The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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I bought some of these recently.. solid bit of kit, nice charge indicator, switchable 1A, 0.5A or 2A output, would easily drive a couple of XM-L2 or XPL LEDs on a single cell driver 3-7v-4.2v - via the two 5v USB outputs. Arrived in a couple of days.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5V-Dual-USB-P ... 1218323176
The one thing I have yet to check is if it charges to 4.2v.0 -
Are the 18650s replaceable?0
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Yeah it came empty - I just loaded it up with some orange 2.5Ah ones out of Dell pack.0
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Just confirming the above does charge to 4.2v - I'm showing 4.13 on an old Dell cell which has spent its life at 3.7v and the charger is showing on the 75-100% charged bar, so that's about right. (Edit 4.29v fully charged) I think the confusion in early pages is these charge circuits seem to be different to those in the dedicated chargers, which tend to pulse the voltage up to 4.2v.
So that is a handy 4 cell charger / power pack / mobile power supply / base unit for any 5v head unit for a 5er.
So it gets the thumbs up from me.0 -
Is there something you particularly like about the light as is? Upgrading the LED on a £5 torch, when the LED is about £3 is a lot of faff. Its easier to replace the light and keep the old one.
XM-L2 here for about £5
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-186500 -
it will probably work fine, you can almost direct drive the XM-L2 with weaker cells. Do you know what the current is on with the XR-E?0
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I'd be tempted to extend the tube and run two cells in series :twisted:
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Hi
A few questions about this charger/pack
http://www.dx.com/p/soshine-e3-7-lcd-external-portable-10400mah-power-bank-w-micro-usb-cable-for-phone-white-324197#reviews
It says it comes with 4 x 18650 Samsung, i fear i know the answer but what chances they'd be legit?
Also it only has usb-usb micro cable, how would i connect this to a SolarStorm for example?
Cheers!0 -
There is a good chance they are genuine. whether they are new or recycled is a different question. They are only 2.6Ah, so nothing to get too excited about, but good quality cells.
On the charger front : I noticed you only have one 2A USB, It might be better to get :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5V-Dual-USB-Power-Bank-18650-Battery-Charger-Box-Case-Iphone-Samsung-Phones-/351218323176?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item9072b12933
for just under £6 inc. delivery. I've got one on my desk charging away right now. They have switchable current (0.5A, 1A, 2A) and a similar charge LED. they charge right up to 4.3v and the only weakness I've found is that if you put a discharged cell in with full cells while charging, it drains the other cells slightly while balancing.
That is probably not a bad thing from a safety point of view.
In terms of head. Any light that takes 4.2v power pack or USB input will work, there are a few around and you would just make up a USB cable (£1 shop chop the right end off and tape it up with insulation tape).0 -
Hi
A few questions about this charger/pack
http://www.dx.com/p/soshine-e3-7-lcd-external-portable-10400mah-power-bank-w-micro-usb-cable-for-phone-white-324197#reviews
It says it comes with 4 x 18650 Samsung, i fear i know the answer but what chances they'd be legit?
Also it only has usb-usb micro cable, how would i connect this to a SolarStorm for example?
Cheers!
If it's a standard twin head Solarstorm then it requires 8.4v output and about 5/6 amps output so isn't compatible with most powerbanks (which are 5v at either .05/1.0/2.0 amps output). You can get USB powered head units but they don't tend to be that bright due to the power limitations. A better option is to get a powerpack with 8.4v and 6a output that also has a USB port for powering/recharging lower output devices like phones etc.
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S023038
doesn't say what amp output is for the 8.4v light connector though.
Trustfire make something similar but, alas, it's only 1 amp output so no good to power a twin head torch.0 -
I found loads on lightmalls.
http://www.lightmalls.com/usb-and-dc-double-interface-4-2v-blue-solarstorm-x2-2-cree-xml-t6-2000-lumen-led-bike-light-only-lamp-cap
Though personally - I'd go with twin torches for the same money.
worth remembering that 5v @ 1A isn't 1A at the LED, my sums suggest its ~1.6A a 2A USB will give enough juice to exceed the LED's Max, so 2A is plenty on a USB/4.2v input.0 -
Thanks chaps, yeah i have two of those SS battery boxes but i never thought you could use a charger and recharge the batteries, and although you can, i dunno why but I can imagine it might be a bit sketchy...
Basically in addition to powering my ssx2s im looking for something to take on my trips...i need a 18650 for my e-cig and a few other things, i always take a small power bank as well for my phone so it looks like my SS boxes might be more useful than i thought!0 -
There are a few reports of power banks only charging to 3.7v. Hence I actually tested the one in the above link, before recommending it.0
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Cheers DIY, might grab a few of them, they would be ok to power a SSx2? Also how do i get from the usb to the 2.5mm connector on the head...you said something about cutting the end off a usb cable, can you run that by me again as i didnt really follow you!
Cheers
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The one in my link has both already. But basically you buy a cheap USB cable and cut the end off the light and one end of the cable and then connect the + and - of the Usb cable to the + and - of the power connector.
Or google USB powercable and you'll probably find one.0 -
Do the two cables need soldering together? Sorry - im pretty useless with electrics :oops:0
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Pare them back and twist together, wrap in insulation tape, a dollop of glue from a glue gun will help, or use a spade connector, crimp connector etc from maplin or similar. Even a choc block (terminal connector).
e.g. http://www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/crimps-terminals-sleeving/cat72300160 -
Cheers again diy, if you rate these cases thats good enough for me! Can you charge fewer than 4 cells in this, ie of you put just one in will it still charge it?0
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No offence. But if your SolarStorms are the usual 8.4v variety then wiring them up to a powerbanks 5v USB output isn't going to even switch them on IMO.0
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Yes you can charge 1 cell at a time.
regarding the 8.4v option - totally agree. I will check how advanced the output circuit is. You can't easily rig up a voltage doubler for a USB circuit, but these packs are pretty simple, so I wonder if a doubler circuit would work for the power bank. It would give about 9.7v which might be fine for an 8.4v input.
I have an old magic shine I can test it on.0 -
Ok thanks, but sounds good! What kind of light do you power with this pack, im assuming its not a twin led as that would need the 8.4v Ouija is talking about? Im slightly confused about this, one of you is saying the 4.3v pack is ok, t'other saying you need 8.4v...?0
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The number of emitters (lights) has nothing to do with it. Some lights (single, double or more) run at 8.4v and some run at 4.2v. A lot of the torches tend to run at 4.2v as it's simpler and a single Li-Ion battery can't put out more than 4.2v. Most of the lights that have a external brick like power pack, made up of multiple Li-Ion batteries tend to be 8.4v (at anywhere from 1 to 3 amps for single emitters... more amps for double, triple and more emitters... but still 8.4v voltage).
To confuse matters more, some of the external battery powered lights go with 4.2v instead (less common) with greater amp draw depending on how many emitters they are trying to power. You can get these to work off a USB's 5v output though the powerbanks 2 amp output can throttle just how brightly they can burn.
Most of the twin head SolarStorms i've seen run at 8.4v and pump 2.5amps through each unit when on the brightest setting (so tries to draw 5 amp from the battery) and about 1 amp through each unit on the lowest setting (2 amp draw). Which is well within the spec of most four cell 8.4v battery packs.
However. I have seen a variation on the SolarStorm that runs off a 4.2v pack (2 cells wired in parallel) but these are obvious to spot because the battery pack is smaller (not a square brick consisting of 4 cells but just 2 cells side by side in shrinkwrap). Unless someone else knows differently and has seen a 4.2v variation running of a square 4 cell pack then most square 4 cell pack SolarStorms are 8.4v.0 -
The LED runs at typically at 2.8v - 3.3v depending on the current e.g. 750mA is 2.85v. If you put 4.2v directly in the LED it would try to suck about 4A out of the cell and depending how well it was heat sunk, go blue and fail after a few minutes. This is why they are connected to drivers, that throttle the amps.
drivers take an input voltage typically between 3.7v and 18v - There is no difference the brightness of the LED between one with an input voltage of 4.2 and 8.4v. However, there normally will be for the same driver, just purely because they aren't that good at regulating the current at different voltages.0 -
Ok thanks guys, i appreciate it! Ill read and re-read it again until it makes sense. Its very frustrating, ive read many of the Volt/Amp gardening hose analogies and it just wont stick...grrr!
What i dont get is that diy, you said the Pack will charge to 4.3v. how can 4 x 18650 have an Output voltage of only 4.3v, and if the Standard XML head needs 8.4v how is this sufficient?
Anyway...
Was looking at a fluxient 3 x xml last night, not dirt China cheap but Looks awesome!!0 -
Connect four 4.2v cells together (imagine them laid out end to end with the + at the top touching the - of the next battery) and you get four times the voltage (16.8v). This is known as Serial wiring. Now imagine four cells laid next to each other with a single wire dividing into four, touching the bottom of each cell and then four wires coming out of the +'s and merging back into one. This is known as parallel wiring and doesn't increase voltage at all (the current stays at 4.2v). This is how most batteries in a USB powerbank are wired. So it makes no difference if you have one, two, three or four cells, the voltage remains the same. It's also how the external battery packs on 4.2v lights are arranged which is why DIY is suggesting a powerbank for your lights (if they're 4.2v).
8.2v lights typically have two sets of two parallel wired cells that are then merged together serially to double the voltage.0 -
The primary thing you need to understand is what input voltage your light head needs. Then what amps it is capable of drawing.
The power bank I listed is a good 18650 charger, it charges well, has other uses and costs less than a typically 2 cell charger. Though its a little slower to charge. It could be used to power a usb, removable cell or 4.2v based light of which there are a few.
Anything else its probably beyond your ability based on the questions you are asking - no offence.0 -
Cheers guys, thanks for your patience! No offence taken! As i said all im looking more for a power bank/back up battery with removable 18650s which i can use for my headlamp and my e-cig. Do quite a lot of camping/hiking where im away for a few days and need a power source. What i liked about the one I linked is that it has meters for each battery which might be useful in this situation...this dx stuff is so cheap you can order it and it doesnt really matter if it turns out to be pants! But i guess youve all figured that
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Cheers guys, thanks for your patience! No offence taken! As i said all im looking more for a power bank/back up battery with removable 18650s which i can use for my headlamp and my e-cig. esnt
Still think this is the better bet if your lights 8.4v. Removable cells, dedicated 8.4v output plug for a Solarstorm plus a 5v USB output for phones etc. Only down side is it displays overall drain, rather than individual drain of each cell. Though you can buy mini 18650 testers.0 -
does it have a charge circuit?0
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does it have a charge circuit?
Probably not (who knows). Though with the USB addition it may have the ability to charge through USB. I have the non USB version and use a regular wall charger instead. Always found USB charging a bit overated has it's a damn site easier to find a standard wall socket than a USB powerpoint.
Should be pointed out that you can buy USB chargers for regular 8.4v battery packs that can also use the pack to charge 5v USB devices.... (for anyone who has a regular pack and would like to use it to charge their phones etc without having to carry a seperate powebank)
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