I don't want to make this a poll but I'm curious to hear from a few of you as to how many different battery types you use.
I became interested in lights initially due to dive lights and the one that got me started used (2) 18650's so I have those and a small charger just for that size.
I now have a "smart" charger for AA and AAA Nimh (LSR) batteries. I have headlamps that use those two sizes. Sometimes I use primaries in those sizes as well.
I have a few Cr123's laying around and use 2 in a 6P and 1 in a cheap angle light but don't use (or have a charger) for RCR123's. I have a ITP A3 that I see some people put a li-ion in and I guess it works and makes it brighter without frying the emitter.
I guess I just haven't felt the need to get a charger for li-ion's other than the 18650. I don't want to make a full time hobby out of managing different battery types :)
What do most of you do. I guess you can get one or two more expensive chargers that can take most any battery? (not sure if that is true)
You can pick a few battery types and stick with those (as I have done).
I'd like to hear from some others as to how they handle this situation.
One thing that interests me (but isn't worth having another charger for) is 14500 (if that's AA size?). There is the occasional light that is designed for AA as far as its driver and some people have found that a 14500 works and drives it hard (may not be good for it but it didn't fry the emitter). In such a case this is an easier solution that replacing the driver for one that drives it harder (which is outside of my skill-set anyway).
The reason that this is appealing to me is that I'm always looking for a small AA sized light that throws (as well as a small light that size can). In general this is the kind of thing you have to piece together yourself since no one seems to make something like that.
If I could solder I could make any kind of mod that I wanted to but I can't :) So if I could find a light with a XP-E R2 already driven to spec then perhaps a 14500 would push it harder. If I could then find a small aspheric lens that would fit I'd have my small thrower in that form factor.
Messing with another li-ion just for that reason seems silly however.
Yep, 14500's are AA sized. I use them in my rl-168 and r5-a3. Eneloop AA's for my E-07 since it fries on 14500s
I haven't had any problem running those two lights on 14500 cells. The modded (xml-u2) rl-168 runs for 20 minutes on high and 10 hours on low... I have about 30 hours combined usage on it and no problems at all.
Id guess the OP doesn't realize he can charge 14500's if he used spacers of some sort.
Hey, I didnt even know i could jam a Li-Ion cell into my ITP EOS A3 Upgraded, But i think id prefer the AAA Lithium primary for run time and long term charge holding ability. What is the Li-Ion cell that = AAA?
I have a TrustFire TR-001 also which will do 18650 and 14500 and rcr123 and a bunch others im sure, Mine never overcharged a cell either. I dont like rechargable cr123 cells from the graphs ive seen on them, Plus primary cells last much longer and are cheap enough.
Cells i use :AA, AAA, 18650, 14500, CR123 primaries and AAA Lithium Primaries.
Chargers: TrustFire TR-001, LaCrosse BC-9009, Pila, Hyperion EOS720i But ill admit i dont use the TR-001 as the Pila is much better, And the Hyperion does charge cells, But its mainly a test bed for Li-Ion cells.
The BC-9009 and Pila are my workhorse chargers.
If you label your cells with 1/2" masking tape and number them and put the last tested voltage on them they are much easier to keep track of. I also use plastic 4 cell holders for AA and AAA and 2 cell holders for my 18650 and i have hard cases i keep all those in. Its no pain once you make the initial setup to organize everything.
If you have more than 20 rechargable AA and AAA it may be worth your time and money and invest in a charger that can cycle the cell which prolongs a cells life and also shows the cells capacity so you know when its time to recycle a cell. Maha 9000 and LaCrosse BC-9009 are the two chargers most recommended. But i feel you can do fine with a TR-001 or find spacers for the Li-Ion charger you have now as a Pila isnt needed unless you have lots of cells and most are high end pricey ones.
Yep, 10440 are the AAA-sized Li-ions. On 10440, the modes on the ITP A3 change from Low/Med/High to Low/High/Afterburner :-). (Low is the same on both NiMH and 10440, and what would be medium on 10440 is essentially the same brightness as high on NiMH) Just like on a fighter jet, afterburner is to be used sparingly – it will suck the battery dry in 10-12 minutes total, and become too hot to hold in 60-90 seconds since it’s pushing about 4 watts through the emitter.
I've got the Trustfire charger too and use it to charge the different Li-Ion cells I use. I used to try to get into the NiMH AAs for digital camera use and have been let down too many times by cheap cells dying and leaving me stranded without any power.
AA-AAA-D Alkaline cells for my Digital Camera/MagLight/remotes/etc.
14500 for my Sipik SK68 and Ultrafire C3
10440 for my Tank007 TK-703
18650 for for my Trustfire TR1200 and Ultrafire 501b
I charge all of these with the Trustfire charger.
I have a few CR123 cells laying around but I don't have a flashlight that will take those for now.
What are considered spacers? I have a two slot 18650 charger with indicator lights for each slot. It came from DX with a (2)18650 dive light.
Would small magnets be spacers? It doesn't matter at the moment as I don't have an 14500 or 10400 li-ions but I could always order a couple for fun I guess. If I ordered it from HK I guess I could just throw in the Trustfire charger you are talking about as well.
A spacer is just anything that fills in the gap. People routinely use magnets, coins, dummy cr123s, etc since chargers rarely come with them as an accessory.
Unplug your charger and stick a AA battery in it .. if it makes contact ... it will charge a 14500 .. same with any lithium battery .. if it fits , it charges it .if it doesn't fit you can add something to make it fit .that's why i asked , what's the make and model number of your charger ?