Which Zebralight Headlamp?

[Jennifer Mitol]

Mark (and anyone else who uses them) – I remember the discussion about the Miller charger…

Can that be used both ways?  meaning can I use it to CHARGE something, as well as TO CHARGE the 18650 as well?  This conversation has me thinking about trading my own H51w for the H600w I gave my brother for xmas this year (he won’t care….!).  Now I wonder if using a spare 18650 as a top off for my Delorme might be a really good idea.

Hmmm……

 

[Mark]

Mark (and anyone else who uses them) – I remember the discussion about the Miller charger…

Can that be used both ways?  meaning can I use it to CHARGE something, as well as TO CHARGE the 18650 as well?  This conversation has me thinking about trading my own H51w for the H600w I gave my brother for xmas this year (he won’t care….!).  Now I wonder if using a spare 18650 as a top off for my Delorme might be a really good idea.

Hmmm……

Yep, there is a output for charging your phone, GPS etc and a input for recharging the battery.

Only downside is you can only charge one battery at once, so on multi-day trips where you need to recharge more than 1 x 18650 you either have to kepp swapping the battery after each one has charged, or you carry more ML-102’s (they’re around 34g each).

My charger has 4 x USB outputs so i can charge 4 x ML-102’s at once if need be, although i usually take 2 of them and swap out the batteries.

Only potential problem is that protected 18650’s won’t fit without “modifying” the ML-102, i’ve tried several “mods” best bet is to just use some pliers and crush the – contact spring, a few seconds with a scalpel to trim the – contact feet and you’re good to go.

 

Or you can just use non-protected 18650’s.

[Mike W]

I take the Miller charger on most trips but if you want a nicer, two cell (18650) battery bank that will charge two cells at once, try the eNB charger/battery bank.  I have two of them and use them all the time at home and car camping but since they are only  .4 oz heavier than the Miller charger, they are a very nice unit for backpacking as well.

The eNB has a very nice led battery meter that let’s you know the state of your batteries.   It’s also nice to have the batteries completely covered and the eNB charger will also fit protected or unprotected cells.  If you buy one be careful to order the one that is listed as 1/2* as that indicates the unit can work with one or two batteries (nice option).

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002784/1535101-enb-1a-1-2-18650-li-ion-battery-usb-emergency

[Ian]

Yep, there is a output for charging your phone, GPS etc and a input for recharging the battery.

I *believe* I have the second generation Miller charger.  It’s great but according to an article Eric posted somewhere, there was an issue with it over-charging the 18650 batteries.  I also *believe* there’s a newer version so hopefully this has been rectified.

Alas I must defer this to Mr. Chan.

Dear Eric,

Would you please weigh in on this?

In puffay solidarity,

Ian

[James holden]

There was an issue with a certain version of the miller ml102 that kept overcharging …. Which wasnt good considering most folks used unprotected bats in em

fortunately this seems to be fixed in the latest versions

thats the issue with these “no name” chinese things

while fenix, zebralight are chinese as well … They are large enough and care enough about their brand to make an effort to test their product and have some at least basic QC

With no name ones, they might not test every change fully …. Overcharging should have been caught easily

ill edit my post in a bit to add the links to the overcharging issues

;)

added … v7.1 issue, and V8 fix

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/37872

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/40359

[Mark]

The overcharging concern is a non issue, even on the version that’s known to do it, it still terminates at 4.2v, it’s not like it’s a runaway charge.

At worst it will decrease the life of the cell if done consistently over it’s life.

Even then it’s not really a issue as the ML-102 is not a real CC/CV charger, so if you constantly use one of these to charge your cells no matter which version, you are not going to get the same life out of a cell than say a dedicated or hobby charger, we’re still talking charging into 3 figures before anyone is likely to notice anything.

End of the day it costs under $5 for the charger around $5 for a decent 18650 cell.

It charges your devices and has the ability to recharge itself, and it weighs 34g (81g with a 18650), so putting it into context, it’s a cheap, lightweight, safe option no matter which version you buy.

[James holden]

no mark …

it while it SHOULD terminate at 4.2V … there is a trickle charge current that can keep charging above that …

at the worst case with poorer quality cells they may vent … with good quality cells theyll get reduced lifetime

from probably the most respected tester and reviews or bats and chargers for lights

But there is a major problem, the charger has 20mA trickle current, in the above test I stoppen when the battery was up to about 4.30 volt.

For the next test I used a 4.35V battery and I modified my logging termination to stop at 4.38 volt.

Yes, the battery gets charged to 4.38 volt and would have been charged to more if I had continued.

This charge was running for about 35 hours to reach the 4.38 volt, i.e. it is not something that will happen just because the battery stays in the charger for a hour or two, but a day or two is very problematic.

The charger is a dumb charger, i.e. no microprocessor that needs to initialize or anything, when power is applied it will start charging immediatly. This type of charger works perfectly with a solar panel.

During all the upgrades to the charger it has gotten more powerful, but has lost the basic capabilities. The battery size is very limited and it will over charge batteries if they are left in the charger.

The over charge is not a problem if you are around and can remove the battery when the charger is finished, but if you let a battery stay in the charger for a day or more it can get serious (A cheap battery may vent, quality batteries will “just” loose lifetime).
The usb output works fine.

I will not recommend this charger anymore due to the over charge.

remember that a bat can easily loose 30% of its permanent capacity in ~300+ full cycles in perfect conditions

 

charging at 4.35v (which the tests show the miller 102 v7.01 can clearly reach) the life of a li-on bat is cut in half

in short the miller v7.01 can be dangerous with SOME cells, and can reduce the life of others …

and a few hundred cycles is EASILY achievable if your constantly using it as a powerbank both on the trail and at home

the good news is that it appears to be “fixed” in the newer versions

i mean for like a few bucks theres absolutely no reason to take the risk with the 7.01 

especially not with BPLers who spends hundreds on cuben, patagucci and dead birds

it funny how folks go gaga over a bit of minor efficiency gain of a zebralight over a fenix (which we have shown to be untrue on the latest versions) …. yet say that overcharging at 4.38v (not to mention that the charger didnt stop there but would have kept increasing the voltage if it wasnt disconnected) on a li-on bat is of no concern

;)

[Richie S]

Anyone know why the 600s don’t seem to be available right now? New model coming?

[D M]

[Brandon Moores]

<div class=””>The H502PR in the <span style=”color: #ff2600; font-size: large;”>RED</span>.  This is an awsome light.  I think it could be my primary lamp.  100 lumens on high is less bright than many other lights but it’s very bright for a red LED.    It takes a AA battery and is very light. Red allows you to keep your night vision to see the stars, etc. It’s far more natural.  When you turn off the red night vision is still relatively intact moments later.    I use a similar frequency red light for therapeutic purposes.  This light improves the skin, helps heal a wound, activates etc. so long as you have battery juice.</div>
<div class=””>http://www.zebralight.com/H502pr-Photo-Red-AA-Flood-Headlamp_p_175.html</div>
<div class=””></div>
<div class=””>This guy looked into the therapeutic aspects and cites some studies http://heelspurs.com/led.html  The optimum wavelength table shows some overlap with the zebralight PR model.</div>
<div class=””></div>
<div class=””>White or blue lights are annoying, blinding at night.  Cortisol peaks before dawn and sensitizes the eyes to macular degeneration if they are hit with UV and even bright blue light.   A bright blue light early in the morning is not good beyond turning off melatonin and improving alertness.</div>
<div class=””></div>
<div class=””>UV and blue light poison oxidative metabolism. Sun is best, when the UV is blocked by clothing or sunglasses.  If the sun isn’t out the extra dose of red from a flashlight is helpful localized, e.g. a stiff joint, inflammation, or injury.  Red light upon waking should help lower cortisol, improve vision, etc by activating cytochrome oxidase and turning off nitric oxide.  Red light can stop a sunburn if applied within 1 hour, by stopping the generation of free radicals and activating the respiratory enzymes that were poisoned by UV and lipid peroxidation.</div>

[Jim C]

Two alternatives to consider:

1. Instead of the Miller ML-102, look at the Nitecore F1. I just wrote about it on another thread, so I’ll only cover the highlights here. $10, 30g, charges and discharges protected and unprotected lithium ion cells of various sizes, including 18650, 16340, and 14500 cells, which work in the Zebralight 600, 32, and 52 series lights, respectively. The F1 also apparently includes more protection from over charging and discharging, so it may be a safer choice.
2. Instead of the Zebralights, look at the Spark SG series (SG6, SG3, and SG5 for 18650, 16340/CR123A, and 14500/AA, respectively). They feature interchangeable lenses, so you can go from spot to flood. They come with only the flood lens, but you can order a spot reflector on eBay for $11, shipped from China. I ordered a pair of reflectors, and added frosted film to one of them.

This essentially gives me the equivalent of a Zebralight HL502 flood, HL52 spot, and HL52F floody in a single package. (The SG series use the same reflectors, so if you prefer 18650 or 16340/CR123 over 14500/AA, you can get the same flexibility with the other artery types.)

[Jim C]

The diffuser film I mentioned is available on Amazon. I’ve got way more than I need, so if you’d like some, contact me and I can PIF for the cost of shipping.

The Spark SG series is available from Georgia’s very own Going Gear (no association). They don’t carry the reflectors, however (look on eBay). Sign up for their newsletter, and they’ll send you a 10% coupon code.

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