An observation over the last while, whilst looking over BLF.
I feel there is a trend to beat-down on new-to-Liion users, who come on here to ask which to buy etc.
I have seen a lot of comments which almost belittle anyone who asks, such as;
“You should stick to what you know”
“They are dangerous”
“If you’ve never used them, I wouldn’t start”
“Don’t gift them to anyone who’s never had them”
And the likes.
I simply feel most members I’ve seen mention they are new to the lithium game, get turned away. Not literally from here, but its almost like lithium usage is only allowed by hardened light-fenatics.
No issues with giving advice about the care of the cells, but when a member gets told not to gift them, or buy them, I find that uncool. We don’t know anything about the member or the giftee.
As a final thought - we all had to obtain our first cell sometime. Think how you peeps would have felt being told not to.
Some are too quick to shoot down a newbie - rather than advise.
Hmm. I don’t get the same feeling. Most of time when a new person asks about lithium ion flashlights they get pointed to cells with additional safeties (i.e. Protected) and warned against junk like Ultrafire… Unless already indicating familiarity with liion then it’s 30q’s and He2’s and the lot.
I do see the recommendation against gifting liion flashlights and cells. There’s good reason for that. It takes a certain kind of person to get into liion cells and safe use of them. It’s too much for a laymen to handle safely imo. Perhaps the exploding Hoverboards is some indication of this.
I don’t read every post so I am not saying it hasn’t happened, but I tend to agree with unknown and xv, I have seen plenty of posters say their own friends or family aren’t responsible enough, but nothing particularly discouraging towards new members.
I found members here are rather friendly and accomodating towards newbies, especially regarding to Li-Ion batteries and chargers.
You might be confusing with the other forums
Can you point out specific situations, even if you can’t quote them?
I think the current general consensus is that it’s better to be educated and safe, which is a good way to approach anything that has the capacity for unfortunate results. I think maybe that wasn’t the case a few years ago due to unsafe chemistries being available without much in the way of educational resources, but many of the current batteries available allow for a lot more breathing room during the learning curve, and there are many places to educate oneself on the dangers and proper handling of lithium ion cells. Perhaps you have been reading older threads?
In addition, we have the vaping community to thank in part for the influx of users that are accustomed to high discharge lithium cells. Most of them have learned why not to use certain types of cells considering the consequences.
I think there is still a pretty solid community of people that prefer nimh cells, and both battery types have their advantages, but the gap is closing. Energy density/safety/discharge current.
I can see where the OP might see some animosity in some threads, but overall, I think many members are helpful.
As far as recommendations for not gifting? I agree that one should not gift Li-ions unless the receiver is knowledgeable about Li-ions or is responsible enough to learn before using them.
Li-ion cells, especially unprotected cells or “fire” cells can be very dangerous. Much more so than the average cell phone, laptop or power tool, which have much better protection circuits, (usually).
I personally do not use Li-ion cells in my own flashlight, because I am too lazy to treat them properly, by checking voltages and changing them out before they run too low of a voltage.
I admit I was late to acknowledge the advantages but it’s not like they just randomly explode without warning on a regular basis.
It seems that perhaps you have an apprehension about using them, moreso than a specific reason. You build lights that use them, and post threads detailing the process, then you say you don’t use them. You sir, have me mystified.
Definitely this fourum.
Probably can’t direct you to specific threads, but there have been many times over the last year or 2, that I’ve seen that have pretty much scared potential users off.
I mean, the whole idea that a multimeter is mandatory is another big gripe of mine. I don’t own one - and my first lithium was I believe in 2012. I’m still alive, house still standing.
Again,no issues with info / advice being given. But anyone looking in on the forum would almost think we are talking about handling gelignite.
Granted, some bad stuff has happened with liion, but bad stuff happens with many every day things.
This is pretty much where I’m coming from.
“Certain kind of person”, and ” too much for a layman” - like seriously ?
What makes someone ‘qualified’ to use a readily avalible item ?
You should have some kind of multimeter, you can get one for like 6 bucks. I’m stuck in the middle of this conversation, I want people to be safe but I agree that there can be a perceived elitism when it comes to new technology.
I’ll just say this, anyone that adopts a fairly new technology should educate themselves about it and be willing to invest in the relevant equipment to be safe in using it. That shouldn’t scare off anyone that can be responsible.
But why? If I’m out 3km from home walking my dog ( actually her 80lbs walks me ) and I think my cell is a bit low, am I going to pull out a DMM ?
Also, once home, the charger tells me the cells’ status’
This is an enthusiast forum and so I’d hope casual users can understand when members become a bit more serious about the different attributes of things than perhaps is absolutely necessary. For example to a casual flashlight user, the difference of a few hundred lumens is barely worth note while here it’s the difference between indifference and hundreds of lights sold. The same can apply with Li-Ion cells and their safety concerns. Many people may take the warnings with a grain of salt until they have one vent, or may heed the warnings enough to avoid catastrophe but may still not worry much about it. I don’t see the enthusiast crowd being enthusiastic about their hobby as a bad thing though and this is the place for it.
I agree 200% with that. But if we scare off / shoot down the “uneducated” this forum is nothing more than a self indulgent elitist club.
We all started as newbies. All of us.
All sorts of helpful suggestions were given to this neophyte about which flashlight to buy, but not a word about li-ion hazards, safety precautions, or proper maintenance.
(Well, nothing was mentioned until I put a word or two in. O:-) )
Some - not all.
And yes, there have been occasions on here where a person has been advised against getting them,and the poster ends up saying they are literally hesitant to get liion cells - solely due to a member / members say so.
