Li On

[tabetha]

Do the lithium ion batteries get better after a few charge/discharge cycles in use, I had to use a light the other day, till the light was seriously dim, but even on AW protected cells did not cut out.
However after I had recharged it again, it seemed much brighter, unless I had more to drink than I thought!!
Your experiences(of batteries, not drink!!) would be appreciated, thanks.
tabetha

 

[StarHalo]

You shouldn't use a Li-Ion cell until your light dims, as you're probably dropping below the ideal voltage range of the battery and damaging it. Frequently check your battery with a multimeter, always keeping it between 3.6-4.15 volts. Once you've hit 3.6 volts, recharge, don't wait for the battery's protection circuit to cut in.

 

[Oddjob]

A direct driven light may look brighter with a freshly charged Li-ion cell because off the charger the cell is 4.2 volts. After some use the voltage drops and the light may look dimmer. StarHalo speaks the truth, using Li-ions do require a little more conscientious use than other cells.

 

[Chodes]

Do the lithium ion batteries get better after a few charge/discharge cycles in use, I had to use a light the other day, till the light was seriously dim, but even on AW protected cells did not cut out.
However after I had recharged it again, it seemed much brighter, unless I had more to drink than I thought!!
Your experiences(of batteries, not drink!!) would be appreciated, thanks.
tabetha

Doing that is dangerous. You will also likely damage the cell.
Alcohol and LiOns are not a sensible combination.
Don't forget , even if you are happy to take the risk , you are putting people near you at risk as well.
Combined with the slow reactions and poor decision making due to drink , if things go wrong , it is very unlikely you will react well.

Think of the protection circuit like a seatbelt or an airbag in a car. Only a complete idiot would suggest not to worry about danger due to the existence of those two devices.

I believe reasonably safe LiOn use involves being familiar with current draw of your light and cell capacity. You should be using a mutilmeter to measure the open circuit voltag of the LiOn after timed runs. You should be familiar with the open circuit voltage range for LiOn cells
Do this with new lights , new cells.

It's like getting your car maintained and having worn parts replaced , tires, brakes, suspension checked etc. They can all be checked.

You can't test the airbag though. You can only hope it does function when required.

You can't go to a shop and purchase LiOn cells as far as I know in any country. Maybe in China? The reason is the danger to the user. They are only considered safe when a dedicated protection circuit designed for the cell or pack of cells and the device it will be used in. Even then , restrictions on LiOn transportation continue to increase (LiOn transportation by Air has recently been banned in Australia)

Please don't take this the wrong way. Danger warnings are usually bright red , bold letters , flashing etc for good reason.

 

[VidPro]

if it is Direct drive, or "fallen out of regulation" like it sounds, then it will not reach the protection end until it is very very dim.
it also will be going very slow and dim before it reaches a problematic point for the li-ion itself.

yes they do like to be cycled a BIT, but nothing like ni-cds , it is likly from how you presented it, that it just needed to be charged, because your Using it, it isnt likly to need cycling.

a Direct drive, or out of regulation, li-ion naturally lowers in output, and last much and much time, if you want high brightness with that style of light, then you charge it, and it has the advantage of running for many hours, and slowing down as the battery is less charged.

IF it isnt going direct, like it sounds, then the need to recharge might be higher, needing to be sooner.

all big IFs, basically you would have to indicate the light item, or the curcuit type, or how it reacts on a power supply, or generally more information, otherwise we can just speculate.

 

[tabetha]

The torch is a MTE SSC P7-C led torch, it's not afaik direct drive, I just assumed with a quality cell like AW protected as they are they would save me from danger, I never normally need to run them that low.
BTW I was joking about the drink, I'm tea total, well not really don't drink any hot drinks, no tea no coffee, just glad my charger is in a cupboard.
I just converted my WF 139 charger to charge the 123 cells as per the small wiring mod, charges much better than me cheapo chargers did.
Thanks for the comments, and help,
tabetha

 

[VidPro]

right it is not a "direct drive" light, but it does fall out of regulation, like many things do, and basically become DD neer the end, then it dwindles on.
and what you saw was the dwindling part is all good, and the protection on the battery would be unlikly to kick in till it has dwindled down to really low, and hopefully you would have charged by then.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

If you are going to use Li Ion cells then do some exhaustive searching here on CPF. Use the google search, cpf only, at the top of every CPF page, and pose you question re Li Ion, depending what you want to know. Much info on Li Ion cells and their safe usage, as well as all the options available using them. Go to the Electronics, batteries, forum also. Search first, them ask questions when you do not find the answers to your satisfactiion. Read, read, read.

Bill