Spec me an LED Torch

Even expensive things fail.

Look at Dell monitors and their endless revisions they go through before being good.

What cells did you have in there originally (the ones reading 0)? Mine has only had Eagletac ones in there with the others on FJD.
 
The Keeppower cells. I am fairly confident they were all charged full as I always charge them as soon as I remove them from a torch. It turned on and was full power then suddenly dropped to the lowest mode and when I opened the torch I could smell a faint burning/rubbery smell. It seems like the smell is coming from the switch area as the cells don't smell once removed from the torch.

Both cells appear to be charging now and are reading 3.50 odd. Not sure whether to try again once they're charged..
 
Are they a good brand? I have no idea as haven't looked at batteries since getting the above :o
 
They were recommended by someone in this thread. They have been working great in my Fenix TK12 that I use every day. Same goes for the ultrafire ones I use in my solarforce. I'll charge this cell up and then try again. Not sure if its worth contacting Thrunite as it will be out of the 12 month warranty period by now.
 
What's a good bullet proof, long lasting, light weight head torch which takes AA or AAA for hiking.

Got a Chinese Cree 2000lm for work but takes 18650, heavy and easily broken.
 
I managed to get a Fenix LD20 R5 for £2.54 (£3.61 incl postage). Took ages to come, as they had run out of stock and sent me a LD22 - great little torch, especially for the money!
 
Mark A said:
Yeah I guess cheapo wasnt the right word, but compared to an equivalent Fenix they are a lot less money and with good reason. I got a small 1xAA Trunight torch free with this TN31 and that died within a few days :rolleyes:. And yes I tried a few different AA batteries, it would just flicker and then go off. I was hoping the TN31 would fare a little better but now this seems to be dead after being used a few times.

Tried 3 x keep power 3100mah cells and 3 x ultrafire cells. I am reluctant to buy another 3 cells to test whether its the cells or not. I cant see 2 sets being faulty. Gah, really didnt need this right now as I am saving for a lens :(.
Click to expand...

It sounds like one of the cells is short-circuiting and that's tripping the cells protection board. a LiIon cell will only ever show 0.00v if it's been stabbed through and sitting in saltwater for a week, or it's protection circuit has been tripped.
 
Decent (cheap) torch that I can mount to the bars of my bike? Need to be able to see using it, unlike my current bike light where I cannot see anything beyond 1 yard with it.
 
Aod said:
It sounds like one of the cells is short-circuiting and that's tripping the cells protection board. a LiIon cell will only ever show 0.00v if it's been stabbed through and sitting in saltwater for a week, or it's protection circuit has been tripped.
Click to expand...

Is it not unlikely that this would happen twice in a row with 2 different branded cells? Could it not be the torch that is tripping the protection in the cell as they sprung back into life when I put them in the charger.

I'll test these two cells that were showing 0.00 in my TK12, then try again in the TN31 and if it does the same thing it must be the TN31.


BTW, what would be a decent brand to go for if i was to buy some more cells? Around 3000mah or above.
 
Last edited:
I can vouch for Eagletac! They're not cheap but they are decent and you get what you pay for :)
 
Cookeh said:
Erm... ideally, sub £20 (preferably including the necessary mounts).
Click to expand...
Yikes, that is pretty cheap. I'll see what I can find, might not be a great selection or great quality...

Mark A said:
Is it not unlikely that this would happen twice in a row with 2 different branded cells? Could it not be the torch that is tripping the protection in the cell as they sprung back into life when I put them in the charger.
Click to expand...

If they bounced back after being put in the charger then their protection circuits were definitely tripped. I suspect something in the battery cage is causing them to short. Take it out and have a good look over it.
 
 
Thanks man, yeah - money is extremely tight atm but my current light just isn't safe.. I was thinking cree initially - any ideas on the range/brightness of that specific torch?
 
The Convoy is better, the build quality is much higher, and because it's an "integrated" light (The LED module comes out on the 501b), the heatsinking is better which is important for long-duration use like on a bicycle.

This Convoy; https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002364/1195010
Should put out about 800 lumens of actual light, while the Ultrafire will do about 500.

This Convoy; https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002364/1826604
Will put out about 1000 lumens.

1000 Lumens is about equivalent to a 75 watt conventional bulb, which should do very nicely for cycling. You could also run it at medium brightness (40%, about 450 Lumens) for extended runtimes.

<edit> they all use Cree brand LEDs, but Cree don't make torches, just the LED emitters themselves.
I saw that the Ultrafire comes with a battery and charger, but I cannot in good conscience say that the UltraFire batteries or chargers are acceptable. They use "recycled" cells that come straight out of old laptops or other devices, some of them don't even make 10% of their "labelled" capacity, and fires or other catastrophic failures are not uncommon.
 
Last edited:
You're welcome for the help mate. I'm sorry to hear that times are tight, it seems like everyone's feeling the squeeze these days!
Regrettably, batteries have gotten significantly more expensive since the FAA changed the regulations on air-transport for Li-Ion cells.

I'd still go for This light, the 1400mAh drive current should still give you a significant amount of light but last longer on batteries and get less hot.
 
Uni student at the end of the academic year... Will improve over summer as I have work lined up, but essentially a two month delay in getting paid for what work I do means I won't have any proper funds for something a bit more appropriate for some time. Thanks again, though
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom