Fried my flashlight? Lumintop ODF30

Hi everyone,

I just purchased a Lumintop ODF30 Flashlight from Amazon, and 2 Keep Power IMR26650 5200mAh batteries. I charged fully then put the battery in and closed it, and when I pressed the power button nothing happened.
I unscrewed the tail cap and smoke came out and it smelt very bad, and the battery felt warm. Does this flashlight not have reverse polarity protection, or was it shorted when I got it? I’m assuming it got fried and ‘let the magic smoke out’

Thanks for your help,

Zane

Did you put the battery in backwards?

Looks like you describe battery venting. Put it away on a safe place outside, as if this is the case, the smoke is bad for inhaling. The info you gave is not enough for locating the problem, but people will start asking you questions to identify the cause. As beginning - is the battery fully wrapped - i.e. is the foil undamaged?

I didn’t find anywhere that say’s it’s reverse polarity protected, but In this day and time it should be standard.

I’m not sure, I wasn’t really paying attention. So probably… I think that’s why it smoked and got warm. Putting the battery in either way now it doesn’t do anything or get warm.

Yes, the foil is undamaged and the battery is in good condition as far as I can tell. I put it on the charger and it seemed to be fine. I tried with the other battery in the flashlight and it didn’t work either. I think I damaged the circuitry on the flashlight.

In my defense though I didn’t see anywhere on the manual that stated which way the battery should be put in…

Could have been reversed cell, but know way to know if you don’t recall which way you put it in.
Either way, Amazon should take care of it.

Thank you very much for your help!!

Slightly off topic, but can you recommend any similar flashlights with Type C charging built in?

Interesting picture, battery seems to be in backwards of the norm. Took from the Lumintop site.

[New Release] Mankerlight E05 II AL/Cu 1300 Lumen Highest Output Pocket EDC Flashlight in 14500/AA Class and this one Review: Manker U12 (EDC, 20700, Rechargeable, XHP50 II)
Just seen this a few days ago. There are others I’am sure, I know nothing about them though as I don’t own a USB C type yet.
Manker seems to make quality lights though.

Sound like a capacitor went bad, and possible you might have a defective xhp 70.2… i think amazon should take care of it…

By the way, i ordered my odf30 from banggood this afternoon. I hope i dont run into problem like your…

That battery in the pic is not backwards. There is a “-” right next to the High Capacity text. The negative end is in the tail cap. I don’t own a light where the positive battery tip goes in the tail cap. I have a few Lumintop batteries and a bunch of other name branded cells and on all the ones I have, reading the text on the battery from left to right, as is the norm. The left is the positive tab and the right is the negative. Am I missing something?

If it does not have polarity protection, it will not be the first Lumintop model that does not have it.
A friend of mine fried an SD10 for that reason.

There are
The first one that came to mind: Olight S1 mini


https://www.forolinternas.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14397

I contacted Lumintop last night, they confirmed it does not have polarity protection.
They also confirmed the positive side goes towards the LED, negative towards the tail.

Kinda bummed about frying the flashlight, but thankfully Amazon has great customer support!

It doesn’t have reverse polarity protection, so make sure you put the negative in towards the tail and you will be fine.

RPP should be mandatory in these flashlights :person_facepalming:

I almost damaged a Manker E11 due to that as well! Sorry to hear this and I hope :
a) that Amazon helps you on this
b) manufacturers start to make lights with RPP AND warn users/buyers if the lights sell don’t have it!
The User Manuals got to serve for something… :person_facepalming:

Yes, Amazon has already paid for the shipping back to them and will give me a full refund.
Not sure why RPP isn’t included in the lights, it would save the companies money because their lights wouldn’t get fried and returned to them! That, or put in the manual a warning like you said.

What you say is true. However, I would not recommend a light that takes lithium-ion cells to anyone who is not familiar with their safety issues. You mentioned you weren’t paying attention when you put the battery in the light, and might have put it in backwards. That is dangerous! On some lights (with multiple cells) it might cause a short and do a lot worse than just smoke a bit.

Not paying attention to the proper orientation of cells is fine for alkalines or NiMH rechargeables. I’ve done it myself. But you have to be a little paranoid when using lithium-ion cells. They’re safe, but only if you follow all safety rules.

The manual should definitely have warnings about that.

Oh, one other thing: I wouldn’t personally buy lithium-ion cells from Amazon. Depending on how they are put in the warehouse bins, you might be getting fakes even if the seller is good.

What makes you think it’s backwards?