Hello. I have recently bought Manker MC13 with 18650 tube, and I’m not sure how to go about battery dilemma. I’ve got Fenix TK35 2018 ed., which has micro USB charging battery holder. I have to put this device out of the tube when charging, and then put it back and screw the head. Correct me, If I’m wrong, but I assume that this holder can serve as a battery charger for my second flashlight. But here things are getting harder: Producer doesn’t include 18650 cell, but reccomends “high drain” one. My spare have max 5A discharge current. I could search for some strong unprotected, like 30A of discarge current, but I’m not sure if this fenix’ holder/charger will be good for that. On the other hand that included 18350 battery has 10 amps which isn’t anything spectacular. What should I do?
The osram LED has a rather low current limit, so I think even a 5A CDR battery should be enough. As long as they are not LiFePO4 there is no difference between charging high drain and low drain batteries.
Thanks for Your response. Can You also tell me about potential overcharging issue when using this flashlight holder? For now I just plug in usb cable in the evening, the next day cells are chargerd and I don’t have to worry about anything because batteries have protection. I’m not sure how will it go with unprotected cells, will that buld-in charger cut out the current. That’s the thing that worries me the most.
Edit: I have just found that flat tops are prohibited :\
I have to buy charger anyway, so that’s clear. Local Manker dealer in my country offers bundles including cheaper Sanyo NCR18650GA with 3100 mAh and 10A of CDR or more expensive Manker signed battery (dunno what the producer is) having 3100 mAh and 35A of CDR. You say that 5A should be fine so just to make sure - Is it worth to pay more and sacrifice capacity for better performance? Will it have any influence on generated power in this case?
The output for that LED peaked at 6.5A and the specs only recommend max 3.3A anyway (but manufacturers always underrate the LEDs so they last the advertised 50000h when on 24/7), so the GA will be more than enough.
There is no way 35A is the actual CDR. From the capacity I believe it’s a Sony VTC6A 18650 [warning: link to vaping forum] CDR is 20-25A,a good cell for high current uses but overkill for this.
Edit: In this review the turbo tested at 4.5A, no PWM was detected, that sounds like a constant current driver. If you plot the GA and the slightly inferior VTC6 (the VTC6A 18650 was not tested there) at 2A (from the 1.4A high mode), the GA will last 10% longer before reaching the the 3.2V battery saving threshold. If a high drain battery makes any difference it’s unlikely to be visible, the VTC6 has a 0.1V advantage at the beginning but the turbo stepdown looks thermal, not voltage-related.