How safe is old 18650

I have defected Lenovo laptop battery. Then I disassemble it, one of the 18650 cells was drop down ot 0V. Other cells looked good. They are 18650 LGABC21865. The product code show they are produced in 2014. Do you think these 6 years old batteries are safe to be used in flashlights like Convoy s2+ and wf-502b?

a quick search shows that it`s ICR chemistry, I wouldn`t use them! any cell of that type below 3v should be re-cycled.

This cell with 0V is gone for recycle. Other cells that I asked for, are 3.6V. Charged normally up to 4.2V and work normally I think. I just wonder how safe they are after 6 years.

Throw them all away. A new battery is $4.

if after finding them they were still at 3.6v then they should still be safe, take them up to 4.2 but keep an eye on them as they charge, any noticable heat above normal then take it out.

That would be my choice as well :wink:

18650s are not expensive. Get a new one and don’t risk burning the house down!

OK, so they are going for recycle. I will stay with my protected Panasonic NCR18650B for now. As I understand the NCR is safer than ICR, and IMR is safer than INR. What brand did you recommend as safest? I know about Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, but what about keeppower? I am also looking for 18350 battery and keeppower is the only recommended here.

I always go with IMR or INR, as for brands you`re better off finding a reputable dealer, someone who has a Lot to lose if they sell fakes, and see what they have to offer first.

I see some good words for eu.nkon.nl for Europe and they ship on good price to my country, so I will choose from them. Do not want to risk with direct ordering from China.

:+1:

If they were at 3.6V when you took the pack apart and didn’t drop in voltage more than normal after charging them then I’d use them if it were me. I wouldn’t necessarily use them in high drain lights but some of my laptop pulls were initially at 2.5V and I haven’t noticed any problems using them in all my lights.

It’s up to you of course :slight_smile:

I’m using 16 Sony ~2200mAh 18650s from original VAIO packs and they’re date coded 2002. I lost a few, but they still have roughly 75% capacity and will easily handle smaller 1.5A loads.

Chris

yes recycle the 0v.
anything over 2v is normally ok.
the wildcard here is red sanyo.
those often get hot near top charge.
if so recycle.
i have plenty of very old cells in service in homebrew powerwall systems with no problems.
sure older cells may not do well in high power lights but most flashlights are not that demanding.

Once upon a time, all the cells were ICRs.
I have ICRs Blue, flat top, DLG 2200 mAh that have 15 years.
Out of a 100, I still have over 80 working like day one.
When one goes to 4.10v or under out of the charger, is good bye.
I mainly use ’em now for power packs of 6 or 8 cells.
When I wake up with a deathwish, I insert 4 in the battery holder of the FF4.
They just fade, no explosion. Good stuff. They recharge again.

To each it’s own. I’m not recommending anything.
On the contrary, if you don’t have 100 cells laying around,
buy the best quality you can afford. It’s all about the quality.

Cheers.

if the cell is old - maybe it doesn’t have its former capacity now - does its ‘fire hazard’ potential decrease at all?

I receive today Nitecore UM4 charger, Nitecore IMR 18650 3100mha 35A, Vapcell M11 18350 1100mha and Keeppower 18350 protected 1200mha from Nkon. Everything looks original and with very good quality. What do you think about Nitecore batteries? With 18350 as I read, there are only a few good options like Vapcel and Keeppower.

With Nitecore UM4 charger you can roughly test your laptop cells capacity with slow mA charge. If they match the specsheet and doesn’t overheat while charging, you can use it for low powered devices. (like how I repurpose those for my handheld fans)

Nitecore batteries are averagely good but they are wrapped and rebranded popular cells which also leads to extra cost. Easy way to save yourself some headache for research if you just want trusted cells but you could save more money by buying it raw.

Nitecore Singapore did make a video in youtube on what cells they offer in case you are buying from them