Toss or keep?

[Stream]

A year or so ago I gave my old PD32 along with a pair of AW 18650 2600mAh batteries and an Ultrafire WF-139 charger to my brother. Sure enough, he eventually misplaced the charger and the batteries and the flashlight lol. Recently they have all surfaced again, but the two batteries are reading 0v on the voltmeter. I am guessing he used them until the protection circuits were tripped, and then they were left in this state for what must have been a few months until they resurfaced. I rarely let my cells run below 3.7v (I usually recharge them at around 3.8v), and I have told him to recharge about once a week, or every time he has used the flashlight for an extended amount of time. My concern is what the effects of being left in this state for such a long time could be, and whether it is safe to try and recharge them now.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[mcnair55]

Treat yourself to new for Easter.

 

[ronniepudding]

I am not a battery expert, but I think 0 volts qualifies as having been over discharged

[EDIT: never mind, I stand corrected.]

 

[Stream]

I am not a battery expert, but I think 0 volts qualifies as having been over discharged

It is my understanding that if the protection circuit has been tripped, it will read 0v.

 

[ven]

Does sound tripped, by all means with caution try and charge them , watching so as you do. If it resets and charges,then holds the charge after a day or so, you should be fine. Or for what they cost just recycle , if it's been a good while I don't think the cell will be its best anyway. If replaced look at a higher mah to give him a bit more run time .

If the chemistry is not for him(remembering to charge and take care of) , maybe a couple of 123 primaries to use....just thoughts.

 

[ronniepudding]

It is my understanding that if the protection circuit has been tripped, it will read 0v.

Sounds reasonable, previous post edited, carry on.

I've never tripped the protection circuit on my RCR123s, and I'm a bit over-cautious.

 

[Vortus]

There is a post here in the battery section on how to reset them if you don't know how. Pretty simple and works well. If successful, and if you view as reasonably safe, charge and see if it holds.

 

[Stoneking]

I'm much like your brother in the fact that charging batteries and taking care of them is not my thing. I make sure not to lose my light but if it didn't take disposable batteries I would never have bought it.

 

[Stream]

Does sound tripped, by all means with caution try and charge them , watching so as you do. If it resets and charges,then holds the charge after a day or so, you should be fine. Or for what they cost just recycle , if it's been a good while I don't think the cell will be its best anyway. If replaced look at a higher mah to give him a bit more run time .

If the chemistry is not for him(remembering to charge and take care of) , maybe a couple of 123 primaries to use....just thoughts.

He is currently using a Sipik 68 with a lithium AA primary that I gave him when he couldn't find the other light lol. I might just buy him a couple of new 18650s, the ones I gave him were old to begin with, but they did still hold a good charge and gave decent runtimes.

 

[Stream]

There is a post here in the battery section on how to reset them if you don't know how. Pretty simple and works well. If successful, and if you view as reasonably safe, charge and see if it holds.

I was actually reading through that thread already. Someone talked about connecting the ends to a charged battery, sort of like jump starting a car, there was also a lot of talk about different charger types and how they charge etc. Do you suppose just popping them in my Nitecore i4 charger would work?

 

[bella-headlight]

Yes pretty sure that the i4 will re-set tripped protection.

 

[NoNotAgain]

My experience with both the digital and analog Nitecore chargers is that they won't reset a lithium battery that's tripped the protection circuit for low voltage.
A short piece of wire across the negative terminals and touching the positives together for a few minutes works provided the battery isn't trashed.

 

[bella-headlight]

My experience with both the digital and analog Nitecore chargers is that they won't reset a lithium battery that's tripped the protection circuit for low voltage.
A short piece of wire across the negative terminals and touching the positives together for a few minutes works provided the battery isn't trashed.

I stand corrected if that is the case as I thought that both the i4 & D4 re-set tripped protection.

 

[StorminMatt]

Given how cheap new batteries of MUCH higher capacity are, I would toss those batteries.

 

[Devon]

2 or 3 months at 2.5v should be fine.

 

[Stream]

I stand corrected if that is the case as I thought that both the i4 & D4 re-set tripped protection.

Actually, it turns out you were right! Yesterday I finally got around to attempting a recharge of the tripped 18650s. After only about a minute or so in the i4 charger I took them out to see if the protection had reset, and sure enough it had. I could now get a volt reading, with one reading 3.11v and the other 3.18v. I then put them back and let them charge all the way up while routinely keeping an eye on them, making sure they did not get too hot. They finished at 4.20v. I am going to test them now to see how well they hold a charge while in use. If they turn out okay, I will give them back to my brother. And if he is able to keep track of and maintain them, then I will probably get him a pair of new higher capacity ones.