Your poll should say "Would you try this one too" :)
I voted "no" but since it's yours not theirs many may want to use you as a guinea pig :)
Seriously, if one fried two weeks ago this one is not likely to fare much better.
Hi gcbryan,
Thanks for the quick reply. I hadn't thought about the guinea pig aspect. 8-)
I would have been more descriptive, only to find a fairly limited number of characters allowed.
I am still interested what my fellow BLF members would do. I'm trying to find a small, budget, single 14500, that won't fry. AA alkaline's would be a bonus, but I've bought these 14500's and charger with the first AKOray K-106, and now I want to use them.
Please feel free to recommend a similar light that is known to work with 14500's.
Thanks everyone!
I've justed ordered a pair of 14500's myself so I don't have any real experience. I've always used either 18650's or alkaline/nimh.
I think now that you're asked for which lights do well with 14500's you'll get plenty of good feedback.
The Sipik SK68 single mode seems to work with them but someone with the multi-mode model had his driver fried. I just ordered a UltraFire BJ08A 3W 180 Lumens Q5 Aluminum LED Flashlight (single AA) that I hear will work with 14500 (and should according to the specs).
I'm sure others have suggestions based on what they own as well.
this probably ssounds like a silly question, but how do you tell which flash lights are the good ones? one i think are cool, its beam, its look? i just want to know because im only 11.
Ask your father :)
No, really you just have to read the reviews and learn more about how flashlights work and you can do that by just reading some of the threads as well.
ok thanks for telling me. ill ask my dad.
Do it!
Actually it should say: "Would you fry this one too" :D
I voted for "Yes", simply because it's advertised to work with 14500. If it doesn't, they have to send you still another, AND they might then change the product description as well. Win-win, you know.. :)
=the=
Do you have a DMM?
If yes, set it up to 10 amps (or 20 amps) reading and touch with one lead the minus of the battery and with the other one a blank (not anodised) spot of the housing. In fact it's like you want to mesure the current, but touch it only very short time, just to be able to see if the reading is within a healthy value or over. If it goes much higher than the usual value with a 14500, it's probably a AA only driver. I use this procedure allways and I didn't fry any drivers yet.
This is a tough call. I would say No and just accept this light as AA only. Of course it would be great if it could take 14500's, but I don't think DX is obligated to keep sending you new flashlights. You could look at the bottom of the driver board in the head and see if it is any different than your first one. Also see if others are frying theirs with 14500's.
Oldienea's approach is probably worth trying.
hi, which light is a good light to start out with for me. i dont know much about lights yet.
Do some reading here in the forums, the most important consideration is what kind of batteries you plan to use, and, related to that, how large of a light you are comfortable with.
Saying "what is a good light for me?" is like asking "What kind of car should I buy?" Some folks may need an F350 truck, some folks a Toyota Prius would work better for them. Depends what your needs are and how you will be using it.
The nice thing about Budget Lights, is that you can get a sample of several different kinds of lights and still not spend over $50. But if you opt for larger lights that take 18650 batteries, be sure to build a charger and a couple of batteries into your budget.
My trustfire R5-A3 from DX runs on 14500's like a champ. There's even a thread around here to change it from High/Med/Strobe to h/m/l if you're comfortable with a soldering iron.
Other than that, I have an ultrafire RL-168 that loves 14500 cells.
I have a 3-mode (programmable) Akoray, it was very bright till someone else used it. I did warn him not to leave it on high for too long (there was a 14500 cell in the flashlight), but when i got it back it was very dim. The led looks darker than normal, i think it has been too hot.
If you use the new Akoray on a 14500, it will overheat if you use it on high for a long time. The flashlightbody is just too small to get rid of the heat.
You can use it on a 14500, just don't use the high mode until it gets too hot.
If you can measure the current, then try it first with 2 NiMh. If the current goes down with higher voltage, you have a chance that the driver might handle LiIon. But if the current goes up with 2 NiMh, it will definitely fry with Lithium
Hi Everyone,
Anticipating my replacement light, I posted this poll. It is an AKOray K-106, 5-mode, (GITD tail-switch button)
I've had the light for about a week now. Unfortunately my multi-meter is one that I bought a very long time ago and doesn't have digital display, making accurate readings difficult.
Anyway, I wanted to use the 14500 batteries that I bought with the first light. I used a new AA alkaline battery first to confirm that is worked as expected, it did.
Later in the week, I switched to a freshly charged 14500. I haven't used it on high very much at all, low is in fact my favorite mode.
This light is used daily, and is brighter on medium than I need for EDC. This is just the kind of light i want close at hand.
BTW, I read a review that mentioned the GITD o-ring around the front glass was of little use. I found that when I wake, and it's usually still dark, I can still see the glow enough to find the light. Last week it fell into one of my shoe's, and I could clearly see where it was.
Thank you all for weighing-in, your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
What do you have to loose. This light is advertised to use 14500. Its
not your fault if it fries, but DX´s. They must provide you with a working
light on 14500 or refund you.
But if you like the light as it is, dont use High.
You also could change the driver to one which is sure to accept 14500.
You can find them here:http://www.videofoundry.co.nz/ianman/laboratory/research/driverlist.php
sku 7612 is a candidate but probably have to be sanded down 1 mm
Hi All,
My AKOray K-106 has been gently used with a 14500 lithium the a couple of weeks now and it's still working.
I haven't tried any extended run-times on high yet, not that I'm interested really. I was most interested in a low level task light with some higher output available, with extended run-time and running it on a rechargeable battery.
I'm pretty close to there. There's a Solarforce L2T nearby running on 18650's when I need more/longer/brighter light.
This is like, find your shoes, where's that thing I dropped in the car, where is that bottle of taco sauce, kind of light.
So just a couple of minutes at a time on high so far. Not long enough to get hot even.
We'll see how well it goes.
Thanks