Originally Posted by
Burton
Hi Colleen - are you building your own battery packs? I guess the other question is - are you using a charger with cell balancing capabilities?
Suspect we're looking at very different approaches as I deliberately chose high capacity 3 cell battery packs wired to deliver 11.1V, a lower amperage draw and with the voltage protection cut-off circuitry built into the light, not the battery. IMO that kept things simple, lighter and cell balancing is handled by the charger.
I've used some Panasonic NCR unprotected 2900 using Batteryspace 2s2p cell holder. I chose the cell holder over building a pack so that I can remove the cell and periodically check and balance them. Another reason for that holder is that I personally test the built in PCB and noted it can load to the 5 amps claim. I was running an Olympia 3x XML and the Xera off the same pack. The combine drew 4 amps. At that level, I am working the panasonic hard. I noticed how much easier it is to umbalance the cell under a hard load and deep discharge. I can up it and do 6 cell if I build my own pack but I carry the 4cell in my pocket, so extra weight or bulk is not too appealing. I don't expect my cell to last longer than 2-3 years since I am pretty sure the internals are getting damage slowly. I think the IR of the cell are increasing ever so slightly with each cycles.