Dive light from E-Bay -- Great buy!!!

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Looks like I've started a dive light revolution!
I hope they last as I also ordered a second one for my son.

---------- Post added April 24th, 2015 at 07:11 PM ----------

I'd expect closer to 3k lumens from that light. It's got three Cree XM-L2 LED's. According to Cree, that LED only puts out 1198 lumens max and 1052 at 10w power. I just ordered one too.

Yes.. from what I am experiencing with mine it has to be at least 3K lumens easy.

 

[oldschoolto]

Peter, The two lights work as far as the switching goes... When I turn it to " ON " it goes to a super bright light, then switching the ring back and forth it gets less and less bright for three setting and then back to full on bright... Going the other way it will flash a S-O-S and by moving the ring back and forth it will get faster then goes to a super fast pulse then back to a slow S-O-S... So the light is working right...

My one light when the switch is in the "OFF" spot the LED's have a small glow ... Power is flowing at a slow rate.. about as bright as a little pen light... The other light the switch was a little touchy at first, but working fine now... I really like this light... Wrote to the seller and will send him a video tonight and see what happens... I want to put it in a 5 gallon bucket with it at max lighting and see how long the battery last.. Still have ice on my diving hole..

Jim...

And thanks for the heads up on this light...

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hey Jim, thanks for that post! I just tried doing what you mention and there it is.. All 8 switch modes. I guess my light works good too... I'm even happier now!

 

[dberry]

The eBay item linked in the original post seems to be sold out, but there is no shortage of dive lights advertised with similar specs in the same price range. I like the idea of the (potentially) greater life of the 26650 battery, and most of the 18650-based lights seem a bit skinny for my hands anyway. (for those who don't know, the "26" and "18" refer to the approx. battery diameter in mm, the "65" is the length. The volume (and weight) of the 26650 is about twice that of a 18650).

I'll probably buy this one:

3 CREE XM L T6 5000LM 8 Modes LED Diving Flashlight Torch Waterproof 60m Light | eBay

OldSchoolTo's link (liionwholesale.com, which claims to test each batch of batteries from china) seems good. This place sells 2 kinds of 26650: 4200MAH 50A and 3500mAh 64A. The first is higher total capacity, with a lower burst output. According to the website:

These efest 26650 batteries have been awesome in our testing, being able to handle ridiculous current while going at it for a pretty long time. Both Efest 26650's are great for this, but this one's better if you're running really low resistance/high current, while the Efest 4200mAh is probably the better bet for most people with moderately low resistance/high current.

Anyone know which 26650 battery would be best for this type of dive light?

Also, some Li batteries are "protected" - have an internal circuit to reduce the chance of a catastrophic failure, which would be a really Bad Thing especially strapped to my shoulder at 30m fsw. These don't seem to have the protection. Any thoughts?

A friend saw a wireless pressure transmitter blow up underwater... an o-ring may have leaked? It didn't kill the regulator, but the bang and "fire" next to the diver's head was scary. and that was from a smaller battery. Although the protection circuit may not matter if salt water floods in, it would be nice to avoid a fire when charging them up. These puppies have a very high energy density!]

-Don

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

The eBay item linked in the original post seems to be sold out, but there is no shortage of dive lights advertised with similar specs in the same price range. I like the idea of the (potentially) greater life of the 26650 battery, and most of the 18650-based lights seem a bit skinny for my hands anyway. (for those who don't know, the "26" and "18" refer to the approx. battery diameter in mm, the "65" is the length. The volume (and weight) of the 26650 is about twice that of a 18650).

I'll probably buy this one:

3 CREE XM L T6 5000LM 8 Modes LED Diving Flashlight Torch Waterproof 60m Light | eBay

OldSchoolTo's link (liionwholesale.com, which claims to test each batch of batteries from china) seems good. This place sells 2 kinds of 26650: 4200MAH 50A and 3500mAh 64A. The first is higher total capacity, with a lower burst output. According to the website:

These efest 26650 batteries have been awesome in our testing, being able to handle ridiculous current while going at it for a pretty long time. Both Efest 26650's are great for this, but this one's better if you're running really low resistance/high current, while the Efest 4200mAh is probably the better bet for most people with moderately low resistance/high current.

Anyone know which 26650 battery would be best for this type of dive light?

Also, some Li batteries are "protected" - have an internal circuit to reduce the chance of a catastrophic discharge/failure, which would be a really Bad Thing especially strapped to my shoulder at 30m fsw. These don't seem to have the protection. Any thoughts? [A friend saw a wireless pressure transmitter blow up underwater... didn't kill the regulator, but the bang and "fire" next to the diver's head was scary. and that was from a fairly small battery. These puppies have a very high energy density!]

-Don

Hi Don,

Before you buy that light do a search of the light on ebay and try to find someone selling it where it says the light is located in Hacienda Heights, California, United States.
It seems that the ones we have been buying and are working good are all coming from there... They are still Chinese made but the people selling out of California seem to be good at handling the sale and so far have good communication! You also get them very fast... 3 days or so.

---------- Post added April 25th, 2015 at 01:23 PM ----------

I'm using DEWORLD 26650 3500mAh 3.7V batteries that I bought at RadioShack... www.deworld.com So far they seem to last a long time and the light is nice and bright. They also have Protection Circuit Modules .

I guess if I got the 4200MAH 50A then the light would be even brighter???

Peter

 

[dberry]

Hi Don,

I'm using DEWORLD 26650 3500mAh 3.7V batteries that I bought at RadioShack... www.deworld.com So far they seem to last a long time and the light is nice and bright. They also have Protection Circuit Modules .

I guess if I got the 4200MAH 50A then the light would be even brighter???

Peter

The 3500 vs 4200 is mAh = milliAmp hours or total electrical power stored. So, 4200 mAh should be longer burn time, all other things being equal. Both are "3.7V" (which will vary as the battery drains, btw), but the liionwholesale.com site tested their two batteries as having 20 A continuous discharge power (50A burst) for the 4200mAh vs. 32 A continuous (64 burst) for the efest. The problem is I haven't taken the time to figure out what current the 3 LED dive lights will actually draw, and whether the ratings of these batteries would have any impact whatsoever. I do like the idea that your batteries have protection where the efest batteries do not. [I think I'll start referring to the "PCB"; protection sounds like the batteries come wrapped in a rubber sheath!]

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Yes that's why I purchased them, I also liked the PCB feature on them and the fact that I was able to walk into radioshack and get them right away... I usually don't like waiting for my toys too long! :blinking:

 

[dberry]

I sent a note to liionwholesale.com asking about PCBs, and which battery would be better for this type of dive light, and here's the response (received in under 2 hours on a Saturday, nice!)

I don't currently sell any protected 26650. The 26650's I sell are all IMR chemistries, which means they're relatively safe and are not typically protected. Does the light have a circuit to shut off at low voltage? If so that's what I would use. Otherwise you're right that a protected one would be smartest.

The CREE XM-L looks like a maximum output of 3A, so 3 of them would be 9A assuming the light is maxing them out, so you should be good with either Efest 26650. I'd try the 4200mAh one for more capacity.

Does that seem reasonable? Any thoughts from knowledgable folks?

I also hate waiting to get new toys, but it turns out he's located about 15minutes from my house; I may be able to pick up the batteries on my way home from work on monday.

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hmmm... I think I'll stick with the protected ones I got! Plus they are only $14.99 for a 2 pack.
26650 Battery (2 PACK Flat Top) 3500mAh 3.7V

 

[spoolin01]

I sent a note to liionwholesale.com asking about PCBs, and which battery would be better for this type of dive light, and here's the response (received in under 2 hours on a Saturday, nice!)



Does that seem reasonable? Any thoughts from knowledgable folks?

I also hate waiting to get new toys, but it turns out he's located about 15minutes from my house; I may be able to pick up the batteries on my way home from work on monday.[/FONT][/COLOR]

I don't think you can infer current draw from the LED emitter max current tolerance specs, since they are under control of driver circuitry, not directly wired to the battery. Anyway, as I posted above, mine draws 4A. So maybe an hour of burn time with the 4200 MAh battery. I only have tried mine for short periods with an 18650, so I don't have much real data to offer yet. I think the question of whether the driver will limit the voltage draw down is a good one. I don't know whether that's something to reasonably expect in the design, but I'll give mine a try with an expendable cell when I'm back home in a few days.