Ultrafire Protected 18650 won't charge.

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

I got two of these along with a light. Both came charged at around 3.6 volts. One charged to 4.19, but the other won't charge any higher. When I put it in the charger the red lights comes on,l and after about 4 hours the light turns green. However, when I remove it from the charger and check the voltage it is still 3.6 volts.

I have thrown it in the trash, but am wondering if it has any use?

Thanks,

Jerry

2

Probably a rebadged laptop pull. 3.6v max...? I'd leave it in its new home. :)

3

I don't know how if they do waste separation where you live, but over here, you're not supposed to throw batteries in the trash...

Don't you have places that collect old batteries?

4

I usually remove protection circuits from DOA batteries and use them on salvaged laptop batteries. The bundled Ultrafire batteries usually aren't worth $5 a pair. My 3600 mAh ones appeared to 800mah while 2400 mah ones were only 150mAh if not dead.

5

Hi Steve,

I had been wondering about disposal, and here is an excerpt from what I found.

Quote

According to the U.S. government, lithium ion batteries aren't an environmental hazard. "Lithium Ion batteries are classified by the federal government as non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal waste stream," says Kate Krebs at the National Recycling Coalition. While other types of batteries include toxic metals such as cadmium, the metals in lithium ion batteries - cobalt, copper, nickel and iron - are considered safe for landfills or incinerators (Interestingly enough, lithium ion batteries contain an ionic form of lithium but no lithium metal).

End Quote

Thanks, Jerry

:

6

That's interesting. Here in Germany every store that sells batteries has to take them back for recycling/disposal.

But be sure to tape up the battery poles when you throw them away. Something in the trash might short the battery and cause a fire.

Steve

7

Not charging sounds like a faulty protection circuit -- the circuit is designed to prevent current draw when the battery goes too low (over-discharge) and current in-flow when the battery voltage goes too high (over-charge). Typically there's a separate transistor for each direction, so if the one preventing over-charging fails you can get a battery that will discharge but not charge....

8

Maybe you got a 3 volt rechargeable instead of a 3.7?

9

Jerry - Best Buy, Lowes and Home Depot all recycle batteries.

Personally, I will never purchase another UltraFire battery again and only Trustfire from sources that have been tested. More and more I'm moving towards known sources for mid- to high-end batteries only, such as Hi-Max, Xtar, AW etc.

As someone much smarter than me has said, buying cheap batteries is a mistake all new flashaholics do, and I've bought my share.

10

Thanks, I am close to Lowes.

I'll check them out.

Added: I have been running this battery again for hours, and it stays at 3.5 Volts. I thought I might run it until the protection circuit took over, and then see if it would charge. Any danger in doing that? Thanks.

Jerry