Digikey says they have over 2500 of em, at $2.55 each. LH351D W6 5000K
(down to $1.67 each at a qty of 25)
Edit: Well I’ll be doggone! Going in to DigiKey to order some of these I found my order for 25 of each back in August. Guess I didn’t get them at Arrow after all… dang memory…
Ooops, sorry - been updating/editing my posts... Richard still is a good deal - all depends on shipping, qty, etc.
I’ve got an idea. How about I add this LED to my spring GB+high CRI LED GB? It would allow us to get even lower price.
Man I’ve always wanted this LED, by my high CRI tendencies prevented me from it.
I normally charge cells in a charger which stops a bit early. However, on the SP36 I generally charge cells inside the light, with the light on in battcheck mode, and then just unplug it when it gets to 4.0V or 4.1V. And if I forget and let the charge cycle finish, mine stops right at 4.20V so it’s not too bad.
I like that the SP36 can charge all three cells in parallel, while a voltage readout mode is running, and I can stop it at any time. So if it gets down to 3.5V, I can charge it up to 3.9V and stop. Or whatever charge I need at the time.
But if I take them out of the light and use a separate charger, I don’t have a way to keep the charge balanced unless I let the charger complete its cycle. I could put them in a battery carrier and wire that up to a charger, but that’s kind of a pain. So it’s easier to do partial charges while they’re inside the light.
Wait, wut?
It actually has a charging voltage reading? Woah, that’s amazing.
The S43S seems to do this too - It appears to be charging but the blinked out voltage seems to be varying between 3.7V and 4.2V, weird....
The charge port and the main LED functions are independent of each other. The light can be on while charging, and that includes battcheck mode.
The button won’t blink while charging though, like it normally would during battcheck. The button LEDs seem to get overridden by the charge function.
okay . i think im gonna get this flashlight. but here are my questions …
i hope someone who has this flashlight can answer my questions. i really want to buy this light but i need to know which kind of batteries i need to get. thanks guys
1) Yes, Sofirn even recommends to use protected cells. However, you will probably get better results with unprotected button top cells.
2) 3 cells with max. 4A should work fine but the flashlight will be driven far below its capabilities.
3) I do not know but the Q8 draws about 16amps out of 4 cells, so rule of thumb might be comparable here.
Just adding some further comments.
2) 4A for a protected cell is a very low rating. There are protected cells with well over a 10A rating. If the cell performs well (has a low resistance) and trips the protection circuit at 4A, you run the risk of tripping the protection circuit and not sure if that's recoverable or not, depending on the battery protection circuit design.
3) Yes, the SP36 will get about the same output as a Q8 so that means it draws more amps per cell, since the SP36 has 3 cells not 4. The XP-L2's in the SP36 have a lower voltage than the XPL's in the Q8, so it's easier to get higher amps in the SP36 than a Q8.
I personally would not recommend a 4A protected cell. My cell of choice for this light would be the Samsung 35E, but with a button top. A button top SANYO GA would also work well. You don't need the lower resistance 30Q or VTC6, but they will get a little more output. Again like the Q8, you need button top cells or solder blob the tops of flat cells. Some use the flat top GA because of it's protruding top.
ive tested my battery. its tripping at about 6-7 amps. not 4A . so 4A is just a rating. it should be fine ye? anyways. how do i know if the batteries are limiting the turbo? like how can i tell? this is the first flashlight for me with a more than normal firmware. so im still kinda confused. btw the batteries are NCR18650B . its protected pin top rated at 4A . but ive tested one of em and it trips at about 6-7 amps. so 3 of em should be able to get to 20amps no problem. do you think its gonna be fine ? thanks
i see. so the batteries are tripping at about 6-7amps. so in parallel it should be able to withstand about 20A. it should be fine right? anyways how do i know if im limited and cant go to turbo? thanks eh
also ive asked Sofirn on aliexpress PM . they said it takes about 11Amps. im confused haha which one is right haha. sorry for being a noob at this haha
The NCR18650B will work with the SP36 but higher drain batteries will get you more output. I don’t know what current you will get with them, my guess would be around 5A per battery.
I see. But I’d still be able to get to turbo yeah? Just not as bright as I can get with high drain batteries? . Anyways. How do I know if I’m on turbo mode if say my batts can’t handle turbo and the flashlight has restricted me to a lower level? Thanks. Anyways I’m still kinda confused on how to operate it. I’ll try it when its here but the firmware looks rich of features hahaha. Thanks eh
Turbo is not a distinct setting, it is just the top of the ramp where the leds run direct drive on the batteries. So the current is determined by the type of led and the current/voltage characteristics of the batteries.
I think you should stop worrying, just get the SP36 and find out how it works with your batteries (just checked again:protected cells fit fine).
Hehe. I already bought it. Now waiting from AliExpress 
. Anyways. How do I know if im on the turbo? Just making sure so I know how to see if my battery is capable enough haha
Also . I’ve done some reading and I can see that the internal resistance is about 0.11ohm. is it good enough for the turbo? I’m new to the flashlight game so I’m kinda still confused
Very dependent on the batts - one # for amps doesn't apply to a light like this. NarsilM v1.2 has the ability to be configured to have a max ramp less than dbl click turbo, but dbl click turbo should be max amps/turbo.
With those cells (protected Pana B's) more likely to be about 4-5 amps per cell, 12-15 amps total - maybe that 11 amps they quoted is close because I'm thinking closer to 4 amps/cell.
You will always "get turbo", just a matter of how many amps (resulting brightness) turbo gets.