Help re 1st melted lion

[Ned-L]

I purchased 2 AW IMR 16340 batteries a week ago. I was testing one in a NiteCore Smart PD EX10. I ran the light on high which is not very high and it only got a little warm, definitely not hot. After about 40 minutes the light went off. I checked the battery which was slightly melted/burnt on one side of the top.

Does anyone know if this was caused by running the light on high for about 40 minutes, a defective battery, a defective light, or other?

 

[Changchung]

Are you contact AW about this issue? If the battery look melted maybe the problem is the battery. What result you get with other one? Can you measurent the with a DMM in the tailcap?


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it... :D

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

A photo would be nice of the battery`s burnt top.

If the battery was not making a good contact, there will have been a lot of amp going though that small contact area, this can cause burning.

John.

 

[Ned-L]

A photo would be nice of the battery`s burnt top.

If the battery was not making a good contact, there will have been a lot of amp going though that small contact area, this can cause burning.

John.

I sent an email to Lighthound where I purchased the batteries to see what they say about it. Thanks for your input. I mostly want to understand what caused the problem so it doesn't happen again with potentially worst results.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

Thanks for the pic, of what i can see, it`s a bit blurry, the positive terminal seems fine on the top, the damage seems to be to the side.

Have you read one of the review on the lighthound website.

I had some non IMR rechargeable 16340s in one of my lights while riding home at night on my bicyce. BOOM! One of the batteries exploded in my light blowing out the entire glass and damaging the LED and reflector. I now only use AW IMRs from Lighthound for all of my 16340, 14500, and 18650 needs! I have peace of mind with regards to safety. And my IMRs can deliver heavy currents to some of my lights w/out the light shutting off after a few seconds on high.

John.

 

[Ned-L]

Thanks for the pic, of what i can see, it`s a bit blurry, the positive terminal seems fine on the top, the damage seems to be to the side.

Have you read one of the review on the lighthound website.



John.

I am not sure what to take away from his experience. Is he indicating that a non-AW IMR 16340 exploded so now he only uses AW IMR 16340s? Lighthound suggested that I contact the manufacturer of my flashlight (Nitecore) to see if it can handle IMR 16340s. I think I will see what AW says first.

 

[Changchung]

If the other battery work just fine, why point the light???

I think that is a defective battery


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it... :D

 

[AW]

Judging from the picture of the battery, it could have resulted from an external short. Similar incidents:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-I-do-wrong-(Seraph-SP-9-D26-TL-3-2xIMR18500)

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...of-a-AW-IMR26500-Battery-then-CATCHES-ON-FIRE

Please note IMR batteries are not 'short circuit protected' and they 'll dump tremendous amount of current/heat when shorted.

 

[Norm]

From the first link above.

Ouch! I think your guess is probably correct - the tail of the spring was probably off-center and gouged away the plastic insulation, causing a short.

Due to this being an IMR cell and the very substantial currents possible with these cells, I'm going to move this thread to the "Smoke & Fire" dept of the Batteries section, as SilverFox may want to comment on this.

This sounds like the answer to me, it explains why only one cell was involved.

Norm

 

[Ned-L]

Thanks for the input.