[polar8]

Hi all,

I'm shopping for a new headlight and bar light. I'd like to buy the light head only and use my existing stash of 18650's, since I'm invested in that ecosystem with a dozen panasonic NCR18650 3400mAh cells.

Is there such thing as a battery case / holder that will let me insert loose cells?

 

[-Archie-]

https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-nigh...tant-4-x-18650-battery-case-bicyc-943638.html

https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/trustfire-eb03-2s-3p-18650-x-6-battery-box-1084368.html

 

[polar8]

Very cool, thank you. Do all lights with a barrel plug use the same style? Wondering if I need to select a specific headlight that will be compatible with this battery box.

 

[RAKC Ind]

most lights will work BUT understand a few things:

1st, cannot use a really high output (actual not Chinese claims) light because current draw is too high.

2 is that the protection circuit is a joke, you will need to balance charge your cells regularly outside of the case. Can be modded if your skilled enough to do it (Archie can go through all that, hes the one who came up with the mods)

3 is that the case WILL DISCHARGE BATTERIES over time. Not talking months either, weeks. Lost a set of panasonic's on accident because I buried my case in my bag and forgot about it.

4 BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF PUTTING THE LID ON. There is no reverse current protection, if you put the lid on wrong you will smoke it instantly. And the lid goes on multiple ways (very stupid ass design IMHO)


All that said, I love them but more so for a power bank. And a good way to charge cells quickly then balance.


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Cat-man-do]

Very cool, thank you. Do all lights with a barrel plug use the same style? Wondering if I need to select a specific headlight that will be compatible with this battery box.

This type of battery box will work with most lamps that use the old style magicshine type connectors. The original MS type connectors used by most lamp manufacturers didn't however have the threaded barrel that is used on this new battery box. The threaded connectors are just a slight variation of the originals. Otherwise the male/female parts are the same and will still interlink. Not to worry. You can still use the box if you only have a non-threaded ( male ) connector on your lamp. I use mine with a non-threaded connector and it works fine.

Keep in mind that some of the newer lamps being sold are starting to use different types of connectors. If you want to use one of these boxes be sure you know that the type of lamp you buy will work before you lay out the coin. Some of the brands I know that will work are; Gemini ( non-threaded ), Gloworm ( non-threaded ), ITUO ( has a threaded sleeve ), Magicshine older lamps ( non-threaded ) As for the cheap Chinese lamps; most of those are non-threaded but many of the newer ones use threaded which is why the box is likely designed to work with the threaded connectors ( seeing it is a Chinese made product )

 

[angerdan]

forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/fenix-ba4c-case-found-946922.html
forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/c-b-seen-upgradable-2-cell-helmet-battery-case-review-942264.html
forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/recommend-me-solarstorm-compatible-battery-pack-isnt-pos-1056303.html
forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/review-4-2s2p-6-cell-2s3p-hardshell-waterproof-bicycle-battery-packs-gb-982688.html
forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/battery-thread-2016-beyond-997165-5.html

 

[polar8]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Very very helpful.

Do these boxes have over-discharge protection built in? I.e. will they shut off when the battery voltage gets too low? Hard to tell from the listing.

I thin I'm going with a Gloworm X2 on the bars and a Gloworm Alpha on the head, buying lightheads only from ActionLED, and pairing each with its own 18650 box.

Slightly off topic, but I'm also debating between the Gloworms and a Theia + DS combo from here: http://www.mtigersports.com/cplist.asp?id=69&.html

I emailed them and they replied with a quote for $160 including shipping from China for both lightheads only, but very little information on those, so I'm leaning towards Gloworm for now.

 

[cere8]

RAKC Ind that posted in the comments above distributes the ds and theia. Maybe talk to him about those lights. Has a great reputation on this board.

 

[RAKC Ind]

I was addressing that here. I have couple of those cases and have serious loss in runtime on unmodified ones (and even on modified but not as bad) with anything that pulls more than around 2 amps.

Ones like the DS (Dual emitters) arent horrible even letting blast at full, but move up to Theia, XS and so on the case doesnt do so well in higher modes. Voltage sag due to high resistance from the case and tiny gauge wire for the connector causes the light to act as if battery is dead way sooner than it should regardless of cells installed.

I've ran everything from cheap cells to NCR18650GA, LG and other high current drain cells. The proper battery packs run longer with less rated capacity and with lower performing voltage curves.

Just want him to be aware that going branded high output lights, he is not going to get the performance the light should because of that. Part of why I'm hesitant to set him up with the DS/Theia combo. As when we dealt with Ituo, light heads caused complaints and returns because of using cheap packs or these cases. Solely because they expect their higher capacity rating of whatever they use means more runtime than stock packs, instead they got vastly less.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[coke]

I'm in the market for a 21700 battery pack. My 18650 packs are 3 years old, and I'm due for an upgrade.

I spoke to someone who would build one for me, but he said he'd most likely have to wrap up the batteries in gorilla tape

 

[Kadath]

All the info in the threads referenced above is nice but apart from the FatShark one, I can't find any 2s1p case available to order. The one from C&B Seen is no longer on their website and the Fenix BA4C case appears to be obsolete.

Any current suggestion besides the FatShark case?

At this point I'm leaning towards some kind of DIY case with a simple holder such as this but I need to find a waterproof box to put this inside (any suggestion?):
https://www.gearbest.com/diy-parts-components/pp_236524.html?wid=1433363

I don't want to shrink wrap the whole thing because I want to be able to swap batteries and charge them in an external charger.

 

[polar8]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTJHH8Y

I ended up buying this one- it can be used both 2s1p and 2s2p.

 

[Kadath]

Thanks but that one is too big. It's to mount on a helmet. Did you find any 2s1p case in your research?

 

[polar8]

Nope, I came to the same conclusion as you. With the CB seen case was still available. If you're going to go the project case route, replace the wire with the appropriate AWG since you'll be pulling more amps than that wire looks to be able to handle safely.

 

[RAKC Ind]

If Kaidomain is still functional why not just buy a 2 cell pack from them.

Dont worry about needing external charger for a 2 cell pack when building your own. Matched and balanced before assembling and then take the shrink back off when put of balance starts becoming noticeable.

You need cells to be protected in some way because they DO NOT like water at all.

If your doing a 4 cell then of course a case works well but for 2 cell theres really no reason to worry. Heat shrink change every year or so and done.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[angerdan]

enerprof.de/shop/batteries/enerpower-moabit-battery-7-4v-3400mah-round-plug/
enerprof.de/shop/batteries/enerpower-pankow-battery-74v-3500-mah-with-round-plug-ga/