I carry several lights on a daily basis, and for all of them the procedure is almost the same: when I that the light on max is dimmer than it should be, I check it (in case the battery is removable) or I run it until is weaker (in case the battery is not removable).
Examples
Removable battery:
- Olight i3T EOS: runs on AAA (Ni-MH), I check the battery when High is dimmer than normal
- OTR 311: runs on 16340, the driver is from led4power, so it steps down when the battery voltage is around 3.5V, so I take it out, check it and charge it normally in the flashlight (USB-C)
- Olight Warrior Mini: when Turbo and High are dimmer than usual, I check the battery it and charge it if needed
Olight S1R Baton II: same as above
Non-removable battery:
- RovyVon Aurora A8U and A5R: when High is dimmer, I turn the light ON till it goes to a dimmer level and almost shuts off, and charge it then
I’ve got a couple different EDC lights, most are 18350s. I use my light the majority of the day(service manager at an auto repair shop), usually every three days or so I have to recharge the cell.
I have too many EDCs, but I enjoy them all for their unique CCTs/tints/lumens. I will normally use 1 for a week or so then switch to another. I then top off the battery and put it back into the collection. Or if I use it a lot for whatever reason, I will just charge the battery up and then switch to another.
My wife’s EDC (my old Zebralight SC62w) get’s charged up when it no longer stays on high for more than a second or so. I then get to see how the battery is holding up to its rated capacity. For some older Panasonic NCR18650B, they are doing remarkably well.
Not sure how to define EDC anymore;-) Always have a Ti3 AAA in my pocket so I guess that is definitely EDC. At the moment it is basically a spare battery for my other current EDC — the light I currently use more than any other — an E02II. Basically just a habit to swap the battery daily. Sometimes I forget. Usually will make a couple of days. Long walk with the dogs every night so it always gets used and if too much the Ti3 is always available. When jacket / coat weather, and clipped to the poop bag pack at the moment is a SC31 Pro. Don’t remember the last time I swapped batteries on that. A few days ago it flashed out 4 V and usually won’t swap until it gets down to 3.6 or thereabouts. Guess the SC31 Pro is an EDC but doesn’t get used a whole bunch. Maybe once a month or so will swap a battery. Love Andruil and the fact that I can easily see where it is at.
Since I want my Lithium batteries to last, I charge when they are around 3.5, and I charge up to 3.9 or 4.0. Unless I am out overnight, then I run them lower if needed.
There’s your problem. The D4V2 isn’t as efficient as the Zebralight, but it’s not a whole lot worse. Once you move up the ramp you’re moving into multiples of the Zebralight’s output and 15+ amp draws, so it follows that you go through the battery quickly. Pulling 15-20 amps out of a 3 Ah battery moves your runtime into the minutes rather than the hours range. Try running it at or just above the first “blink” in the ramp and you will see the battery last much longer, I probably top mine off every few weeks. I use it mostly as a dog walking light at lower output and it rarely dips much below the high 3s in that time if I resist the temptation to stay away from wow.
Everything you say makes sense. I’m amazed that you walk the dog with your D4V2 though. What would you estimate your lumen level is that you walk with? What emitters does yours have?
I’ve got two of them, one has SST20 4000K, the other has W2s. I’d bet they’re in the 100-500 lumen range at the first blink, it’s hard to judge though because the D4V2 with W2s is both brighter and more focused at all levels (I generally run the W2 light lower than the SST20 version, the first blink is a good level with the SST20 while it’s brighter than I want with the W2 version). It’s also pretty dark where I live, so even those levels are more than I need most of the time.
Used like that the batteries last me a long time between charges. It’s really hard not to double click to turbo for a few seconds each time out for fun though, and for me at least that’s probably a bigger factor in battery life than driver efficiency.
Ohhh that W2 configuration for the D4*S*V2 is calling my name and you’re not helping!
Yea the turbo is addicting. I guess I was mostly surprised the battery died so fast even though I never tried to sustain that output. I don’t even wait for thermal management to kick in. But I guess I have to realize that FET is like taking the cap off of a squirt bottle and tipping it. Even a quick “tip” is still a ton of runtime lost.
Yea I have a lot of light pollution and I walk at weird hours so I like to be able to see people coming from a distance. Sounds like your walks are more rural so fewer lumens go further. Plus, if I had a dog I wouldn’t want to blast him with 3000 lumens anyway lol
That’s why I generally don’t stress about consumables like batteries. They’ll fizzle out slowly, but by the time I’d hit 500 cycles the lights they’re in would likely be obsolete and new cell sizes would likely replace the 18650s and 26650s and 21700s I got now.
And I’d rather have a light on me that has near full capacity, vs letting it run down to 50% or less and have it fizzle out if I need longer runtime, and can’t recharge nor have a spare cell.
So a nightstand light is one thing. If it starts getting dim and is obviously in need of a recharge, great, I got like 8 other lights to replace it. On me, if I only got 1 light and maybe an “emergency backup”, I want full capacity.
No cop would go out on duty with only a half-filled mag, so why go out with a half-dead cell?
I charge it when it gets low. I only use my flashlight for short periods at a time so even a 14500 can take a while to drain. If my flashlight dies during use, I have a backup. And if the backup dies I use my phone. If that dies, I use my other phone. So far I’ve only had to switch to my backup light once. If I ever have plans where I know I will heavily use my flashlight then I’ll charge them regardless of their current charge.
