That would seem logical to me. :bigsmile: There are now literally thousands of BLF posts spread out across several Supbeam/Acebeam threads. I only own the X50 and X60, both of which have the charging problem I described (with in-light charging).
Since the manufacturer has seriously dragged its feet for a long time while attempted to convince me that their faulty design was acceptable, I hope everyone will wait to see if they will do as promised before buying any more of their products. Also, you might want to reference the K50 GB and X60 GB discussion threads for a better perspective of what you are considering buying, along with the later discoveries of some of their inherent faults.
For cells in series it is important that they are identical. Otherwise it is possible that one cell that discharge faster may be "reveres charged" and be damaged/vent. But that also depends on the driver, if it has low voltage shut off, and if the cells are protected.
And the same cells (brand/model) with different ages may have been used/abused differently and may have different internal resistance and capacity. So when charging cells that are intended to be used in series it is good to have a charger that can test the internal resitance and capacity so you can verify that it still is the same, or very similar, for all of the cells. If you can't test the the cells, it is safer to only use protected cells.
Yes, but without actually checking your assumption may very well be wrong. And you actually said that you haven't checked the cells you use in your K40M.
It is commonly implied at BLF that it is good practice to use same cells (same manufacturer, same capacity, same age and preferably same batch) especially if they are in serial connection.
I think what DanielM meant is that he didn’t checked cells at what voltage level is every individual cell after discharging in his flashlight:
Exactly Sirius9, and I don’t see any reason why the cells in a dumb carrier would be discharged differently. I will check when I get home to add already existing data.
@flashpilot. After reading this I checked the cells on my K40. All brand new Panasonics, I get 4.06, 4.07 and 4.07. I know they are not very discharged but it does not seem too much of s problem for me so far.
Its about community. So far Acebeam has not met its burden as far as the community is concerned. It would be foolish as a community, to continue to buy Acebeam/Supbeam products from this forum. It says we dont care what they do, the next product just has to capture attention and the past will not matter. You might want to consider if thats what you want them to take from this.
ie: Sell us any shit, at any price, and we will still buy your next over priced release. And it is over priced, these arent $30 lights. At their price point, there should be no design flaws. And righting the wrong of the earlier models does matter.
The forum is a community, and right now the community is in process of trying to get Acebeam to correct an error, one they are already dragging their feet on. Are you part of that community? <rhetorical question.
Well put.
These lights are a sizeable £ outlay, even with a discount, so they should work as advertised, even if people choose not to use all the features, that’s up to them, but we paid well for those features so they should all work correctly
As much as they want to fix it right away…it’s not going to happen over night.
Rhetorical question? yeah it is… what kind of community are we talking about? lynching community?
Are we trying to lynch them because they can’t fix the problem over night?
Do you really believe they want to drag on their feet fixing this issue so they can ruin their reputation?
I’m pretty sure everyone here is aware charging batteries is series is always challenging not too mention dangerous.
That’s why I never want to charge my batteries inside the light unless I’m absolutely has no other choice or means of charging my batteries outside the light, even in the event of emergency, then I probably just going to charge it for few hours just so I can use them again.
Even if you have the same batteries from the same batch, sooner or later one of them will discharge more than the others.
So I’m not really sure this “lynching” style of fix this issue or we won’t buy it from you again is really motivation for other company to offer GB of good light at a good price in the future.
What happened to the free will? I’m pretty sure by this time a lot of people are aware about the charging inside the light issue, so if they want to buy Acebeam’s other product, they will do so at their own risk, so what’s the problem? it’s their money…
BLF community is all about sharing information, Regarding how others use the information is irrelevant.
But telling others to boycott the company because their light is not perfect it’s just…“Neanderthal”.
To be honest, there’s no such thing as a perfect light, every other company has their own flaws in their designs.
Are supposed to boycott Fenix for having plastic reflector in their premium priced lights?
But boycotting the company for not fixing the problem a lot sooner is the same idiotic scheme as blaming the guy who overly excited to introduce the GB in the first place ( at times makes me wonder…)
And are we suppose to lynch him too for not finding this problem sooner before he started the GB?
Anytime you buy any light… you’re at your own risk, it’s that plain and simple.
If you’re afraid to get burn, then stop playing with the torch ( pun intended J) )
I think Flashpilot posting warnings in bold text in the GB threads is a good thing. Let me explain.
We are flashaholics. We know our cells and our lights. We know the risks and rewards. We may find FP’s warnings annoying and radical because, let’s face it, most of us charge our cells in our chargers where we can watch them. But…
This group buy is not secret, anybody with an internet connection can google Acebeam and come here shopping. They may not have read the battery university articles. They may not have dreamchargers and battery analizers. They just want a cool flashlight that simply charges like a cell phone. Think about it, the group buy is started by Flashpilot, I think he feels a little concerned about it to say the least. I know I would lose sleep about it for sure.
To conclude, I think we can tolerate a little warning once in a while if that prevents god knows what problems may happen when 6 cells overcharge or overdischarge in a closed metallic tube.
Theres no lynching. FP is talking quite openly and calmly with Bella in that other thread. I dont usually agree with Flashpilot, in fact on a very similar issue Ive had my moment with him. I dont know that he has the only solution, I dont know that there is a severe issue. But Bella seems to think there is, Acebeam is doing something about it, which they wouldnt if there was no problem at all.
Its far from overnight, its been months already. And that is a significant amount of time.
Reputation? Ruin? Umm, its not abnormal to drop quality and trade on reputation.
There is an included charger, it must work. I can not understand how this is even a question. Its there, people will use it even if you wont. Moreover, it was a selling point, its partly what people paid for, now youre saying they shouldnt expect it?
As you say there are inherent problems with the batteries themselves. That multiplies the issues inherent in the charging system it does not negate them. Its a bit like saying the cars brakes arent that great so it doesnt matter if we dont fix them when they work less well than standard, or the steering is stuffed but who cares as the brakes dont work either.
How is telling them they can sell any piece of shit, at high prices helping us? We end up with more companies selling us junk. People paid for a torch, and charger. Why should they be happy with just a torch.
Their money? No one said it wasnt. But clearly the comments regarding community were lost on you if thats your avenue of discussion.
FP brang a group buy, on a light from a maker that had a reputation of quality. Thats shows that FP took them at face value, not that he is lurking looking for victims. Unfortunately an issue has arisen, and he has taken it on.
Actually boycotting the company tells them to lift their game. When a group of people as knowledgeable as this community is regarding the good and bad of lights, it has an effect. In general companies dont fix things if there is no consequence to their lack of action. Have you got any idea how hard it is to get companies to perform a recall? It takes laws, and threats of lawsuits to fire them up. And even then the decision they make is based on a discussion between accountants and lawyers re: the cheapest option. And that at times means a few deaths are even worth the risk. Its fnny, why is it even a discussion. There is a fault you SHOULD fix it. You might discuss how to fix it, sure, but not whether or not you bother.
There is a huge difference between perfectly functional plastic bits such as a reflector, and flaws that make the light a potential pipe bomb. If we dont care how the features of the light interact with safety, then why do we ever discuss the dangers of charging in series and benefits of balance charging at all?
No, if I pay $3.99 for an item that suggests $3.99 is way too cheap I take a risk. When I pay a reasonably significant sum, I can expect it to work. And if there is a fault, I expect it to be corrected properly. After all, I paid a premium for quality. Same reason I wouldnt buy a $0.99 light, I dont expect it to worth the box it comes in.
If I remember correctly when first group buy for K40L2 was organised they were sold overnight, all three batches they offered, well over 100 lights, no one complained how expensive they are because we were getting 95% of TN31 for less than 50% of the price, people were grabbing for K50 when it was on GB, again, no one complained about the price. Considering how expensive X60 was I was really surprised how many members were interested and actually bought one (if it isn’t more than my monthly salary I would get one also) and now, all of a sudden people are talking how they are selling “overpriced shit” (not my words)!!!
WTF?
I don’t remember so much bashing threads and souch invasion of sales (group buy) threads before. At least one GB thread appears every day, many of them are organised before actual light that is subject of the thread is even made or available anywhere like Sunwayman C22C, no one actually tested that flashlight or saw it in person but we all want to be among exclusive 50 to have it first! So now the manufacturer is under pressure, they want to satisfy hungry BLFers but what happens if at some point later someone discovers some flaw, speck of dust under the reflector, should we start sharpening guillotine right away! I don’t remember anyone flamed this much Sunwayman over a switch cover on D40A which is falling apart after intensive use…
Anyway, I like many of their lights, I like new T25 and if I get the chance to buy one for a good price why I wouldn’t do so…
