Crank flashlights: Which batteries are in there?

The umpteenth flashlight was completely corroded out by a battery that leaked despite the fact that it was delivering power. It almost wrecked a nice cabinet along with it. So, I just got a flashlight with crank from Costco. Duracell KP028, two for $15, even has a radio with weather band in there. Now I am curious: Does anyone know what kind of batteries are in there? Maybe even a super-cap?

Google didn't lead to any hints and according to the Duracell site they don't even make them (!). Then again their site isn't very good, lots of "The system cannot find the path specified."

I am not a fan of LEDs, they just aren't as bright as regular flashlight bulbs. But this thing is pretty good. One minute of cranking and it lights long enough to find stuff, even keeps its charge. Ok, they say 30 minutes but it gets dim after 5-10 minutes. Good enough for me, if the battery holds up over the long run.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
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Joerg
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I took apart the small one I just got and it had a 40mAh NiCad. Rounded case, about 3" x 1.5" x 1", three LEDs, on-off slide switch, short attached wrist-strap like those on digicams. $6. Works quite well, brighter than the bigger one I got last year, nice and small, fits in one hand.

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Joerg wrote in news:wHiHi.50488$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net:

IMO,Duracell batteries are prone to leaking. If they are used in your crank flashlight,then that will fail,too. Get a flashlight that uses lithium cells.

The 1W and 3W Luxeon LED lights are pretty good.

IF.

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

When I took apart my crank LED flashlight to fix the switch I found to my surprise a large capacitor instead of a battery. Explains why the thing is so damn light. Not as bright as a regular flashlight but I find it usable. Mine uses a ratchet based crank for single handed operation so I can actually use it while cranking. Don't know the brand though.. probably made in China.. I got it as SWAG from a Fluke booth at a convention.

Reply to
slebetman

That's what I was thinking (but still hoping for a super-cap...). I guess that NiCd will eventually croak under these frequent and partial cycles. Just like those for my lil' hand grinder. Lasted only one year :-(

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
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Joerg

Hmm. They also had a four-pack of others but I figured a brand name might be better. Plus the radio feature is nice in case the really big shaker comes.

Well, great, here you just blotted out my optimism ... Oh well, let's hope it lasts. We also have a humongous $10 flashlight with a lead-acid gel cell. It was said not to last but surprisingly it has now lasted three years. We use it every day to clean up after the dogs when they do their late night potty. You can light up the road signs clear across the valley with that one.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
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Joerg

Then it should last nearly forever. Well, until something mechanical gives up. Mine won't open without destruction but what surprised me was that the lights they had there at Costco lit nearly for the max time, sans cranking. I tried the one I bought: Turned it one, went through the store to load all the other stuff I needed, returned 20 mins later and it was still going. At least a NiMH would not hold a charge for months while shipping.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
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Joerg

Joerg wrote in news:PwxHi.50583$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net:

I've been buying Fuji Novel alkalines,they don't leak and they are cheaper than Everready or Duracell,seem to last just as long.

For what you paid,it was an OK buy,IMO.

I had a couple of 12v 20AH gel cells(scooter batteries) that came in handy after Hurricane Charlie took out my electricity for 7 days;I used old PC power supply fans to give me a mild breeze to sleep in the hot,humid Florida weather,and had a 12v fluorescent lamp for light.

But they eventually succumbed to sulphation. :-(

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

Joerg wrote in news:YAxHi.50584$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net:

This reminds me of the $3 "forever" shaker flashlight I bought,only to find the coil was not connected,no storage cap,and two lithium coin cells actually powering the LED.(1 CR2032,1 CR2025)

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

It's hard to find brands other than Duracell out here since that is what Costco and other discounters carry. At the supermarkets batteries are really expensive. Had to do the scraping and vinegar thing on our emergency lantern yesterday. Same thing: Lit up brightly on both tubes but one D-cell had oozed all over :-(

Yeah, I guess. It also has an amber blinker LED. I want to try that during our evening dog walks. Sometimes we chat with neighbors and whoops, it's dark. The usual lanyard blinker gizmos are mostly junk, fell apart on us. Costco also has a headlamp, maybe I'll see if I can mod that to red and wear it "in reverse". It's all a 25mph zone here but some of those kids really tear down the road.

We have a Statpower "suitcase" with a piggybacked 300W inverter. It has kept the wood stove fans going for six hours once. Very nice. For longer periods one can connect a car battery to it.

But they still last an amazingly long time.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
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Joerg

Joerg wrote in news:wHiHi.50488 $ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net:

wrecked

weather

batteries

Mos likely some sort of recharegable battery rather than a supercap for that one. My 3 LED crank light uses a NIMH pack, although my 1 LED shake light uses a Supercap.

they

of

Most likely they leased out their brand for those devices.

Reply to
Gary Tait

Yes, and a lot of people brought them back to the stores because of premature "failure". Lack of honesty usually doesn't pay.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

If they market these in Europe it couldn't be NiCd. I've never seen a shake light. Wonder if scraping out the super cap and LED would beat the Digikey prices for super caps (pretty high).

That would be a rather dangerous business practice. If they hold up, fine. But if they don't, hoo boy. They have their corporate address in CT on the warranty slip. AFAIK they belong to PG now.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

Probably because they're a gimmick -- "shacking" is just about the most power inefficient way I can manage to turn human motion into electrical energy!

Reply to
Joel Kolstad

The factories get paid up front. It doesn't pay to be lazy in spot checking and evaluating product from third-world countries.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

One has to hope that the merchants or whoever ultimately pays for the loss learn. A classic example was a lanyard lantern my wife wanted to buy from a hardware store, for walking the dogs after dark. The clerk finally gave up after the whole thing fell apart upon battery installation and exclaimed "That stuff really is junk, as you said."

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

That's what I thought. It's kind of ok for watches where little energy is needed. But even there you can buy "shaker cradles" to place them into at night if you don't exercise them enough. It's quite a joke IMHO.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

Zero-point energy batteries, of course.

("Crank"?)

Tim

-- Deep Fryer: A very philosophical monk. Website @

formatting link

Reply to
Tim Williams

On ours the charger is so wimpy that it needs all night to recharge. Not sure about the cut-off though. But there is no perceptible loss of capacity over all those years.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:59:29 -0500, Tim Williams top-posted:

I'm working on a design for one of those, but for the implementation, I'm going to need to find a witch. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise, Plainclothes Hippi

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