Does AW's 18650 protect against low voltage

[Dragonfueled]

I have an AW 18650 protected cell and it seems to get relly low before the light dims out. I checked the voltage and with no load it was 2.7. The light would still turn on just real weak... Is this working properly? My allbattery rcr123's used to just cut off completely when the voltage got low so im not sure it rhe 18650 is workindg rite... Thanks

 

[DM51]

You don't say what light you are using, but it will probably be a light load for an 18650 cell if you were using R123s before.

If the load is light, the cell's voltage sag is not large, so the rebound to the resting voltage is not large either.

The cell is effectively almost empty at a resting voltage of 3.5V. An almost empty cell will continue to deliver some current for a little while, until the low-voltage protection trips.

It would be much better not let the cell get that low. You can recharge Li-Ions at any stage - they do not suffer from 'memory effect' and it is better for them not to be fully discharged each time.

 

[Dragonfueled]

In being used in a wolf eyes sniper cree... I know you arent supposed to drain them to low but I use the light for work and sometimes its on for a decent amount of time. I just figured the voltage cut would kick in before the cell was that low....are these batteries supposed to just cut out when the protection kicks in?

 

[DM51]

are these batteries supposed to just cut out when the protection kicks in?

Yes, they are. I'm not sure why yours isn't doing that, and although I am not familiar with the WE Cree drop-in, my guess is that it would pull in the range 500-1,000 mA.

When you measure the cell's voltage, how long is this after taking it out of the light? It would need 15-30 mins to fully recover to a resting voltage.

 

[DM51]

Very odd. Post #4 seems not to exist. It was posted 10 mins after post #3, but post #3 still shows in the sub-forum as the latest one, 3 hours later. See screenshot below - this thread is outlined in red. Bear in mind timings are GMT.

Maybe this post (which should be #5) will jolt the thread back to life, and #4 will magically appear.