Li-Ion AW

[jefierro]

So I have now been enjoin the wonders of high-end flashlights and I cant get enough. Now enter the world of Li-Ion.
I'm also in to RC and I have been charging my AW Li-Ion cells in my Hobby charger.
I have 14500, R123A and in the way one AW 18650 2600mAh for the RRT-2 they all have a nominal 3.7v but my charger uses a nominal value of 3.6v for Li-Ion. What's up with that?
I charge & discharge this cells at 1C this leaves me with a final voltage of 4.1v in each cell of the 4.2. also discharge to 3v but never get accurate mAh readings from the charge ( i.e. a new 14500 that get's back only 550mAh)

I can live without the 0.1 volt, also this will reduce ware in the cell and hopefully will last longer. Is there something I'm missing, or could be doing wrong, any recommendation on this setup, as I couldn't find any on the forum. Li-Ion is a new chemistry for me I'm use to LiPo cells. that can discharge and be charge with higher C ratings but are also bigger.

Is there a difference in charging a Li-Ion or a LiPo cell, i know is direct voltage charging only the nominal voltage is diferent, but now I see the AW are in fact 3.7v nominal as LiPO, Can I charge Li-Ion with a LiPO settings?

Jorge

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Jorge,

You can charge your AW cells as Li-Po cells to 4.2 volts.

The difference between 4.1 and 4.2 volts is about 10% of the capacity of the cell. If you charge to 4.1 volts, your cells will enjoy longer cycle life, but you will have less capacity.

The Li-Ion setting is used for some high end Li-Ion cells, and for some very old cells that listed 4.1 volts as the maximum voltage for those cells. I believe all of the older cells are now dead, so you only have to worry about the high end cells. Saft makes some Li-Ion cells that are only charged to 4.1 volts.

Tom

 

[jefierro]

All what I needed to know, and from a very reliable source I may ad. Thanks