My local Walmart has the aa Westinghouse LifePO4 cells. I’m scared of the more dangerous chemistry Lions. Was wondering what these would do in my SK68s. I’ve read the posts on here about them but can’t really get an idea of their performance. I’m thinking they would be much brighter than Nimh but maybe only last 20 or 30 minutes? I know I would need a dedicated charger.
Welcome to BLF.
I understand being cautious but shouldn’t be scared. With proper care things should be just fine.
A DMM is very helpful to have.
First, did you read this? Be sure to go to the first link provided for the test.
IMO they sound like poor quality cells with less effective energy density than Eneloops.
The VAST majority of lithium battery issues are caused by ignorant people buying and improperly using poor quality cells and chargers. Do your homework and don’t expect a simple 1 paragraph shortcut. If you don’t want to do that stay with NiMh.
I had read that post. Seems they would give a nice bright light for a short time which is all I need. I am concerned about safety and seems they are safe for someone like me.
Hopefully Westinghouse has picked up their quality since last time I bought a four pack (couple of years ago). Believe it or not, I have had good luck with the KaiDomain blue wrapper AA LifePo4’s. I use the Westinghouse 18500 LifePo4 in the cheapy Costco TechLite flashlight.
They are only lithium cells, not unexploded ordance.
If you follow some basic rules and the various good advice regarding the safe use and charging of lithium cells that is on here, then using lithium cells will be perfectly safe
To put it into perspective, far far more people get injured putting on their trousers, than ever do as result of using lithium cells
I’m fearful putting on my trousers too. But I need to get them on so don’t get arrested. Don’t use a multimeter so maybe I should just stick with nimh.
Got a solar light from walmart. Had a 400mah Westinghouse battery in it. Charged it up in solar light for a couple days. Ran it in sipik 68. Nice and bright but only lasted about 8 minutes. The 600mah would last 12. Was expecting better. The KaiDomaine ones are shown as 3.0 volts instead of 3.2. Wondering how long they would last?
I played with 2 lifepo4 batts, 18500 size.
they charged up fine in a cheap, standard li-ion charger. never got hot, when they turned green on the charger, they were done.
Lifepo4 does not have the energy density of standard lithium ions… but, they are WAY more user friendly concerning charging and overcharging oopsies. (much more thermal wiggle room)
the other claim to fame other than muggle-friendliness?? is they discharge at a steady 3.2v and dont really sag… many devices use them as DC power supply, as they run so flat at 3.2v, that you can reduce or eliminate the power supply circuitry.
four lifepo4s in series, yields a very flat 12.8v… which is perfect for anything expecting to be used in a car battery setup…
lifepo4’s tend to run flat at 3.2v, and only suddenly drop low at the very END of the discharge cycle… unlike regular lith ion, which starts out higher, then slowly drops voltage. Given their user friendliness tolerating a wide range of “charging abuse”, i suppose the lower capacity per size as compared to standard lithium ion, is the only reason they havent caught on more than they have… they are pretty cool
i charge mine with a regular, cheapie, lithium ion charger, works fine FOR ME.
Probably anything in a solar light is crap.
Regular Li-on are everywhere (laptops, cellphones, etc.). All you need is decent batteries, a decent charger, some appropriate information about both, and enough brains to use it safely. People running in to trouble often lack all 4 of those attributes, and they are everywhere. In reality it’s amazing there aren’t way more problems. This is especially true with the easy availability of pure junk from China at a very cheap price, coming with no instructions, no information, and and marketing that is so inflated it is well beyond lies. If these were American products they would be sued into oblivion 24 hours after they opened.
If you are even in this forum asking these kind of questions you way above the average battery user/consumer.
I bought a 4 pack of them a couple of months ago, right after getting a couple on amazon for twice the price >_> . I got a Soshine usb charger for them on fasttech for like $6 because I realized that my intellicharger isn’t compatible. I think I kind of fucked up though, because two of them don’t want to charge now. I think its because I used them a little bit before my charger got here and maybe I discharged them too much. They must not be protected. Now as soon as I notice my SK68 start to dim I turn it off just to be safe. Their capacity isn’t great either, only giving me maybe a half an hour on my single mode SK68, and maybe a little longer on a 3 mode since its not quite as bright. I’ll probably still pick up some more though, since they’re still pretty cheap for brick and mortar.
I’ve been using my 400 mah one that came with light more and getting better run times. Been charging it in my solar light. Getting about half hour now. Maybe just needed cycling a few times. I’ve heard in the fall Walmart puts the lights and batteries on closeout. Will be looking to pick up some then. maybe charging them in solar light would get the ones of yours not working back in action. They sure run down all the way in solar lighting by morning.