DIWdiver
Flashlight Enthusiast
Well that rules out an awful lot of people who can buy these things. Maybe not so many of the CPF community, but some.
Embarrassed but gonna ask anyway
- Thread starter BrightestBulb
- Start date
Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
Well that rules out an awful lot of people who can buy these things. Maybe not so many of the CPF community, but some.
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yes, but clueless people will have safety risks from more than just over-discharging a battery (of which the danger is generally overstated, anyway). Torn wraps, drops, etc. They're all more dangerous, and no protection circuit will help that.
Again, for all of us here, the only thing a protection circuit is adding is safety for the battery when used in poorly designed flashlights. All of us are smart enough to check voltages before charging (or have a charger that does it), not to keep loose cells in our pockets or drawers with loose change. For the most part, any decent flashlight has voltage protection and thermal controls. Even multi-cell lights are pretty good at shutting off before the cells get low, unless you are using cells way out of balance (which again, nobody smart does that).
CanAm
Newly Enlightened
Just riffing off of some of the stuff mentioned in this thread -
To quote a former employer (after I really sh*t the bed) - "Dumb Mistakes. We all do 'em sometimes."
What I had just done was fairly stupid, but it came at the end of a long and pretty hectic day. Despite having a little bit of a short fuse he wasn't too upset with me because it was out of the ordinary - a lapse in judgement made in a rush.
Thankfully that occasion was expensive but not threatening to anyone's safety. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I've seen otherwise intelligent, competent people do dumb things here and there.
You shouldn't rely on cell protection alone. It's a important to follow best practices, and super important to build good habits. If you're always watching out for overdischarge, taking care to charge and store your cells properly, etc, you're more likely to do that when you're tired, stressed, or under pressure. That said, when you are tired, in a rush, stressed, multitasking, whatever, the extra layer of protection isn't going to do you any harm.
So, although I agree with some of the previous comments that a protected cell can't be relied on to keep you out of trouble, I will say that in a work light, or an emergency light, protected cells? Hell yeah.
It's also much easier, if you should have an accident, to convince the safety authorities, your boss, the flashlight company, whoever it may be, that you were doing everything right and it's not your fault/they should warranty your light if you were following best practice and using safe equipment that's in good shape. If I have the misfortune of blowing up a flashlight at work I want to be able to tell them I was using cells that were appropriate for the light, with protection, that came out of some kind of case. Not that I pulled some unknown-quantity vape store cells out of the bottom of my friend's bag and threw them in.
So, for a hobby light or one that's used in carefully controlled and predictable circumstances unprotected cells are probably just fine. (No knock on hobby lights btw, just pointing out that it's a different use case.)
Would I want to worry about that in an emergency? No. On the clock? Probably not.
If you feel that the extra layer of protection is going to be a good idea for your usage, absolutely do it. Just don't forget that good habits and some knowledge are even more important.
To quote a former employer (after I really sh*t the bed) - "Dumb Mistakes. We all do 'em sometimes."
What I had just done was fairly stupid, but it came at the end of a long and pretty hectic day. Despite having a little bit of a short fuse he wasn't too upset with me because it was out of the ordinary - a lapse in judgement made in a rush.
Thankfully that occasion was expensive but not threatening to anyone's safety. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I've seen otherwise intelligent, competent people do dumb things here and there.
You shouldn't rely on cell protection alone. It's a important to follow best practices, and super important to build good habits. If you're always watching out for overdischarge, taking care to charge and store your cells properly, etc, you're more likely to do that when you're tired, stressed, or under pressure. That said, when you are tired, in a rush, stressed, multitasking, whatever, the extra layer of protection isn't going to do you any harm.
So, although I agree with some of the previous comments that a protected cell can't be relied on to keep you out of trouble, I will say that in a work light, or an emergency light, protected cells? Hell yeah.
It's also much easier, if you should have an accident, to convince the safety authorities, your boss, the flashlight company, whoever it may be, that you were doing everything right and it's not your fault/they should warranty your light if you were following best practice and using safe equipment that's in good shape. If I have the misfortune of blowing up a flashlight at work I want to be able to tell them I was using cells that were appropriate for the light, with protection, that came out of some kind of case. Not that I pulled some unknown-quantity vape store cells out of the bottom of my friend's bag and threw them in.
So, for a hobby light or one that's used in carefully controlled and predictable circumstances unprotected cells are probably just fine. (No knock on hobby lights btw, just pointing out that it's a different use case.)
Would I want to worry about that in an emergency? No. On the clock? Probably not.
If you feel that the extra layer of protection is going to be a good idea for your usage, absolutely do it. Just don't forget that good habits and some knowledge are even more important.
BrightestBulb
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2018
- Messages
- 77
Your post helps...thank you!
