I’m looking to get a dedicated light to keep in my trunk. The problem is that I live in Phx, where my trunk temperature approaches that of the surface of the sun for a few months out of the year. Is there a power source that could withstand the heat (probably approaching 150 degrees F if it’s in direct sunlight and it’s 117 outside)?
Also
Are there any other considerations when talking about a uni-tasking car light that I need to take in account? Are disco modes a plus in this situation? Is there any reason those “glass breaker” bezels might actually be useful?
I live in Hawaii and have several flashlights (E1320 mods and solarforce xml's with 18650's & 16340's) in both my cars and haven't had any problems whatsoever. I do keep them under the seats where it's slightly cooler and also check them every so often just to make sure they are working just right. I also have 1 in each glovebox for quick access.
The truth is that I've never really thought about it until I read your thread. I mostly use Trustfire flame 18650's and 16340's and have never had a problem. I've been doing this since 2010 which is when I really got into torches and batteries. There have been countless times when I would get to my car and have to open all doors and windows while running the a/c on high before I would get into the car. I've never given any thought to my flashlights and batteries inside my oven of a car/truck. Maybe I should.
The only thing that has changed for me over the past couple of years is the kind of flashlight that I keep in my car and truck. When something newer and brighter comes along, that is when I swap out the flashlights but I've always used 18650's and 16340's along with a couple torches that use nimh batteries. So far everything has been ok. [knock on wood ]
Even Lithium-Ion batteries aren’t the least bit bothered by 150F. 150C is where they start to get cranky. Use whatever you prefer, the heat is no concern. That said, I would use ‘quality’ Lithium batteries (Panasonic, Sanyo, LG) since the wrappers and such that are added by the lesser manufacturers might not survive the heat as well.
I agree with PilotPTK. Every few weeks, I check on all the torches I keep inside both vehicles (4 or 5 flashlights in each vehicle at least) to inspect and top-off charge them and I've never come across any that are fully drained. I've been doing it since 2010 and we have had some "seriously hot as the surface of the friggin' sun" stretches here in Hawaii. Who knows, maybe it does help that I keep them under the seats where it is cooler but it's still hot as hell here in paradise.
The problem is you can’t just buy a new battery for a Nissan Lead, they cost thousands of dollars. However, a 18650 is cheap, around 10 dollars depending on where you get it.
They aren’t the least bit bothered by being stored at those temperatures. You’ll see no significant deterioration in a li-ion cell stored at the temperatures you’re talking about. The loss of capacity comes from being used hard at these temperatures. If the Nissan Leaf’s were simply parked in high-heat situations, there would be no problem at all. It’s the driving (which beats the hell out of the batteries anyway) in the high-heat that degrades them a bit. For a flashlight, there are no concerns.
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