26800 Lithium-ion battery

I never looked to closely but I’ve had the same impression.

And cell availability aside, there is a 26800 light out there. Modding a 26650 one is easier than fitting a larger cell.

For the FT03, I'll probably try copper single strand wire first for the spacers, but still do the driver retaining ring mod and swapping out the driver spring - I'll probably use a low profile brass button.

26 mm to 29.8 mm is a big bump - not sure if that was why you used the sockets? Didn't understand that part. the 26mm washers I can only find for $10-$12 for qty 6-10.

Think'n to order another HK4S SST-40 and swap in XHP50.2 3V's - should be a nice use of the big cell.

$46 at FT here: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10073177/9738130, just posted today here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/37772/1008

Update: Ordered one from FT - $46 total shipped, same price I paid for the first HK4S on coupon discount from BG.

I received 8 QB26800 batteries from Aloft Hobbies a few days ago and cycled one of the cells along with a new Shockli. Recharged two batteries after both drained from a HaikeLite HK4S which has a 2.72 volt cut off. An Xtar X2 charger is used for the test. First battery the Shockli 5500 mah and the second was the QB26800. Shockli charged 5715 mah, QB26800 charged 7330 mah. Both batteries are on their 3rd recharge. Shockli is very close to an earlier test within 12 mah. This latter batch of 26800 went up 206 mah.

If you guys are still interested.

Signed up for everything. Good to hear about Amutorch and Nightwatch - that e-switch version of the Ni40 Stalker looks amaz'n!

Good job. Thank you freeme!

Ama-zoning a few nights ago and ran across the Alonefire X28 (I know, but their UV lights I have found to be a good value so I decided what the heck) that comes with a 26800 cell.

Humble delivery - light, cell and USB-C cable (that didn’t function) - no instructions or spare o-rings or anything.

SST40 (?) emitter with smooth reflector.

Light works. UI is Hi-Lo-Off. Double click for strobe. OK, quite crappy UI.

Throws a nice tight spot with pretty broad, dim spill. Says SST40 but much cooler than my FT03 SST-40. Maybe a just a bit less bright than FT03 at center of hotspot but tint difference makes it kind of hard to compare. Haven’t had them both outside yet.

Doesn’t feel like an expensive light, but other than the bad cable it seems to work fine and only $18 is why I was tempted.

We’ll see about longevity.

Posted here just because of 26800 discussion - maybe a good host and get a decent cell to boot?

Dang, it's listed for $28 now w/10% coupon. I would have bought one for $18 for sure. It appears to be about a 45 mm head diam.

Here on Alibaba it lists the head diam at 45 - had a pretty good guess

Is that a real SS bezel?

I grabbed one off of Amazon Prime for $18. It’s CR@P. I thought for $18 maybe the threads would match some of my other lights. Compatible with none of them. Threads are rough with slivers left in. Bezel is Aluminum. Reflector gives a ringy beam profile. For the price I got a 26800 battery and a power cord.

Ohhh. One sign of a cheap light is that white plastic/brass setup in the tailcap. Thought maybe it's just the tailcap, but guess the whole thing is at that level.

Crap compared to lights double the price but the light works as intended, it charges fine, and a big decent cell to boot. I think for $18 it is a reasonable buy.

Err, uh, kinda bad parasitic drain too though…

Just in case others missed it, the ASTROLUX 26800 Battery Tube for FT / EA Series Group Buy was a success! If interested, click the link and make your requests.

Has anyone got a source for these batteries that ship to Europe? I found some on AE but don’t like the look of the store.

Everyone having good luck with these batteries so far?

Cannot find any on Ali Express or Banggood. This 26800 size is rather rare.

Queen Battery Store in AliExpress sells them, if I change “shipping destination” to “USA”, otherwise, the item won’t show up when I do a search, since they do not ship to my country.

Queen Battery Store link for QB26800 batteries in AliExpress:

~

This other store also lists the QB26800 battery (I’m not sure if they are legit or not), the original product listing can ship to my country for a relatively low shipping fee.

I actually made an order from this store last week (indicates can ship to my country for a relatively low shipping fee), but now this AliExpress store messaged me to cancel my order since they said they cannot ship to my country…
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33034471590.html

When I checked the link again now, the product link still indicates they can ship to my country, but at a much much higher shipping fee… :frowning:

Maybe can try if the above ship to your country…

I can only find one supplier on AE who will sell individual batteries. I have asked Queen if they will sell me two, and have also asked Neal as he sold me a flashlight with a 26800 in it.

Hey all, I was asked to join the forum here to help with the 26800 questions since we seem to be about the only place offering these cells.

I did a little search a while back as I was wondering who all had been using these cells and ran across this thread. Good reading. We originally brought these cells in to do some testing, for the price and capacity I just could not pass them up. Needless to say we liked them… Surprised more people have not found uses for them.

A little about Aloft Hobbies and our Lithium-Ion selection. We started offering HIGH capacity low amp cells for use in our transmitters. We soon found that sourcing quality cells for a reasonable price was a challenge. I’m sure you all can relate. After a lot of sample orders and testing we decided we would only deal with quality cells and offer them at our normal low prices. Seems to be a lot of places that charge a lot more than we do. Heck, I have seen people selling used Sony VCT6 for more than we were selling brand new fresh cells. Anyhow after a while I started stocking some HIGH amp cells as well as the high capacity. This market is interesting as prices move up and down a fair amount. For example I’m not going to restock on the Sony VCT6 as the demand for these cells seems to have pushed the price to an artificially high level, we will be stocking a Molicel instead. Will be our first Moli.

Back to the battery in question… We have a good amount of the 26800 cells in stock. We have heard from a number of customers that have put these cells through the ringer and are very pleased with them. We have been offering them for about 18 months now, so there is some history with them now. They seem to be a solid option that is holding their capacity with use.

We do our best to ship all orders very quick and we make sure the packages are well protected.

Any questions, fire away and I’ll do my best to answer.

-Wayne

Thanks Wayne and Welcome to BLF!

I've ordered a couple cells from you, will be ordering more now. The questions guys have here is the charges for Int'l shipping - not sure if you can do any better but that's what they've been asking about.

For me, I'm not totally happy with my charging setup. Can't use my nice chargers for these. Do you have any recommendations?

Welcome and thanks for posting. My order shipped real fast. I will be checking out your site next time I need cells. Do you by any chance do repairs on old analog radio transmitters? I have some Ace RC custom made models from the 80s and they are out of business.