Today I received this new improved Wuben C3 and I personally find it well-made, among other things that I will post sometime in the coming days.
In the meantime, I just wanted to show that the new C3 is now actually improved in the charging side of the equation, after some concerns in the initial version.
…………………………………………………… a very unique design on the edge of the bezel enclosing the TIR lens for a very smooth beam.
Comes with a protected 2600mAh protected cell:
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Came in with low 29milliohm IR (perhaps spot-welded) and at 3.62V, using the OEM type-C cable, it had a charging rate of .8353A:
Terminated at the industry-standard of about 10% of the starting charging rate of a proper CC/CV charger spec, and at 4.17V :
…and now for size perspective, I put it beside the BLF A6, a light that is presumably owned and loved by most BLFers years ago, showing the A6’s orange-peel versus the Wuben C3’s TIR optics:
BLF A6 on the left (has a more pleasing NW tint)…versus the Osram P9 cooler tint using a TIR’s much wider corona and smooth transition to the spill of the C3:
I am not doubting that Wuben has corrected the initial over-charging issue of the C3, but from the photos posted, it appears that you are using the included protected cell to determine the charge termination voltage as delivered by the flashlight's built-in charging circuit.
You should use an un-protected cell for this type of test to be valid or else you may just be testing the over-voltage protection circuit provided on the protected cell.
The protection circuit of the cell could have terminated the charge prematurely and at a lower voltage compared to where the flashlight would have stopped charging while using an un-protected cell, which was the issue for the initial version of the Wuben C3 as described in this thread:
Well, if you are going to the trouble… leave the battery in AFTER the green light (2-3 hours) and maybe use an OLD 18650.
As I recall… the old version C3 would turn green AT 4.2v (close there anyway), BUT if left on for hours afterward… it would proceed to over-charge Vs. stopping there. So an old version light would give you a perfect charge if you are watching for the green light and checking it soon afterwards.
I’d wait until you can check it hourly post green light.
I was checking almost the whole charging session last night, watching the USB meter in real-time (as shown in the photos) going down from the initial .8353A and slowly going down at it should be.
When the Green light went ON my wife told me a few minutes later I took a photo of the meter (showing .0079A) …meaning it has already terminated charging. My usual experience with my iCharger 106+ hobby charger also show this same correct behaviour as CC/CV curve in a good charging system.
Excellent tatasal! I haven’t had time to play with my new C3, but the rep for Amazon (where I bought my first one) was SUPER and insisted in replacing it right away. Then I received several emails checking in to see if I was happy- from actual people at Wuben.
I like the company and BTW… don’t call the Wuben Amazon product manager “dude” cause she jokingly told me she’s not — and she also assured me US Amazon stock was made good in mid-December.
And now your tests prove so. Thanks for looking into it and confirming our C3’s are ready to rock
Well, here we go with your request to use as Unprotected cell:
Starting voltage at 3.76v ——————————————————————-Starting Charging rate of .8040A
Green light turned on at least 2.5 hours ago, then checked for voltage immdediately after taken off the tube: 4.17V
My conclusion: It did NOT matter whether the cell charged inside the C3 was protected or not nor taken out a few minutes and/or hours after the Green light, at both times cell measured 4.17V.
— and she also assured me US Amazon stock was made good in mid-December.
ben was being straight-up with us