My 14500 battery explosion, with pictures

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.

i remember seeing a picture of lithium battery exploded in a car and the car had all messed up part of seats and gearshift and handbrake…anyone remember what thread was that?

Was it this (e-cig)?

yes, that is the one, thanks! :slight_smile:

I’ve seen folks saying that 14500s aren’t going to contain enough energy to be much of a worry when recharging.

I thought this example worth bumping up.

Yeah, charging these things outside is a drag — our family suddenly has a lot more li-ions because bicycle lights all come with those nowadays.

And I’m now on charger patrol every evening making sure there are no li-ions being recharged INSIDE the house unattended.

Argh.

1/ Three possible causes ...

A) The battery itself - unlikely ...

B) The charger or device causing the problem ( Short )

C) The protection circuit itself

2/ Anything electronic can develop a fault , so it goes for the protection circuit itself . Cheap batteries mean even cheaper protection circuits , and if the quality control on the protection circuit is anything along the lines of standard Chinese practice , then Im amazed at the lack of boom events , or perhaps we are just not hearing about them .

3/ The 14500 is very much like the 16340 , a small battery . I don't know why people push them so hard . Lets call capacity 700mAh to be generous , and say some one is pulling two Amps from the battery , that's 3C . Is the battery going to handle it , and more worrying is whether the protection circuit can handle it .

4/ Just something to think about .