That’s the safe assumption to make — though obviously it’s polite to inquire.
But just “do you know how to use …” isn’t a sufficient inquiry.
Yeah, put the bump end in toward the bright end and screw it together, what else is there?
Well, quite a bit.
That’s why I ask “do you know when not to inhale?”
Exactly. We know the potential dangers.
And again - I’ve never said not to advise.
But how do we ( sitting behind computer screens ) quantify someone’s knowledge base without asking ? Some are too quick to say don’t buy lithium.
And yet I don’t think I’ve seen you present any evidence that anyone is saying what you think they are. So show us some of the text on a screen where someone says ‘don’t buy lithium’. If you can find one, I’ll about guarantee it’ll be one post from one user who has a lithium phobia, and there will be half a dozen replies from other reasonable people saying much the same things they’ve been saying in this thread, that they are dangerous when mishandled, but remarkably safe when given the proper attention and care.
I think the regulars or old timers here want to keep it safe as we don’t know the newbies experienced with Li-Ion.
There was a post in the other forum a few months ago that someone query why his battery gets too hot on the charger.
When probed further by other members, he mentioned that he charged primary Surefire CR123 in his charger.
And his explaination was that the eBay seller in the product page mistakenly labelled it ad rechargeable CR123, even though n the battery itself clearly stated primary CR123, and not rechargeable RCR123/16340.
This guy said that he has a few Li-Ion already but admitted that he trusted the eBay product description over what was clearly labelled on the battery.
My points being, even though the OP might have some experienced with Li-Ion or any rechargeable batteries, we just have no idea if he know the risk associated with Li-Ion, hence maybe we want to err on the safe side when we reply
+1
Are you joking ? This is what I’m talking about. I have possibly much more experience than you. Don’t err on the side of caution, and patronise me. You do not know me at all. This is just getting rediculous now.
We don’t know you, should we err on the side of caution when responding to you ?
You don’t say ? Where exactly have I ever contradicted this point ?
I don’t see everything in BLF either, that doesn’t make it untrue . I can’t point you to a particular thread. I didn’t know that one day, a while down the track, I would be posting this. So I didn’t have any need to note threads.
But hey, for some reason a few peeps are getting all hot under the collar, when I havent even pointed them out as saying such things.
I think I’ll move on from this thread now, its clear people are either missing my point,or gunning me for saying things I have seen on here.
Good day.
Changing the focus a little… So is there a good thread about Li Ion safety?
I know I’ve picked up some knowledge about Li Ion safety here but it has been scattered in a variety of places and threads.
I just went over to the “Batteries and Chargers / Rechargeable Batteries” section. There are 9 sticky posts, but not one is focused on Li Ion battery safety or Rechargeable battery safety. If there was a sticky post with the combined knowledge of this group you could point new comers to this post. It would be a great resource.
CRX did a great job covering or including a link to just about anything you could ever want to know about flashlights.
Search for “safety” in the thread and you’ll find a bunch of links.
For the OP.
Give a monkey a box of matches and he’ll burn a house down every time. 
Not quite sure what you are implying, Mr. Chair ?
There is no correlation between people opposing me, and me not wanting to chat further on my thread. There is no point continuing as you all seem to be reading what I haven’t written.
I’ll happily continue, if people stop implying I’m telling members not to give liion advice.
Hereagainagain, let me address this because well I see it needs to be addressed.
I think I get you and at the same time get others so hopefully my analysis will help everybody and is spot on, if not sorry
There are a lot of very helpful people here on BLF and there are also some not too sociable (anymore perhaps?) And mainly focussed on themselves.
You are reacting in a lot of threads and I consider you one of the helpful peeps here.
However you have the tendency to react kind of , how to say this, strong and to the point. This can seem antagonistic and to tell you the truth at first I had to swallow something and thought you were a tad negative.
But when I saw you reacting on all kind of different question s I drew the conclusion you mean well and just do not like wasting time or use too much words.
You are by no means a troll or negative the problem is that there are so many BLF-ERS that respond with lots of humor on issues.
This means that for us who lack the skill of playfull humoristic replying the risk is there we will look more negative then we are or mean things and I applaud that you like me keep on trying to add your two or more lumens to discussions
We just have to realise how our words can be received and I have found starting a lot of posts with the word “nice!” brings across the message I mean well.
And here-in lies the problem I guess. Personalities can clash online. As we all have most likely experienced, and as an example - text messages. Even if we know the person we can be left thinking ” are they serious ?“.
It is ten times worse online especially when others read in to something you haven’t even written. I am getting pissed off in this thread because all people are saying is ” newbies need to know liion can be dangerous ” implying I’m against telling them.
It’s been repeated to death in the last ~50 posts.
And that IS NOT what this was all about.
Your words are bang on. I do snap right to the point, but I can also be light hearted. The 30q resolution thread as an example, I sat back threw in a few quips and watched the fireworks.
I’ll continue on here, and hopefully people realise I’m not here to antagonise, you would know by now if I was, that I can assure you 
see a smiley face !
Now you are pushing the boat out, Monsieur Chair.
I really love to tell you hate to break it to you, but I studied psychology for many years - and you are so far off the reservation with your psychoanalysis you may as well be on mars.
I was going to give up arguing debating this thread because peeps were going off base.
If your analysis were true, I would be blaming you all for going off topic, when in fact it were me. I’m trying to keep everyone on topic. But nice try - and burn for playing the psychoanalysis card ON A MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANT. Brilliant.
The biggest trouble with a single source for such info is. Well opinions differ and there simply is no stead fast right or wrong. What someone deems safe, another won’t.
Personally I think along these lines.
1. Let common sense prevail. If you lack this, then you’ll need to work extra hard at it.
2. Don’t be scared of Li-ion, but do remember to respect it. The same as you should when handling things like petrol/gasoline.
3. Make sure you understand what you have bought and why.
4. Learn how to use the things you have bought correctly.
This means buy a good “known” battery. Not just any random one off ebay. There are plenty of reputable sellers who you can buy from or ask advice of. Or simply follow the lead offered on forums and buy the quality items others are and from the same place.
Make sure you have a good charger. Again forums like this will help you find one.
Get yourself a DMM (digital multimeter), it’s just foolish and ignorant not too.
When you get a new battery check the voltage. Typical storage voltage is around 3.7v resting ±. If it’s way too low, then consider contacting the seller for an exchange, unless you know what you are doing with them.
Put it on the charger and charge it to the correct voltage and at the correct rate. Voltage will depend on the exact battery and charger, however most Li-ion will charge to 4.2v, but some chargers will have multiple settings. Ensure you understand the functions your charger has and why and importantly when to use them.
The charging rate is also important. You’ll charge an 18650 at higher amps than a 14500. I usually charge at the 1C rating or as close too with what my chargers can offer.
I’d advice hitting Google and learning about the C rating of batteries and how to calculate it. While on the subject, ensure you also known the nomenclature of battery naming, sizing and specs.
Important things:
-don’t leave Li-ion unattended while charging and monitor them to make sure they aren’t getting hot. If they are, something is wrong and you want to stop immediately.
-take other precautions for charging, such as location.
-check the voltage when it’s charged. Some chargers have inbuilt volt meters, but a DMM is very handy here.
-When using the Li-ion you don’t want to over discharge it. It is completely safe to do so, the risk is charging it back up. Most high powered lights it is very obvious when the battery is getting low (when using the High outputs). But if you use the low outputs mostly, then you could quite easily over discharge a Li-ion. Again this is where a DMM comes in handy to quickly check the voltage.
There are other measures you can take. Some lights have a low voltage warning or shut off. And protected batteries have circuits that prevent over discharge. The main issue here is, such lights will limit you to a small part of the market. And for the best performance you need to use a different battery chemistry, which typically doesn’t have protection circuits. So it comes down to you the user, to be responsible for not over discharging the battery. This is where common sense really is paramount.
Something else to remember. Due to the high voltage of Li-ion, you never want to short it out. It can be explosive. Piercing the battery is a very bad idea too. Due to the chemical make up of Li-ion, they can be volatile. There is more than one chemistry for Li-ion, the most common being ICR and then IMR or INR. Again well worth a read up on them.
Followed by at least 3 more posts…
Did I misunderstand what you wrote above? Apparently…
I seem to be able to relate in part to where the OP is coming from on this. I used to get a bit upset with my mom when she’d always say “be careful” when I left the house. I took it as an implication that she thought I was out to do wild and crazy things, throwing caution to the wind! lol (I’m 53, she still says it, but of course I know what she means) When people care for others, they caution them out of concern for their health.
For me, the main issue with people new to Li-ion chemistry is the possible devaluing of their danger. Perhaps it’s a one in a million shot at something going wrong, but do YOU really want to be that one? It’s really ugly when a cell vents and burns, the mess it makes is also lethal, lithium spewed everywhere and a haz mat team required to clean it up safely. So it’s worth some strong words to ensure the understanding is there.
Basically though, if YOU know it doesn’t apply to you, walk away from it. If a professional in the mental health industry can’t grasp that part of it without challenging the “herd”, then perhaps you need some help yourself. Are you against the notion that you need education? If you’re using Li-ion, without a DMM and never checking, against all advice on the subject, then you DO need some education. It’s not just your life, but the lives of those around you that could be severely affected by a bad outcome. Isn’t that worth going the extra mile?
The variables are where the details become intrinsically complicated. Lights using 2 cells or more in series are much more likely to have issues, where one of the cells, becoming worn and losing capacity, gets overheated by the good cell it’s paired with. Hence, the DMM. The charger might show it has taken a full charge. But 3 hours later it sits well low. Pairing it with a good fully charged cell can result in all the dangerous stuff we’ve discussed. To be clear, you may charge 2 cells side by side, the charger shows both at 4.20V, ready to go. So you put them in your light and walk away, thinking you’re ready for the night. BUT, one of those cells has grown to have an issue. After a few hours, it has sagged back down to 3.8V and the other good cell is still at 4.19V. When you hit Turbo and start using the light, not aware of the imbalance because you don’t have a DMM, the strong cell pulls the weak cell hard and causes it to heat up. If you did something especially stupid like tail standing the light and leaving it unattended (this can mean you’re right there, but not touching the light often to see if it’s getting hot) BOOM! That’s how it happens. Burning lithium spewing into your eyes, face, mouth, nose, get the point?
There are so many possible combinations that present danger with the use of such high drain capacity cells, that yes, noobs are warned to proceed with caution. The real question here is, why would you or anyone else that has knowledge of the dangers get upset about all the warnings? We’re talking about people getting burned, severely, car or house toasted, total loss and nowhere to live, possibly even people dying, isn’t that worth all the precautions?
I take it very seriously because I hot-rod lights. I get them to give all they possibly can, if someone is not well versed in all this, my lights could cause problems when neglected, much quicker than a factory made light. Most factory lights have built in protections. They limit the light to 3A for the Cree XM-L2 and XP-L as per the spec sheets and all that good stuff. Some of us here are simply not satisfied with 1000 lumens. People new to this hobby of ours need to fully understand that it’s serious business, and should be taken as such.
Since you yourself like to be direct and to the point, I will end this rant by saying something you might understand… As I recall, you were involved in some controversy here before and got banned. Perhaps you should walk a little more softly… I do have a horrid memory, so if I am mistaken … my apologies. That said, if you were working for me, in any sort of mental health capacity (or any other capacity) with the attitude you show here, you’d be fired in a heartbeat. I’m not saying this to bash you, but only to allow you to see that others perceive you as an antagonist and nobody wants to tolerate that style of behavior. I saw when you returned to the forum, how you went about it, and there has been controversy around you (again) since day one. I’m intending for this to be helpful, constructive criticism if you’ll take it, but it really does seem as though you have a chip on your shoulder. Ok, so you feel some are too harsh on non-lithium users. AND? You yourself are a lithium user. So how does any of this actually apply to YOU? I’ve been told this behavior, the stirring up of the crowd with no obvious end result, is the very definition of a troll. So, are you here again, again, to be a troll? Honest straight up question.
I think the OP should just stick to AA NiMH cells.
> That’s how it happens. Burning lithium spewing …
Oh, that’s not the worst problem, all things considered, relative to the other things that happen when venting follows with burning chemical reactions; it’s the hydrogen fluoride that’s gonna get you — when the symptoms start to appear, a few hours later.
You have to know when not to inhale ….