I'm just starting out in the world of budget lighting. Got here from a shooting forum suggesting C8's. Couldn’t believe there were flashaholic forums at first, but definitely getting the bug. So I've ordered the Ultrafire WF501B green light setup as advised.
I've pulled 12 Panasonic CGR18650C's from an old HP laptop and have a Nitecore i4 on its way. The Panasonics are reading between 1.3V and 1.9V, are they knackered? Are they safe to try and charge?
I also have a Dell laptop which runs off the batteries for about 5 minutes and then rapidly runs out of juice. Are these batteries or at least some of them likely to usable?
Read some more there is a lot of good budget lights, I don’t understand what others see good on a C8, you can get the same reflector size with a 26650 = more juice, same size.
Mine used to run 5-15min, who knows. Batteries are ok, all hold voltage fine just the capacity is down from 2400mAh to about 1200mAh? And won’t last long on high currents.
Just buy a pair of new batteries. Old laptop batteries won’t work for long, it’s more for something that does not need lots of power. Or if you run the light on low mostly.
I ordered a Nitecore 2600 to get me started. The WF501B green light setup will probably end up pernamently attached to an air rifle. Once I'm clued up, I'd like to build something interesting for my rimfire.
Toss the batteries. Not worth the risk. Crystals could form inside after recharging, tear the lining bag and start a vent with flames. Risk is slight, but it’s there. Not worth it to me. But don’t give up on pack pulls. You’ll find some great ones if you kep looking.
I don’t see anything wrong with C8s. In fact, I like ’em. They’re some of my best multipurpose lights. Some seem to have more throw; others seem to have more flood. Some are great for walking. The Keygos ke-5 is a C8 clone and to my mind one of the best budget lights going.
I just got one of those Aurabuy C8s (in another thread here on BLF), which started at $6.99, but have since gone up a couple bucks. Frankly, I don’t know how you can beat ’em for the price. Good quality light. Metal reflector. Respectable 3.5 amps at the tailcap. Very nice throw. And only slightly less bright than my brightest $25+ Xin C8. Put a U3 or xm-l2 in there and you’ll have a killer light.
I find 26650 lights too heavy and bulky. And really don’t see that they add much runtime, not to mention that fewer quality batteries are available in that size for disproportionately more money. Plus, you won’t find any 26650s in computer packs, although admittedly I have kind of a hoarding issue with pack pulls.
Panasonic li-ions are considered arguably the best cells going, but finding non-counterfeit Panasonic 26650s is pretty tough. Need more run time in a 18650 light, just throw in another spare from your pocket. I get a solid solid 45 minutes to an hour off an 18650 in a c8 switching back and forth between various modes, although using the high mode a lot. I think every flashaholic should have one or two C8s in their collection.
And I get PLENTY of pack pulls that run just as long as “new’ cell. In fact, as I have mentioned many times before, many of my used pack pulls seem to work better than the same cell bought new. Does it mean that the new ones are counterfeit? Got me. But I have seen too many better-than-new pulls for it to be mere coincidence.
Everyone has their own opinion, likes/dislikes. I guess I’ll need to keep a reasonably open mind and find out what I like. From what I’ve read so far, C8’s are not everyone’s favourite, but a lot of folk like them. Even if you don’t like them, <£10 delivered isn’t even 3 pints these days. I will give a C8 U3 a try. My main aim is to get a decent green light setup for hunting.
I think I’ll stick with the 18650’s for now as you point out you don’t get 26650’s in laptop packs and I think I will have a source for laptop packs, so that kind of seals the deal for now. Any particular signs that would suggest there might be some good cells left in a pack? Then I can let my mate know what to look out for.
At least in my brief experience, there really isn’t a “sign” that a pack is going to be good or bad. I’ve only extracted less than 10 packs, but even with that few, I’ve had situations where the pack looked really old and dead (wouldn’t work with my laptop), but I got 9 good batteries out of it, and, conversely, I had packs that I was told worked and held charge, but I ended up getting only 3 out of 9 good batteries. I guess that you have open up the pack, extract the batteries, and then check the voltages.
I have found that the best results come from packs where one pair/group of cells is dead and the other’s measure OK. These packs were tossed because a fault in the bad pair made the pack unusable. The remaining cells tend to be good and hold a decent charge.
Packs where all the cells measure the same/good voltage were probably tossed because the cells were worn out and not longer held a usable charge.
Occasionally one does find a pack where all the cells measure OK and are all good and hold a decent charge. Those packs were probably tossed because of a bad battery management board in the pack.
I suppose ideally I'm looking for a laptop that someone has tossed because of a hardware failure eg screen etc. Seems to me though that the majority of laptops end up permanently attached to the wall as the battery is knackered and the owners won't fork out for a new one.
I pulled my Dell laptop and found 6 unprotected(?) Sony SE US18650GRS, (TG71110K13X) all at 3.82V - 3.84V, but the Dell normally died after 5 mins so I guess from what your saying that these batteries are just worn out. Don't think I want to use unprotected cells anyhow.
