After the OLight recall and sending my M2R Pro, I’m left with this proprietary 21700 and no clue how/if it can be charged outside of the light and whether or not it’s okay to use in another 21700 light.
I appreciate all help!
You can still charge it in a normal charger.. as long as the positive terminal makes contact. (I do this all the time these days)
2 options:
Either cut the plastic black ridge around the positive terminal (center) so it can make contact
Or, add a solder blob to your charger, so it can make contact.
Then, you can cover the Negative contact (outer ring) at the front of the battery, and use it like any other battery. (just for safety)
Many flashlights still accept a Olight 21700 battery.. even though not many people know that :D or try it (but you have to be careful not to short the spring on the negative ring on the battery)
Or... you can remove everything, including the wrapper and protection. You possibly just need to rewrap the cell then.
Thanks for the response! I’m not super knowledgeable about lithium ion cells or super confident about modifying them, so I definitely appreciate your help! What do you recommend I use to cover the negative contact at the front end?
Totally forgot to answer your question.
Hmm. maybe these would work: http://kaidomain.com/Flashlight-DIY-and-Tools/Misc-Parts/21mm-x-0_4mm-PET-Harden-LED-Isolator-10pcs
So, with all of the M2r returns going on I was scanning the Olight Facebook BST pages asking people to buy their 21700's at a discount. I was only looking for ones That hadn't been charged too many times, which seem to be a lot of them.
I only lucked out on one sale where someone wasn't asking full retail for them. So I picked up two brand new 21700 for a "decent" price, and they are great batteries.
at first I just wanted them for backups for my older M2R where the batteries are starting to become more depleted.
---->come to find out, they work in all of my Acebeam and Thrunite lights that take protected 21700, and they're great backups. Makes me wish I could find more at a less than $20 price. I am using them as backups in my Acebeam t36, Acebeam ec65, and plan to use them in my Thrunite tt20 I have coming in. They also work in my fenix PD40R.
those should work well :))
Don't tell anyone ;)
Awesome! Thank you!
Luckily I googled Olight 21700 batteries hack and came across this post and comment. I have a huge collection of Olights with 21700 batteries and recently purchased an Acebeam H30 headlamp because I didn’t like anything OLight had for headlamps. I’ve heard that Olights proprietary batteries can’t be used elsewhere without modifying the plastic ring and Acebeam Direct required a minimum purchase of 4 of their batteries to be shipped out which was a no go for me. After reading your comment I just popped one of my Olight batteries and behold I had power. I have at least 10 Olight 21700 batteries that I can keep in circulation for my work headlamp. Now my only issue is to get rid of Acebeams proprietary USB-C charging cable for the H30. Thanks for the tip!
Proprietary=Bad
No reason. Batteries have followed a standard for half a century.
Same reason I would not buy a square car tire.