That’s just ignorant - and mythical.
Gimpy, this is just a normal BLF debate. We’ll hug it out later and exchange cake recipes. It is actually part of what makes this place so great. Say what you want, toss a few buns, say “bygones”, and move forward. I love it!
As far as “guidance everyone can endorse”, not sure that is possible here or anywhere. Ultimately, only Gimpy can decide what is right for Gimpy.
Personally, I use Eneloop rechargeables for the few AA and AAA lights I have around the house and cr123a primaries bought in bulk purchases for the lights I prefer. I mean, who has time to check voltages, right guys? (sound of crickets) Ah, guys? (crickets) Anybody? (more cricket noise)
Any decent battery (ie capable of high current) can start a fire if shorted. Note that your cell vented as it was designed to do.
Should we stop using electricity, too?
Do people realize that literally every modern wireless electronic gadget (~gajillions) uses these cells?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen it charge a cell above 4.25 V.
Is anyone willing to take charge (little pun there) on compiling the guide, i’d be happy to send links and information i’ve picked up and will continue to, and i’m sure other people could toss in some information and wisdom
I’m willing. I have a stretch of time this week to do it up. Basically, I’ll post a question, possibly with what I believe to be the answer, let the pros who are floating around weigh in on it, then post the results.
thats a good idea, but there is also things you never thought of, for example, i was 26650 searching and saw a graph from sanyo i believe that showed output vs temperature, from –40ºC to 40ºC, the hihger temperature putting out more power till exhaustion.
I had never thought to look into this and wouldn’t have known this was a factor until i saw that post
I can send you a bunch of bookmarks of things, that have tidbits in them
I can say without a doubt,anyone using li-ion should be informed,even though there are tons of battery resources,awareness and information is never bad.There are also some batteries that are rubbish and should be avoided,also the "combo" packages sold with cheap charger and batteries as an all in one deal are usually junk too.I think the OP's intention is to raise awareness and not to put the fear of god into people.
I think I’ll leave it here for tonight; to the best of my knowledge, none of the cells are marketed to the generaly public by their primary manufacturers. Please correct me guys, if there are any problems with what I’ve got so far. That will be the standing request 
Avoid the cheap bundled packages, Ultrafire and GTL and you won’t go too far wrong.
Uh… gajillions of gadgets use UL-tested cells from proper manufacturers like LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, etc. Not non-tested cells manufactured in some random factory in China without any proper quality testing.
Any battery has some form of hazard. Car Batteries? I have seen an explosion from a car battery. It’s like a Li-Ion on steroids! Very dangerous stuff. I have seen several people burned very severely from battery acid, severely and permanently disfigured.
Li-ion, I did not realize that Li-ion batteries actually do not contain any metallic Lithium in them. I have seen three people burned by Li-ion batteries leaking and blowing up. NOT an explosion, but the cell enlarging and rupturing, catching fire, etc. Not as bad as acid, but some form of permanent disfigurement.
Alkalines, I have seen two people slightly burned by Alkalines leaking, just minor stuff.
NiMH, I have never seen a NiMH battery leak, nor have I ever known of anyone who has had one leak or anyone who has ever been injured by a NiMH.
Li-ion is probably the most used battery out there in the world. It’s probably also the most misunderstood and misused battery out there. Even large companies and governments are not fully aware of the hazards and issues with them. From reading, I see there have been some huge recalls of all types of Li-ion batteries by major companies. Laptop, cell phone and cylindrical cell Li-ions have been recalled in by the millions. Usually because there was contamination during the production of the battery.
What the heck am I talking about? We all use Li-ions somehow, somewhere. We should be informed of the risks, just as we should be informed of the risks of the other types of batteries, but the general public will never bother to look at the risks, or be concerned until it happens to them.
Op - your intentions are good, but I don’t know that it will do much, as there is a ton of information on the net already and apparently you didn’t get to see it (flashlightwiki & battery university), so probably others won’t see your guide either. I’m not saying don’t do it, but it might just get lost in the shuffle as all the other information out there apparently already has.
I’m not trying to offend either, even though I seem to sometimes.
Agreed that there are lots of batteries out there. Also agreed that the vast majority are well tested.
I think it’s worth pointing out that the batteries that get into consumer goods (like the laptop that’s warming my legs right now) are more packaged and protected than our lovely consumer 18650s, and they’ve got custom hardware to prevent overcharging, shorts, etc.
[quote=ruffles]
They uses the same protection chips as our protected batteries uses.
Nobody makes special chips for our flashlight LiIon batteries, they uses exactly same chip as is used in other applications with a single LiIon battery. What is frequently missing in flashligts is an extra layer of protection, that works before the protection in the battery trips.
I understand what people are getting at when they say that everyone uses this technology. The difference is, that they were using it with training wheels. They were used in a pack that was properly designed to protect the cells, and thereby protect the user. Now we get em with the training wheels removed—sometimes completely—and get to use them in an applications that may or may not be suitable for the design of the cell, and are given the opportunity to stick em in with other cells they’re not supposed to be with, and given the chance to reverse the polarity, and given the chance to stick em in unapproved chargers, etc., etc., etc…
The cells themselves, are not the issue. The issue, here, is the new kinds of crap that can happen to them during their use—the introduction of murphy’s law.
Well put Gimpy.
I have been using Makita 18V 3AHR on a daily basis for several years now only taking care not to over discharge or leave in the sun. The packs and chargers both are equipped to monitor and maintain the cells but that is all “black box”, or, as you say”training wheels” only there isn’t any training going on. Personally, I would prefer a “system” approach like Makita where the pack and charger are designed to communicate and maintain the pack. In the end though, if I want to use Li-ion cells outside of a laptop or power tool, I WILL need to learn enough to do so safely. That much power is dangerous and more so if complacency creeps in.
If you look on ebay for replacement batteries for any of these devices, you’re unlikely to find genuine cells. And yet we don’t have warnings on every cell phone, camera, laptop etc, etc forum for these batteries and if anything they’re commonly recommended on basis of excellent value.
The problem is that folks are driven into fear for a manufactured myth at CPF whose purpose has long gone.
For example, I inserted a cell the wrong way once by accident. No doubt I should be dead according to CPF regulars, but all that happened is the clickie spring “froze” in the closed position (due to high temp from high current). Then I opened the part up because it wasn’t trivial to find a replacement and stretched it back out.
But a venting cell in a sealed aluminum tube is a potential pipe bomb because of the pressure generated and even if it doesn't explode... the fumes that vent are highly toxic. The danger of a fire is the least of my concerns.