This post inspired me to check my laptop pulls and recycle bin scavenged 18650 cells. 5 months ago I charged them all in my charger, and measured the voltage after they rested a bit. I’ve measured them a handful of times since then. Of the about 50 cells I originally tested, one had issues with the voltage dropping with time, I found that in the first week. I just measured 32 cells that haven’t been used since they were charged 5 months ago. There were 4 different groups of cells. The groups of cells were different part numbers from a couple of different cell manufacturers. Samsung ICR18650-28A, LGABC21865, LGDBB31865, and one I didn’t note. within each group or cells, the voltage difference between cells was 0.01V or less. For all 32 cells, the voltage ranged from 4.17 to 4.13 V. If you connected two cells in parallel with that difference you would not have any trouble.
I also measured 4 cells (ICR18650-26H) I used in my LT1 for the first month or so, then I switched over to some higher capacity cells. The 4 I measured were all from the same battery pack. The measured between 3.856 and 3.857 volts.
Data that supports MtnDon’s assertion in the previous post, don’t sweat it.
[quote=DBSAR]
The LT1 runs the cells in Parallel, and keeps the cells all at the same voltage.
Yes, as long as you only un-thread it a couple turns or less. the four cells will still be on contact with the base springs, (all connected together) and the cells will stay contacted with the positive ring on the driver, they will be kept in the same balance voltage. ( i have tested this already) same applied to the BLF Q8, or even the original Sky Ray King for that matter. The only part that “locks out” when loosened a bit is the battery body upper-most bare edge disconnects from the negative outside ring of the driver near the threads.
Thanks to everyone that helped me me get things figured out. It is up and running now and I really like it. I will mostly be using it for emergency’s and camping like MtnDon.
Good work to everyone that made it happen. Good brightness, runtime, tint options, charging, and design. Very practical.
Maybe a consolidated faq questions and answer details thread would have been useful for a noob like myself not familiar with all of the technical info scattered about. Thought about putting something together since I have asked so many questions, but most people here already seem to know most of the stuff I was asking about.
I was ready to use Melven’s washer/dryer method to fix the ‘orange o-ring’ problem but it seems like Sofirn may have fixed the problem……… mines tight…. charging 30q’s now(I cant believe I didnt do that yesterday)
It seems like the tint adjustment is linked to the brightness adjustment. I think I have the tint adjust set to manual but it still changes brightness to change tint. It would be nice to pick a brightness, then just ramp through the tint in that brightness level.
Is it possible to adjust the tint separately from brightness?
Yup the tint change (when light on click, click, click &hold will change the tint, quickly do the same again and it changes the other way). When you get to the end of the tint ramp it goes into auto tint (after the blink if you keep holding).
yes it can be set to be separate from the brightness. ( You probably have your lantern set in the “auto-tint” mode. ) as Big_Sam mentioned, the auto-tint is at the end of the tint ramp after that second blink if you hold the button during tint ramping. Turn the light on, then click, click and hold changes the tint, do the same immediately and it changes the other tint direction. When you get to the end of the tint ramp, release the button after the first blink you see but before the second blink occurs, that will reset the tint to stay in the color range you set it in while brightness ramping.
Yes. The button LED brightness is set as a side effect of the main LED brightness. When the lantern is awake but the main LEDs are off, the button LED turns off. When the main LEDs are on at about 0% to 40% brightness, the button LED turns on at a low level. And when the main LEDs are on at a higher brightness, the button LED turns on at a high level.
So if candle mode’s flicker pattern crosses either of those thresholds, the button LED flickers too.
I ordered mine on Jan1 and wasnt even going to check on shipping for a few weeks.
I was really surprised when it arrived on the 17th.
That is the fastest Ive had anything arrive from China.
