(Noob) Pila IBC - 16340 Spacer Question

Wanted to charge some 16340's and see people buying spacers to do it. Can't I just use the ones it comes with and double them up? I read some of the chargers didn't come with spacers... is that why they buy them or is using the supplied ones dangerous for this application?

(Tried to post a pic but won't let me due to post count I think)

Thx.

Most Pila shipped with 2 spacers. If you got one of the later 4 spacer configs, you are ahead of the game.

DosDiablos said:

Wanted to charge some 16340's and see people buying spacers to do it. Can't I just use the ones it comes with and double them up? I read some of the chargers didn't come with spacers... is that why they buy them or is using the supplied ones dangerous for this application?

(Tried to post a pic but won't let me due to post count I think)

Thx.

Click to expand...

Be careful charging your 16340s on a Pila. At a fixed rate of 600mA, that exceeds the capacity of many popular 16340s and is therefore over 1C and not a great thing to do.

Your cells won't last as long as they would if they were charged at 500mA, or even 250mA.

Chris

It came with two spacers, they have a little "nub/screw" on one side and flat on the other. (wish it would let me post a pic)

So can I put them "end on end" and use the two supplied spacers? Looks like it fits fine but not sure if having one "nub" against the "flat" side is ok.

And the batts are 880mah and although I did read those #'s are actually prob lower, but i read at least it's safe to charge. Seems like just a longevity issue so I thought I might try a set and see how long they last since I have the charger and some cheap 16340's.


So again, has anyone used the two supplied spacers together to charge a 16340 or will I burn down the house, lol?

I ended up using either 2x bare aluminum spacers from AW, or you can use 1 threaded and 1 aluminum one (they are about the same size). I have also used a dummy CR123 cell from AW as a charging spacer.

DosDiablos said:

(wish it would let me post a pic)

Click to expand...

You can post pics. - Norm

gunga said:

I ended up using either 2x bare aluminum spacers from AW, or you can use 1 threaded and 1 aluminum one (they are about the same size). I have also used a dummy CR123 cell from AW as a charging spacer.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the info but WHY don't you use the SUPPLIED spacers (if you got them)... is it dangerous?

Does anyone know if I can use the two SUPPLIED spacers?


And "Norm", it says specifically that I cannot post pics yet. I believe it is because of my low post count (pretty silly).

I think the supplied spacers are too short, you need to add another spacer (at least mine were too short) to charge 16340. It's not dangerous. Just less convenient if you intend to charge 18650's too (unscrewing spacers all the time).

DosDiablos said:

And "Norm", it says specifically that I cannot post pics yet. I believe it is because of my low post count (pretty silly).

Click to expand...

Your very first post can contain photos, not sure what your what you're seeing. Checked all your settings everything looks normal, have you followed the directions in the link I posted?

Norm

gunga said:

I think the supplied spacers are too short, you need to add another spacer (at least mine were too short) to charge 16340. It's not dangerous. Just less convenient if you intend to charge 18650's too (unscrewing spacers all the time).

Click to expand...

Cool, thx. As soon as i can post a pic maybe I'll run it by again, just to make sure. Or maybe i'll just try it and watch it closely.

And "Norm", there is no "Add Attachment" option. Even the link you left me states that new users get this message (which i get as well, see #3):

• You may post new threads
• You may post replies
• You may not post attachments
• You may edit your posts

If i'm still somehow misunderstanding let me know. Thx.

DosDiablos said:

• You may post new threads
• You may post replies
• You may not post attachments
• You may edit your posts

If i'm still somehow misunderstanding let me know. Thx.

Click to expand...

You obviously haven't read the thread I linked to, pictures are different to attachments. - Norm

"Norm", I appologize, I wasn't clear. I see that you can use a third party pic utility but is there a way to post pics using the site itself? Like the "Manage Attachment" option on every other forum. Thx

DosDiablos said:

"Norm", I appologize, I wasn't clear. I see that you can use a third party pic utility but is there a way to post pics using the site itself? Like the "Manage Attachment" option on every other forum. Thx

Click to expand...

There is no way to host a picture on this website and CPF doesn't want us linking photos here, in our posts, from other sites, except from our own picture hosting site. They want us to use our own hosting service, like PhotoBucket and grab/link our photos from there, which is odd to me.

Chris

Ya, really weird. I'm active on nearly 20 forums and never seen that. I just thought it was due to low post count which I guess would make sense to stop spammers or something.

Don't really want to get a pic-hosting account just for this forum. Wonder why they don't have a Attachment Manager like all the rest?