keep a eye on them in general, just like I do charging any LiIon Battery
………d.) No, not as a general rule if everything is working properly
………e.) No, many lights have low voltage warning. It will start blinking, dim to moonlight, do something to warn you the batteries are low. Just be familiar with the light(s)you get and know what the Low Voltage signal is and also if it has Low Voltage Protection in the first place. This mainly applies to LiIon battery powered lights.
If you would rather you could get “protected cells”… do a search here on BLF and you can read about them if you don’t already know.
………f.) Yes, you just plug the USB cable into the light and a USB Port and the light does the rest.
4.) As far as the ZTS MBT-1 goes they are nice little units. I have one in fact that I rarely ever use now. It was one of those things I bought in my “ignorance” stage several years ago. :person_facepalming:
Nothing wrong with it, it tell what general state of charge a battery is in very well.
But I can tell a whole lot more with my DMM & Lii 500.
If you are asking me, personally I would not spend the money on it again.
When you purchase from gearbest you can checkout with PayPal without having a account. It gives you the option to just use PayPal as the cc processor and your still protected between that and your actual credit card company
I use that mostly now. But I have on the past used cc directly with gearbest with no problems. I figure as large as they are its probably alright. Not some random Ali seller or anything. If people’s cards were being stolen word would travel quickly and hurt there business.
Doing laptop pulls isn’t to bad. I’ve made a couple sparks before cutting the wires now I just rip the wires apart. I use to take a screwdriver and pliers to open them and now I hit the edge with a hammer to crack the case open. Much much quicker. But it goes back to my original brain cell post. If you just charge use recharge the chances of something happening are almost nil. Even if the ligjt is left in the car all summer still nil.
Most flashlights with built in USB charging are ok and have the same degree of accuracy 1%± as other external chargers. I have a couple USB flashlights and vape units. Never felt them ever get much more than warm. Well within the safety range. But you can go that route but I suggest a external charger. Unless every ligjt you purchase is USB rechargeable its not really feasible. You won’t buy just one light not if your on this forum. You might be building your own lights in 6 months or so never know. I’ve just now starting changing LEDs and drivers in easy to do hosts. When the last several months I sent the lights off to be modded. So plan for the future. Also pack pulls can be a gold mine. 2 weeks ago got 68 cells from recycle bin. And 50 of them work. Low capacity unfortunely the cell was designed that way but high amp 26amp. Batteries test at or just below original capacity. Several years of vaping and hurricane readiness batteries for a week or so of no power.
Laptop battery pack pulls are not as tough as you might think. That said, the biggest pain in the neck (for me) was an HP battery pack. I’d try a few others first, just put the HP pack away until your confidence grows a little.
Man you arnt joking. A hp pack really gave me hell once using a screwdriver and pliers trying to pry apart and break apart chunks to get inside. But they even can’t handle the hammer. You run the hammer down the seem with 3-4 good whacks it sepwrates like a oyster
