Pila IBC charger - no reverse voltage protection?

I purchased this premium charger, and it does not seem to have reverse voltage protection? When I insert 18650 batteries the wrong way into the charger - the charge light goes on. I only did it for a few seconds of course, but I'm giving the charger with two AW 18650 batteries and a nice flashlight to my step father as a birthday present, and I'm afraid he might insert them the wrong way.

If you are worried that he may put them in backwards, then perhaps lithium rechargeables aren't for him... A lot of things can go wrong if he is not careful.

A quick Google search says otherwise.

Just tried mine and the red charging LED does light :shrug:

Norm

michelkenny said:

If you are worried that he may put them in backwards, then perhaps lithium rechargeables aren't for him... A lot of things can go wrong if he is not careful.

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Agreed. A nice AA light and a stack of eneloops with a good charger would be pretty practical and much more safe route. Li-ions are somthing to work up to.

michelkenny said:

If you are worried that he may put them in backwards, then perhaps lithium rechargeables aren't for him... A lot of things can go wrong if he is not careful.

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I would certainly agree with this , but if you are definitely going to get him into Li-Ion technology I would do the following :-

Get some bright red and some black nail-varnish ... Paint a thin red band round the (positive) top of each cell and a black line round the other end ... You might prefer to paint a red cross at the positive end and a black minus sign at the negative end ... Mark the charger in the same way ... Tell him to just match the colour when he puts the cells in the charger ... I have used a red pen of the type that writes on CD's to mark some of my plain grey and plain blue 18650's (just in case).

As a matter of interest , what type of DMM are you going to get him ... He will need to check the Li-Ion cell voltages occasionally during use ... He can't just rely on the protection circuit (turning the torch off) to let him know when the battery is ready for charging ... He will have to be careful to only use the Volts DC on the meter unless of course it is auto-ranging and with a separate current measurement terminal.

Personally , I think that if you are at all worried about him mishandling the Li-Ion cells , then just go for a nice single mode , single AA torch with four Eneloops and an uncomplicated charger ... On the other hand , you could give him the Li-Ion gear and take out fire-insurance on his house and contents each year ... I guess the Eneloop way would be better.

Good Luck.
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That's a pretty expensive gift for a step father. Seems like you really like him. Or don't. Hard to say. You did get the Pila and the protected AW's :thinking:

I'd say do what others are suggesting. Hit the marketplace and unload the explosion hazard. Grab some Eneloops and a Maha C9000. Don't tell him how to use it, just wait 6 months then watch him use it. If he sticks the cells on the charger and walks away, you done good. If he sticks the cells on the charger then uses features on the C9000, you done good and maybe you could show him some of your own Li-Ion stuff. Explain the chemistry in detail to him, then decide if you think he's looking for all that responsibility to go along with a flashlight.

I personally, never in my lifetime, plan to gift Li-Ion. Not without a massive overhaul of the market and available products anyway. I don't care who's birthday it is, I don't want to be the one responsible. One thread on the smoke and hot cells sub forum was all it took for me.

fiberguy said:

<snip>

I personally, never in my lifetime, plan to gift Li-Ion. Not without a massive overhaul of the market and available products anyway. I don't care who's birthday it is, I don't want to be the one responsible. One thread on the smoke and hot cells sub forum was all it took for me.

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I now agree. Although I have gifted CR123A lights, a couple even used 2x CR123A, I gifted only three Li-Ion charger combos. In one case, I had to pull back the chargers and cells. The other two users were relatively young and familiar with technology. Although I still gift a few CR123A-based lights, they use only single cells. Frankly, the latest AA-based lights produce sufficient lumens to solve the Li-Ion charging or usage questions. I even eliminated CR123a from my stock as well. I still do use 18650 protected cells, but in only 3 lights.

This is why I specifically bought him the Pila IBC charger and AW 18650 batteries, - I understand those are the best and safest around there. It's kind of discouraging that Pila charger does not seem to have reverse voltage protection, for $50 it should be built in. I guess I'm gonna use some red paint to mark the top of the battery, and explain him the safety hazards.

fiberguy said:

Hit the marketplace and unload the explosion hazard.

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I can't really agree with your statement, the OP has bought the best quality batteries and charger there is very little chance something will go wrong.

There are thousands of users of cheap chargers and batteries bought on ebay, who have never heard of CPF or read about how to care for Li-ion batteries, how often do you hear of these users having a problem?

Norm

Norm said:

I can't really agree with your statement, the OP has bought the best quality batteries and charger there is very little chance something will go wrong.

There are thousands of users of cheap chargers and batteries bought on ebay, who have never heard of CPF or read about how to care for Li-ion batteries, how often do you hear of these users having a problem?

Norm

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Please excuse my sarcasm Norm. A lot of what I say is (at least partially) in jest (see comment about liking..or not liking...stepfather in the same post), but that's hard to identify when its typed rather than spoken. I still haven't perfected my "E-lingo" Jokes are a little easier to identify when tone of voice is present and the flow of conversation makes it more apparent.

I (as well as most on this forum) understand the inherent danger with Li-Ion set-ups, and how it is compounded by ignorance and unsafe setups. In this scenario, the OP DID purchase the safest 18650 set-up he could, and I give credit for that. I also realize the likely-hood of an AW cell exploding on a Pila charger is probably less than the likely-hood of myself hitting the Powerball lottery tonight.

Still, I wouldn't send an uneducated, uninformed user into the world of Li-Ion. Furthermore, if one does, I feel they are responsible for making sure they aren't uneducated or uninformed when the present is handed over. The OP scenario, for example, could be a 2 cell light as he did purchase 2 cells. If the end user decides they want a spare pair to charge while they use one pair, so they google 18650 because it's written on the cell, then buy a cheap pair off amazon.... Risk goes up.

To clear up my original post, the specific items purchased by the OP are on the high end of safe, however introducing a new user to the world of Li-Ion has it's own dangers and responsibilities. It would be more advisable that the OP purchase a more stable, user friendly system to gift. That or try to identify if the recipient is ready for such a responsibility. In a strange way, it's kinda like buying someone a pet.

fibreguy a might have helped convey that your statement was tongue in cheek and intended not to be taken too seriously.

I agree with you about erring on the side of safety, I set up a friend with a similar setup some years ago, I wasn't too keen but he insisted he wanted the same flashlight as I was EDCing, I tried to explain the basics of caring for Li-ion cells, I know he has ignored everything I explained to him, I usually put his 18650 on charge when I visit knowing he wouldn't bother to charge it himself unless the protection circuit had tripped. There have been no nasty incidences yet :twothumbs

Norm

I bought a Tenergy charger with 2 Tenergy 18650 batteries, and this charger has reverse polarity protection! I guess then I'll give him the Tenergy instead of Pila.

Also, how do AW batteries compare to Tenergy, which ones are safer?

I am visiting my former brother in law for his 50-years birthday. I gave him an Armytek Predator XB-H and Nitecore HC30 and two Keeppower 3500 cells. He is not used with Li-ions and I thought this would be a suitable charger easy to use. I instructed him about Li-Ions and that it's just to charge until it will be green light. I told that he should avoid to unnecessarily let the cells go very low. He placed the cells in the charger and the red lights were on. Next morning the green light was for one cell. When I looked closer I saw that the cell which was not charged was placed the wrong way. I removed the charged cell and placed the other correct way.
I was careful to tell him to put the cell correct way in the flashlight but forgot to tell the importance of doing the same in the charger, so it was my fault.
The question is if the cell was damaged or not. Nothing happened and it was not even warm. Now I oversee the charging of the cell.