I registered as a user a while back and I’ve learned a lot just reading everyone’s posts. I haven’t had much to contribute though! And now I’m asking for advice…
Some background:
My regular EDC is a ITP EOS A3 Upgrade Edition attached to my keychain. When I’m not going to the office, I use a Quark AA^2 X. Around the house I use couple Rayovac Roughneck 2D LED torches and a 3D MagLite with a Fusion 36 showerhead. Our vehicles have a 2AA Icon Rouges or 3AA MiniMags.
After living in the city for the past 10 years, we are moving back to the family farm. I’ll still be working my day job part time, so I think my EDC lights are still good. However, I think the “around the house” lights need to be upgraded to “around the farm” lights. Instead of a small backyard to light up, it’s going to be a 30 acre orchard. From the hours I’ve spent reading this forum, this seems to necessitate a move to 18650 based lights. I know for sure that I want to have the safest possible setup. This means protected batteries and a good charger.
Advice Needed:
1. Which 18650 cells are considered the most reliable/safe? I am only going to need 3-4 so I don’t mind spending a bit more on each cell.
2. What is most “hands off” charger? I understand the need to manually check batteries to confirm voltages and heat, but I would like a charger I can trust.
3. At this point, I would like to stick to single cell or parallel setup 18650 lights. I need good thrower, a “universal” light that would serve the same duty as a 2D/3D Maglite, and a flooder that I can stand and point to a work area. These lights will not be babied— they should not overheat or fail even if used extensively. I’m willing to give up lumens for reliability.
With this move, I don’t have a lot time to learn how to change drivers/emitters, etc. I would love to get into this hobby more, but it’s not feasible right now. Of course, the farm comes well equipped with a drill press, bandsaw, MIG and TIG welders, a lathe, etc. in the shop. I’ll put these to good use once I’m there, but for now, I just don’t have the time!
Any and all advice is welcome. I am really new to rechargeable lithium batteries. I’ve done a lot reading, but nothing beats advice based on actual experience. Thanks for reading this long post and I’m looking forward to hearing from you all.