No, you shouldn't have to worry. My XTAR chargers and the ones I have sold/gifted (15+) are all working great.
That is an excellent combination! I recommend that thrower combination to anyone on a budget.
Ok, thanks. I wouldn’t want my dad’s present to cause an explosion! Your advice is very good and I agree the Fenix lights look very nice. I’ve been looking at both the Tk75 & the TK70. They both look like practical lights, lots more fun than anything I could find in a store, and sensible investments.
It isn’t an every day occurrrence in fact these days rare, but yes, if you don’t take certain safety precautions and at least know how to handle Lithiums, you could very well burn your house down. That is why i suggested that you Got the TK70 for your first Torch, it is NIMH Batteries (rechargable), not Lithium, and therefor you basicly just charge your Batteries and Go. You would find that the TK70 will throw further than the TK75 also, which was your initial requirement. The Tk75 just has a bit more Flood i believe.
If you want to stay safe with Lithiums, read some of the many good posts on this Forum on Lithium Safety, quite a few Good People have spent alot of Time and Research putting these posts together for other peoples Safety. You will get alot of Good Advice there to help you enjoy this Brilliant Hobby (Pun intended) for many years and many Lights to come.
Being new myself, i can’t answer all the questions you need answers to, but if you search Litium safety on this Forum and on Google, you will get your answers. Don’t just read one Post, there are a few, including staying safe with Multi Cell Lights. I will however suggest that if you or your Father don’t have a Voltage Meter, that you get them. Keeping a check on your Battery Voltage Levels is Crucial to making sure you continue to enjoy your upcoming Collection.
Hope this was Helpful
Cheers
I think this is Very Poor Advice, especially from someone who is now selling Litium Product and should know better than to give this Advice to someone New. I don’t know about over there, but here we have a thing called Duty Of Care. The Torch he has purchased is Multi Cell. What if both his Charger and Cells are Knock-offs, what if one of the Cells he gets is Faulty or doesn’t charge properly, or there is a Problem with the Battery Charger, what if he ends up with a reverse charge senario, what about if the wrapping on his Cells is Damaged and they short out on the Torch itself etc etc.
Advice like this is what gives us these rare events where People get Badly Injured and Houses do get Burnt Down. I forgot to mention that not all advice on this Forum is Spot On, but the Majority of it is, i think you will be Smart enough to spot the Difference. If you research some of the Senarios i have mentioned above, you will find the Correct Answers, you will at least be informed and You and Your Father will be able to insure you remain enjoying your Lights to the Full for many years to come.
Having a Battery Charger that works does not Insure you’re Safety in any way. Do yourself a Favour, get Voltage Meters for You and Your Father and do some Further Reading of some of the Very Good Advice on this Forum. You will learn and you will enjoy both the Knowledge and your Lights.
Cheers
Thanks for the info on the 85 watt HID now I have something else to save up for and look forward to :bigsmile:
Umm with due respect, and while I applaud your concerns about someones safety, personally I feel that might be harsh.
I think JOE can defend himself but I thought his post was fine, even in these pc times you cannot have a page of caveats every time you want to say something.
It already has been pointed out many times about the fact there are some safety concerns about Li cells. Each individual has to make their own research, as you have pointed out, and then their own choices .
A bit of perspective, there are over 2 billion Li cells produced every year, a lot of the apocryphal stories are either not true, exaggerated or from a time when the Li cells were in their infancy for the mass market. Yes there are incidents but really how many relative to the actual amount of cells in the wild. And baring in mind the usage and miss use they go though by the great unwashed, the problem rate is very very low.
Be aware yes, be frightened no.
Be careful which one you choose, the one I got s/h was utter dross. after 3 repairs it went back to its former owner. I have seen them quite often s/h as people buy them not realising how big they are. Not to mention as said some (but not all) are poor.
I am new to Lithium and even i know that the best advice you can be given is learn the Risk and Precautions First, then Enjoy. Either you agree that he should read and learn, or perhaps learn the hard way or you don’t. I don’t see the issue. If you have already done your Homework then you can make an informed decision for Yourself on your own Risk Mannagement. My suggestion is that he do the same and he should advise his Father to do Likewise. That he shouldn’t rely on just a Battery Charger as his risk Management. I encourage people to enjoy the new Litium Technology, i have a Bookcase full of them. But this is one subject where Ignorance is not Bliss. When you are New, you can only assess your own risk on the advice that you are given and the Knowledge imparted and obtained. Yes you are right, Be Aware.
Thanks I’ll have to keep that in mind. I might just have to find one from somebody on this site who is tired of lugging theirs around.
Whoa toph, come on man, I was just giving him a quick response to ease his mind.
I have a lot of experience with the XTAR WP2 II.
Here is how the batteries come off:
4.22v - 25%
4.21v - 50%
4.20v - 25%
(Keep in my that is with about 6 different chargers, each charger terminates at a very similar voltage for the two cells)
I have never had one smell or make the cells warm. My PILA charger developed a strong electrical smell and it was charging cells at like 2-3amps. It was actually may dad who caught it because I have to leave and I asked him to monitor the charge. He is by no means a Li-Ion expert. I just told him to touch the batteries every 15 minutes and if they are even slightly "hot" pull them off and set them outside. I also told him if you smell something strange remove the cells and unplug it.
I also have a lot of experience with the STL-V6, which is a great light. I have never had any problems with them so I do think he will either.
For the batteries I assume he is buying them from Fasttech because they are the only commonly known place that clearly sells Protected Sanyo 18650 batteries. I'm sure there are other but gauging by the knowledge jdecker has I'm sure they are from Fasttech.
The only thing that I didn't mention is using a DMM to monitor the cell voltage. Other than that I think he will be safe.
jdecker asked me a direct question in regards to what i had advised him do for his own Safety and that of His Father. You took it upon yourself to answer that question for me. You told him i sell those Chargers you’ll be fine, no other advice on his own Safety, despite what i had recommended he do . Yet according to the statement above, you monitor your own Batteries and had your Father check them by feeling them with his hand. Why did he need to do this ??? According to your own advice and the advice you gave jdecker, none of this is nessessary, He’ll be fine. In fact if you had imparted any of the advice to jdecker from above it would have been at least helpful.
There is no Short Answer when it comes to giving someone advice about their Safety, there are however Bad Answers, if you don’t have the time then don’t Answer. But the least you can do is point them in the direction of some helpful advice along the lines of what you gave your own Father, or point him to the relevant Topics on this Forum he should read to become informed about his own safety.
Hi jdecker, please use this link for a current Topic on this Forum so you have an idea why you need to seek better advice, Got some new 14500 batteries in, one of them measures ~.64 volts - is it safe to charge? this should explain to you why you need to do a bit more Reading for your own Safety.
There has been alot of good advice on various different lights given, and i’m sure as you are new to them, any one of them will impress you, and soon your Bookshelf will be covered with them. But do yourself a favour, read the link above and don’t stop there, first. Welcome and Enjoy
Very gracious of you! 
Wow! I thought this thread was about done the other day, as it started to taper off. I’m very happy to see all of this feedback when asking about something of this nature. Thanks guys! You’ve given me a lot to consider. I think for now, I may tell my dad to charge his batteries outside in his shop, as they are not intended for consumer use. I’ll explain the protections that are in place, but that we shouldn’t trust any electrical device, which can start a fire. He’s got lots of equipment, being a farmer. I will start reading the link above and go from there so I can do some learning before his light arrives. Thanks again.
You are Very Welcome, and enjoy your reading, once you are up to speed you will find it alot easier to make your decisions. FYI: i charge my Batteries inside, but i just don’t leave them unattended while charging, charge them when you are in house watching TV or something, and check the Voltage Level before and after you charge them to make sure that they match. My intention was not to put you off, just to make you aware.
I have over 100 Lithium Batteries now in a Cabinet, mostly in Lights in my Room, if i didn’t think it could be done Safely, they wouldn’t be there, and i have done alot of the Reading. You will find by taking a few Precautions you will be able to enjoy LED’s and Lithiums. It is a Very Enjoyable pastime and i’m sure you’ll be Hooked.
Cheers
PS: Glad your Reading.
You haven’t put me off at all. Regardless of the hobby, there are things to know. New performance levels require new accommodation levels to to meet those levels. So, if I understand correctly, as long as my battery voltage on my matched set of batteries are both within a certain limit, I don’t have to worry as long as they are correctly installed (excluding situations that have yet to become known)? Like, a voltage meter can effectively show my dad what these parameters are and allow him to know whether or not he is within safe parameters?
Hi, if you make sure that the Batteries Charge to the same Voltage Levels (around 4 to 4.2 Volts for 18650) and also check them when they come out of the Torch to insure they are draining at the same rate, that the cells don’t drop below the Safe Recharge Voltage Level (For the Brand you are using), also make sure there is no Damage to the Protective Wrap on the Batteries, that the Batteries aren’t getting too Hot on the Charger and or giving off Pungeant Odours, then that will be a Good Start. If you read the Post for the shortcut i gave you then you will now know that just because your Batteries and Charger were New and a Name Brand, that was not going to keep you safe in any way at all. Lithium is usually only a Issue if it is mishandled or is a Faulty Product. Knowing how to Detect Issues is the Key.
There is still alot more to it than that, so keep reading. If you go to Main Menu (top left hand corner), Click on Forum, you will scroll down and find a section just on Batteries and Chargers. Best place to Start. There is also a lot more knowledgable people on the Forum than i, they will be able to give you more detailed Answers on the Technical side than i can. I am still learning also. Up until January, the only Lithiums i had were in my Laptop, Phone and Camera. I just wish i had read about the Safety Issues before i Purchased so many Torches and Batteries. It wouldn’t have stopped me from getting them all, but i would have been more Proactive in my own Safety (and that of the People i gave them to), and more careful with their Power Source.
Cheers, Enjoy
Dereelight Xsearcher. 100kcd w xm-l U3 pill. 180kcd w xr-e ez900 pill.
When I first got into this quality flashlight game a couple years ago, all the warnings and exploding battery posts had me somewhat concerned and worried. I soon found that it was not a big deal. Just something to keep in mind. Start out right with quality equipment and check things from time to time. Once you find that your batteries and charger work consistantly within a safe voltage charge range and you get used to how your lights drain your batteries, there is really not much to worry about.
I think as long as you use your head, know the basics and your equipment, use quality equipment and don’t get lazy or stupid, there is very little to worry about. Hundreds of millions of LI batteries out there being used and charged every day safely with very very few report of disaster. I know, they do happen. So do lightning strikes and shark attacks. Take basic percautions and you will not have to be concerned.
How about the
Two lights Who shot jr has for sale in the for sale light section
I think he looking for more of a thrower still. Even though I think everyone should have a TR-3T6.