HEADLIGHT CHARGER(POSS FIRE RISK)

[skatenchips]

I thought is sensible to paste a letter recently mailed to Gerry concerning possible fire risks on the charger supplied with..........

Hi Gerry


I would just bring to your attention that the charger supplied with the ........


http://www.gerrysfishing.com/gerrys-160 ... adlight.ir


is a possible fire risk !!!!!!!!!!!!


I purchased the Mk 2 from Mick in the shop a few weeks ago online and have to say the

new blue batteries seem to hold a charge better and the light unit itself is better than the previous Mk1 which I had from you.


Its just that the charger turns out to be a "possible"fire risk.


I had used the charger for a few weeks and left it unattended but the other day I plugged the batteries in and a fireworks display came from the base of the charger within about 1 minute

of it being plugged in the wall....I am just pleased that I had not walked away and left it as

I am convinced a fire would have resulted in my home......"Not good""...I am just greatful

to have got to it and switched it off before it burst into flames.


I have since replaced the charger with another after a phone call to Mick in your shop,and up till

now "2 weeks" it has not shown any signs of fire risk.....that said neither did the other one.


I now have to sit and watch the batteries being charged with the charger in view.."just incase"


No drama queen here, just a concerned customer who has supported your "well priced"

headlights,with purchases of same,but I thought it best to advise you so maybe you can

give feedback to the distributors.


I would appreciate a reply so at least I know you acknowledged this mail.




Regards


Gary

While I fully understand "any" electrical item is a potential fire hazard its not every day
it happens, so when it does I think it only fair the supplier and or distributor of "said" item is made
aware of its possible design issues,and that other users are also made aware of possible flaws
in the charging unit..!!!!!!!!

Gazza

[grumpyppops1]

Very informative post gazza,I bet there are quite a few of them out there sold to our members .so for some people a take care,call ,charge them in the living room when tellys on

[nightfisher]

you can buy a charger in e bay for about £12 and its got a proper 3 pin plug on it
most of the cree headlights now come with with a plug in charger like for a phone they seem a better charger

[Blanko]

Cheers for posting that Gazza,no slight on Gerrys whatsoever as they've obviously dealt with it for the chap but its worth highlighting potential problems with cheap rechargeable electrical items, particularly ones you wrap round your skull


I've resisted commenting on similar threads to this many times as there are folk who were born knowing better but it has to be said............................Paying £15-20 for a complete headlight set up, often with multiple settings/lights/features, should ring a bell in most people's heads?

Sure very often cheap electrical items work OK and looked after they provide adequate service, I suppose great service given the cost, but there is a whole world of issues related to batteries/chargers. Unofficial/cheap chargers are reknowned for causing problems and I think it'd be gambling to leave one plugged in and leave the house - Google Chinese charger fire - youll probably get about a million results lol.

18650 batteries vary MASSIVELY in quality. You can pay a couple of quid for something some poor kid rooted off a dump out of an old laptop battery and was bastardised into said batteries in a sweat shop..............if you want. Or you can pay considerably more for something from a reputable manufacturer. Super Fire batteries divide opinion massively - those who like a bargain often say theyre superb , tests and those that prefer to buy reputable gear irrespective of price tell us that theyre a POS and little short of a hazard if youre unlucky and get a bad one. Plenty about these on the internet with more than a few dissected to show the cannibalised ancient crud inside what looks a minty battery casing along with explosions and associated burns caused.

Youll get very rare rogue items with any manufacturer,its inevitable but on the whole buying from LED Lenser (the OFFICIAL - NOT the cheapo ones from overseas on eBay!!!!) Petzl,Silva,Samalite and many other good brands will usually give peace of mind and long service/guarantee/backup and lets face it you can get a good 'name' rechargeable headlamp with genuine claimed output for little over £50.

[thairover]

Ummm! decided to have a sniff around the tinternet, after reading the above post.
Firstly the units I have bought work well and as far as I can tell do not overheat under charge both on mains and 12v in the motorhome.
Yes! they do need more time to fully convince me they will be fine, anyway I found this site very informative and fully backs up what Blanko is saying.
So first off the 'Blog' with all the tests that were carried out and the power ratings and durations.
check out the other links on the site, some of those bike lights could be tweaked for fishing use.

http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/p/18350-17670-16340-14500-10440-batteries.html

Next his Ebay site, all items carry an unconditional guarantee.
Batteries, chargers and lights.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/big_f_d_d/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Thanks for the heads up Blanco, I will closer monitor my equipment, one thing is for sure my batteries certainly do not last as long as the real deal, but I did get 8 with a mains smart charger for under £16 and two with one of the lights, easily changed during a session.

[Blanko]

That guy seems to know his stuff on battery power etc

On the whole the 'nasty' 18650 batteries are probably basically ok if used responsibly, lacking in performance compared to higher end cells but that's the same for everything you buy isn't it? And as long as theyre 'OK' folk will buy and use them and hopefully get fair use while saving £££s.

Just opens the eyes though when you see the crap inside what looks a shiny new battery.There are some terrifyingly graphic accounts of Ultra Fire batteries exploding, Id not like to have one on my head at the time lets just say that! Given the probable lack of any stringent quality control on cheap imports Id prefer to stick to paying a little more for extra performance and safety, regulating charger etc. Many low cost imports are not protected and can be over charged in older and cheaper chargers,this does seem to be a cause of the majority of disasters .

There'll always be a demand for cheap access to any market normally costing a lot of money, be it cars,food or head lamps. There seems less regulation and control on the garbage coming into the country nowadays but its cost driven. Thankfully on the whole as I say head torches should be OK as long as the nasty batteries supplied are charged responsibly in a quality charger that will not over charge the battery - after all who checks?

[rochman]

Similar issues with e ciggies. Mine is supplied with a fire retardant pouch to charge it up in. Does not inspire confidence in the product LOL!!

[skatenchips]

Just as a follow up.............

The replacement charger has been working fine ...albeit under my watchful eye when I charge it
next to my PC......so as Blanko said,no slight on Gerrys....just an electrical gadget that
is of cheap manufacture that threatened fire....so just be aware....that's all.

Gazza

[thegentlegiant]

Great news is that bud, glad no further issues just on this subject not sure if you were aware but after your issue we asked an electrician for a pat test is it? He confirmed the units were ok.

Not sure if we are continuing with them this year as In fairness you can't go wrong with led lensor at £54.99 and a 12 month warranty.

[flearider]

may I suggest a http://www.nitecore.com/productDetail.aspx?id=52 for the 2 bay and they do a 4 bay ..
for batterys sony vtc 4's ,Efest 18650 2500mAh 35A Purple, LG 18650 HE2 IMR 2500mAh or Samsung 25a

to anyone that reads this thread those are the best that are around atm and for fishing should last quiet a while ..