Great testing. I have something sort of similar it's a camping lantern with 2 sets of lights 6 ceramic based warm light strips around the sides and 40 very small 6500k LED's in the top with a reflector. You adjust it with a dial to turn on the brightness. It has a solar panel on the top which is really probably there to maintain the charge or charge it very slowly and a hand crank. It last 6 and a half hours on full charge at the brightest 40 LED's(650lm) and 26 hours on the brightest of the ceramic strips(350lm). And has a USB-C for charging and a USB-A for output at 1A. What's interesting though is I opened it up and there were 2 18650's in parallel in there in a power pack rated for 6000mAh(I got 5116mAh's in from low voltage cutoff) attached to a 2-pin plug that plugged directly into the PCB. I actually found the exact same pack on the internet so it could be replaced. Just looking at your lamp I can't wait for you to open it up. I'd almost wager you could solder a 18650 at least in there. I took one of those COB lights I love and I popped in a 600mAh battery as they only had 400mAh's in there and it really increased the run times. I'm guessing it's an 800mAh or 900mAh battery in that lamp(18350 size?). Maybe I'll order this lamp it's only $23 Canadian with shipping and my friend Lisa would probably like it for a mood lamp and test it myself and let you know. Then at least we have a sample of 2. Here is a review from the site I bought the camping light at that I can't name, that is named after a mythical tribe of women warriors: "A really nice little unit. I got 6 hrs and 14 minutes runtime on high far short of the claimed 10 hrs but more than enough to get the job done. In fact on high it would probably be too bright for a tent which this light was designed for so you would probably have it turned down a notch or two which would easily get you through the night. However the best thing about this light is the replaceable battery pack. If this becomes "grandma's favorite lamp" you can replace the battery pack with another for about $8 USD. I can't tell you where on this site, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. It's a standard 2P 18650 3.7v setup and the thing is, there is enough room in the case for 21700s for a total of 10amps which would put it in the 10 hour runtime territory. Which may be what the manual is quoting, perhaps this lamp was originally designed with 2 21700's in parallel instead of 18650's. Hell I've seen 3.7v batteries up to 280amps out there if some crazy mofo wanted to have this lamp run for months without charging with this little lamp perched on a boat sized battery with leads going into the PCB. LOL. As you can see by my current counter from low voltage cutoff(which it has as a bonus)I'm getting 5116 Ma into the battery pack. So these are your typical Grade "B" cheap cells made for electronic gadgets, RC cars, flashlights, etc. These are not Samsung automotive grade "A" NMC cells I'm afraid. The light would be double the price. Although for some enterprising DIY's if you like the light that much that you'd splurge to pop a couple of parallel Samsung or LG 18650's in there to really increase runtimes, knock yourself out. I'm happy with the light as is. That 5116 Ma, add another 10% for the actual capacity of the cells. Having a low voltage cutoff and not running the batteries into the ground will really help with the longevity. Well worth the $38? I paid, got a $3 off discount or something. Nifty little light. Would make a great gift just for the 2 colour LED feature alone. The solar array at the top will charge it fully after about a week but it's real reason is to keep it topped up or charge it if it's slightly been used. The bottom crank works really well at that would be more efficient in an emergency if you can't charge it via USB. It only accepts 1A in and out, however it has charge passthrough so it will still charge the battery at 1A even with it on. However just to be easier on the unit I wouldn't run it full blast and charge at the same time for long periods, but putting it on say a medium setting it can handle it no problem. If you popped this on a power bank you could run it indefinitely theoretically. EDIT: One of the waterproof cover attachment points broke off so be a little careful. However, ironically the flap works better now."
Thank you! Oooh, that does indeed sound like an interesting device - would love to see you showing it in a video! "[...]that is named after a mythical tribe of women warriors", I like your style! :D If the cells are in parallel, is there charge balancing circuitry or does it just treat both cells as it was only one cell? Maybe it is not so crucial in a 2P pack though if the cells drift a percentage point or so. Thanks, yeah I am planning too see if I can improve the battery capacity in that lamp. Next part video should contain a bit more DIY :) Yeah, if you also get one of these, then we would indeed have a sample size of 2 - interesting to see how much the included battery cell capacity will differ.
Great testing. I have something sort of similar it's a camping lantern with 2 sets of lights 6 ceramic based warm light strips around the sides and 40 very small 6500k LED's in the top with a reflector. You adjust it with a dial to turn on the brightness. It has a solar panel on the top which is really probably there to maintain the charge or charge it very slowly and a hand crank. It last 6 and a half hours on full charge at the brightest 40 LED's(650lm) and 26 hours on the brightest of the ceramic strips(350lm). And has a USB-C for charging and a USB-A for output at 1A. What's interesting though is I opened it up and there were 2 18650's in parallel in there in a power pack rated for 6000mAh(I got 5116mAh's in from low voltage cutoff) attached to a 2-pin plug that plugged directly into the PCB. I actually found the exact same pack on the internet so it could be replaced. Just looking at your lamp I can't wait for you to open it up. I'd almost wager you could solder a 18650 at least in there. I took one of those COB lights I love and I popped in a 600mAh battery as they only had 400mAh's in there and it really increased the run times. I'm guessing it's an 800mAh or 900mAh battery in that lamp(18350 size?). Maybe I'll order this lamp it's only $23 Canadian with shipping and my friend Lisa would probably like it for a mood lamp and test it myself and let you know. Then at least we have a sample of 2.
Here is a review from the site I bought the camping light at that I can't name, that is named after a mythical tribe of women warriors:
"A really nice little unit. I got 6 hrs and 14 minutes runtime on high far short of the claimed 10 hrs but more than enough to get the job done. In fact on high it would probably be too bright for a tent which this light was designed for so you would probably have it turned down a notch or two which would easily get you through the night. However the best thing about this light is the replaceable battery pack. If this becomes "grandma's favorite lamp" you can replace the battery pack with another for about $8 USD. I can't tell you where on this site, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. It's a standard 2P 18650 3.7v setup and the thing is, there is enough room in the case for 21700s for a total of 10amps which would put it in the 10 hour runtime territory. Which may be what the manual is quoting, perhaps this lamp was originally designed with 2 21700's in parallel instead of 18650's. Hell I've seen 3.7v batteries up to 280amps out there if some crazy mofo wanted to have this lamp run for months without charging with this little lamp perched on a boat sized battery with leads going into the PCB. LOL. As you can see by my current counter from low voltage cutoff(which it has as a bonus)I'm getting 5116 Ma into the battery pack. So these are your typical Grade "B" cheap cells made for electronic gadgets, RC cars, flashlights, etc. These are not Samsung automotive grade "A" NMC cells I'm afraid. The light would be double the price. Although for some enterprising DIY's if you like the light that much that you'd splurge to pop a couple of parallel Samsung or LG 18650's in there to really increase runtimes, knock yourself out. I'm happy with the light as is. That 5116 Ma, add another 10% for the actual capacity of the cells. Having a low voltage cutoff and not running the batteries into the ground will really help with the longevity. Well worth the $38? I paid, got a $3 off discount or something. Nifty little light. Would make a great gift just for the 2 colour LED feature alone. The solar array at the top will charge it fully after about a week but it's real reason is to keep it topped up or charge it if it's slightly been used. The bottom crank works really well at that would be more efficient in an emergency if you can't charge it via USB. It only accepts 1A in and out, however it has charge passthrough so it will still charge the battery at 1A even with it on. However just to be easier on the unit I wouldn't run it full blast and charge at the same time for long periods, but putting it on say a medium setting it can handle it no problem. If you popped this on a power bank you could run it indefinitely theoretically.
EDIT: One of the waterproof cover attachment points broke off so be a little careful. However, ironically the flap works better now."
Thank you!
Oooh, that does indeed sound like an interesting device - would love to see you showing it in a video!
"[...]that is named after a mythical tribe of women warriors", I like your style! :D
If the cells are in parallel, is there charge balancing circuitry or does it just treat both cells as it was only one cell? Maybe it is not so crucial in a 2P pack though if the cells drift a percentage point or so.
Thanks, yeah I am planning too see if I can improve the battery capacity in that lamp. Next part video should contain a bit more DIY :)
Yeah, if you also get one of these, then we would indeed have a sample size of 2 - interesting to see how much the included battery cell capacity will differ.