From my point of view, there are two disadvantages of flashlights with built-in chargers:
First - Possible compromise of the waterproofing.
The USB port rubber plug can be inadvertently unplugged or not plugged in all the way, which can lead to water exposure.
Second (maybe less rational) - The idea of a Li-Ion cell in a sealed metal container being pumped with electrons and heating up is slightly disconcerting to me.
Do you guys worry about possible explosions due to charger / cell malfunction?
Absolutely not, I mean now days quality high drain 18650 you can buy for 3-4$ like Samsung 25R or LG HG2. Never heard that someone had a problem with original cells even with much worse chargers. If you intend to use some cheap Ultrafire 9900mAh then you have a potential problem for sure
Regarding the waterproofing issue - charging port is waterproof barrier itself and it prevents water from entering the flashlight body. Rubber cap prevents water/dirt from clogging/damaging quite small micro USB port contacts. There is also second design (imho better) where you have to unscrew the head to access charging port which is located behind waterproofing oring(vide: Manker Rambler or Cooyoo/MecArmy/Blackwater 10180 lights).
IMHO charging cell inside sealed flashlight is no more dangerous than in external charger (provided both chargers are of equal quality and do not overcharge).
Flashlight body should work as passive heat sink to some extent (contact between body walls and cell is not very tight) and used charge current should take conditions inside flashlight into account - i.e. it’s probably more conservative/foolproof.
I also second what NikolaS wrote. Using quality cell assure maximum safety as those cells are indended for use in multiple cell batteries often encased in plastic and operating under far worse conditions. LG for example tests their cells safety with short circuit and they do not vent.
The only explosions/fires I am aware of were caused by knockoff/low quality/*fire cells/cell batteries or by carelessness causing short circuits (damaged wrappers, carrying loose cells alongside keys and coins). After all standard notebook battery pack contains a few 18650 cells and they are used by hundreds of millions of people around the world not caring about safety issues at all. Taking this scale into account battery incidents are really rare.
18650 cells can be dangerous in careless hand and that’s precisely the reason why those cells are not generally available and every equipment manufacturer enclose those cells within battery packs with protections and doesn’t allow users handle unprotected cells. So when you look at built in charger from that perspective it should be more safe as you are not required to handle potentially volatile cell, you will have no chance to damage wrapper or cause accidental short.
altonx - I agree, I also consider the second design better (unscrew to access).
Regarding the cell charging, I was just wondering what people thought…
I was not so much concerned about heat dissipation during normal charging, as I was about the expanding gasses in a metal tube during potential thermal runaway (I think I read a story here about a multi cell flashlight mishap).
But I understand that good cells are the key and that li-ion explosions don’t happen very often.
I do use quality cells (Panasonic/Sanyo), currently only the protected variants (Keeppower/EVVA).
EDIT: The sorry was actually on CPF (“TK Monster Explosion”) - but it’s quite old.
Thank you so much for the code! I love my mh20 so much, I’ve wanting a second one but wasn’t ready to drop $70 bucks again. So if this clone is half as good as the original, I’ll be very happy!
Got mine today and it was presents well in the box and the addition of extra o-ring and USB cover is a nice touch.
Personally I will never charge the battery in the flashlight but some members will and the rubber cover will get beat up so an extra one included is welcome.
Now as far as the output, WOW
This thing really puts out and the tint is just pure white, no blue/purple/green etc.
And I found that you do not have to cycle through all modes to get to off, just double click fast from whatever level you are at and it will go to Turbo, next click is off.
Edit: Or you can hold button down for 1.5 seconds and it will turn off.
Also only 1/8 turn for lockout is nice.
Clip is strong and even though it was hard to put on it did not scratch the finish so it must be fairly tough.
According to the supplied paperwork this thing has a 3 year warranty.
Only cons are the often mentioned low that is too bright and the cheezy holster.
Overall it is Well worth the small money to me.
Later,
Keith
I’ve got the code, just no money right now. I’m gonna try to get it in the next few weeks if the code is still valid. My litenumen will be here Thursday!
Can someone tell me how you run 1x16340 battery in this torch? Do you use a dummy cell? Or are the specs wrong? ETA: I see driver is rated 8.4 volts. So I guess you can use 2x16340, 2x cr123, or 1x18650
The specs are wrong in my user manual says it can run 2x 18340 or 2x cr123, but charging is only for 18650.
Btw I am very satisfied with this little light, it can deliver a serious amount of lumens.
Amp readings on turbo are stable on 2,5A and termal regulation kick in after about 6 min, and drops lumens to 620-650.
UI is nice and simple,and usb charging delivered 500mAh to the battery, charging stops at 4,19V
My review is in progress and will post here when finished….
NikolaS: I see driver is rated 8.4 volts. So that will allow 2×16340, 2x cr123, or 1×18650 That said, I never use lithiums in series. ESPECIALLY CR123 !!!!
I received a Nitenumen NE01 in the mail yesterday (good deal from Gearbest), it looks nice and works fine. But the PWM on all modes but the highest is unacceptably low, very annoying.
I do not understand that no one else who have received/reviewed this light has mentioned how bad the PWM is. Or has there been a driver change for the worse by Nitenunen?
I’ve been playing with my NE01 for about a week now and, so far, I’m very happy with the light.
Luckily for me, I’m not very susceptible to PWN, so that’s not an issue for me. I like that it comes on in low mode and that the flashy modes are hidden. I also find that I like the side switch better than I thought I would. Most of my lights use tail cap switches.
From a budget-conscious standpoint, this appears to be a good light for the money. Time will tell, but I thought I’d like it enough that I bought two and after getting this first one, I’m glad I did.
I’m sure that someone with more experience with all the little details could pick this thing apart, but so far, I’m seeing a pretty good light.
I have observed that that mine works with 2*16340, but not with 18350. This is very strange. I have samsung cells which work in all my other flashlights just fine.
Any tips? I even tried the Pink LG cells, but no luck. 16350 is fine. Could it be some contact issue. How do I fix this?
They must just keep the flash sales going when folks are buying. I bought one torch about a month ago at this price… then another one two weeks ago, same price… there was only one day left at that time…. hmmmm
Got the NE01 today, late to the party. Easily fully taken apart - slight glued on bezel, broke glue by bare hands, and I'm not that strong @59... Good candidate to keep the stock base board of the driver for contact, and easily fit in a 17 mm FET+1 or triple. Switch is side mounted like a SRK with the blue and red LED's on the switch PCB - great, again, easy to mod, easy to remove, much preferred this mount style over a driver mounted one. Spring easily comes out of the tail to add a bypass wire. MCPCB is thin at ~1.05 mm, so some sanding is in order. Should be able to fit a trimmed/sanded 20 mm MCPCB. The shelf the MCPCB sits on is very thin unfortunately, but it's a one piece design, part of the head. Pretty thin LED centering piece which is nice. Probably needs to be trimmed in diameter because it's designed to snap over a smaller MCPCB, but that's easy.
Overall, really happy I got this one - fairly easy e-switch mod compared to many, and super easy for a compact e-switch light. Probably need to order a couple more because at $20, it's a steal. This doesn't appear to be cheap quality at all - anodized square threads, deep pocket clip, holster, fairly thick battery tube walls, all for this price? I was paying $12 for a comparable UltraFire ZY-T11 clone without the accessories, longer in size, and low budget threads and anodizing,driver mounted switch, no switch LED's, so-so quality reflector, etc.
