Battery Discussion Thread

[RI Chevy]

Re: Triple v5 R33 Engine - 4th LED, 30w limit, Screen Programable, Dual Mode Groups

Fellow member HKJ.

 

[fyrstormer]

Re: Triple v5 R33 Engine - 4th LED, 30w limit, Screen Programable, Dual Mode Groups

Yes, that's the guy, thanks.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Re: Triple v5 R33 Engine - 4th LED, 30w limit, Screen Programable, Dual Mode Groups

Those failure modes are certainly possible; however, in 8 years of being a flashaholic, I have never experienced them.

The new AW RCR123s are the same length as the IMR18350s, so I suppose they're more accurately labeled 16350 instead of 16340. There's a guy on CPF (sorry, I forgot his name) who performs exhaustive battery tests, and it seems the latest RCRs and IMRs from AW perform almost exactly the same at all tested discharge rates, with the only noticeable difference (to my eyes) being the RCR cutoff. So it seems there's less difference between RCRs and IMRs than there used to be. Someone mentioned that the chemistries are hybridized nowadays, which would explain it.

Sorry, and again - not trying to spoil anyones party. If you love RCR123's, go with RCR123's...

PCBs don't come in a bunch of sizes so the smaller the cell, the larger the % of the total size the PCB takes up, displacing more chemicals/capacity. Complicating matters, RCR123's were the first rechargeable lithium size and unlike every other size, have historically had overstated capacity:




But even when IMR are less (as they usually are)...

Speaking as a flashlight enthusiast, I have never had a protected cell fail on me. Speaking as a battery dealer, I replace multiple cells per year, 100% of them protecteds. This is a rate well under 1% but enough that its not worth the risk when 1) uses are critical and 2) there are easily available alternatives.

 

[fyrstormer]

Re: Triple v5 R33 Engine - 4th LED, 30w limit, Screen Programable, Dual Mode Groups

I've had one battery fail on me. It was an IMR. It was left in an unused flashlight too long, and when I opened the light to check the battery, it was extremely hard to open, a bad smell came out of the battery tube, the red shrink-wrap was bleached at one end, and I later noticed a dark ring on the wood shelf where light had been standing on its bezel. I also noticed some damage to a plastic insulator on the back of the driver module. Never had that happen with a protected cell. I suppose failure of protected cells are more likely when the light is subjected to rough treatment, which mine generally are not -- so it's a good thing the lights you sell have springs at both ends of the tube.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Thanks for the detailed report, I've added it to my example index. Please let me know directly if it came from me!

And yes, protecting protected cells is the main reason we put battery bumpers in most of our stuff!

 

[mk2rocco]

I have experienced one failure of a protected cell. My Malkoff MD2 rolled off the 2nd story deck onto concrete. Light was fine but battery was toast, I with I had dissembled the battery but I just disposed of it.

 

[ElectronGuru]

I have experienced one failure of a protected cell. My Malkoff MD2 rolled off the 2nd story deck onto concrete. Light was fine but battery was toast, I with I had dissembled the battery but I just disposed of it.

Thanks for the note. I don't recall if MD bodies have a battery lip, so the drop spring should have taken the brunt. Must have been a serious collision.