Head torch/lamp woes

[pucho812]

Picked up a great headlamp from Amazon. It’s awesome for doing work as it frees both hands. It even has rechargeable batteries. How cool.
But I noticed it doesn’t last very long before I need to recharge.
So I picked up some same type batteries that have larger mAh. Only the new batteries seem to get about the same amount of life out of them before needing a recharge and before the lights go dim. Any ideas of what I can try next?

 

[AnalogPackrat]

I have a couple of headlamps that use 18650 batteries. One is 6-8 years old and no longer made, the other is a NiteCore maybe 4-5 years old. Both still work. They're the mini-ell type aluminum case that can be removed from the headgear and hand held or clipped to a hat.

They have 4 or 5 brightness levels. At medium level a battery will last a few hours. At lowest reading lamp level it will go a couple hundred hours. They aren't cheap, but they work well and you can buy extra batteries.

Like this:

https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-HC33-Headlamp-p/fl-nite-hc33.htm

 

[AnalogPackrat]

The other one is Skilhunt brand, but a previous model.

https://www.skilhunt.com/product/h04-led-headlamp/
The magnet in the tail end is handy at times (attach to inside of car hood, rack frame, etc.).

 

[sodderboy]

I have a couple of headlamps that use 18650 batteries. One is 6-8 years old and no longer made, the other is a NiteCore maybe 4-5 years old. Both still work. They're the mini-ell type aluminum case that can be removed from the headgear and hand held or clipped to a hat.

They have 4 or 5 brightness levels. At medium level a battery will last a few hours. At lowest reading lamp level it will go a couple hundred hours. They aren't cheap, but they work well and you can buy extra batteries.

Like this:

https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-HC33-Headlamp-p/fl-nite-hc33.htm

I got a fancy “tactical” with the odd battery size10 years ago. It was brite but short batt life. I even considered a long power cord/wallwart for it, until I lost it in a rack for over a year! It’s sitting unused in favor of a 3xAAA jammy ($10) with beam focus that I keep three of in case of loss or give them to fellow rack hounds in my travels.
I’ve been trying a LED strip version, but I think that will be better suited at the camp site or night fishing as it is very diffuse.
Mike

 

[AnalogPackrat]

I "standardized" on 18650. Got small lights for car glove compartments, a 2 cell camp lantern, and a decent charger that handles several cell types including 18650.

 

[JohnRoberts]

If you could moderate the current draw.... If you have room you could wire two lamps in series to drop the current draw for general use, then with a switch use one lamp for full brightness as needed.

JR

 

[AnalogPackrat]

If you could moderate the current draw.... If you have room you could wire two lamps in series to drop the current draw for general use, then with a switch use one lamp for full brightness as needed.

JR

Some of the bigger lamps do this. Some also have two separate optical paths for beam vs flood. The better designs use a controller that does a good job of providing a very wide range of brightness settings (3 orders of magnitude) with commensurate efficiency/battery life.

 

[crazydoc]

I got a couple for free at HFT about 20 years ago, and pretty much only use them when I crawl under the house 4x/yr to change the water filter. Still have the original 2AA's I put in when I got them. They don't sell them any more, but this one looks like a good substitute, and the price is right, but probably not good for hours of work.

https://www.harborfreight.com/light...en-swivel-led-twist-focus-headlamp-63598.html

 

[pucho812]

The head lamp in question is in this link.
Not sure why larger capacity batteries
Yield the same out of life as the originals. I have not made any mods to it yet. At the price it is, works well. Not as nice as my desk lamp with magnifying glass but well.
https://www.amazon.com/AMAKER-Recha...9K6NS34P&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_grid_dv_rp_0_6_i

 

[AnalogPackrat]

The head lamp in question is in this link.
Not sure why larger capacity batteries
Yield the same out of life as the originals. I have not made any mods to it yet. At the price it is, works well. Not as nice as my desk lamp with magnifying glass but well.
https://www.amazon.com/AMAKER-Recha...9K6NS34P&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_grid_dv_rp_0_6_i

Most of the mystery brand Chinese batteries don't meet their claims or even come close to reputable brands. If you're using the built-in USB charger it may also not fully charge the cells.

Project Farm dude did a good test video on 18650 batteries.

 

[sodderboy]

90,000 lumenzes? 100,000 hours?!? Shizzle!
Don't melt the stuff in the racks yer working on.
You are lucky if you haven't blinded some poor, innocent intern with it.
Bro, I would run an ol' skool AM radio around it, at any light level, to check EMI. It must be throwing
hella field locally, like directly into your membrain.
If it is EMI safe, and you love it, consider a wall wart with a 12 foot cable.
Just don't wear it around here. Dang!
Mike
PS: Folks, anything you want to buy on Amazon, check it on ebay first. Good chance it's there for around half the price! I have found this true, especially for electronic gadgets.

 

[pucho812]

90,000 lumenzes? 100,000 hours?!? Shizzle!
Don't melt the stuff in the racks yer working on.
You are lucky if you haven't blinded some poor, innocent intern with it.
Bro, I would run an ol' skool AM radio around it, at any light level, to check EMI. It must be throwing
hella field locally, like directly into your membrain.
If it is EMI safe, and you love it, consider a wall wart with a 12 foot cable.
Just don't wear it around here. Dang!
Mike
PS: Folks, anything you want to buy on Amazon, check it on ebay first. Good chance it's there for around half the price! I have found this true, especially for electronic gadgets.

It’s not that bright, specs are inflated

 

[cyrano]

I have an older one from LedLenser. Mine's not rechargeable and the AAAs in it have lasted for over a decade. Obviously, I only use it every now and then.

https://ledlenser.com/en-en/products/headlamps/
They're a bit pricey. Mine was a present. You can find them cheaper than on that site.

It's been towed around for over two decades in my toolbox. For me, reliability is far more important than brightness, as I need it to work in the rare cases I need it.