Beginner questions

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Hi guys, I’m brand new here. I have a couple questions that I’m hoping to get some help with, and I apologize in advance if these are obvious questions lol. I am so far from being an expert when it comes to lights, i own a good amount of all certain brands, but when it comes to batteries and/or the lights themselves I’m pretty dumb lol. I just bought some rechargeable batteries off Amazon with a cheap charger to get started, but anyways:

1. Most of my lights are AA or AAA, is their a brand of batteries and charger i should be buying?

2. I have probably 15 different lights so they don’t get used every day. Should i be keeping the batteries out of them until i switch around what I’m carrying at the time?

3. Do rechargeable batteries drain on their own while sitting for an extended period of time? ( in or out of the light )

Thanks in advance for any help, and sorry for the beginner questions!

2

I’m new here myself but I’ve been using rechargeables for a long time.

1. Eneloop AA and AAAs are great. There’s a ton of info at eneloop101.com including charger and storage advice. If you want to compare / consider other brands, this might also help:

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonAAcomparator.php

I’ve read that recent “Amazon Basic” batteries are also quite good but I’ve never used them.

2. Most flashlights with electronic switches drain a tiny amount when turned off, called “parasitic drain”. With many flashlights you can untwist the tailcap just far enough that you can’t turn it on. Then the circuit is broken, preventing parasitic drain. A good idea if the flashlight isn’t used often, like one stored in a car for emergencies.

3. Eneloops drain very little over time in my experience. For very long term storage (months or more unused), eneloop101.com says this in the “storage” section of the FAQ:

“For absolute best shelf life, they are best kept in a cool environment, around 5-15 degrees Celsius. And at about 20-30% charge. The best is to first charge to 50% and then little discharge. Don’t charge up to 40% and stop, because somehow, the little discharge helps the battery to keep their charge for much longer. This is a well-known behavior, but even the experts don’t exactly know why this happens. ”

That said, I’ve always kept mine stored at 100% charge room temp, but I guess I rotate them often enough that it’s never been an issue. I have 8+ year old ones that work just fine.

3

Not an expert on AA / AAA batteries, but basing from information I’ve read around here (I’ve been reading a lot since about 2-3 years ago), and also from some of my own experience…

1) which AA or AAA batteries:

— if nonrechargeable (also called “primary” batteries) type, then alkalines are usually more powerful than the non-alkaline primary batteries, however, they have a bit higher tendency to leak, based on the information here.

— if rechargeable type, then highly suggest to get those called “Low-Self-Discharge” (LSD) NiMh, such as Eneloop and Fujitsu FDK. Again these will depend on the market (I’m in Southeast Asia, so some people who go by Amazon Basics or Ikea Ladda are not exactly readily available to my location), so I generally go for Fujitsu FDK or Eneloop.

regarding chargers:

  • there are very many types, I couldn’t begin to go into them since there are too many choices, suggest to check the charger reviews by HKJ (can go to the table listing and sort for NiMh chargers then check the reviews)

2) again these depend on the type of flashlight & type of battery inserted

- electronic switch flashlights will have some amount of parasitic drain, which differs from unit to unit.

  • batteries depend on which type: alkaline or rechargeable — LSD type of rechargeable or non-LSD type of rechargeable
    alkalines have high tendency to leak, especially when there is parasitic drain.
    LSD rechargeable would be best to use, since they drain very slowly when not used, unless the flashlight has a high parasitic drain

3) related to above, LSD (low-self-discharge) batteries self-drain very slowly, much slower than non-LSD.

My first LSD NiMh Eneloop are still working, although they now have “high resistance” (will not power brighter flashlight - newer AA flashlight set to High mode will result in not so bright), but low mode to Medium still work well for my ~14-year old Eneloops (these are basically already “spent” but I just keep them around for low-drain devices, and typically not in flashlights anymore). But what I mean is that they last really long.

My non-LSD NiMh batteries have basically mostly died out after several years of use, compared to the LSD Eneloops… (the older non-LSD NiMh can’t hold charge much without quickly self-draining)… but again, this is based on my limited experience

4

Welcome , Riverhills . I see you already got some good advice.

5

I’ve been collecting flashlights for nearly 20 years off and on. I recently gathered all of my flashlights together. I have tried to make sure that batteries are removed prior to storage and that I regularly switch out batteries of my more used lights. Still, I keep finding ruined torches due to alkaline battery leakage. I was able to bring two back to life this weekend. One was not worth it and I trashed it. Besides the lithium ions, I do have some some AAA and AA NIMH rechargeables. So far none have destroyed any flashlight yet. I am in the process of buying Eneloops for all of my AAA and AA needs.

I got an OPUS 3100 4 bay charger a year ago. It works very well to keep my batteries conditioned well. It was pretty cheap.

6

I use IKEA Ladda Nimh, they are low self discharge and made in Japan, probably by by FDK. If you have an IKEA around, no brainer to get those since they’re 1/2 price of Eneloops for basically the same performance. I have the 2450 mah AA and 900 may AAA and have been really pleased. Or Duracell 2450 rechargables in AA and the 900 mah in AAA are good Eneloop alternatives. It’s not advisable to leave batteries in flashlights since you can drain them if they have electronic switches, or (rarely for Nimh) leak and cause catastrophic corrosion.

7

Lithium ion solves ALL problems of AA and AAA, except you cannot get them at the drugstore.
High energy, power, low self discharge, charge “memory”, cost per cycle.
18650.
You will end up there sooner or later :slight_smile:

8

Interesting you note lithium ion. Probably could do a google search but any recommendations on where to buy them based on your experience?

9

Hello,

I can’t figure out the BLF LT1 lantern even with the manual :blush: .

Can some kind person help by PM please? If you reply here I’ll PM you or PM me.

Regards. :+1:

10

What are you having trouble with?

11

Thank you. I can't get it to the lowest light setting, I think it called candle mode, I might be wrong? It had the lowest light setting when it arrived.

12

If you are interested in chargers, can learn more about XTAR battery charger lineup here, that can meet different demands.

13

I would suggest posting a new message thread for the issues you’re encountering with the BLF LT1 lantern…

But anyway, just to get you started (suggest to make a new message post with subject title “BLF LT1 usage” or something like that)

  • single click turns on the lantern
  • hold button will ramp up/down (increase/decrease) brightness levels
  • the lantern is generally factory shipped in “stepped ramping” mode (meaning there are 5 distinct brightness steps from lowest to highest brightness) — you will need to do a triple-click (while lantern is ON) to switch to the “smooth ramping” mode — in smooth ramping mode, the lowest level will be lower than the default lowest level in “stepped ramping” mode.
  • “candle” mode is one of the special modes, and is activated in a special way — from OFF, do “3H” (3-Hold), which means, do 2 clicks + 1 click-hold (ie. do not release the 3rd click, until the lantern is in the special mode).
    There are 5 special modes in the “strobe” group. Usually “candle” is the first mode if coming from shipping condition (or when it is reset). But if it’s not, you’ll need to cycle the modes by doing 2 quick clicks while in the “strobe” group, until you reach “candle” mode.