Buy HitLights Rechargeable 3800mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack with DC

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $25.97
Today's Bonus: 13% Off

First of all, this product is amazing. A 12V battery pack this lightweight and small with 3.8Amp-hour capacity is something I could only find on Amazon. For the bike headlight project I am using it on, my other options were 12V power tool batteries and chargers, which cost well over $50, and have about the same capacity as this pack. To keep it lightweight, I am staying away from sealed lead-acid and (IMO) obsolete NiCd packs.

I don't usually read instructions, so it did not bother me that the labels on the product and the instruction sheet are all in Chinese. It seemed straight-forward how to plug the charger cord into the pack, so why would I need instructions? The online product description says it takes a 10-hr charge, so I did that before using it. Then I plugged in my light bulb to time how long of a burn time I will get from it. The 10-Watt LED light lasted almost 2 hrs, which was a little less than I was calculating, so I decided to charge it again, and repeat the test. This time, after a 10-hr charge, I only got a few minutes of use. I checked the voltage the battery was putting out, and found only 4.8 V, so I assumed there was an internal short in the pack. Just before I was about to request a return/replacement I decided to investigate the charger again. Long story short, YOU MUST SWITCH THE BATTERY PACK ROCKER SWITCH TO ON (I POSITION) IN ORDER FOR THE CHARGER TO CHARGE THE INTERNAL BATTERIES. It is deceiving that the amber LED glows on the pack with the charger connected and the switch in either position, but be assured you will only be charging when the switch is on. For that, I give this product 4-stars instead of 5.

Other notes: The switch has the common I/O markings, which always confuse me which is on an which means off. I=ON and O=OFF. Also the charger has an indicator LED that changes color depending on the amount it is charging: red when delivering a heavy charge, and green when it is full charged.

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I needed to power a normally-AC-adapter-powered effects box, while I wasn't near power. This battery works great for that. I had to build my own power cord because the effects box is (inexplicably) reversed polarity, but that was trivial and I needed a longer wire than the one that came with the battery anyway.

Only issues:

1) The manual is in Chinese only. I had a lady at work read it to me, and there was only one "secret" in there, to wit:

2) To charge, the power switch must be ON. This is not obvious, but if you put it on the charger with the switch off, lots of lights will come on, but it'll never charge up.

3) The first charger they sent me had only one LED (red) on it. It worked once, and never again. They quickly sent me a replacement (for free), and the new one has 2 LEDs on it, red and green. When I put the battery on the charger, the green LED lights up, and when the battery is full, it goes off. Works great now, but make sure you get the two-LED charger.

I'm very pleased with this unit. Very light, almost exactly the size of a deck of cards, and runs my stuff for 4-5 hours.

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I use this battery pack to light 5m of led lights attached to a bicycle.

After a full 10 hour charge it can only light them for about 2 hours. I wish it lasted as long as our bike rides!

Also The charger gets real warm while charging. I dont trust it to be plugged in while im not in the house.

Honest reviews on HitLights Rechargeable 3800mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack with DC

After charging more than 8 hours, the battery remained flat at zero volts.

The instructions indicate a green light; the green light never appeared. Instructions are ambiguous in other respects.

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Broke when unplugging the adapter; the screws that hold it together came out. Luckily I didn't get an electric shock! Doesn't hold charge for more than an hour. Useless!

You might think that this was a once off but I purchased 2, same result with both!