About a year ago I bought for a friend a BLF A6 from Banggood, a Liitokala 100 from Gearbest, and one protected NCR18650B also from Gearbest - all of this kit was sent directly to his house. At the time I was buying NCRBs along with A6s and gifting them to a few people - as of the middle of last year it seems the diameter of the A6 has ever so slightly changed and so double wrapped cells no longer fit. Something to note is that for everyone I bought lithium ion cells for I taught them how to use them and the consequences of improper use. Anyways, a few months later my friend was telling me he couldn’t get the light to turn on using the switch - he had to physically twisted the cap to change modes. I took the A6 and the NCRB off of him earlier this year and said I’d try and fix it. It’d been sitting on a shelf until today. I took it out and noticed that the battery had no wrap on it! I searched online to find pictures or even conversation around NCRBs that come without a wrap and couldn’t find anything. I messaged my friend and asked him if he received the battery like that or took the wrap off to which he said he did. He said he thought it just needed to be unwrapped.
I have learnt something new today. I’ve been giving AA flashlights as gifts since the beginning of this year and I think I’ll continue to do that for the future.
Btw, was there any danger of the cell shorting? There is an exposed strip of metal on the protection PCB that is recessed by a hair’s breadth on the negative terminal of all NCRBs which is always covered by the clear wrap.
Scary stuff… I’d never give a lithium ion powered light as a gift, especially with a separate 18650 cell. I have a lovely LA10 CRI in blue to gift soon to a special friend. :sunglasses:
The PTC is a good safety device, but it not guaranteed to return to initial condition, i.e. the internal resistance may be slightly higher after activation of the PTC.
Isn’t the PTC pressure-activated, though? If so - inside a water-proof flashlight would there be enough pressure to trigger the PTC before the light itself ruptures/explodes? Same for the CID.
The CID is pressure activated, not the PTC.
Not much air outside the battery is need for the pressure vent to blow, maybe a completely sealed and tight battery compartment could do it, but any leak into the head of the light or if there is a spring at the back of the battery, there would be air enough.
But generally you do not want vents inside a light, if the gas is ignited it will probably blow the head and back of the light.
