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What's the opinion on the best 4x18650 recharegable battery box / enclosure available these days?
I'm currently running a mk2 solarstorm 18650 battery enclosure like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/SolarStorm-Multifunctional-Intelligent-Solarstorm-rechargeable/dp/B00QIEXOCI which was a considerable step up from the mk 1 version but it's wearing out.
Have we all reverted to cheap chinese pre-packed units?
Don't use that one. It draws 8mA even when switched off so you would need protected cells and charge regularly.
bugger I'm thinking about another battery box, though my own mk1 (?) chinese battery box is still going strong, that looked interesting though I don't need the USB lead, I liked the strap mount.
I suspect Jonwe that most sensible ppl are buying battery packs from MTB Batteries or Torchy (off ebay), which is also an option I'm considering (though Torchy's unit look big and bulky & I don't need that capacity)
I'm interested if you find anything. I've looked in the past and not found anything similar other than that Solarstorm (or what appear to be very similar units without branding which I suspect are knock-offs).
Good to know about the 8mA draw, but I don't tend to put the cells in until shortly before a ride. Coupled with some decent cells from Torchy and a 4-cell intelligent charger, I've been very happy.
Oh, and I find that it's a lot more secure / quieter if you put an offcut of road bar tape along the side that goes against the frame.
I still use the solarstorm one linked to, and as above to power my mtbbatteries lumenator, charge the cells separately and put them in before a ride (or just top it up with an 8.4V charger). The USB is really useful for 2-3 day bikepacking trips as I can eek out enough light for a few hours after dark riding, and keeping my phone charged up for navigation.
Be aware that the solarstorm boxes aren't really built to power really high powered lamps, neither the springs in the contacts or the wires are big enough to power much more than ~2000lumen lamps (depending on efficiency). I've got a 2800lumen nightfighter lamp that came with a panasonic battery and the wiring is a much thicker gauge, it shows low voltage at the lamp pretty quickly when connected to the solarstorm box.
<p>I use that battery box listed above and have used it with high capacity batteries. I have heavily modified it though. The mods can be found in this forum somewhere, I can't find it now as I'm at work. http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/</p><p> I've been running it now for 3 years with no issues. In it's un modified state it does draw a lot of current, one the mods will address that. If you were to charge it as a pack (four cells together in the box), the charge isn't ballanced.</p>
Marvellous! I use torchy's cell and an external charger to max the cells then put them in the enclosure just before setting out. I found out about the standby current the hard way. The wire is very fine and I always assumed that I wasn't getting full beam from a solarstorm x2 as the head unit drops down from three to one led almost immediately but lasts several hours on a mix of full / medium power.
I've just ordered a new design from amazon. The externals look good (but lack toby's critical tape mod). It's anyone's guess what the electronics are like mind.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CJFPBD4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@asbrooks - I'll go look for your mods - heavy duty cable sounds good to me.
Cheers jonwe, given the cost of the enclosure and batteries, I can see the allure of just buying Torchy's ready made battery pack…
Would I be able to use the cells from my existing Chinese packs in an enclosure? How can you tell if a cell is weak?
I bought one of these in 10400mAh version (unconfirmed capacity) last year and it's still giving great run time, I like the long shape rather than normal boxy packs, seems robust, haven't found a uk seller but it's cheap enough if you are not in a rush
We use quite a few lights in our family, having 8 sets. Right hand side is the battery that came with the lights, out of 8 sets I'd say only 3 still work well enough up to 2 hours run time. Some only gave 30 mins from new... (but I like the lights they come with which have been reliable) These were mostly replaced with the 6 cell pack in the middle - run time is still variable, 2-4 hours depending on pack, but much better than the packs the lights came with. The left is the one from the link above, I've not done a full run test but has been 3+ hours. I've got a couple more coming so might do a full test on them all.
Would I be able to use the cells from my existing Chinese packs in an enclosure? How can you tell if a cell is weak?
Probably not, cells in a sealed pack are more likely to be tabbed not button ends. "Back in the day" when P7 lamp cost £50 they were pretty good, but when the price and quality dropped then the batteries started to be filled with recycled laptop cells which were already at the end if their life, that's why battery life is so poor.
The advantage of the solarstorm box is you can then buy batteries from a known source, and charge them separately which means they're charged with more control and they're always balanced.
The cost of a charger, cells and box ends up about £50, about the same as a 4cell pack should cost from a reputable source, but should last almost forever in normal use without degrading and won't go out of balance which is what normally kills battery packs.
I bought a battery pack set off someone on here a few years back. Panasonic cells and a separate battery case, a bit like the solar storm one above but without the USB port. I take the cells out to charge them. Has been excellent and very waterproof. I use it with a nitefighter light
I bought one of these in 10400mAh version (unconfirmed capacity) last year and it’s still giving great run time, I like the long shape rather than normal boxy packs, seems robust, haven’t found a uk seller but it’s cheap enough if you are not in a rush
Looks very similar to the more expensive RockBros branded ones. They seem to get good reviews -
Ok, here is the thread on MBTR that details various modifications to the battery box. http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/review-new-solarstorm-2s2p-8-4v-water-resistant-4-x-18650-battery-case-bicyc-943638-2.html
Looks like there are different versions of circuit boards since I did mine.
If you need the connectors with heavier gauge wire, you can get them from aliexpress.
Good luck
@k1100t, It wasn't too bad. In my day job I'm an engineer. Even if it looks tricky, I like to challenge myself so will have a go at most things.
yeah I decided I could do without that grief and have bought one of Torchy's (smaller) batteries