Can you tell by looking are these Batts Protected ? I got them from Ebay along with Flashlight & charger
cheers
Baz
It does'nt look like they are from looking at the negative side.
I am gonna vote unprotected. If you can identify a strip from the + end down to a flat disk on the - end then it has a PCB.
These appear unprotected
I got some from ebay that appear to have protection on the positive end... at least, I hope that's what it is, and not that they manufactured the batteries with the + end at a 15 degree angle and shrink tubed and sent it out anyway...
But, yeah, those are probably unprotected.
--Bushytails
I just went through my old 14500s. I have a pair same one as you from a few years ago. It is unprotected.
yeah I better watch'em closely then using in a sipik K68 0.7~4.2V, 4.2V Max. would be easy to over drain them with no cutoff from driver or battery
I read most recommend 3.3 volts as lowest safe discharge but the specs on battery are 2.75 - 4.2 volt .....would it be ok to discharge these particular batts down to 2.8- 3 volt without issues or should I try to aviod going lower than 3.3 volt ? and if it happens that I drain them below 3 volt but still within specs would they be safe to charge ?
I'd suggest buying a pair of protected cells to use in that light. My AA/14500 light will drain them until the protection cuts in with only a slight drop in brightness that you probably wouldn't notice in actual use...
--Bushytails
I agree with bushytails. On a normal regulated light, it's not that big a problem to use unprotected batteries, since the LED need a forward voltage of at least ~3.1V to output any useful light(~3.3-3.4 for some emitters). When you have a light with a boost-converter(which is needed in lights that support regular AA batteries), the voltage is constantly boosted when it drops below emitter-voltage, so the battery will continue to suck power from the battery until the battery is all flat(at which point the battery should never!! be used again).
and get some protected batts as you guys recommend , I ran the batts down to 3.4 volt and I couldnt notice a drop in light output ..any recomendations on what Pro batts to suit it ? I read some have trouble with lenght of Probatts for it ... appreciated
Just get the flamefires. The larger well known companies don't really make them in that size.
...do you have a link ? I searched but cant find a trace ....I am considering these
I believe those are the ones agenthex meant...
--Bushytails
Im on track , they get good reports so they'l do
How do you know when to charge an unprotected cell? An unprotected 14500 for example is not supposed to go below 3 volts. In normal use in a flashlight, what is the general tip of when to charge them? I mean having to take the battery out to check it with a meter to see if it's still above 3 volts seems too much of a hassle.
interesting question. here my 2 cents:
typically our flashlights are regulated for constant brightness and the driver is able to regulate the brightness down to very low voltages. This means that if you dont have any Protected 14500's, the light will continue to shine bright until the very low voltage is reached OR until the cell is depleted.
checking the cell for voltage is no big hassle. that's why i paid 24€ for my DMM!...to make use of it!!
Is a protected cell going to fit in most flashlights since I guess it's both longer and the diameter is bigger?
rule of thumb:
with 14500's yes.
with 10440's no.
So the difference is a protected cell is never going to drop below the throw away voltage?
Typically, any 14500 fitment issues are associated with length. This isn't always the case with 18650s.
My take on the protected/unprotected cells is this:
I generally only use protected cells, or IMR cells if more than 2C current draw is called for.
IMR cells are unprotected, but much more resilient to damage from deep discharges.