I was hoping to ask for some advice to get this to work.
I bought this Haikelite MT40 and have these 18650 flat top batteries.
The manual states:
"If you insist on using flat end batteries, you need to buckle down the anti backlash patches at the cylinder body and tail to prevent the anti backlash batteries from being released by yourself"
Does anyone know what this means. I am not technically inclined, but opened both ends of the cylinder by unscrewing, but I can't see any patches apart from the springs for the negative terminals.
Does anyone perhaps know what to do when inserting flat top 18650 batteries?
A last question if I may ask. I noted some of these 18650 batteries (Ultrafire) have 1000 charge cycles and others like Nitecore 500 cycles. Then I saw there is a SDNMY 4800 MAH 18650 battery (not sure if anyone is familiar with this brand?).
Now there is someone here advertizing he can make up a battery pack (eg. 12 volt 100 MAH) using these 18650 batteries for example for a solar system or caravan etc, BUT he says the charge cycles are 5000. Now if the individual 18650 batteries have 1000 cycles at most, then how does the battery pack which consists of dozens of these batteries manage to reach 5000 cycles? Or is this a scam?
Anything over 3600mAh in 18650 format is 100% lying about their capacity and most likely their discharge capabilities (3600mAh is very optimistic but not an outright lie), which sucks as I guess you are in country where good 18650 cells may be hard to find or expensive just like in mine. I would recommend not using the Ultrafires or SDNMY on the MT40, they are low quality, their actual discharge rating is unknown so they could overheat or worse. It’s slightly less dangerous as using them in a high power mechanical vape (e.g. the pants in fire incidents you may have seen in the news or youtube) but nevertheless it’s not safe, if you have absolutely no other choice don’t attempt to get into turbo. If a high power vape asks for 300% of what a low quality battery can provide safely to say a random number, the flashlight maybe asks for 150% but going over 100% is still not safe.
The Nitecores most likely are protected and may work if the current doesn’t trip their overcurrent protection, they use some quality cell inside. 8000 lumens in turbo for 4 cells are 2000 lumen/cell, maybe 6A-8A per cell. I think people use Samsung 30Q with that flashlight but cells with a continuous discharge rating (CDR) of 10A like the NCR18650GA or the LG MJ1 should work as well (if you use protected cells you need to check the overcurrent limit) but output may decrease a bit.
Also you should pair the cells, i.e. get a new set of 4 cells of the same model, use them always together, reserve that set for the MT40, so they will age the same.
Ultrafire batteries (and other known “shady” brands) are simply unsafe. I wouldn’t use them if I received them for free and had no other 18650s.
The cells that have 5000 cycles are “LiFePO4”, which is a completely different chemistry than the li-ion used for most flashlights (although I’m not sure any are rated for that many cycles). They are 3.2V nominal instead of 3.7V, have extremely low self-drain and are more stable/less volatile. Trade off is far lower max current draw. Perfect for large power supplies for RVs, camping, emergency power, etc. where a large number of them are used.
Bite the bullet, or rather the battery, and buy 4 quality name brand cells from a respected seller. NOT FROM AMAZON!! The chance of fakes is too high.
As others suggest the Samsung 30Q with a button top added by the seller will be the battery of choice for almost any light.
These seem to be in short supply right now. Anything with a 10A or higher rating will be fine.
The NCR18650B has about 5A CDR, they are far from ideal but better than the Ultrafires. There is the concern that the turbo may trip the the over current protection. If the recommended sources don’t ship to your undisclosed location, maybe your country or a near country has vape shops or dedicated flashlight shops that sell good batteries. I think protected batteries are not really needed, good quality unprotected batteries with high CDR should be safe enough. If the nitecores are flat top they are 99% sure unprotected, if you have 4 of them maybe you can post a picture or a link so we can find the CDR. Some people use adapters or small neodymium magnets to adapt flat top batteries.
I think you posted a link with prices in South African currency so maybe they can ship to your country? This shop was recommended in a thread for SA customers, maybe they can ship to you too? but you may need to buy some cheap flashlight from there too. The 18650 prices are expensive if the currency conversion is correct, that’s unfortunately the reality of living outside the first world.
Does anyone know precisely what current is required for the MT40?
Edit2: Ilumn ships to SA for $31 (cape town zip code) so they may ship to your country too, but of course that’s shipping, not import taxes. Also check http://www.international.mtnelectronics.com/
I suggested a button top because I thought you mentioned the MT40 needed them. Some lights use connection methods that precludes using a flat top unless something is modded in the light.
Or in the case of Q8 and SP36 type lights, a button top, or at least a protruding top (Sanyo GA) are required. A flat top wont work or is actually dangerous.
Getting a flat top and adding a solder blob is an alternative.
But since you are new to the game, getting a button top should help you get a set of batteries you can use in almost any light.
Only a very few are too short to fit a button top.
All the Best,
Jeff
I wouldn’t suggest adding a solder blob to a newbie, the contact with the soldering iron has to be short enough so the battery doesn’t overheat. With my poor soldering skills I wouldn’t risk it myself but I’m a risk adverse person.