Well, that “continuously” thing is up for debate. Ever watch the amps fall on a cell when in Turbo? As the amperage falls the light dims and the draw becomes less and less even while output drops and the heat lessens. It’s a curve, there is no “continuous” draw in our flashlights. Now, if someone has a regulated driver that can pull 15A from a single cell then we might be onto something…. and I WANNA KNOW!
The new dark purple Efest in 3000mAh capacity can do as well or better than any cell out there. I can pull 19A in my Ti X6 Quad from a single cell, the LG HE-2 holds top current draw in all the cells I have with a 21.1A draw through that light. Continuous? Yeah, it will do it for as long as it takes for you to read that on the meter.
We’re talking about drawing nearly 10C on some of these, it’s not gonna last long as the cell just doesn’t have it to give. Like in my X5, 11.5A draw on a cell with 650mAh capacity, gotta be realistic with the expectations. A Corvette might have crazy horsepower, but how does it fare pulling a trailer with a Cat on it up a steep hill? Or running top speed for an hour straight? Smoke and mirrors. (Meaning, you’d be looking in the mirrors for the tow truck through the smoke)
It’s fine to know what kind of numbers a cell can do under load, it gives a small indication of what kind of run times we can expect. But if you try to run down a 14500 cell in the X5, you’ll be surprised at exactly how long it produces light. It will not produce max output for the duration, it’s Direct Drive, but it WILL continue to make light for a very long time. And after a few minutes being shut off, it will surprise you again… the cell will bounce back after the load is gone. Is this good for the cell? Well, did you buy it to set Guiness World Records for cell longevity or to USE?
Good info Dale! I already planned on buying the purple Efest. I am very happy with my purple Efest 14500 used in the X5, so buying the 18650 was pretty much a given, unless I was to hear otherwise here at BLF. I was looking at this one which is very close to the ratings you gave; Purple Efest 3100mAh I was going to also pick up the Samsung and/or the LGH2 due to the low price and positive recommendations here.
This Efest cell is the one of the main reasons why I don’t like this brand. It’s a Panasonic NCR18650BE under that wrapper. I don’t trust brands that rewrap cells that are rated 4,x A from Panasonic and write 20A on it. I know some of you guys are almost fans of Efest. When it comes to 18650’s I see no reason to buy them, period. Go with the cells from Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic and know what you get, and get it cheaper.
The new dark purple 3000mAh Efest seems to be good, but seriously, what mistery cell could be in there? It’s either LG HD2 HG2 or Samsung 30Q.
I’m using LG MJ1 in my Al light, and Sanyo GA in my SS/Cu light, also tried 30Q and HG2, can’t see any difference at all. Maybe a lumen here and there, but impossible for the naked eye too see.
So personally, since I have quite a few LG MJ1 and GA (and 30Q and HG2) I will use LG MJ1/GA because of the longer runtime.
Had the 30Q/HG2 been ineradicable more brighter, then of course the choice had been easy.
Scott, thanks heaps for pointing me at Illumination Machines again… that little look cost me $100. (20 reflectors coming, 5 each of 4 different styles)
for Brett H who asked: “does Richard no longer build the Convoys? I had requested to be notified by email months ago and have yet to receive a response?”
See the mtnelectronics thread, Convoy has had terrible growing pains recently. RMM mentioned that in the thread recently
Very interesting! thanks for the info Chouster. As a newb, I am simply trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible. What about the LG HG2? Is this as good as the LG HD2 and what about the lower mAh’s (2000) in the LG HD2?
Chouster, I find that kind of hype interesting. I’ve built lights and tested the Efest cells against the supposed cells they have inside and the Efest cells consistently way outperform what it’s said they are re-wrapped. I’ve even cut off the wrapping and compared the bare cell, they are different.
Everyone knows I push a light to it’s limits. Efest 35A’s have been one of the top performers on the DMM and in the lightbox hands down. The new dark purple 3000mAh cell does equal or better than the Samsung 30Q. I can’t argue what is or isn’t inside, but I know they perform as well or better than anything else available. I have DOZENS of em! The results simply do not back that theory of the rewrapped cell.
Look at my charts showing results from 16 different cells in the D80, or almost as many in the A6. If it was the same as any one of those internally, wouldn’t the results also mirror that supposed parent cell? But they don’t, they’re at the top of the charts. For me, it’s the result that counts. Gossip doesn’t fire the light.
My tests with the Samsung 30Q had that cell at the top of the heap. Then I got the new dark purple Efest 3000mAh and it bested the Samsung in every light I tried it in. Results, pure and simple. Obviously I’m not a fan boy as I’ve got cells of all types. But I buy more of the ones that work, and I’ve got more Efest cells than any other brand.
This is apt. I had a plan for flashaholism: start small, and increase in size and expense. I had wanted a McGizmo someday, but knew better than to just jump in to that kind of expense without fully appreciating what qualities and features make good flashlights attractive. Before this GB I was gearing up for graduating myself from AAA/10440 to AA/14500. But this GB appeared, and I had to be onboard. I confess that originally I intended to replace the driver in the Cu host to something less fantastic, a driver that could maximize capacity and utility with AA voltages, while sacrificing brightness.
The wait since November when I signed on was excruciting for me, and after the codes were distributed, in haste, I carelessly chose the slow ship option. To hold me over until the set arrived, I ordered a ThruNite Ti5T, and I ordered up a couple ZebraLights. The ThruNite arrived, and I found I could not tolerate titanium. I gifted it away within the week. Then the SS/Cu GB set arrived. Feeling so guilty about it, I immediately tried to find a buyer for the set because I did not deserve such luxury, such power and beauty. Finding a buyer was easy, but I waffled after only 2 nights of trying them. Ironically, the ZebraLights arrived a couple of days later.
I realize now I won’t be replacing the Cu driver nor giving up ownership of this set. This set and the ZebraLights have spoiled me, and I am having tremendous difficulty finding any attractive lights to desire purchasing. My McGizmo-envy has disolved entirely. The Kronos SS/Cu set and 2 ZebraLights came to less than half the cost of a single McGizmo. Hopefully there will be new lights that I find to desire, but its just as likely I may have reached the bottom of the shallow grave of my personal flashaholism. The neon sign on my flashlight hotel buzzes and casts a warm glow: NO VACANCY.
Dale, I don’t know what hype you mean? For me, if there’s a hype, than I’d think the Efest cells are hyped. I really don’t want to argue, you obviously know what you’re doing and what you’re talking about. I also didn’t want to imply you’re a fanboy or something like that. I’ve got tons of respect for you!
Maybe Efest are cherrypicking the cells they use, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s simply series deviation we are seeing. Maybe Efest uses HG2 and maybe the HG2 is a bit better than the 30Q, it’s rated 20A where the Samsung is rated 15A, so yeah, maybe. Next thing is, we don’t really know the conditions of our cells when they arrive. How long were they stored? Temperature and humidity they’ve been exposed… Then, a cell gets worse everytime you charge it, discharge it.
That beeing said, I like high amp cells, really high amps, rated amps. I never use cells for currents they’re not rated for. I like the HE4 best from the cells I have, because it gives me the highest numbers. I think the VTC5A might surpass it, and therefore I’ll get some of those. Mitko reached almost 200kcd with a C8 lately, with XP-G2 S4 2B dedomed, FET-driver, VTC5A. You might want to check these cells out, especially for triples or quads…
Dale you’re Corvette comparison made me laugh. Your Tim Allen version of the X5 is the equivalent of a 700 horsepower Corvette with a 5 gallon gas tank!
Thanks Ken. I figured that may be the case. I bet the MJ1 and GA would be perfectly acceptable to me in the output area and extra runtime is always nice. Then again both those cells are a few dollars more per cell. I guess it’s a tossup really. Then again for many of the lumen junkies here every single lumen counts whether visible to the eye or not. LOL. If I were setting out backpacking that bit of extra capacity would mean more to me than a few lumens and of course if I had a bunch of them I’d be using them too. Thanks for the feedback.
I can chime in on both topics here as I talk regularly to both Richard and Simon:
Yes, Richard still builds light but he is under a very heavy workload running his company with just his wife Lisa and himself. His business has grown and he has little time for building custom lights at the moment but he is taking steps to resolve this.
Yes, Convoy has had a few growing pains. It all came to a head just before the Chinese New Year while Simon was in the process of moving to a new factory. Bad timing all around. I’m working with Simon to help get things back on track. I believe Convoy will bounce back from this hiccup stronger than ever.
As I’m typing this I see my current post count at 777. Cool! I may not talk as much as Dale but I’ll keep yammering on.
Chouster, your comments are valid but maybe a bit strong outside of the vaping community. Other than in triples and quads, unprotected single cells don’t reach the current ratings. Within the bounds of single cell/single emitter lights efest cells perform as consistently and reliably as any I’ve used so regardless of the fact that they are wrapping other cells they are choosing good ones to put their name on. Anyone who chooses to push cells to the limit of the ratings should perform due diligence on those cells and verify what they have and what it’s capable of. That should be obvious enough but it never hurts to post the reminder. But 10A, 20A, 35A, is all a bit misleading as those ratings aren’t really applicable in a single emitter host. The best high drain cells have less total capacity than the best high capacity cells and from what I’ve seen Efest does tend to pad capacity #’s but not egregiously so. They are a good value for what should be considered as a generic brand. Another good value is the LGHE4.
Oh, and Scott? Because of the 5 LUM 5-90’s on the way (or maybe one of the others, not sure yet) I also just bought over $100 worth of metals to build a light to go with some of the reflectors. I’ll have to buy more cells, it’ll probably take 14 in the light as I’m drawing it…
