My 14500 battery explosion, with pictures

Ok so this trooplewis’ thread. Seems like i got the figures mixed up. Holy cow 5.27V.

I know i read that ~ 4.3V version somewhere, youtube or what. (I’ll see if i can remember it, so far back…).

I saw one vid about LiFePO4 exploding too, but the abuse was immense.

No joke bros, as I have attached early of my X-ray with Ti plates + screws + a 11 thousand bucks bill, don’t leave anything to chance.

As I have learnt from my case, an accident = an accident, there is no way of putting anything concrete on that….no assumptions.

Yep, no protection. It was a recycled cell and the placed a sheet of aluminum over the negative end to make it look like it was protected. It was from dx.com.

Wow…just wow.

This is why I have the “SOP” that I shall test each and every new protected battery with a dead short test on the DMM and after that once in a while (be prepared to break the connection fast, it would save your DMM as well).

When i was still in the army, these SOPs are all written in a book called the TSR (Training Safety Regulations), which is compiled with the blood and lifes of soldiers.

On the same note, those bigger HIDs with > 1 mil cd are not toys and must be treated with proper respect. I was shot point blank by a 600-700k cd HID, at that range the beam isn’t even focussed and the bulb has cooled somewhat so not full power…… I was literally knocked off my feet + lost my balanced due to nauseousness, my eyes swelled after that for quite a few hours.
With those very big HIDs, treat the danger distance to anywhere less than 10 metres. Smaller 6” ones should be approx 5 metres. HIDs have some sort of long-wave UV (it makes your transition lens goes dark, some much more than others depending on the quartz envelope), not sure how is that focused along with visible light.
If you do short-arc, then that is quite a bit more.

I thought it would be an eye-opener to share these 2 laser incidents as well…. (warning, semi-gore pix inside)

Laser accidents are just that —-accidents—— something happens that is not expected ot anticipated nor subject to human intervention before it is too late.

>> Some people have strange imaginings that if there is a problem they will use their gogggles but do not want until then——when “then” happens it is too late— the damage has been done and so fast like you say faster than your blink reflex that under ordinary circumstances does a pretty good job of protecting your eyes —–1/4 second or less exposure can leave you completely blind you forever in the case of very powerful handhelds like yours.

People need to learn from the experiences of others that powerful lasers can be extremely dangerous unless handled with proper protection in place.

Here is the reason why Ultarfire 14500 gray battery explosion

The batteries explosion is not only because of the battery problems, but also because of the chargers. If the battery chargers have over charge protection and over discharge protection function, the the explosions will never happen.

You’d better buy the battery chargers come with over charge protection and over discharge protection function. Such as efest BIO chargers, Xtar chargers, HG chargers, I4、I2 chargers. Those chrgers all have protection cells function.

Bro, I do have that Trustfire charger, but the black version. That one does have overcharge protection cut-off….i have done it so many times with TF Flames 16340, Panasonic 2900/3100/Sanyo 2600 etc. It cuts a little high at 4.23x volts if you leave it there very long, that’s about it. I have never left it there for > 1 week after green, just feels funny to me. If it was a notebook (properly engineered systems) then that’s ok……

The LiCo blew at 4.43 volts under charging load here. 1 min 30 sec

A better solution - don’t use Ultrafire, go for good quality like Efest, Senybor, etc, there are a lot of good batteries out there.

Everybody sure they’re Ultrafires just because it says so on the label?

Ultrafire aren’t as terrible as all the fake $2 501A hosts on ebay make them out to be. :wink:

What is a real UltraFire? In my test of 18650 batteries the ones that was supposed to be "real" UltraFire was the worst (They did not have the same capacity).

For example the lights that are manufactured by them are quite decent. Regardless, just because it says Ultrafire on the cover means practically nothing.

While they may be decent it really is just like batteries, they are Ok but not great. An Ultrafire battery is ok compared to AW, and a Ultrafire flashlight is Ok compared to a Fenix/Sunwayman/Crelant etc.

It means you're not getting the claimed capacity, period. Are you really defending Ultrafire cells, the most universally-panned option available ?

The point is that this thread had its share of the usual knee-jerk superstitious witch-hunt that follows every perceived threat/danger like it’s an of terrorism or something.

Yes, but if you look through my posts I never have recommend Ultrafire cells. I know from my own experiences that they suck and aren't worth the money. This just confirms that, it is evidence.

Would you say the same confirmation bias applies more or less to sony batteries because they’re easier to identify accurately?

1. Why ever use an Ultrafire? Repeatedly, these are the subjects of threads about explosions. I think I will throw my freebie (with light) “protected” ultrafire cells away today.

2. I DO NOT READ anywhere the the OP’s exploding cells were protected cells.

3. Brand of charger wasn’t mentioned. In theory, would an xtar or i4 intellicharger have circuitry to avoid this? I think I will also throw away the freebie charger that came with the lights.

  1. That’s not a bad idea.
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  2. I didn’t find where he says specifically they where, but he does talk about not trusting a pcb. They are made of electronic parts, they do fail and are not always made of quality components.
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  3. The OP’s pic shows a Trustfire tr-001. http://www.surevapes.com/Trustfire-TR-001-Lithium-Ion-Charger-White_p_149.html
    Most all cheap chargers do not follow the recommended CC/CV charging algorithm for li-ion’s. The i4 and xtar VP1 does follow the proper li-ion charging algorithm. The xtar WP2 was reported to almost or at least closely follow the proper li-ion charging algorithm.
    While i4 and xtar are trusted good chargers, they still can fail. Never charge li-ion’s unattended.

follow the proper li-ion charging algorithm ?

Read all this. Good stuff. Glad no one has been hurt by these so far.
I read some where that the chance of being seriously hurt by a Li Io battery was about the same as being hit with a fish dropped by a bird while walking in the desert… I think I’ll build that wooden box and wear a helmet in the desert…

Might just weigh all my batteries and test the PCBs also. I usually check voltages anyway. I gave my grandsons each a small LED flashlight with a 14500 and a single cell charger. Gonna order some good cells and take the GTL cells away!!

Good posts here, for the most part. Thanks for the info.

Small wonder they allow Tesla cars in urban areas.