Free Duracell Ultra 123 Lithium Batteries
- Thread starter Fat Boy
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jchoo
Enlightened
I would be happy to pay for a USPS flat rate box (IIRC they're about $5 for the smallest size) if you're willing to ship some - I'm working on some battery vampires right now (making LED modifications to tap-lights) that could use some lithium power.
Kestrel
Flashaholic
PM sent (-> Oregon, would pay for shipping). :thumbsup:
Thanks for the friendly offer, I definitely understand the 'local first' sentiment.
Thanks for the friendly offer, I definitely understand the 'local first' sentiment.
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Outdoors Fanatic
Flashlight Enthusiast
How do you burn 2k CR123 lithiums a year?
computernut
Enlightened
Glad to hear you're trying to recycle them. I know some A/V techs who constantly have lots of alkaline AA/9V batteries from wireless mics, etc. Every hour or two they have to replace all their batteries whether the device was used much or not. Better safe than sorry when you're dealing with live performances.
NotRegulated
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2004
- Messages
- 1,358
As much as I would want to get in on an offer like this, I would bet you would become a local community hero by offering some or all of them to the surrounding local PD's. Especially the local patrol guys and EMT's who don't get them issued to them like the special operations guys/gals.
Kestrel
Flashaholic
The thing is, though, that as mismatched cells, they cannot be safely used in two-cell lights (probably far & away the most popular configuration for Police & EMT's), and most folks might just poo-poo the safety concerns, not realizing just how dangerous this might be. My two lumens,
Edit: Someone might put these on a cheapo battery tester to check for mis-matches, and since the tester would probably be no load: "3.0 volts, 3.0 volts, 3.0 volts, 3.0 volts, these all match perfectly!":shakehead
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NotRegulated
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2004
- Messages
- 1,358
Good point.
Something Fat Boy should consider making clear to whomever gets them.
Something Fat Boy should consider making clear to whomever gets them.
Kestrel
Flashaholic
Blood, glass injuries, hydrofluoric acid poisoning, SureFire tailcaps shooting through cabinet door panels or drywall ceilings. And those are just the documented events on CPF.
But I am being somewhat overdramatic, condensing years of the worst & most spectacular CPF experiences into one sentence. There are many folks here who know more about this topic than I, Mdocod & Silverfox for starters. Mismatched CR123 lithiums are very serious business.
One problem these days is that there is a warning for doing practically anything these days, and all of these tend to drown out & diminish the few warnings that are actually very critical and important. It's a shame that most folks put the warnings from lithium batteries into the same mental 'drawer' as the warnings for much more esoteric 'risks'.
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Kestrel
Flashaholic
Here's something I wrote up for a few friends, and references possibly the best CR123 failure thread on CPF, a must-read:
----------
I wanted to send a heads-up on a (large) thread about what happens when a flashlight containing lithium batteries explodes:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=120888
The poor fellow even had some poison exposure issues (gaseous hydrofluoric acid, a reaction product from lithium battery failure):
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1448641&postcount=128
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1449433&postcount=182
A 'bench' test from a guy who has had repeatable success in getting cells with mismatched voltages to explode, good photos at this post:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1491857&postcount=647
Some things to consider:
This instance was with 2 cells, and was not unique. A voltage imbalance between the cells can cause this, with one battery drained more than the other one prior to use. The higher-charged cell tries to reverse charge the under charged cell, which then over-heats. Hydrogen gas is vented and then either the lithium metal or hydrogen is ignited, possibly igniting the other cell, and turning the sealed flashlight into a bomb.
Also, mechanical damage to the lithium cell can cause this. This particular model of flashlight can place an unusually high degree of mechanical stress on the batteries.
Take care using flashlights using more than one cell, always use two new cells from the same production lot. This is actually one reason why a lot of folks are starting to move toward single-cell flashlights, since the newer lights perform so much better than ones from just a couple of years ago.
The lithium batteries in this particular incident were made in China (however, these are now made in the US and have some of the tightest quality control in the industry). Although there has been a better reliability / safety record for US-made batteries than for Chinese batteries, these types of instances have occurred with all the major battery manufacturers.
Also, does anybody else ever hold a flashlight in their mouth to use both hands on something? I won't be doing that with multi-cell lithium flashlights anymore.
And my apologies for sounding like an old nag, but never short-circuit or use damaged or wet lithium batteries and dispose of them properly, via recycling if possible. I know we've heard this litany for all battery types, but lithium is the only chemistry you _really_ don't want to abuse.
----------
I have seen photos on CPF of the holes in the ceiling and the cabinet door from two other 2x CR123 explosion incidents (other threads). I know these occurances are extremely rare compared to the multitudes of uneventful CR123 use, but 'forewarned is forearmed'.
Take care,
K
----------
I wanted to send a heads-up on a (large) thread about what happens when a flashlight containing lithium batteries explodes:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=120888
The poor fellow even had some poison exposure issues (gaseous hydrofluoric acid, a reaction product from lithium battery failure):
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1448641&postcount=128
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1449433&postcount=182
A 'bench' test from a guy who has had repeatable success in getting cells with mismatched voltages to explode, good photos at this post:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1491857&postcount=647
Some things to consider:
This instance was with 2 cells, and was not unique. A voltage imbalance between the cells can cause this, with one battery drained more than the other one prior to use. The higher-charged cell tries to reverse charge the under charged cell, which then over-heats. Hydrogen gas is vented and then either the lithium metal or hydrogen is ignited, possibly igniting the other cell, and turning the sealed flashlight into a bomb.
Also, mechanical damage to the lithium cell can cause this. This particular model of flashlight can place an unusually high degree of mechanical stress on the batteries.
Take care using flashlights using more than one cell, always use two new cells from the same production lot. This is actually one reason why a lot of folks are starting to move toward single-cell flashlights, since the newer lights perform so much better than ones from just a couple of years ago.
The lithium batteries in this particular incident were made in China (however, these are now made in the US and have some of the tightest quality control in the industry). Although there has been a better reliability / safety record for US-made batteries than for Chinese batteries, these types of instances have occurred with all the major battery manufacturers.
Also, does anybody else ever hold a flashlight in their mouth to use both hands on something? I won't be doing that with multi-cell lithium flashlights anymore.
And my apologies for sounding like an old nag, but never short-circuit or use damaged or wet lithium batteries and dispose of them properly, via recycling if possible. I know we've heard this litany for all battery types, but lithium is the only chemistry you _really_ don't want to abuse.
----------
I have seen photos on CPF of the holes in the ceiling and the cabinet door from two other 2x CR123 explosion incidents (other threads). I know these occurances are extremely rare compared to the multitudes of uneventful CR123 use, but 'forewarned is forearmed'.
Take care,
K
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