A couple of years ago, Trustfire ‘Flames’ were about all you could get for 26650s so I bought a pair for a new light I had acquired.
They’ve been through not more than a half dozen cycles each, and yesterday the one in my SD10 started to blink it’s ‘low battery’ warning. A quick test before charging showed 3.18 v. Charging on my old Nitecore i4 commenced at 1 amp, and a half hour later the battery felt uncommonly hot. A test showed 3.4 v.
After letting the battery cool for a while, I put it back on at (again) 1 amp. Another half hour, and it was again hot. Hot enough to be uncomfortable in my hand. Tested 3.6 v. this time.
Put it back on at 500 mA. An hour later, hot again at 3.75 v. This time I took it off, and left it off.
The other battery of that pair hadn’t been used in some time so I deliberately ran it down in the SD10 and put it on the charger - it charged normally, at 1 A., right up to 4.2 V and remained at very near room temperature throughout.
Is that how buggered lithiums make themselves known?
I’m calling the first one of the pair ‘done for’, but what’s the proper way of disposing of lithium rechargeables? I don’t want to toss it in the garbage and start a landfill fire or something.
I would not use the cell any more and keep it in an fire safe container until you can recycle it (maybe discharge it in a safe location), when an li-ion cell gets too hot to hold it becomes damaged and unstable and an 26650 is a big cell.
Most public drop off recycling facilities have an area for lithium battery packs.
Someone will correct me if I am wrong but heat is caused by high resistance.
Trustfire batteries have a bad reputation so I personally would recycle both and get a good set of replacements. I personally would err on the side of caution with those cells. Best to be safe than sorry
Around here, stores like Lowe’s have recycling bins for batteries. Put some non-conductive tape over the cell terminals, drop in the bin, and walk out as quickly as you can without looking suspicious. If you hear a commotion behind you, don’t look back as you walk away from the explosion in slow motion:
What's the first rule of fight club, error never mind that, what is the fist rule of buying li-ion cells, don't buy cells with the word FIRE in their name as there are too many fakes unless you buy from a really reputable retailer like GOD.
