So I am totally new to this whole high power LED flashlight thing and I am thinking about going rcr so I can use my light as much as I want. I have never had any litium rechargeable batts before. I have done some searching, and read this:lithium battery safety…, but I still have a few questions.
I’m deciding between a BC10 and an Eagletac D25C. I was recommended to use a IMR for the BC10 due to current draw. I have no idea what battery would be best for the D25C.
What I don’t know is if there is anything different about operating my light with rcr’s vs. a consumable, so here are my questions.
I read you don’t want to run them below 3v. How do I know when I’m out in the field? What if I run it till it dies?
I see that the mah ratings on the rcr’s is much lower than comsumables, seems like this would equal shorter run times, is this true? How much if so?
Should I run a protected battery?
*What rcr for a BC10?
What rcr for a D25C?
What charger? I read that the Intellicharge I4 is good and it’s within my budget.
Rechargeable batteries of any kind should not be run dead. This is especially true of Lithium ion cells. Member Scaru has done done good work collecting the info you need. Look up his posts and you will find this or wait a bit and he will post a link for you. Some of the lights we use have drivers capable of monitoring battery voltage and signaling or stepping down when the battery is low. Usually the light will dim significantly when the battery voltage gets low anyway. Yes the amphour rating if rcrs is way less than primaries but when multiplied by the number if charge cycles the rcr comes out way ahead. Take a little time to get familiar with the various chemistries as they can be confusing. Read, read, read.
Pretty simple as stated by someone the other day lithium ion tech has changed and 18650 cells have changed chemistries and are getting beter and better .. and safer and safer .. that said 16340'sa re using pretty basic technology (older) so the answer is simpler . tehre are 2 choices LMR / lithium managanese whci is safer and needs no protection circuitry .. has a lower mah rating ..But has a lower internal resistance ..Which means it will dump more voltage if the light requires or wants it ...meaning in some cases .. a brighter light..lastly the lmrs can be driven down further and beaten on harder than the ...///lithium cobalt which is what most cells are made out of ..rufusbduck is right they dim sufficently so you will probably know when to recharge them ...one thing you want to do is charge them up asap and don't leave them in a state of discharge .... read read read is good advice and the info is at battery university or flashlight wiki info links on the left <<<-- http://flashlightwiki.com/Main_Page
protected is just another level of safety smart if you're running 2 cells ..or run 2lmrs
Using a meter to check voltages tells you condition of the cell and gives you some idea when you need to charge batteries .alot also depends on how you use your lights ..Do you use them on full blast 24/7?? or just have them charged and laying around with only slighht light use ??