What’s inside the recalled Skilhunt H150
https://zakreviews.com/h150-repair.html
I took apart my H150 to better understand the RPP short, show what else is inside, and attempt to make it safe to use.
#flashlight #headlamp #skilhunt #recall #h150 #repair #teardown #disassembly @[email protected] @[email protected]
I could see this as another casualty of lumenitis. CPF used to be wary of unprotected calls and preferred protected ones. Today’s high powered lights make that problematic.
A lot of older lights didn’t have LVP. AA/14500 lights never did until recently, and usually had terrible mode spacing with 14500.
Unprotected cells aren’t required for any Skilhunt lights. I have H10s because they had the highest capacity available when I bought them, but I’d likely buy unprotected button-top F12s if I needed more 14500s. True protected 14500s are too long for most AA battery cases, though Skilhunt, Acebeam, and others have been selling 14430s as protected 14500s.
14430+protection seems like a good way to do it. I wish someone would do similar for 18650 and 21700. The protection is not just against undervoltage. It’s also against shorts, as matters here.
The issue with protected cells is that they don’t make allowances for going into momentary load territory that the cell can handle safely. I have no qualms pulling 20A from a 30Q for a moment, but a lot of 18650 protection would clamp down at the 15A CDR. I’m fairly sure that I’m not alone a willingness to give up a few hundred mAh from my 18650s to get 18500’s wearing funny hats **if ** we could get the amps an unprotected cell allows while getting protection from actual shorts.
Sadly, 21700’s would be a problem. While 14430 and 18500 are (somewhat) standard sizes that can easily be shimmed to 14500/18650 size, there’s no slightly-shorter 21mm cell. Most 21700’s are made into battery packs that have that protection as part of the pack, so there’s no need for such protection on the cell. And I don’t think there’s enough flashlight enthusiasts and vapers to create a new standard.