AW 18650 charging

[NotBrightNuf]

Can I charge this battery with a smart battery charger with the correct voltage and amp ratings or do I need a special battery charger? what's the difference between an AW rcr123a and an AW 18650? Im really confused about what battery to use on my mag 626.

 

[supasizefries]

Can I charge this battery with a smart battery charger with the correct voltage and amp ratings or do I need a special battery charger?

Not sure what charger you're referring to specifically. A commonly used charger for 18650's is the Ultrafire WF-139

what's the difference between an AW rcr123a and an AW 18650? Im really confused about what battery to use on my mag 626.

RCR123A and 18650 are 2 totally different sized Li-Ion batteries. It sounds like you'll be powering up a high powered incan bulb in which case you'll need AW IMR batteries (to handle the high amperage) as opposed to regular li-ion batteries.

 

[Oddjob]

Some basic info:
18650 = 18mm (diameter) X 65mm (length) where the last '0' stands for cylindrical cell. RCR123 are actually 16340's and they replace CR123 in terms of size but not in terms of voltage or mAh. mAh or milliAmp per hour is how much juice a cell holds. A 18650 and a 16340 have the same nominal voltage of about 3.7 v but the 18650 is twice as long and wider in diametre and therefore holds more juice-about 3 times as much.

 

[NotBrightNuf]

Your saying imr 18650s would be better for my application then voltage protected normal 18650s?

 

[supasizefries]

Your saying imr 18650s would be better for my application then voltage protected normal 18650s?

Regular 18650 li-ion cells cannot handle the amp draw of the Osram 64623 bulb as far as I know. You need a battery that can supply the amps that will be pulled by that bulb.

Lux's Thread on safe chemistry batteries is a damn good read when considering batteries for this application.

 

[NotBrightNuf]

One more question. Would these imr 18650 batteries be better in runtime in general or are they just built better for high amp draw applications.

 

[mdocod]

One more question. Would these imr 18650 batteries be better in runtime in general or are they just built better for high amp draw applications.

They are for high current, but that't not the end of the story..

... mAH ratings describe the "capacity" which translates to runtime...

however, a LiCo chemistry 18650 (thats a "normal" li-ion cell, often sold with protection circuits), with say 2200mAH capacity, when heavily strained, may only deliver 1500mAH and be very unsafe doing it, not to mention, a protected cell would not even allow you to fire up a high current load anyways.
While the IMR18650 (LiMn chemistry), may deliver ~1400mAH, slightly less, into the same load, but do it while maintaining higher voltage and generating less heat and being totally 100% safe (no risk of explosion) so in the end the cell actually delivers more useful watt-hours into the load, and survives many more cycles, also would have a flatter discharge curve, resulting in more even output from start to finish.

----

You probably mean the 623 bulb?, the 626 has a different base that is probably not suitable for a mag modification using any of the common hardware associated with mag mods.

4 IMR18650s driving a 623 does work reasonably well from what I have read but it may not be driven as hard as ideal.

 

[mdocod]

I just noticed, you have started at least 4 threads now that are basically all an attempt to gather information about building a mag623

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231494
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231442
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231457

There are many ways to build a 623 or similar mods using similar bulbs (doesn't absolutely have to be a 623, there are several other bulbs around 12V 100W ratings that could be used, some with more or less cells of different chemistries depending on the bulb life on tap at 12V)...

the reality here is that, there's no way to throw you a few simple answers and you be up and running a 623 without a hitch. You'll need to soak up some information from many angles, but don't worry, it'll all make perfect sense soon enough.

Here's one example of how to build a 623:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2813845
This is based on using 13x 2/3A size high current hobby style NIMH cells welded and shrink-wrapped into a pack by LuxLuthor,

As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to point you to another link:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133440

There are numerous threads there that will really benefit your overall understanding of building a 623 by filling in the grassroots information needed about batteries and chemistries and safety. You can't really build a 623 from RCR123s, well, that's not 100% accurate but trust me, there aren't any practical ways to do it. You'll understand what I mean after studying some charts in the various shootouts, comparing performances of cells, and reading about different chemistries and what have you.

-Eric

 

[DM51]

NotBrightNuf... As I have now said with several of your threads which I have merged, and as mdocod says above, you need to consolidate your enquiries.

Please don't keep starting new threads each time you have another question about the light you are building, otherwise we'll end up with stuff scattered all round the forums, and neither you nor anyone else will be able to keep track of it.

This thread can close.