Protected 18650 cell question.

MikeV · Sep 25, 2007

From what I understand protected 18650 cells will "shut themselves off" if the cell voltage get to high or to low, but does this mean that once the cell "shuts down" that I will not be able to use it or recharge it???

Some of the chargers that I was looking at say that they will not charge over-discharged cells.

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2566

Thanks for any info.
Michael.

DM51 · Sep 25, 2007

The protection circuit of a protected prevents over-discharge. Placing the cell in the charger will bring it back up above the threshold again.

Over-discharging can happen with unprotected cells. It can also happen with protected ones if the protection circuit has been damaged by being dropped, dented etc. If a Li-Ion cell reads below 3.0v at rest, it has been over-discharged and it may not be recoverable.

Recharging a cell after each use, whether or not it has been fully discharged, is better for the cell than fully discharging it each time. It is not a good idea to rely on the low-voltage protection.

Anders · Sep 25, 2007

Hello MikeV.

I have one of thoose WF-139 chargers.

The first two, three times I used it, it performed well, but now it charge much more than 4,20 volt, even with AW:s 18650 (old style), theese cells also had the protection built in them but one time when I stopped charging the cell it was 4,35 V, another time 4,27, maybe another more expensive charger with better termination algorithm is a better choise?

Anders

DM51 · Sep 25, 2007

The Pila IBC charger terminates properly at 4.20v and for this reason it is considered superior to the WF-139.

MikeV · Sep 27, 2007

Thanks for the info guys.

I think I will wait until I can afford a Pila charger before I jump on the 18650 wagon.

Thanks again.
Michael.

Protected 18650 cell question.

MikeV

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DM51

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Anders

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