Is there a problem using nippled 18650s when flats are called for?
- Thread starter Dingfelder
- Start date
When nipples are called for it is usually because the nipple will be able to make contact where it is designed to make contact where the flat units will not. Just fitting does not mean an electrical contact will be made.
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Will probably fit super tight and really crunch the spring. Other than that i wouldn't see a problem as theyre also 3.7v
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This ^... Glem is correct.
And a crunched spring is prone to failure... Some lites use a brass button over the spring or soldered directly to the driver board. Not using the correct length battery could damage this type set up...
When building hi amp draw lites, I use gold plated beryllium copper springs and bypass them with wire soldered to each end. Springs are a important part of hi quality/ hi powered lites and are subject to mechanical failure with normal use. Over stressing/compressing them could expedite their failure...
Use the correct battery for your light. A protected button top battery is considerably longer than a flat top non protected battery. JFYI, most good lights and chargers have built in protection so a protected battery is not really needed. Just don't carry a non protected 18650 in your pocket with your keys...
jmo
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LOL I was just doing that. Is it fire or shock that I should be worried about? And should they always be in a carrying case of some sort then?
I went to a battery store today and the guy sold me a nippled battery. He said you can just peel the lining off a nippled battery and take the nipple off afterward. Sure enough, he did after I bought a nippled one, and now I have a flat-top.
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lol...
The problem would be metal keys(coins, etc,,?) with battery in same pocket could and has, maybe only briefly shorting the + and - side of the battery but causing Li-ion thermal runaway. Thermal runaway/venting in your pocket Li-ion batteries has been well publicized. Cauterized vasectomies are possible...
Did your guy at the battery store re-wrap your battery after "peeling" its wrapper off..? If not, the exposed case is all the negative terminal. Thus making it easier to short out in pocket with surrounding metal objects... IMO don't use a un wrapped 18650. when the wrapper gets nicked/torn I rewrap my 18650's. If you need a heat shrink wrapper pm me with your address I'll send you a few. you can slide 1 on and use low heat to shrink them on like new.....
18650 are very safe if handled/stored/and maintained correctly. Construction of 18650 utilize a thin membrane internally separating the chemicals. As the battery ages or is shorted/misused/over charged/over drained, sharp crystals can form in the chemicals that can and do puncture the membrane allowing the chemicals to mix causing thermal runaway, venting, flames, almost fiery explosions, etc... Fire, excess heat, or puncturing the battery case can also cause the membrane to fail causing thermal runaway. Dented in cases are also not good.
Observe how your battery acts/charges, if it gets hot(not warm) when charging or being used, bad sign. If its capacity drastically dwindles and charge times change, bad sign....
18650 trivia, older Prius cars used 2000, 18650 Panasonic batteries in their battery pack. Tesla used 4000 of them... Now Tesla has developed/produced their own 21700 Li-ion (21mm x 70mm) considerably increasing mAh capacity iirr, for Tesla battery packs.
Most tool battery packs, and many laptop battery packs use multiple Sony/Samsung/LG/etc,18650's. I harvest them from recycle stations and recycle them for my own use. Test them with a sophisticated tester charger and reuse the good ones. Many times only 1 battery goes bad in the pack making the pack non fuctional.
Imagine 4000 batteries going into thermal runaway. Fire depts hate them, as Tesla's (all li-ion car battery packs) have no practical way to put out Li-ion fires till all the chemicals have finished their thing, hours or days later ...
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Thanks for the heads up, acs. I'll be shooting you that PM.
I did get a flashlight as a gift a while back. One of the two batteries doesn't hold a charge, but one is fine. I guess I should dispose of the other one in a safer way than throwing it in the garbage can, if low charge means they're getting hazardous.
I will keep an eye on the other ones I have to see if they get warm. I have a digital charger on the way from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Charger-EASTSHINE-S2-Rechargeable/dp/B01N4NS31O/ref=sr_1_4?crid=SD3QKAGRZKWC&dchild=1&keywords=18650+charger&qid=1599426433&sprefix=18650+%2Caps%2C259&sr=8-4
I did get a flashlight as a gift a while back. One of the two batteries doesn't hold a charge, but one is fine. I guess I should dispose of the other one in a safer way than throwing it in the garbage can, if low charge means they're getting hazardous.
I will keep an eye on the other ones I have to see if they get warm. I have a digital charger on the way from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Charger-EASTSHINE-S2-Rechargeable/dp/B01N4NS31O/ref=sr_1_4?crid=SD3QKAGRZKWC&dchild=1&keywords=18650+charger&qid=1599426433&sprefix=18650+%2Caps%2C259&sr=8-4
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Ya throw that one in a the recycle bin at Home Depot/Best Buy/etc.
Its normal for a 18650 to get warm when charging or being drained hard. Hot is no good, warm ok.
Just for future reference, a charger like this one will test/measure actual mAh battery capacity and IR, and other things to give you an idea of battery condition...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32455363619.html?spm=2114.search0302.3.10.28b32d66jmoJbj&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_0,searchweb201603_0,ppcSwitch_0&algo_pvid=048d806c-2dd9-4808-9d26-bb38e34a4494&algo_expid=048d806c-2dd9-4808-9d26-bb38e34a4494-1
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Is that one better than the Amazon one I linked? It's actually less expensive, so that's no problem. I haven't placed my order yet.
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