Hi BLF, long time lurker first time poster.
Firstly I should curse BLF for my newly found flashlight addiction, but hey, a man’s gotta have his vices right?
Now I’m hoping for some advice from someone who knows a bit more about lights than I do (@ present I know how to buy them and turn them on…. sometimes….).
I recently got a STL-V2 Sky Ray and it absolutely pumps, love it! BUT on high mode it shuts down after 15 or so seconds. I’m assuming its a heat sink issue. Can anyone help a brother out and advise me on a fix?
My bet is that it’s the batteries. I had the same problem with my STL-V2 at first.
I was using those grey *fires and it would shut down after about 5 mins on hi.
I’ve since gotten rid of those cells and bought some better ones. Problem solved
Yeah, my first guess would be bad UltraFire cells... Those have a really bad reputation around here. I've only owned one of those (it came with a combo I ordered) and it was terrible; low capacity/low output current...
I'm using these in my V2 with no issues - Trustfire Protected 18650 - $11.70/pair
Tommy I have the same UF batteries & they will not pull very hard.
The 3000 mah rating is a joke as expected. Best mine will do on a 200mah discharge to 2.9V is 2124mah.
I have some Samsung 2800mAh 4.3V 18650’s (SKU: # 610168
) on the way from LightsCastle ($12.60 for 2). I will post basic findings after a few cycles on them.
My STL-V2 also stopped working with red ultrafires 3000mah. Had to buy new batteries.
Works fine with Shoshine 2800mah from lightmalls.com and panasonic 3400mah from intl-outdoor.com.
I don’t have extended use with neither of them but they work so far.
I have brand new Trustfire 18650 2400mah that I bought from DX. They have never been cycled. I charged them up today with my hobby charger at .8C for about 90 minutes.
The light works as expected in 4 out of 5 modes, but on HIGH mode it turns off after 2 seconds. I pulled the battery and checked the voltage and it’s still @ 4.1 volts. I also disassembled the light and made sure everything was tight including the pill. There are no rattles. The battery is secure and the spring seems to be tensioned properly.
I thought these batteries were supposed to be good for over 3 amps and this light supposedly pulls less than 3 amps. What gives? You guys think it’s the battery or the flashlight at fault? Unfortunately I don’t have any other batteries to test out here.
I have the same(2) as those in the linky from tommyx, I ran one down overnight as was curious, despite saying protected on it, it is now at 2.53V and glowing faintly on a P7.
I don’t think therefore that these are protected despite what is claimed, might disassemble one to see if it has a tiny battery and powder inside, got this from DX years ago, got the pair that I have and the other defo cuts out around 3.5V, just a straight off effect.
And take it from me, guys, you NEVER wanna go cheap on the batteries. They are the heart of the light, you could say. Kumabear will take care of your budget concerns and get you some KeepPower 18650s (the best, most versatile, and cheapest, pound-for-pound). A light that pulls a lot is not like some alkaline battery-powered light that requires miniscule current to shine. You’re in with the big boys now!
But I really don’t know why more people aren’t converting to 18500s. I run my STL-V2 on two of these and am able to remove the extra extender, making the light easier to carry. Just as bright, only slightly less capacity. I’m EDCing my V2 as of late.
Welcome tommyx. I too had issues w/ the various xxxFire brands, so I tossed all of them. I didn’t “Trust” them anymore. Now, I only use Orbtronic & Keeppower (Panasonic cells), and AW IMR 18650s. Never had any more issues…
[quote=Var]
Hey guys..I'm having a similar problem. KD C8 CREE XML T6 I have brand new Trustfire 18650 2400mah that I bought from DX. They have never been cycled. I charged them up today with my hobby charger at .8C for about 90 minutes. The light works as expected in 4 out of 5 modes, but on HIGH mode it turns off after 2 seconds. I pulled the battery and checked the voltage and it's still @ 4.1 volts. I also disassembled the light and made sure everything was tight including the pill. There are no rattles. The battery is secure and the spring seems to be tensioned properly. I thought these batteries were supposed to be good for over 3 amps and this light supposedly pulls less than 3 amps. What gives? You guys think it's the battery or the flashlight at fault? Unfortunately I don't have any other batteries to test out here.
[/quote]
It sounds to me like the Protection Circuit may be tripping. Many of the cheap XM-L lights are listed as 3A but are actually direct-drive on high, and are running at 4+ Amps easily. I looked at DX and assume these protected Trustfire cells are the ones you have:
These are fairly cheap, so you may wish to order a better set. These Trustfire Protected 18650 cells from Manafont are the genuine article (no counterfeit) and work very well in all of my lights. I highly recommend them...
