Ultrafire 18650 3000mA exploded
- Thread starter aurum
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Case in point... I just pulled 6 18650 cells from a newer, but bad, HP laptop battery. Had 6 Samsung ICR18650-22F's in it. Four of them tested between 1950 and 2100mAh, rated for 2200mAh. The other two (that made the whole battery fail) tested and rated at barely 800mAh. And that was after a discharge/recharge/refresh cycle to try and bring them back up.
If I were IdontgiveacrapFIRE.com I could re-wrap them and sell them as 4000mAh Premium cells for $10 a piece.. then take my new $20 bill and go buy myself a really nice lunch or decent dinner somewhere. Thank you unsuspecting chum.
If I were IdontgiveacrapFIRE.com I could re-wrap them and sell them as 4000mAh Premium cells for $10 a piece.. then take my new $20 bill and go buy myself a really nice lunch or decent dinner somewhere. Thank you unsuspecting chum.
Dr. Tweedbucket
Enlightened
Crap! That's bad, I hope he'll be ok.
Guess what I just ordered (before reading this thread)
Guess what I just ordered (before reading this thread)
| UltraFire WF-501B 8-Mode 800lm XM-L T6 White Light LED Memory Flashlight Torch - Blue (1 x 18650)-396081 | $ 10.99 | $ 0.00 | 1 | $ 10.99 | |
| UltraFire WF-C6S 3-Mode 230-Lumen Memory LED Flashlight (1*CR123A/1*16340)-29236 Should I be scared?  |
thedoc007
Flashlight Enthusiast
Nope, not even a little. I've had several WF-501b lights, and they are pretty darn good value. It is far more important to spend an adequate amount of money on batteries/cells. The mistake most people make is buying expensive lights, and then trying to run them on unsafe, cheap batteries. If you have a good cell, even a lousy light is quite safe, and you'll get either more output, more runtime, or both, than you would using *****Fire cells (or any other counterfeit/recycled cells).
Dr. Tweedbucket
Enlightened
Thanks. What I didn't mention is I jumped the gun and bought these off Amazon >
I guess that was $5 thrown away .... well that is a small price to sacrifice relative to the damage and grief they can cause. :duh2: Thanks again.
I would recycle those cells and dispose of the charger. Not worth the risk to your life and property. If you want a cheap charger that has been proven to be good, take a look at the XTAR MC1 (plus or normal version). It is a very simple single cell charger suitable for most li-ion cells you would use that operates from a 5V USB power supply. Most importantly, it is well made and safe. As for cells take a look around CPF in the Batteries forum - lots of excellent information and members willing to help if you need to ask.
I can understand that in the past people would buy cheap stuff like Ultrafire chargers - simply because that was all that was available at the low end of the market. You used to need to spend $50+ to get a good li-ion charger. Sadly ultrafire have put down strong roots and people new to li-ion batteries end up buying ultrafire cells and chargers very often. This no longer needs to happen - there are plenty of safe and cheap chargers available now.
I can understand that in the past people would buy cheap stuff like Ultrafire chargers - simply because that was all that was available at the low end of the market. You used to need to spend $50+ to get a good li-ion charger. Sadly ultrafire have put down strong roots and people new to li-ion batteries end up buying ultrafire cells and chargers very often. This no longer needs to happen - there are plenty of safe and cheap chargers available now.
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teacher
Newly Enlightened
Yeah, I fell into the buy cheap stuff category... partly because I listened to a friend who it turns out actually knew less than me [and that was next to nothing], and partly because of what was said above about the "low end of the market" at the time.
But mostly because I failed to read and research here on CPF... BEFORE I bought. That turned out to be a costly mistake in terms of dollars. :sigh:
I thought about giving the crap stuff away, but had to rethink that because of the safety issue of anyone using it. ["Crap Stuff" in my case is/was mostly chargers & cells with the word "Fire" in the name.]
I have come to be amazed & still am, at the amount of excellent information available here on CPF. Many of you guys really know what you are talking about and are able to explain it in a way that us mere mortals can understand. On top of that when I/we don't understand you don't mind going the extra mile to helps us understand... at least that has been my experience. :thumbsup:
I guess what I am trying to say to the Guru's is THANK YOU !!! :thanks::goodjob:
And to the newbies & mere mortals: IF you Read, Research, Ask, & LISTEN... here on CPF... you will learn & save a bunch of money in the long run by buying something decent in the first place.
squaredots
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2016
- Messages
- 8
Informative thread. Thanks all.
The Nitecore D4 charger has a "mode" button. However, the default is for Li-Po, and I use Sonshine LIFEPO4's 18650's. So, the user has to wait until the screen shows "LiPo", then press "mode" so that LIFEPO4 shows up.
However, if the AC power goes off, I suspect that the D4 charger would reset to Li-Po, which has a higher charge voltage.
So, I don't leave it unattended. I use an timer to remind me to watch the progress "bars" with each battery, and take them out, before they fully charge to 3.7V, since the resting voltage should be 3.33VDC for LIFEPO4. (Some Sonshine LIFEPO4's ended up with a resting voltage, taken days later, of 3.4VDC, confirmed with a multimeter -- this should not happen.)
Sonshine's are made in China.
BTW, most of us probably own at least 20 other Li-Po batteries in our homes.
However, if the AC power goes off, I suspect that the D4 charger would reset to Li-Po, which has a higher charge voltage.
So, I don't leave it unattended. I use an timer to remind me to watch the progress "bars" with each battery, and take them out, before they fully charge to 3.7V, since the resting voltage should be 3.33VDC for LIFEPO4. (Some Sonshine LIFEPO4's ended up with a resting voltage, taken days later, of 3.4VDC, confirmed with a multimeter -- this should not happen.)
Sonshine's are made in China.
BTW, most of us probably own at least 20 other Li-Po batteries in our homes.
