I’ve purchased an Opus BT-3100 v2.1 charger.
Should I flip the internal switch and charge my Samsung ICR18650-30B’s to 4.35v?
If I do am I likely to blow any lights especially multi-cell lights like SRK, Courui D01, Yezel Y3 etc?
Go for it, i’ve not managed to damage any torches by using 4.35 volt.
Just remember to switch the charger back to 4.20 volt when done
Just to add, I tend only to charge mine to 4.35 volts when I’m going caving or similar and want maximum run times, for normal everday use I just charge then to 4.20 volts
Are your batteries rated for 4.35 volts? If they aren’t, don’t attempt to charge them to that.
I personally would go to 4.35v. I haven’t heard of any horror stories of lights blowing up under the extra voltage. Maybe if you ran them in series to a zener-modified driver into a 6v LED it could cause problems? But buck drivers like in the Y3 are usually designed to handle much higher voltages, and a normal 3v Cree LED can handle 4.35v no sweat.
Thanks guys - I’ll finish off refreshing some old Enloopes then bake the bad boys at 4.35v :evil:
If you have the ability to go 4.35 then you should. That is like owning a big house and using only one room. LOL
Just remember not to drop any "normal" 4.2's in that charger without changing the switch.
I run LG D1s and E1s and use my Xtar VP2 to charge them up to ~4.35v. The added voltage poses no problem for my 3 Convoy lights, my ZL SC-600 or my Fenix PD32.
Chris
You might get a slightly longer lifespan by not charging them up to 4.35V (the last ~5% of the charge is the most “damaging” to the batteries) but you will be missing out on a good bit of capacity.
IMO, it’s worth going to 4.35V, the difference in lifespan should be negligible—and I’m talking after hundreds of charge/discharge cycles.
Voltage depression under a high load would be less of an issue with higher voltage cells and if you’re using an efficient buck/boost circuit, the higher voltage increases runtime. Otherwise, as rollingstone said, charging them to 4.20V would increase their overall lifetime but, decrease their capacity a little.
You can get a substantially longer cycle life by not fully charging>
“………Most Li-ions are charged to 4.20V/cell and every reduction of 0.10V/cell is said to double cycle life. For example, a lithium-ion cell charged to 4.20V/cell typically delivers 300–500 cycles. If charged to only 4.10V/cell, the life can be prolonged to 600–1,000 cycles; 4.00V/cell should deliver 1,200–2,000 and 3.90V/cell 2,400–4,000 cycles. Table 4 summarizes these results. The values are estimate and depend on the type of li-ion-ion battery……………………”
Ehhh, they’re ‘batteries’ and cost about $5-$9 a piece, so they’re not breaking the bank if you only get 3 years out of them instead of 4.
If you’re not going to charge them up to 4.35v and rock on, why bother buying 4.30v, or 4.35v cells?
Live life on the edge.
Chris
+1
By the time time you use up those prolonged
battery cycles , there will have been lots of
different battery types invented with different
volts to replace what you’re trying to save.
Why not use what you now have to it’s full
potential ?!
Anyone have a list of 4.35 rated 3400mAH cells? I need about 25 cells for an emergency light (12 in, 12 resting in a cool place). While looking I discovered 4.35. I am only going to buy these batteries once. I figure I should get the best currently available. But I am going rather cross-eyed looking for cells rated at 4.35V..
More to the point, it’s the length of time a battery spends at its maximum charge that determines how fast it degrades. That’s an argument for storing them at a lower voltage (and in the refrigerator) and bringing them up to full charge before taking them out to use them.
Are there any chargers that have an option to discharge only to a specific level?
Ideally a voltage where there’s still usable charge in the cell if you’re in a hurry but it can be stored longterm and brought up to full charge fairly quickly?
I'm not aware of any 3400mAh batteries which have a recommended maximum voltage of 4.35 volts. This capacity battery has a maximum voltage of 4.2 volts.
I thought I saw one. Maybe it was 3200. I have seen too many things.
Hank, I intend to consider leaving the alternate set at a lower charge level and as I noted; cool/cold. The "active" set will probably be fully charged with a top-off every n months. That set (1) has to go when I push the button and for as long a time as possible. My chargers that are suitable all run from 12VDC, so a bit of wiring and I can charge from a car if needed. So I can get up to full charge on set 2while using set 1. Or, just use set 2 partially charged and put set 1 on the chargers.
All of this is probably over doing things. My wife seems to feel I am prone to that. But in an earthquake or night time fire, I want to be able to see what is going on.
Possibly these ones though they are only 3000mAh.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004182/1314900-authentic-lg-icr18650d1-18650-4-35v-3000mah