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Lamber

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  1. Lamber
    Aaaaw always nice to get some good feedback - thanks for taking the time and I hope it keeps on delivering!
  2. Lamber
    Yes I sell them for R900 at the moment - free shipping included. You are welcome to PM me for details.
  3. Lamber
    Hey JJ, I'm using a 5A continuous discharge off the shelf PCM. As mentioned on page 2 of this thread normally these batteries are "dumb" when doing 4 or less cells. BMSs with DOC settings are not worth the money and space they take up for this application (my opinion) and will take a hammering with dust and vibration. The PCM limits the voltage levels and cuts out - simple as that. Hope that answers your question?
  4. Lamber
    I completed the first 4 cell 10 000mAh bike light battery in the country (that I am aware of) and will be testing it over the weekend. This battery uses the (relatively) new 2170 size cells rather than the 1865 cells that I have been using in the past. The 2170's are used in the current line of Teslas but will soon be replaced by the 4680 which I'm also eager getting my hands on. Pics below shows the size difference between the 6800mAh 1865 pack (black) vs 10 000mAh the 2170 pack (blue) - I'll call it "The Mega". If tested successfully - it will be ideal for the Munga/Freedom challenge riders.
  5. Lamber
    Can't agree with you more. Personally I am a big fan of Ryder's Concept 1000 seeing as I can pop cells in and out at will and/or carry a spare. This coincides with the movement towards clean and uncluttered handlebars without spinning the lead cable 50 x around it. I do however believe that battery packs have their place in ultra races (I sell majority of my packs to Freedom challenge and Munga riders) for the time being at least. Thanks for your advice - it's exactly the type of input I'm looking for.
  6. Lamber
    Hi all, I'm currently in the development phase of a new battery pack (4 cell 10 000mAh - 1st of it's kind in SA) but would like to gauge the market to determine whether I keep it for personal use only or market it as part of my existing range. All input is appreciated and welcome ????
  7. Lamber
    This is a very accurate post and probably the most cost effective solution. Just note that the term "deep cycle batteries" can be deceiving. Your depth of cycle severely impacts your battery's lifetime, my rule of thumb for sizing Deep Cycle batteries for systems are double capacity so that discharge never exceeds 50%. I believe that is what Karman has done as per quote (i.e. one battery will do the job but two batteries will protect the discharge). While deep cycle is cost effective most professional installers will opt for a lithium solution today seeing as they have 10 years' warrantee on the units which they need to cover. Lithium can also be specced at full capacity for discharge with no threat of damage to the battery (where a BMS or PCM is installed).
  8. Lamber
    Achieved a very respectable 6.5 hours runtime on the 2100Lm setting.
  9. Lamber
    So here's another update: A client requested a 6 cell 7.4V 10200mAh battery and today is test day. Once again looking forward to results compared to similar units going for 2 x the price. I'll post final times once the lights go out ????
  10. Lamber
    I can supply this unit for R1400. There's a catch though - the 3 blue circled ports are all the same (like that of a battery pack) thus your ONT and Router plug must look like the red circled plug (like that of the bike LED light) in order to make it work. The ones on Takealot (that I've seen) have 1 x 12V port, 1 x 9V port and 1 x 5.5V port. Mine has only 2 x 12V ports so you can check your gear's supply voltage and let me know if this will suit you.
  11. Lamber
    PM Sent. Our standard chargers are R250 (including shipping) but this one will have some mods due to your unique Molex connector requirement.
  12. Lamber
    I have had a lot of interest in these battery packs since posting my research and experiments on this thread. I am happy to report that my initial feeling wrt pricing of these battery units were correct as I believed it can be done much cheaper. I have started selling these units for R850 (incl shipping) which is the 4 cell 6800mAh 7.4V unit. It is compatible with Extreme Lights, Pyrolights, Magicshine, Magiclight, Gemini and Fluxient LED lights. I also sell chargers for the 3.7V & 7.4V battery packs. You can follow my progress on: https://www.facebook.com/Alpha-Adventure-Gear-101204205423059
  13. Lamber
    Got some time to test the the 2100 lumen setting on the Extreme Lights with my Alpha Battery pack. Total runtime in this mode was: 4 Hours 18 Minutes 03 Seconds ​I was a bit disappointed seeing as I was hoping for a 4h30m + Because I needed to drain the pack fully to test the recharge time as per Hairy's request I continued to let the light run (it switches over from 2100 lumen to 200 lumen on its own as soon as the indicator light starts flashing red) but to my surprise the light continued in this mode for a further 7 hours and 34 minutes. The setup with the fan is shown below. Second picture shows the automatic switch-over from 2100 lumen to 200 lumen in the GoPro sequence. Next test will be the 750 lumens setting...
  14. Lamber
    Full charge time for the pack from drained to full was 7h46min - you were more or less spot on
  15. Lamber
    Thanks for that - definitely worth testing as well! My charger is rated at 1A @ 8.4V. Seeing as this is a 6.8Ah battery I would assume around 7 hours. The 1.8A chargers which are readily available should halve that. I will test this over the weekend as well so that I can include it in the factual results next week.
  16. Lamber
    And so it is with great sadness that I must announce the loss of the "Alpha Battery's" (yes I gave it a name ) first of an estimated 1000 lives. 200 Lumens = 97 Hours 41 Minutes 39 Seconds Obviously this was a stationary test done at 24 - 29 degrees Celsius (baby monitors don't lie - apparently) and I will continue improving my testing parameters with the assistance & input from all on this thread. Thanks for the questions and comments - it has helped tremendously. Over the weekend I will try to do stationary tests on both the higher lumen settings if time allows and post results next week. If I end up boring everyone at least I have documented my nonsense for future use. I believe the more understanding you have of your gear, the more confidence you have when taking on the challenging rides/race. Have a great weekend
  17. Lamber
    I am using the exact same NCR18650B cells which a well known SA company is using. The claim that the single cell is protected is true - you will note that they are 5.5mm longer at 70.5mm and not 65mm as the general 18650s which houses the vents and protection. I have been using unprotected cells since the 2018 TransXhariep and haven't had a days problem in my Ryder Concept 1000. I guess it's always fine until it isn't - that's down to personal opinion & finance.
  18. Lamber
    Some general information on 18650 cells which I thought I'd share. This might be common knowledge to most but it could save you some research time if you haven't gone down the rabbit hole yet. 18650 cells shot to popularity when they were used in the first Tesla vehicles and Powerwalls. Since then there has been two upgrades on the size of the Tesla cells but the 18650s remain popular for mostly small consumers (vaping, torches, small battery packs etc). They are called 18650s because the are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long. As with most popular tech, an abundance of cheap fakes flooded market to claim insane amounts of storage capacities. I have seen red "Ultrafire" cells (pic below) claiming anything up to 10 000mAh battery for R15 to R50 a piece. Luckily they are easy to spot: 1. Price - expect to pay between R100 and R200 per cell when buying retail depending on the chemistry and capacity of the battery 2. Mass - I use 42grams as a rule of thumb, if it weighs less than that it is most probably useless 3. Graphics - this is tricky as some suppliers rebrand cells for retail, so here my rule is the more graphics the less likely I am to buy it - graphics cost money which means either someone is putting a 100% markup on a cell or the are trying hard to sell a poor quality battery. Graphics also conceal important data (such as manufacturer, chemistry and capacity) which forms the basis of the informed buyer. 4. Manufacturers - Sanyo, Samsung, LG and Panasonic are brands that you can bet on. Their branding won't be flashy, rather basic like the purple cell pictured below. 5. Data data data. If a supplier has a data sheet - you are already on the right track. If they give the mass as per point 2 above then it is 95% legit. You can weigh to confirm and return if it is incorrect - but generally this seldom happens. Lastly and very important - Chemistry. Generally fake cells won't display chemistry so this is only used to differentiate between a good cell and a great cell. IMR: I = Lithium, M =Manganese, R = Rechargeable; Chemical structure = LiMn2O4 Sony are the leaders with IMR. They are popular because they can deliver very high currents although only for short time spans. ICR: I = Lithium, C = Cobalt, R = Rechargeable; Chemical structure = LiCoO2 Samsung, Sanyo and LG are the leaders here. These cells were the first to become popular with cycle lights but are now the "cheaper option" (although not always marketed/sold as such). They delivery lower currents for longer than the IMR. NCR: N = Nickel, C = Cobalt, R = Rechargeable; Chemical structure = LiNiCoAlO2 Again this is the chemistry Tesla uses (I'm not a fanboy, I promise - although I believe they are in the forefront of battery technology because their revenue depend on it. They however call it NCA (Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminium) to highlight the Aluminium component. NCR is (or should be) the "new normal" as they are high drain batteries for long durations. They are available in 6.8 A and 10 A delivery current versions and most common capacity is 3400mAh. I used Panasonic's NCR in my experimental pack. Pic1 - cheap fake 4200mAh: R15, Pic2 Samsung 2600mAh ICR: R110
  19. Lamber
    Another update - at 10:00 today the stopwatch will read 92 hours of battery life thus far. I hope at 14:00 this afternoon I can hit the 4 day (96 hours) mark, however the indicator light has flipped to orange earlier this morning so I doubt it.
  20. Lamber
    How long (how many nights) would an expedition race like this typically last?
  21. Lamber
    Thanks for getting in touch - will definitely keep it in mind!
  22. Lamber
    Just a short update - currently sitting at 52 hours and things are still looking bright. On the down side if the battery lasts another day I probably need to move the setup to my garage - SOH is not too pleased about this experiment being conducted in the bedroom
  23. Lamber
    PCM with equilibrium function normally comes into play for a pack of >5 cells or >18.5V (as a rule of thumb). These systems are usually stationary and does not have to conform to the vibration and size limitations that bicycle batteries call for.
  24. Lamber
    Thanks Hairy, that was obviously waaay before my time I'm just as interested to where this might lead. I won't be dabbling in LEDs just yet (although I have a solid background in working with industrial LEDs) as I would like to get the battery side of it sorted first. 36 hours in and no smoke yet...
  25. Lamber
    This ties into Leon's comment above and valid point thanks.
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