Originally Posted by
honcho
On principle I believe batteries should be replaceable, regardless of their chemistry. Throwing away an otherwise working device because it was made with a non-replaceable rechargeable battery is wasteful. That said, the lithium chemistry rechargeable batteries have been improving over time and product designers have been making lighter and brighter lithium chemistry powered lighting products, My main ride has a dynohub and powered lighting front and rear so no real batteries there other than my wrist worn Garmin Foretrex 601, which I use mostly with rechargeable AAA batteries or disposable (and increasingly expensive) Energizer lithium AAA batteries. On other bikes, we use a collection of Planet Bike Superflash Turbo and Portland Design Works rear blinking lights with the aforementioned rechargeable and disposable batteries. We do have some rechargeable lights around but they don't see much use.
I would like to see a device that could use multiple types of batteries and be able to charge NiMH or LIthium rechargeables by connecting a USB-C power cable. Unfortunately, while technnically possible, without proprietary cell packaging so the device would be able to detect what type of battery chemistry was installed, such a device would rely on the user to make sure they didn't try to charge nonrechargeable cells or use the wrong setting for a particular cell chemistry, which in turn might increase the risk of fire or explosion. That's why it is uncommon to see devices that can use either replaceable disposable or rechargeable batteries have any ability to charge batteries in the device.
TOTALLY AGREE! This sort of nonsense of throwing away a perfectly good light that probably has at least another 80,000 hours of light left on the LED from the original 100,000 hour usage they average, just because the battery failed charge after 3 to 6 years. They do the same thing now with cell phones, they now are gluing the battery in place so that the user can't replace the battery when it will no longer hold a charge! Phone is perfectly fine but, nope, gotta go and throw it away and spend a bunch of money for new one. iPhone is even putting certain upgrades in the phone that as it ages they make some sort of function on the phone inoperative after an upgrade, and they slowly do this till you decide to get a new phone. That sort of stuff should be against the law, if a cell phone only cost $50 then who cares? but they don't.
All this waste means they have to make new stuff, which means there are factories spilling out climate change gases, which tells me that climate change being caused by humans is a huge lie, otherwise they would be working diligently to make things last as long as possible, and be able to repair stuff, change batteries etc to prolong the life of the object. Of course all this remaking of stuff means using up valuable natural resources as well. I have a friend who has a International refrigerator made sometime in the 40's that is still running! They've been using ever since they inherited from her mom who had also never stopped using it; never any repairs just a couple of seals. I know we can make stuff to last a very long time, but they don't want to because of corporate stock holders need their shares to go up.
It would be nothing to do, and cost nothing extra, to make a light that the user could open it up and replace the battery when they no longer will take a charge. Then the company who made the light would just make and sell you a battery...as long as they don't get stupid and charge as much, or even near as much as a new light! Or make the battery so it only will recharge for a couple of years!