Best 18650 Batteries for Astrolux MF02? BUYING 16!

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Hi guys, I bought 2 Astrolux MF02 throwers and I need 16 batteries, 8 for the lights and 8 for the charging rotation. I also need a simple good charger.

I want high capacity without losing output, I don’t believe the Astrolux MF02 pulls many amps, so I think 8-10amp draw is sufficient. (Correct me if I’m wrong)

What’s the best budget friendly 3400 or 3500mah (preferred) capacity 18650s that will FIT the Astrolux MF02? I’m scared I’ll buy 16 high capacity protected button tops and they won’t fit and I’ll be pushed back 2 weeks ordering new ones and being stuck with unnecessary ones.

Please comment from your experience in owning the light, or other Astrolux lights within the series so that I can be sure your recommendation will apply.

Thanks,
OnlyOwnEnergizer250Lumen (CPF)

2

I use the efest 2100mah button tops and got them at illumn on sale. (Think they are a 30 or 35 amp cell) Not sure if they are still on sale but any unprotected button top will work most likely. You can take the plastic rings off the carrier and run flat tops also. Bought a second carrier to modify just for flat tops. There are an abundant amount of cells that will work. The answer you will get 90% of the time will be samsung 30q’s but they are a 3000mah 15 amp cell. They work great. The 3400/3500mah cells usually can’t push more than 10 amps but the light will work fine with them. Not sure if this helps you but it is what works for me.

3

Thanks for your quick reply.

I don’t mind 10 amps being pulled, as a single XHP35 HI pushing 2k lumens doesn’t make use of high drain’s anyways, if I am understanding correctly.

So I definitely want 3400/3500 mah capacity for a second reason as well, that Turbo needs to last for 5 minute periods without getting hot. Less ouput / less amps being drawn, means more runtime on Turbo without overheating, right?

I didn’t know the plastic rings could easily be removed. Thank you very much for telling me this, plastic ring removal may be the solution to saving money and safety rather than soldering 16 button tops on 16 flat unprotected cells to save money.

4

You’ll get the best performance/capacity/price if you go with a cell like the Samsung 30Q at Illumn:

Otherwise, if you only want maximum capacity, go for the LG MJ1:
https://www.18650batterystore.com/product-p/lg-mj1-button-top.htm

You can even ask for a price match from the store above proving the price is slightly lower from Illumn:

The Samsung 30Q will provide the most high output runtime.
The 3500mAh cells will give you the most runtime, but not the highest output all the time.

5

Thank you.

Does anyone know if protected button tops will even fit in the Astrolux MF02? ~68-70mm I want protected cells because these will be used for an organization’s security and they have no experience whatsoever using lithium-ion cells or modern LED flashlights.

6

I am about to buy 16 of these for ~$70 after the coupon code has been applied:

Will it be guaranteed to fit the Astrolux MF02? They are 69.6mm long.

Any last call recommendations or concerns before I pull the trigger?

7

Don’t buy them. A bit too long. And it will take a long time to ship.

I would recommend these instead:

Protected button top MJ1s. More capacity, ships directly from the US, and will fit since they are about 1mm shorter.

8

Thank you very much, I will take a good examination of your recommendation. Also, why do the LGs say 3.6v and the Panasonics I linked say 3.7v? Whats the difference with that spec?

9

Literally nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just advertising. Nominal voltage is an average during discharge. So, it’s not really an actualy point of comparison.

And besides, since the MJ1s have resistance than the 18650Bs, their average voltage will be higher still, especially at the levels of the MF02 draws(3-5A)

10

You sound very knowledgeable on the topic, thank you for your advice once again. Now I just have to justify spending $35 more than I originally intended on the set of batteries…. trying to find a better discount someplace but struggling to do so. Is there a place that sells them from out of the country? My lights wont arrive until January 10-12th anyways, so 2 weeks shipping on batteries wont be the end of the world if it saves money.

Also, do you recommend a particular charger? Miboxer C8? Nitecore i8? All-88 Gyrfalcon? I will be buying one as well. I want simple and easy, with a cut off at max charge, as I wont be using this, but 4 other inexperienced people will be.

11

Yeah, it’s harder if you need protected button tops. If you only needed flat tops, I would recommend these instead:

Only 19$ extra.

Doesn’t the MF02 support flat tops though?

Since the light includes low voltage protection, you can just assign 4x18650s to each light, and never swap them to other lights. THAT IS PARAMOUNT IF YOU DO NOT USE PROTECTED CELLS.

TLDR: But MJ1s from the link above, and assign 4x18650s to each light. Label them as SET 1.1, SET 1.2, SET 2.1, SET 2.2.

This is how my friend in police did this with his BLF GT, and they have been satisfied with it for many months.

For a charger, just get the Miboxer C8 from here:

With a coupon from M4DM4X.com to get a nice discount.

12

Good idea on the labeling with a sharpie!

Also, the MF02 battery carrier has plastic rings around the + contact points. I guess they are designed to keep the button top in place without sliding around, but I am a newbie to battery carriers and batteries so I couldn’t confidently state their purpose. Maybe the rings are there to prevent an incorrect -/+ orientation, so it wont make contact and prevent damage from occuring. Here is a picture from an excellent guide by maukka:

Also, he wrote this:
“Batteries are inserted in a separate carrier (2S2P). The center contact is positive and connects to the spring on the driver. The outer edge connects to the brass retaining ring. You can remove the plastic spacers if you want to use flat tops, but as there is reportedly no polarity protection in the driver care should be taken with the orientation. Short flat tops such as Samsung 30Qs may also be quite loose in the carrier.”

13

The LG HB2 fits nicely so I would imagine most flat tops will be snug. I’ve ran almost everything in mine without issues. Anything much longer is tight.

14

You are exactly right on your second assumption, the plastic rings around the + terminal are designed to help stop accidentally reversing polarity. Once removed you can run flat top batteries, with them installed you can only run button top. They easily remove without any damage and are just taped/glued in place.

15

Thanks Fate, I would rather spend the extra 35$ on button top protected cells and keep the rings so that the other 4 individuals who will be swapping batteries with no li-ion experience won’t damage the lights. Costs 5x more to replace the two lights than just buying batteries designed to fit with protection.

16

Turbo draws slightly over 3 amps and high only 1 amp on each cell in it’s 2S2P configuration. My battery choices would be;
Sanyo/Panasonic NCR18650GA 3500mAh - Button Top
Samsung INR18650-35E 3500mAh - Button Top

These are quality cells and protected or not is your call. Any other cells with 15-40 amp draw capacity is only going to lower your run time, as they have lower capacities.

17

These are actually in a recess around the post. There is a groove they sit in. Not glued. One of the few I’ve ever seen this way.

18

Thank you! Why if I may ask, do you suggest these cells over the LG MJ1s 3500 10A protected button top cells that Hondarider recommended above?

Are you sure the protected versions of those two you recommended fit?

19

Eh there’s only an minuscule difference between all these 3500mAh cells.

So get the cheapest protected one there is, being the MJ1 that I linked before.

20

Noted… about to buy 16 LG MJ1s… protected… from ilumn as BlueSwordM linked above… any final objections or other concerns/recommendations? I will spend $100 in 1 hour.
Thanks