UKC

Years ago it used to be the case that you had to let rechargeable batteries go flat before recharging.

Not sure why.

Is it still the same now?

With your rechargeable headtorch, do you let the battery go flat or keep it fully charged?

thanks

Dave

Mine's got 4 settings, red, low, medium and high. When it gets out of juice it switches to the low setting for an hour. It's a pretty cheap one from Decathlon, been good for about 3 years so far, 

That’s great Jimmy and I’m glad for you). Not sure you read the question though

Don't think this is generally an issue these days.  I have too many rechargeable headtorches / bike lights etc.  I just charge them whenever I fancy.  It's great always having fully charged lights!

I just make sure they're fully charged before setting off regardless. Got bigger shit to worry about.

That was for NiCd batteries. No one has used them for years now, so you don't need to worry about it any more. Most things use Lithium batteries now, and the best thing is to not let them go completely flat. 

The only thing with Lithium batteries (apart from not letting them run down completely), is you shouldn't store them fully charged. If you're not going to use it for a while, try and make sure the battery is at about 70%.

Not sure you read his name, either

What you're referring to is the "memory" effect noted in early NiCad batteries, but newer ones have dealt with that with the different chemistry.

Personally, I'm sceptical of whether rechargeable AAAs work that well with my head torch (Petzl Tikka XP), partly because of the lower voltage (1.2v compared to 1.5v in alkaline) and partly because I'm never convinced they hold a charge very well, either, so I tend to stick with normal alkaline ones. Might just be my charger is a bit old and not optimised for them.

I've got a Tikka XP and it works fine with NiMh AAAs. I've never tested to see if they last as long as alkaline, but they are just as bright and last long enough for any of my outings. And because they are rechargeable I always start with fresh batteries. 

As above it comes down to battery design (chemistry) and most batteries now don't have a 'memory' so can safely be charged from any state.

I have some devices that really don't run well on rechargeables. But the way I use torches the benefit of always starting out with full charge far outweighs the downside of a potentially shorter battery life. I do also relish the cost and environmental benefits of not having to constantly replace batteries.

Ah, yeah... The point was I charge it when it goes to low power mode.

Thanks Hoo.

I fully charged my Fenix last night and all the 4 blue lights were lit meaning fully charged.

Its the 18650 battery it came with.

used it on 100 lumen tonight for about 20 mins and it was back down to two lit lights meaning half charged.

Just put it on charge and it’s by no means full.

The temp was 12degrees and the torch housing was cold. 
Is this likely to be a torch fault or battery fault?

Thanks

Dave

Not sure about Tikka and 1.2v, but the 1.2v rechargeable even using excellent quality ones (e.g. Panasonic Eneloop) *do not work* in my Fenix WF05E (2 x AAA in series). On full setting it only runs 44 minutes with rechargeables then starts to flash low battery warning but Energizer max alkaline the same test is 3 hours 24 minutes before it starts flashing. A huge difference in run times. (Yes... I do work from home )

Given it's on the side of my helmet as an emergency/backup light I want to be able to depend on it and get long runtime. Some torches don't "like" the lower 1.2 voltage. Some torches are just fine with those rechargeable. Since Tikka uses 3 batteries in series that will multiply the difference - I'd definitely want to check it. As boring as this is: it's worth reading instructions

Given how good the Petzl core rechargeable battery is, I think you should consider getting one for your Tikka

There are a few possibilities I can think of. The battery is knackered, the torch has a fault that is discharging the battery, or the torch is misreading the capacity.

Since the torch stays cold I think we can rule out option 2. It would be getting hot if it was doing this.

Since your charger seems to agree that the battery is flat, we can rule out option 3. You  an confirm this by running the torch it goes off then seeing how long it takes to charge. If it charges quickly then it wasn't really flat.

So it sounds like your battery is shagged. They do wear out, and even good quality ones will occasionally fail at random. If it's a Fenix battery it's probably got protection built in - it will probably say this on it. This means you can't kill it by running it down too flat, but if you run it to empty and then leave it for months it's not good for it. Have you ever done this?

I suggest you buy a new battery and test it. Worst case you have a spare battery for your next torch It doesn't need to be Fenix, but you should make sure it has protection. Some don't. And buy from a reputable supplier. Don't buy from eBay or Amazon. Loads of utter rubbish on there.

Which Fenix? And do you always charge using the in-torch USB, or do you open the case and take the battery out. 

One of my HM65-R's started doing this but it turns out its slate dust on the thread of the cap that interferes with the connection - cleaning the thread solved the issue. Strangely the other HM65-R has never had the same issue, despite identical use!

I routinely recharge my batteries (out of the torch) whether I've used them for 10 mins or 6 hours. Every month or two I'll do a full cycle charge to check their capacity and there's no significant loss on any of my 4 Fenix 18650's. 

Thanks Hoo and Ron

It’s a Hm65r.

The battery is new and charged 3-5 x

Is there a problem with charging with the battery in?

Switched it on this morning and it was on two lights.

 Which  external charger is any good?

ta 

Dave 

You say it's a new battery and it's the one that came with it, so it's a new torch? For a new £100+ torch that wasn't charging properly I'd be getting on to Fenix about it.

If I had it with me I would take the battery out and do a measured discharge to see what the actual capacity was, but I assume you won't have the necessary kit to do that. So what you could do is fully charge the torch and run it full power until it goes off. If it doesn't last as long as it should, return the whole thing under warranty and let them work out if it's the torch or the battery.

Thanks, yes it’s a few weeks old.

I will run it tonight until it flat and return as necessary.

Cheers

Dave

E mailed who I bought it off to return it.

Who is the onus for replacement with?

Fenix or the third party seller(reputable company). 
ta

dave

Your contract is with the seller, so go to them first.

Contract is with the seller......   But Fenix Customer Service have been fantastic for me!!

Thanks both.

Ive contacted the seller and they’ve suggested fully draining the battery then recharging it.

Doing that now. 
 

Failing this it goes back to Fenix via the seller

Dave