Cree LED lights on ebay-are they safe?

meanredspider

Chris Bass wrote:

Has anyone actually bought cheap lights and had issues? Reading this it sounds like they'll blow up the instant you turn your back!

I've had a few cheap torches and they have been fine, bit of electrical tape on the battery to stop it rattling on the road and they have done the job nicely, charge them over night and lived to tell the tale...... For now!

There are a couple of examples people are aware of in this thread. The point is that, for the sake of a few quid (and we aren't talking much - a tyre or two), you're adding unnecessary risk. Modern batteries contain a lot of energy (all the more so if you're running high-powered lights) and, if that energy is released suddenly, it's catastrophic. Witness it live, and you might take it pretty seriously. In the end, it's entirely up to you.

pbassred

Who uses the Cree X2 or the Solar Storm on the road? I am amazed at the output and want an upgrade but a bit wary of over dazzling.

Is that the owl shaped one? I have them on 2 bikes. I had a pedestrian shout from across the street:- "bright light!" this evening. That was on flash mode which is the brightest but intermittent. You can always angle it down a bit. I like them. I don't recommend running them on highest for very long. They get hot.

Actually the reason I am reading this thread is that I like them but I want to buy a plastic case and better batteries. Does anyone know if the plastic cases require cells with the protection built in or is the protection built in to the case?

priory

I bought 18650 batteries a charger and three ''600lumen'' lights several years ago from dealextreme and have had no problems, they all work very well. I also dismantled a couple of old laptop batteries to get the (unprotected) 18650's out of them so I have many spare batteries, although i suspect they have a lower capacity than the ones I bought.
I am interested in the expert opinion we have been given and will not be leaving them unattended on charge. and will put them in something while charging to direct the blast away.
no doubt there is a variety of batteries and chargers out there and good brands may have better quality control.

jgsi

Not so much light failure.. but I had velcro failure this week and the battery pack went into the front wheel.. I was vair vair lucky....

itboffin

meanredspider wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

Has anyone actually bought cheap lights and had issues? Reading this it sounds like they'll blow up the instant you turn your back!

I've had a few cheap torches and they have been fine, bit of electrical tape on the battery to stop it rattling on the road and they have done the job nicely, charge them over night and lived to tell the tale...... For now!

There are a couple of examples people are aware of in this thread. The point is that, for the sake of a few quid (and we aren't talking much - a tyre or two), you're adding unnecessary risk. Modern batteries contain a lot of energy (all the more so if you're running high-powered lights) and, if that energy is released suddenly, it's catastrophic. Witness it live, and you might take it pretty seriously. In the end, it's entirely up to you.

yup the electronics onboard cree or whatever are all much the much, like the old days of cpus just different quality from the same batches, its the batteries and chargers that need to be top draw.

I have many ebay cheap as chip lights but after one exploding battery pack that burnt my hand and had to be throw out the window of a moving trains when it caught fire I now use well known seller (Torchy) battery packs and chargers.

pinno

Okay, so I was thinking about getting some Cree lights until I read this thread. As it is safer to get a 'smart' charger ad perhaps a different battery pack, then I ask this:

What output of battery pack?
What charger to couple the above with?

Garry H

Pinno wrote:

Okay, so I was thinking about getting some Cree lights until I read this thread. As it is safer to get a 'smart' charger ad perhaps a different battery pack, then I ask this:

What output of battery pack?
What charger to couple the above with?

How much do you want to spend? Last year I bought a Magicshine MJ858 from Magicshine UK. Came with a decent battery and charger. I only ever use the low setting and it does me for at least 120 miles of commuting a week, on a combination of rural and city centre roads. I've had no issues with anything.

pinno

Garry H wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Okay, so I was thinking about getting some Cree lights until I read this thread. As it is safer to get a 'smart' charger ad perhaps a different battery pack, then I ask this:

What output of battery pack?
What charger to couple the above with?

How much do you want to spend? Last year I bought a Magicshine MJ858 from Magicshine UK. Came with a decent battery and charger. I only ever use the low setting and it does me for at least 120 miles of commuting a week, on a combination of rural and city centre roads. I've had no issues with anything.

Hmm... I'll look that up.

Garry H

I think I paid 60 quid for the lot from Magicshine UK. Paid for peace of mind in case I needed to return it.

Battery (4 Cell) fits nicely into a 2 pound Halfords water bottle. They don't come in Art Deco though.

kingrollo

The charger got incredibly hot on mine and then wouldn't charge.

I cut my losses and brought a cateye volt 300 - not the dazzling brightness of the solar - but very reliable, long charge life , easy charge via USB.

in the end I couldn't trust the solar as my main light - just to unreliable - the cateye is pretty much bombproof. the lesson ive learned is that there is more to a light than how many lumens it kicks out

BigGeordie

+1 for the Cateye volt. Brilliant (see what I did there?) little light. I use a volt50 on the back and you can swap the batteries over if the front goes flat first and you are unlit lanes, although they do last ages on a full charge.

The trouble with the unbranded ebay Chinese specials is the lack of quality control. You might be lucky and have no problems but you might not be so lucky the second time.

I work in aviation and have seen what happens (on training videos, not for real) when a lithium battery decides to have a thermal runaway. Nothing will stop it and I doubt putting it on charge in the garage will help much. There is a reason airlines have banned those Samsung phones from coming anywhere near an aircraft.

kingrollo

BigGeordie wrote:

+1 for the Cateye volt. Brilliant (see what I did there?) little light. I use a volt50 on the back and you can swap the batteries over if the front goes flat first and you are unlit lanes, although they do last ages on a full charge.

The trouble with the unbranded ebay Chinese specials is the lack of quality control. You might be lucky and have no problems but you might not be so lucky the second time.

I work in aviation and have seen what happens (on training videos, not for real) when a lithium battery decides to have a thermal runaway. Nothing will stop it and I doubt putting it on charge in the garage will help much. There is a reason airlines have banned those Samsung phones from coming anywhere near an aircraft.

Are you my doppleganger ? - I use a volt 50 on the back. Not the brightest but with an aero seatpost the saddle bracket was the answer to a lot of prayers !