I have seen and even purchased such things from a dollar store, and
determined after I got home that these were imitations. The batteries
in these imitations are CR2016, which i surely believe is a
non-rechargeable type. The coil's leads in these imitations are shorted
together. The "magnets" in these imitations are not magnets but merely
chunks of steel rod.
Since the packaging makes actual claims of never needing replacement
batteries and to shake in a specific direction and to shake to recharge,
my opinion is that these fakes are something truly dishonest. I wonder if
a specific law was broken where I could get a DA or a law enforcement
agency involved.
The dollar store where I got them has a return policy posted on their
door: No refunds, returns only for exchange of factory defects, and then
only with receipt and a time limit. So I left one of these on for a week
to drain the battery and went back to the dollar store to return one.
Someone there took my return, shook it and was unsuccessful at recharging
it by shaking it, then pulled another from its box on a display rack,
found it dead and was unable to charge it by shaking it, and pulled
another that was good from the box, so I get a replacement rubbish fake
shake-to-recharge flashlight with at-least-somewhat-good cheap CR2016
calculator batteries for my time and effort of making the return and my
$1.99-plus-tax that I originally spent on the one returned.
I have seen them (non-fakes) at Upper Darby True Value, a hardware store
in the 6900 block of Marshall Rd, Upper Darby PA USA. Where in PA - in
Delaware County, in the zip code 19082. I found ones there that did not
light before I shook them and did change to working in my response to
shaking them.
Web references to true such things, not necessarily any specific model
that I personally experienced:
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/second/shake2.htm
(A review page by a notable LED flashlight reviewer, Craig Johnson AKA
"LED Museum".)
- Don Klipstein (
[email protected])