ER14505

[flatline]

Someone just gave me some ER14505 cells. They were for some hardware we don't have anymore and they were taking up space. I didn't know anything about these cells, so I looked them up and they appear to be lithium primary cells with nominal 3.6v and 2.4 Ah capacity (as much as my 18650s!). Even better than that, you can buy them online for about the same price as the Energizer lithiums.

Seems like it would be great in an emergency light or if you didn't want to deal with the headaches of lithium rechargeable cells and chargers.

Any dangers or risks I should know about in regards to using these in my expensive 1xAA lights?

--flatline

 

[45/70]

The biggest problem with them is that they're desinged for really low drain devices, like ELT's in aircraft. I had a bunch from Boeng 767's ELT's. They'll drive a single 5mm LED OK, but much more load than that and they fall flat on their face, voltage wise.

Dave

 

[flatline]

The biggest problem with them is that they're desinged for really low drain devices, like ELT's in aircraft. I had a bunch from Boeng 767's ELT's. They'll drive a single 5mm LED OK, but much more load than that and they fall flat on their face, voltage wise.

Dave

Hmm...maximum continuous current = 100mA, maximum pulse current = 200mA.

That would be enough to drive the Quark moon-mode, maybe Low. I guess this isn't as promising as I had originally thought.

Thanks for your response! I probably wouldn't have noticed that tidbit if I hadn't seen your post first.

Edit: according to the 4sevens site, the quark's emitter current at moon, low, and medium are 1mA, 10mA, and 50mA, respectively. That probably means that you could use a ER14505 for those modes without exceeding the 100mA max continuous current limit. I'll test this later, but if true, then the ER14505 in the Quark would be a perfect emergency light if you are willing to sacrifice High and Max modes for long shelf life and extreme runtime.

--flatline

 

[45/70]

Edit: according to the 4sevens site, the quark's emitter current at moon, low, and medium are 1mA, 10mA, and 50mA, respectively. That probably means that you could use a ER14505 for those modes without exceeding the 100mA max continuous current limit. I'll test this later, but if true, then the ER14505 in the Quark would be a perfect emergency light if you are willing to sacrifice High and Max modes for long shelf life and extreme runtime.

Yeah, they might work out well for that application. One thing to consider is that when they came up with the 2400mAh rating, it was probably at something like 1mA. The faster the cell is discharged, the lower the usable capacity is going to be.

Also keep in mind that, in the case of the Quark (or any light with variable output), at the lower emitter drive levels, the circuitry can be using more current than the LED itself.

Dave

 

[flatline]

Also keep in mind that, in the case of the Quark (or any light with variable output), at the lower emitter drive levels, the circuitry can be using more current than the LED itself.

Dave

Of course. I'll have to measure tailcap currents to determine which modes stay under the 100ma limit.

Thanks!

--flatline