Great Sartek Service

[potablewater]

I just got off the phone with the guys at Sartek, and they were very helpful and patient
with this new owner of a 21 Watt Focusable HID, 10.4AH Lithium Ion Canister Light.

My questions was:
- Did I screw up by only charging the LI-ON battery five hours as the charger instructions say, and not the "first time charge" 18-20 hours the OTHER instructions say.
I was all concerned I might have messed something up.

Well the woman who answered the phone, was very knowledgable and put my concerns to rest.
Answer is: Just put the batteries on the charger again and charge for 13 hours or so...no problem.
Whew, that was a relief.

Then I had a question about the connectors, and she put Jim the technician on the phone. He was very patient as well, and answered all my questions about the connectivity of the white plastic connectors. I thought they were a little fragile and tough to disconnect. He assured me that's the way they are.
I was also concerned about the "O" rings within the screw on bottom cap.
He assuaged my concerns that the second ring was warping already. It wasn't. And he said it is the first inside "O" ring that does most of the work sealing the canister.
All is well.
I love this light.

Thank you Sartek!

Geoff

 

[tank29]

Uh-oh. I just bought the 10W Mini Li-ion and I don't remember seeing any requirements for a long first charge (although it did charge overnight; ~12 hours). I'll have to double check the paper work. It performed great this weekend though! Thanks for the post and info!

 

[CarlS]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the nice comments. I apologize for the confusion, the Lithium Ion packs come with a smart charger that will automatically switch from fast charge to trickle charge when the pack is charged, this is indicated by the LED changing from red to green (usually 5 hours max). The 18 to 20 hours refers to the Nickel Metal Hydride packs which come with a trickle charger which is best way charge it to prolong the life of the pack. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Dive Safe!

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

I just got off the phone with the guys at Sartek, and they were very helpful and patient
with this new owner of a 21 Watt Focusable HID, 10.4AH Lithium Ion Canister Light.

My questions was:
- Did I screw up by only charging the LI-ON battery five hours as the charger instructions say, and not the "first time charge" 18-20 hours the OTHER instructions say.
I was all concerned I might have messed something up.

Well the woman who answered the phone, was very knowledgable and put my concerns to rest.
Answer is: Just put the batteries on the charger again and charge for 13 hours or so...no problem.
Whew, that was a relief.

Then I had a question about the connectors, and she put Jim the technician on the phone. He was very patient as well, and answered all my questions about the connectivity of the white plastic connectors. I thought they were a little fragile and tough to disconnect. He assured me that's the way they are.
I was also concerned about the "O" rings within the screw on bottom cap.
He assuaged my concerns that the second ring was warping already. It wasn't. And he said it is the first inside "O" ring that does most of the work sealing the canister.
All is well.
I love this light.

Thank you Sartek!

Geoff

Told you they were a great company to deal with

 

[CarlS]

Oh, you guys are gonna make me blush!

 

[tank29]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the nice comments. I apologize for the confusion, the Lithium Ion packs come with a smart charger that will automatically switch from fast charge to trickle charge when the pack is charged, this is indicated by the LED changing from red to green (usually 5 hours max). The 18 to 20 hours refers to the Nickel Metal Hydride packs which come with a trickle charger which is best way charge it to prolong the life of the pack. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Dive Safe!

Thanks Carl! I'm glad to know that I am not crazy and didn't miss reading something!

 

[potablewater]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the nice comments. I apologize for the confusion, the Lithium Ion packs come with a smart charger that will automatically switch from fast charge to trickle charge when the pack is charged, this is indicated by the LED changing from red to green (usually 5 hours max). The 18 to 20 hours refers to the Nickel Metal Hydride packs which come with a trickle charger which is best way charge it to prolong the life of the pack. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Dive Safe!

Carl,
All you said here makes sense, but the instructions included with my 21W Li-Ion, say to charge for 18-20 hours and does not identify NI-MH or LI-Ion. Since the instruction were with the LI-Ion batteries one would assume....
Now that the instruction mixup has been addressed, the new problem (maybe) is that after I called Sartek on the phone, I was told when asking about the LI-ION first time charge, that putting it back on the charger for an additional 13-18 hours was fine. Remember I already charged for 5 hours. Thus the total charge time would be 18-23 hours.
Now I read from your post that those instruction are for NI-MD, so what's happened to my LI-ION? Were they overcharged? Have I done any damage?
Please let me know, as I will worry that I've shortened the life or otherwise damaged the battery cells.

Thanks,
Geoff

 

[CarlS]

Hi Geoff,
No need to worry, all the Lithium Ion packs come with a smart charger. The smart charger works with the built in circuit board on the battery pack to make sure that the battery is properly charged. The smart charger performs a fast charge and then monitors and tops off the battery (almost like a trickle charger) to keep it fully charged. When the green light is on, you are ready to go. Leaving this connected will not shorten the life or damage the pack in any way. The instruction sheet that you refered to is a general one that covered both Lithium Ion and NiMH batteries. Sorry for the confusion. Please let me know if you have any other questions.