Hey everyone. I was considering getting a gift for an inlaw. I bought them all flashlights a while back, the Polestar 6xAAs. The theory was that use of AAs would be more appreciated.
However after seeing a new category of flashlight, I am considering one that uses 18650s or whatever, but has the charging circuit built-in. They can just use any ole mini-USB charger/port to charge the flashlight. They also typically allow the abililty to charge other devices. A few examples are:
The major problem seems to be that Protected batteries dont fit! The overcharge protection is dubious and doesnt seem to work when charging stuff.
So I was considering getting IMRs instead. Capability takes a significant hit, but this seems a lot safer…and they are actually the right size. 65mm.
Could someone with experience please let me know what their thoughts are on this type of flashlight? Is it a reasonable gift? Were you able to shoehorn a certain type of protected battery into them?
Is there one that I’ve missed?
It seems to me that if you’re worried about it just be wiser to include one of these with the light. If you feel that the recipient of the light is incompetent to the point where you must rely on internal protections, then give a AA/AAA configuration light instead, as nothing is foolproof.
Personally, I’m looking into the possibility of integrating a TP4056 board into a SRK-style light. Someone else has put one under the tailcap of a SRK and its worked. That light you linked seems to have some good electronics behind the charging port, but almost always a flashlight that includes a charging port simply directly connects the port to the batteries.
Possibly true. I just thought that the charging port with electronics inside would make the light a lot easier to use. No need to keep up with special charger, even with AA/AAA. Just use any ole micro-usb and plug er in. I also get the benefits of extra energy density with LiIon (in theory).
However since the output charging mechanism doesnt have Protection, I wanted to use protected batteries or less dangerous ones.
Hence my main question is: Can I use IMRs in this light? Will it have the desired safety effect? IMRs are charged the same way as ‘normal’ LiIons right? You dont need a genius charger to use em?
Wow, I would hope not! Charging doesnt seem THAT hard. Every cell phone has a charge circuit built in. Its not exactly a novel invention here. Surely these lights would have an actual charging circuit with an appropriate LiIon charging algorithm with 4.2v cutoff.
Thanks for the review link! I totally missed that.
I would agree that if there’s any doubt, just go with a more standard chemistry like AA. Maybe once you train your in-law, then you could always set him up with a 14500 with its own charger at a later time. That’s what I did with my son in law. I gave him an AA light. After educating him about li-ion he started borrowing one of my 14500’s, and eventually I bought him his own with a charger.