NOw this is good info
So the charging is not good, it can overcharge BUT that does not pose dangers it just shortens the lifespan of the cells used?
I am not sure what to do with this info hmmmm, gonna check if Gearbest sells these 4.35V cells
yea the problem is you are saying it is not dangerous! but if you charge a ultrafire cell to 4.35volts that could possibly problematic to say the least they are not made to the same tolerances to brand name cells!
It’s a $25 flashlight that doesn’t charge perfect.
Not unlike the $200+ Acebeam’s which don’t charge perfect.
I would trust NO flashlight with internal charging to be perfect.
Solution, Don’t charge batteries inside flashlights.
If you must because of emergency/forgot your charger on a trip, etc., then charge them in small spurts under supervision.
Problem solved.
Yes for us
I am testing several charging flashlights now
And I trust the Convoy BD01 after nearly 100 charging cycles rocksolid 4,23V
The BD06 seems correct but BD01 is first to write review about
The OrcaTorch does a splendid job (but is more expensive)
This nitenumen seems right, $20 is not bottom of the barrel, the real budget with charging get a nice blob of glue to fix the charge port cover and disable charging and I do not even test that.
I think that at this price point charging should be good, absent or not done. This nitenumen showed great promise and fails for some and a warning should be given.
I don’t really have many lights with built in chargers they don’t appeal to me i think just the waterproofing aspect.
I wasn’t expecting the charger to be great on this light that is why i checked i also think the charge cycles are a bit high it should really trickle charger for the last few Mah or at least slowly drop the current while ending a charge if it doesn’t do that it will add extra wear to the battery. That could be part of the reason why it is overcharging? If you notice a standard charger will slowly lower the current but keep the voltage the same i think? Maybe if some one who knows like HKJ reads this they can chime in because i am not sure.
For us this isn’t a problem but for people who may buy the light and not know better it could result in a problem or injury.
I just found this from here. obviously worse case scenario! BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion - Battery University
Lithium-ion operates safely within the designated operating voltages; however, the battery becomes unstable if inadvertently charged to a higher than specified voltage. Prolonged charging above 4.30V on a Li-ion designed for 4.20V/cell will plate metallic lithium on the anode. The cathode material becomes an oxidizing agent, loses stability and produces carbon dioxide (CO2). The cell pressure rises and if the charge is allowed to continue, the current interrupt device (CID) responsible for cell safety disconnects at 1,000–1,380kPa (145–200psi). Should the pressure rise further, the safety membrane on some Li-ion bursts open at about 3,450kPa (500psi) and the cell might eventually vent with flame. (See BU-304b: Making Lithium-ion Safe.)
This thread by HKJ answers the question on over charging in the OP.
4,25v is mentioned as absolute overcharging but not dangerous
How to look at 4,3 that is much more?
4.3V will not be dangerous but even more “stress” for the cell. I don´t know what precisely is going to happen above 4.3V and so I don´t recommend it !
Tested my NE01 charging today.
During charging a red led behind the switch button blinks red, changing to a continuous blue led at a certain moment. The cell was 4.16V then. After measuring the voltage, I put the cell back and let it in the light with the charging cable attached for another 1.5 hour, the led stayed blue, and the battery was still 4.16V after that.
So sofar all seems fine in my unit.
Thanks for the results. I might pull mine apart and see if I can find the issues we are all getting different max charge voltages.
I have the soonfire version of this light and mine never goes far over 4.1 volts. I’ve started external charging unless in a bind at work and give it some juice on my lunch break. But every time I let it charge a NCR 18650b then put it on my vc2 its always about 200-300mah short of full charge. Same thing on BT lg hg2, Samsung 30q, the soonfire 2600 that came with it. All cells terminate just above the 4.1 mark. I guess undercharging is better then over. I use this as my edc mostly 3 hours of high light and $20 if it gets destroyed by carbon in the plant. One light that does charge pefecrly is the handaccu 1080 XML u3. Its a decent tube light but its terminates exactly at 4.2 regardless of brand. I take cells out of it and its perfect every time. Charger flashes 4.2 and full battery every time. Its $35 on amazon and comes with a o light 2600 mah battery. Its in my edc rotation. Powerful little light gets hot. I’d buy the nitenumen and handaccu again. I prefer small tube lights with smooth reflectors. Excited to see the new astrolux mh20 drop soon. Want to preorder that might be my new edc
I had a similar experience as above with my Soonfire, it refused to further charge a cell which I inserted at 4.08v. The light would be red for about a second then switch to blue if I unplugged and plugged back in.
Maybe some one can chime in on this?
Maybe it is just a resistor value that is to high or low? causing these problems.
I trust internal the charging on my Olight S15R, always terminates around 4.1v, maybe not perfect, but pretty close. It never overcharges, I just leave the flashlight sitting on the base, for weeks or months straight no problem, the charging indicator light on the base is red when charging and turns green when fully charged.
Super convenient with the magnetic base. I didn’t think I’d use ever use internal charging until I got it and found how convenient that set up is. It’s really nice to be able to just pop it on and off its magnetic base. Not sure I’d feel the same way about one I’d have to plug the cord in and out.
Should be getting my Soonfire NS17 version today so I’ll see what it does.
Really folks, just plop a 4.35V 18650 into your NE01 like I did, and this whole thread is moot.
Yes that is a really good idea for a solution, and very helpful that you thought of it and posted it here, but does it really make this whole thread moot?
I’d like to be able to use batteries I already have and I’m sure most others here who have a lot of batteries would agree. Especially for a $20 light. OTOH I wasn’t planning on using the built in charger on this anyhow, but it should work properly in case I’d want to at some point.
I shouldn’t have to buy a special battery, thereby increasing the cost of the light. The Soonfire NS17 (amazon) version I have coming includes a battery, surprisingly it’s suppose to be a decent quality cell, one reviewer ran a discharge/charge capacity test, and it tested out at a little over 3000mAh capacity.
Also I believe one of the warnings this thread was alerting of the possibility that charging NEVER terminates, and of course a 4.35v battery wouldn’t help with that issue.
Yeah, if it never terminates, that’s going to be a problem no matter what battery is in it. Funny I have yet to charge the battery inside the light. I figure I’ll do it when I need to in a pinch.
Lol chillax lads i put this here so randoms that looks for a reviews know there are issues with the charger and don’t blow them selves up! As i said before i am not going to use the inbuilt charger seeing as i do not know the quality. When i was charging a cell the voltage was raising quick all the way to the end. So its not dropping the amps slowly while keeping the voltage the same which is also not the correct way to charge lithium cells.
Also correct if we are all getting different results who knows some ones light may be faulty enough to way over charge a cell but i really hope not! Actually ages ago i was reading on here these Russian lads like to charge 18650 to about 4.40-4.50 volts maybe they should buy one of these lights lol!
Well seems luck of the draw mine and another guys undercharge some overcharge. Maybe some spot on? If you are going to use the internal charger using a protected battery is the way to go. In case your unit does overcharge the battery stops it. I usually keep a ncr18650b in it now. And external charge now. But for a few months I did use the internal charger. Its when I got a external charger with LCD display I was able to tell it was undercharging at 4.1 the battery soonfire sends is protected. Probably best for them to do that. It use to be a cheaper 2600 battery. Now they are sending a ncr18650b with the lights. I appreciate the op bringibg this topic up. Maybe more people with external charge. It has nice solid threads on it. They are meant to be used. I would purchase the light again even with its flaws. I only have one internal charger that charges perfectly and I still use a protected cell in it just for peace of mind of extra protection. Soonfires customer service is much better with returns/replacements then gear best. So to me just that is worth the extra money and ships domestically. Don’t have to make videos and etc they just ship a new light if there is a problem. A question for everyone, has anyone broke down this light a modded it? On high for hours it doesn’t get past warm. Never uncomfortably warm. Seems to dissipate heat well, wondering if anyone has made it draw more amps or change the emitter out
I think there is thread where some got the driver out. I am thinking about changing the LED but you would have to cut the MCBP to make it fit the wires run a weird way in the head because it uses a electronic switch I think but could be wrong the driver sits vertical along the switch…