Trustfire Bike Light

mrb123

I have recently bought one of these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TrustFire-600 ... 2c88522368

The light has so far proved to be very good, although I have my doubts as to how long the battery pack will last.

Can anyone recommend the best spare/replacement battery pack to get?

Ouija

Trustfire battery packs are by far the best Chinese packs on the market at the moment (got three). It's those cheap sub twenty quid aftermarket ones from China you have to worry about. Or the cheap ones that come with sub twenty five quid lights.

Most of the aftermarket 4,6 and 8 cell packs i've bought from Kaidomain, Lightmalls and DealExtreme in the last few years, and ones that came with cheap lights, are in the bin (started out bad and just went downhill from there). And i have a hell of a lot of Chinese lights and battery packs (i stopped counting after twenty ) The Trustfire ones have proven very reliable, high capacity (rare for Chinese packs) and are still going strong after a couple of years of use. I use them as the main batteries for two of my bikes, despite having more expensive boutique ones from Magicshine, Inton etc.

mrb123

Hmm, thanks. Looks like the Trustfire battery pack might be as good as it gets then.

Can you recommend where would be the best place to buy a spare from?

Ouija

MrB123 wrote:

Hmm, thanks. Looks like the Trustfire battery pack might be as good as it gets then.

Can you recommend where would be the best place to buy a spare from?

You can buy better non Chinese packs but then your spending in the region of £35 upwards. At that price it's actually cheaper to just buy another Trustfire light complete with battery pack and keep the pack, sell the light.

I'm assuming here that the light you bought came with the proper rubberized Trustfire pack and not some cheaper alternative?

mrb123

I wouldn't describe it as rubberised. The casing round the battery pack is more like plastic film. From memory I don't think the battery pack actually says Trustfire on it anywhere so it may be a cheaper alternative as you suggest.

I've found this one on Ebay which looks like it may be one of the proper rubberised ones.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trustfire-bik ... 462d6ddaf7

bigmitch41

Hi Ouija, any idea if a Trusfire battery pack will work with a chinese Solarstorm x2 Cree light, i.e. are the connectors compatible etc. I’m on about my 4th set of Solartorm lights, but the light unit's themselves are ok, just the battery pack's can’t handle the British weather (Rain) and die on me fairly quickly even after wrapping in a latex glove...

Im tempted to just buy a complete Trustfire light set and hope for the best.

Ouija

MrB123 wrote:

I wouldn't describe it as rubberised. The casing round the battery pack is more like plastic film. From memory I don't think the battery pack actually says Trustfire on it anywhere so it may be a cheaper alternative as you suggest.

I've found this one on Ebay which looks like it may be one of the proper rubberised ones.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trustfire-bik ... 462d6ddaf7

Yep, those are the ones that come with Trustfire x2 and x3 three emitter lights. Rubberized, water proof and with click lock connectors and rubber bag (easier to wipe down than fabric bags). The connectors still work with other light units like the Solarstorms connectors, with the connector going deep inside the outer sheaf to make it waterproof, but don't click into place so, in theory, you could tug the connectors apart if you yank on them hard enough. This is why the Solarstorms have an external screw cap (does the same thing, but the click lock connectors are thinner and more elegant IMO) which is redundant with the Trustfire connector.

mrb123

Thanks for your responses Ouija. Think I may get one of those packs then as a spare.

One more question. I've seen that some battery packs are quoted as being 8.4v and others 4.2v. The light I have is a 4.2v one. Will an 8.4v pack work with a 4.2v light and vice versa? I note that the listing for the Trusfire pack doesn't seem to say whether it is 4.2v or 8.4v so I'm not sure which it is or whether it would work with my light, although the listing does suggest it is compatible with ALL Trusfire lights.

bigmitch41

Thanks Ouija, think i'll give the Trustfire a go then, Solarstorm are a great light but let down by the battery pack.

diy

MrB123 wrote:

Thanks for your responses Ouija. Think I may get one of those packs then as a spare.

One more question. I've seen that some battery packs are quoted as being 8.4v and others 4.2v. The light I have is a 4.2v one. Will an 8.4v pack work with a 4.2v light and vice versa? I note that the listing for the Trusfire pack doesn't seem to say whether it is 4.2v or 8.4v so I'm not sure which it is or whether it would work with my light, although the listing does suggest it is compatible with ALL Trusfire lights.

Unlikely that the driver will be able to take double the input voltage. Do you know what current your light currently uses on max? if its under 1.5A per LED then you will probably be fine doubling the voltage.

mrb123

No I'm not sure what current it uses on full power. I attached a link to the light I've got on my original post. Needless to say it didn't come with any instructions!

Ouija

Odd. The listing says 4.2v but all the pictures show what looks like an 8.4v setup (male connector on light and charger, female connector on battery). Typically a 4.2v setup has all the connectors reversed to prevent people from accidentally plugging in the wrong kind of battery and charger (female plugs on light and charger, male plug on battery).

Easiest way to tell is to just look at the underside of the charger as it will usually say 4.2 or 8.4 in the fine print on it. Though i note that the head unit has "Trustfire TR-D-006 4.2v" written on it.

mrb123

The charger does say it's a 4.2v one on the label, and it has the male fitting with the female one on the battery.

Ouija

MrB123 wrote:

The charger does say it's a 4.2v one on the label, and it has the male fitting with the female one on the battery.

That's a bit of a problem as every 4.2v pack i've seen has the male plug on the battery (which seems to be some unwritten standard).

mrb123

I've sent a couple of messages to that Ebay seller to ask if those Trustfire packs are 4.2v or 8.4v as it doesn't specify on the advert but had no response thus far which isn't very helpful.

Ouija

MrB123 wrote:

I've sent a couple of messages to that Ebay seller to ask if those Trustfire packs are 4.2v or 8.4v as it doesn't specify on the advert but had no response thus far which isn't very helpful.

It'll be 8.4v if it says it's compatible with the TR-D002. 8.4v is the predominant voltage for most lights powered by those sort of four cell packs with 4.2v ones being in the minority.

mrb123

Yep, the Ebay seller eventually responded to confirm it's an 8.4v pack.

Looks like sourcing a spare 4.2v pack (particularly if I want a Trustfire one) could be somewhat difficult.