Best practices for preventing overdischarge of unprotected cells?

[bugsy714]

Hello to all,

I am considering some imr cells but have only worked with protected li cells, I am concerned about overdischarge, any tips would be much appreciated!

 

[Linger]

well, AW IMR's have protection circuits, so you have a layer of safety there.

Some lights have low-voltage cut-offs, or you could upgrade the circuit and install one yourself.

IFAIK, best practice is learning runtime of your set-up and turning the light off when you know the cells are nearing the low-end of their range.

Batterystation sells various battery safety boards ($5 - $50 depending on function) that you can incorporate as first or second line protection.

 

[Oddjob]

I just got in the habit of changing cells frequently. My cells only end up being discharged to about 60% before I swap them. Better to charge them and change them frequently if you use the light a lot.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

AW's IMR cells do not have under discharge or overcharge protection. A protection circuit would really limit their performance. They are considered safer than LiCo cells.

Bill

 

[bugsy714]

Yeah, I want to do a 18650 6p with the dx dropin but I am leery of unprotected cells...is there a smart tailcap or smart dropin with a protection circuit in it?

 

[^Gurthang]

I'll second Linger's post about learning you light's run-times. Also, get yourself a good DMM and check your batteries after a known run-time. I swap out the 18650s from my M@G mod when they drop to 7.5V, which for this iteration is about 1.5 hrs.