Don't do it!
Because I didn't get the correct batteries and its too late to get them before xmas, I now have to gift my xtars to my friends with their lights. I like to get what I paid for and don't need the drama with DD's stupid CS.
Well, actually it´s not that big problem to me. Had also STL-V2 on list, again.
If they end up protected, they are good to go for give aways but if not, I´ll use them myself + money back. Sure, I´ll order some xtars also for more serious use.
CS told me I was only refunded $13.90 USD because that is worth $15 Aud. WRONG. The aud is lower than USD. Also I was "promised" 15 USD not the AUS equivalent. I also paid them in USD. They are idiots. I got 13.90 AUD from them.
LMAO!
I feel bad for you.. This is not fair!
Can understand your feelings. And for some people they do things in a very responsive way, but for others they dont...
Im still waiting for my Replacement batteries to arrive.. Hopefully protected, and real.
+ 1
i wasted 100 + hours testing good batteries for people who buy these instead lols
thats actualy poor, they should test to 2400 + mAh discharged to 3 volt, my new flames test around 2500 mAh discharged to 3 volt i would expect 2700 + discharged down to 2.6 volt.
read post number 75
One thing I have noticed (and beginning to quote also when giving numbers) is that while it is 2.6V on the charger, if i manage to catch hold of that moment when it dips to 2.6V and terminates, is that my DMM shows like 2.80V plus. I'll take it as 2.8V. I also noticed that if i press the magnets together stronger the voltage goes up. But not a very big diff to skew the results totally off....
Nearly 2300mAH is not poor. If that's the case, then all my XTARs 2600 are also poor, which i don't think anybody would think so anyway.....
2700mAh is not possible, and is overly optimistic. I got 2800mAh+ from my Panasonic 2900s.
Another case in point, i have the same cells from Manafont and also DX, and both are also in the same 2300mAh range.
Don't think my results are too high or too low. If you see mitro's tests on the King Kong 26650, i even get slightly higher figs than him.
Also i mentioned before, that 150mAh difference is just a minute plus of run time in a XM-L.
But seriously, from Mitro's graphs, 3.0V down to 2.8V is not a lot.
Seasoned 2900s :
First cycle : (yes, these are like the best of the best around)...looks like resting voltage is 3.31V
Of course if it's like Cheap Thrills measured 1700-1800mAh, then that is a big difference. :D
2.8v termination is ok i wouldnt go past 2.75 personaly, i do rate the xtars poor on the mAh side of things, i belive if i can get over 2500 with good flames from a better seller, testing down to 3 volt there should be more mAh in discharging to 2.6 volt.
there is another 200 mAh when testing solarforce V2,s between 3v and 2.5 volt, but lets face it the batteries are not really usible past 3 volt, as alot of torches cut off at 3 volt and most others would be dim around 3 volt it seams every one test there batteries to 3 volt as standard.
Imo there is not much point going past 3 volt for these reasons and thats why some of these big mAh cells we cant use all there mAh.
I rather have the extra 240 mAh in the batteries then not have it just my opinion
To tell the truth, i also don't know why the XTAR 2600s get such "average" figures, but heck they are cheap in a sense too.
The big picture is that - the Sanyos have the best discharge curve/knee....despite the somewhat "low" mAh.
Coming back, i have used that 2 x DX Trustfire Flames in the original Sky Ray 3800 triple XM-L with a LV cut off and tested the batteries.
The TF Flames cut out at 45-47 minutes consistently. The XTARs cut out at 52 minutes. Solarforce 2400 is 50 mins, and Panasonic 2900 60 minutes. This is pretty standard, i have done like 20+ cycles of this (thinking back i was crazy enough to abuse this to such a hardcore level)....and this is probably why i fried my driver.
This LV cut off is not PCB but the driver. Resting voltage is usually 3.3-3.4V when i measured a while later, so it's pretty close to my "2.6V on the IMAX B6" setting (which is 2.8V on my Uni-T UT-58E). That is also why i chose 2.6V, it actually is closer to 2.8V in reality.
Did you measure the voltage cut before at that point of termination in the lights? I think in reality it is a bit lower. Seriously quite a few of my lights don't have LV cut. (single cell ones)
I'll try do a test on my lights to check out the LV cut under load, not too difficult to do.
Out of my last tests of new cells trustfire flames 2500 mAh average, solarforce 2200 mAh average, hi-max 2570 mAh average, redilast 2500 mAh average with discharge of 0.5 amps, xtars lower then all these.
For 3 amp discharge im getting trustfire flames 2100 mAh average, solarforce 2100 mAh average, hi-max 2300 mAh average, redilast 2400 mAh average
My low voltage is close to 6 volt loaded over 2 cells on a couple of my torches, 3 volt on some of my single cell lights and my direct drive lights to torch is well dim by 3 volts, this is all loaded voltage, the cells will climb back up in voltage once rested and is not really relevant as loaded voltage is where they are ended up discharged and the rested voltage would soon drop once reloaded.
It all depends if the driver is regulated, boosted or buck and direct drive as this will give diffrent results but the batteries either way are not very usible at all past 3 volts per cell as the light either will be dim, or droped out of regulation or go into low voltage protection by dimming or cutting off depending on the light.
With the panisonic 3100 mAh they are rated from 2.5 volt to 4.2 volt to me usible voltage is 3 volt maybe a bit higher in reality, so they should give around 2700 to 2800 mAh between 3 to 4.2 volt, so basicly your paying 300 % more a pair for an extra 300 mAh, its up to the buy to decide if its worth the extra 300 % $$$ for the extra 300 mAh.
This is why i brought the redilast 2600 as the usible voltage 2.75 volt to 4.2 volt as i felt they had more usible voltage over the redilast 2900 and 3100 and since the redilast are panisonic cells i feel it will be the same for other sellers of the panisonic cells.
If they buyer is willing to pay the extra 300% for better cells i suggest the redilast 2600 they should have better pcb,s and better customer service and faster shipping.
My battery test sofar.
18650 Hi-Max 2600 mAh battery test
18650 TrustFire Flames 2400 mAh Battery Test
18650 Redilast 2600 mAh Battery Test
18650 Solarforce 2400 mAh Battery Test
panisonic 3100 mAh test yet to come.
Sorry for the inconvenience but thanks for your support , if you want to order any product from our website, please contact me, and I will give you a gift card.
Benckie, that is why i already have a good idea of the TF flames which i have purchased frm DX, under slightly higher loads (SR3800) they start to trip the LV protection faster than even the solarforces. I’ll try to do some measurements later like T40CS /7G5/BD-4/STL-V6 and uniquefire 3900. Single cell think can do RRT-2. Most other flashlights i think no LV cut.
The Panasonic NCR18650A have to give 2800+ down to 3V. Probably not over 2900 though.
BTW the XM-L has vF or 2.9V @700mA thus it can use a voltage lower than 3V. You'll get approx. 300 emitter lumens out of it.
Even the XR-E R2 can work with a 2.8 voltage and at 20mA it will produce 8 lumens.
Probably the XM-L can go as low as 2.68V.
The LEDs are able to use voltages lower than 3.0 to produce light, and quite a large amount if you take he XM-L as an example.
When you select the Ni-MH setting to discharge batteries at 2.6V, does it stop automatically or manually? At which voltage does the TrustFire-Flame's protection circuit cuts-off?
Yes but those were clearly fakes :)
I dont rate DX flames to high either never had much luck with them and they dont handle load well, i like the solaforce cells but they dont really perform much better and take 300 mAh less then the manafont flames and cost over $5 usd more a pair.
Ive read the xm-l data sheets too but there is many factors in that it all depends on the light and driver, driver losess as every thing ive got looses lumens under 3v or is in some form of lvp or cut off @ 3 volt.
Ill test the Panasonic NCR18650A as soon as they get off the slow boat from china.
Slightly off-topic, but as we were talking about fakes, I thought this article in the Telegraph was pretty interesting.
Mine arrived last week, 06 UNprotected TF.
Contact CS, open a RMA, took photos and until today NOTHING, no answers about my order.
I think it´s time to open a dispute at Paypal.
Open another case....much faster this way.