18650's Care and Maintenance

[pobox1475]

I have been using AW protected cells (18650, 17670, 14500 & RCR123's) for over a year now. I usually top them off frequently. After recently acquiring a ZL H30 during use on high the protection circuit kicked in on a 123. Is this cell now compromised? Will it still perform like it did before this event after being recharged? I use a Pila IBC for charging duties.

 

[Illum]

I have been using AW protected cells (18650, 17670, 14500 & RCR123's) for over a year now. I usually top them off frequently. After recently acquiring a ZL H30 during use on high the protection circuit kicked in on a 123. Is this cell now compromised? Will it still perform like it did before this event after being recharged? I use a Pila IBC for charging duties.

By protection kicked in meaning the light was working normally and it just shut off? If so it just means the cell is depleted or shorted somewhere along the way. AW RCR123As according to a couple third party tests appear to be less than ideal for heavy loads and only guarantees a percentive of the "750mah" capacity at moderate loads. How old is your AW cell? as cells age due to cycling it becomes easy for cells to drop in voltage under load than compared to a new cell. I think this is why on laptops as the battery gets old the meter may indicate 100% but when you try and use it it'll run for ~2 minutes then the computer will go out when a new cell pack could last several hours

 

[pobox1475]

Cell was almost new. First time I had one go all the way down. Unfortunately my meters are out of state in storage. I put it on charger and it seemed to charge and terminate normally. Had the ZL on high for about an hour and then it just abruptly went off. In normal uses is it very bad to have the circuit kick in?

 

[Illum]

Cell was almost new. First time I had one go all the way down. Unfortunately my meters are out of state in storage. I put it on charger and it seemed to charge and terminate normally. Had the ZL on high for about an hour and then it just abruptly went off. In normal uses is it very bad to have the circuit kick in?

I wouldn't know because it never happened to me more than once or twice through a couple of years
An hour on high sounds a bit rough though

 

[pobox1475]

An hour on high sounds a bit rough though

Yea. Did not know how long I would have on high. Per their specs primaries yield 2.5 hours. I was close to shutting it down for a cell swap when it ended.

 

[sidecross]

I am new to Eagletac 18650 3100 mAh Li-ion batteries and this topic or thread has anwered my questions.

I thank everyone and this web site for this richh source of information. :thumbsup:

 

[777qqq]

What is the best open circuit voltage to store 14500 and 10440 Li-Mn and 18650 Li-Ion batteries at? Do they need to be cycled if used for regular consumer use? Thanks.

 

[bwDraco]

Wow, that was a big necropost. The last post was 2-1/2 years ago.

Don't deep-cycle Li-ion batteries, this will shorten their life. Li-ion does not develop memory the way NiCd does.

For modern high-capacity lithium-cobalt cells such as the Panasonic NCR18650B, the optimal open-circult voltage is about 3.6-3.7 V, which represents an approximately 35-45% state of charge. Avoid discharging batteries to below 2.75 V under load or 3.2 V open-circuit, as this will shorten their life as well. Discharging to less than 2.5 V open-circuit will damage the battery and compromise safety, and attempting to recharge a battery at an extremely low voltage (less than 2.0 V) can result in a fire. I would personally try to avoid discharging below 3.5-3.6 V open-circuit whenever possible for optimal service life.

Today's Li-ion batteries are designed to operate to slightly lower voltages, which expains the lower voltages I'm giving. Cells using older technology generally should not be discharged below 3.0 V under load or 3.6 V open-circuit.

—DragonLord

 

[777qqq]

So I should store my 14500 and 10440 Li-Mn and 18650 Li-Ion batteries at 3.6-3.7 V open-circuit? How long will they remain at 3.6-3.7 V before I need to charge them back up to 3.6-3.7? I accidentally posted in this thread instead of creating a new thread.

 

[more_vampires]

Also, don't forget "cool, dry place" if you're going to this depth.

 

[Keeper Oath]

My first 18650 flashlight (TN30) will be here by Saturday. I have no familiarity to the battery so this thread is valuable to me. As much as these little jewels cost, I want to maintain them with a lot of TLC.

 

[QuantumSam]

Just ordered my first 18650 flashlight - Sunwayman C22C - what battery brands are good? What should I avoid?

Should I use 3000 mAh and higher? Or are 2500 mAh good enough capacity?

 

[Ubec]

This topic is extremely helpful for newcomers like me.

Thanks to those users who shared their knowledge!

 

[Lumencrazy]

So I should store my 14500 and 10440 Li-Mn and 18650 Li-Ion batteries at 3.6-3.7 V open-circuit? How long will they remain at 3.6-3.7 V before I need to charge them back up to 3.6-3.7? I accidentally posted in this thread instead of creating a new thread.

I have had Panasonic NVR18650B (unprotected) stored at 3.4 volts in a fridge for over 5 months with no drop in voltage. The lower voltage and temperature lowers the chemical potential of the system, thereby, slowing down any unwanted reactions

 

[LAMPARITA]

I have a Olight 18650 and the protection plate on the back-end of the battery got loose while trying to pull the battery out of the flashlight. Plate still attached to the battery bottom but I'm just wondering if it's safe or not to use it the way it is?

 

[kj2]

I have a Olight 18650 and the protection plate on the back-end of the battery got loose while trying to pull the battery out of the flashlight. Plate still attached to the battery bottom but I'm just wondering if it's safe or not to use it the way it is?

So the plastic wrapping isn't holding/surrounding the metal plate? In that case, you could shrink wrap a new plastic tube around it. Remove the existing wrap before adding the new one.

 

[LAMPARITA]

Correct, plastic wrapping isn't holding the plate so I will try to do the re-wrapping when I get home tomorrow evening but in the meantime, I will like to know if the battery can still be use the way it is? Just asking for safety reasons.

Thank you for responding

So the plastic wrapping isn't holding/surrounding the metal plate? In that case, you could shrink wrap a new plastic tube around it. Remove the existing wrap before adding the new one.

 

[kj2]

Correct, plastic wrapping isn't holding the plate so I will try to do the re-wrapping when I get home tomorrow evening but in the meantime, I will like to know if the battery can still be use the way it is? Just asking for safety reasons.

Thank you for responding

I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[vadimax]

I am lost with those safety levels. Real situation right now: I have bought a Xtar 18650 3400mAh, poked it into a Thrunite TN12 (2016), and used it for some time till I came home where I do have a charger. When I put the battery to charge I was a bit scared -- Thrunite MCC-4 showed 1.5V. Having read all these horror stories about over discharged Li-Ion I was ready to run and get cover, but Xtar safely and calmly reached 3.7V without any sign of becoming any warmer than the room temperature. After that I reinserted it and now it is going after 4.2V. And only now the battery and the charger are becoming slightly warmer.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[gigbyt]

Thanks for all this useful info, one can read for hours here at this forum.