Please help beginner - Regarding Lithium Rechargeable Batteries.

[pracola]

Hello,

I need some advise on lithiums rechargeable batteries. This place seems like the best place to ask with so many experienced users. My needs is to get some high powered lithium batteries, hopefully you guys can help me out and give some suggestions if what i've decided is good. I dont want to blow up my house and living in Australia i'm not really sure where to ask in regards to professional hobby grade lithium chargers like triton or those german brands. They probably easy to setup and such but i'm completely lost so I decided to go to a more general approach.
What I decided to get is a main RCR123 charger for CR123 batteries and another charger to charge lithium AA and AAA batteries. Those are the other 3 types of batteries I need at the moment.
After some research this is what i've come up with.

Protected Tenergy RCR123 Battery and Charger – Battery Junction - $28.95
http://www.batteryjunction.com/4parc390reli.html
+4 Extra Batteries $15.40
>>>>>>>>>>


Ultrafire AA/AAA 10440/14500 Charger – DX - $11.32
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.973

­­­­­­­>>>>>>>>>>
UnProtected AAA 10440 Ultrafire Batteries – Battery Junction - $2.95 (500 mAh @ 3.6v)
http://www.batteryjunction.com/10440.html

­­­­­­­­­­>>>>>>>>>>
Protected AA 14500 AW Batteries – Lighthound - $9.99 (750 mAh @ 3.7V)
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1296

I apologise if i'm not suppose to post these links. I wanted to get all protected cells but only ones I could not find protected were the 10440 AAA batteries. Other thing I wanted to ask was if AW is really a good brand or should I just try to source out cheaper protect AA ultrafire batteries. I also went for tenergy due to the fact that they came with RCR123 batteries that are made for that charger which didn't require me to buy a RCR123 ultrafire charger and get RCR123 batteries separately.

I do want to go professional RC style lithium chargers, since I have some NMHI batteries at home that I want to charge as well as lithiums and also the fact they seem to be alot safer. If someone could recommend a site that sells internationally and tell me what to get and help me setup so i can charge AA/AAA and RCR123 batteries safely that would be awesome but most likely be too troublesome.

Thanks alot guys, hope you can help me out. Please dont hurt the noob :mecry:

 

[DM51]

Welcome to CPF!

AW is a highly recommended manufacturer - his Lithium-Ion rechargeable cells are top quality. You can buy them with absolute confidence. You can get them direct here.

Never settle for second-best on cells - there have been too many accidents with inferior ones.

Use protected cells wherever possible. For 10mm diameter cells (AAA size [10440] and other 10xxx cells) this is not possible as no protection circuits are made small enough to fit them.

Please note the correct terminology - lithium cells are NOT rechargeable, and Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) cells ARE rechargeable. They have different voltages and even though some are made in the same sizes, they are not interchangeable for most applications.

Please feel free to ask any other questions - it is good to see you have already done some reading and research.

 

[cy]

greatest danger of Li-ion battery use occurs during recharging...

please consider reading link in my sig below. it's a good place to start.

 

[Sakkath]

This link might shed some light on your problem! :wave:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=161536

 

[pracola]

Would it be safer and easier if I went with getting a PILA IBC charger and using AW batteries? Does the Pila IBC charger work with AW 10440/14500 and 16340 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries?

 

[DM51]

The Pila IBC is an excellent charger, and can be highly recommended for all cells with a capacity of >600mAh.

It will therefore work very well for all the cells you mention, with the exception of the 10440 (capacity 320mAh). It would charge the 10440 at too fast a rate.

I suggest a nano-charger for your 10440 cells. This is a small, neat and inexpensive unit, which is recommended for smaller-size Li-Ions. AW sells a Nano-charger + 2x 10440 Li-Ion cells for $15, which is good value.

The Pila IBC would be a very good choice for your other Li-Ion cells.

 

[pracola]

Sounds excellent, just a few things that needs to be ironed out. Seems like the pila ibc charger are rare. Asking blackforce to see if they ship internationally. Anyone know of anymore places that sell the charger internationally? Also the other problem is that the AW 10440 charger looks like it has an american flat pin AC plug which I assume is made for american users. Meaning i'll need to get a handful of international adapters to run those nano AAA chargers in Australia. :scowl:

 

[DM51]

BugOutGearUSA stock the Pila IBC and ship internationally. For the nano-charger, yes, you will need an Intl adaptor for it. But nowadays one needs them for a lot of things - in fact you'll need one for the Pila charger as well. You won't need a voltage converter, though.

 

[pracola]

Sorry for the bump but I would like to thank DM51 for being so nice and helping me out. As a warning, I did order from bugoutgear.com with the pila chargers. I heard good reviews and such however even tho Flavio answers emails quickly and such its still not a completely 100% honest vendor. I specificly asked for express international and even paid for Express International, I ended up getting Priority International. :thumbsdow
I've expressed my concerns but they have not emailed me with a response.
So guys if ordering from bugoutgear, please buyer beware with shipping as I didnt get what I paid for even tho stating that I wanted Express International. :shakehead
Cheers AW for your quick and easy battery order.
Have a good one CPF. :wave:

 

[Dr Jekell]

pracola: I was just wondering how you were getting on with using a nano charger with power socket adapters on it & if you have found any quirks/tricks for using it?

Cheers

 

[Grox]

Sorry for the bump but I would like to thank DM51 for being so nice and helping me out. As a warning, I did order from bugoutgear.com with the pila chargers. I heard good reviews and such however even tho Flavio answers emails quickly and such its still not a completely 100% honest vendor. I specificly asked for express international and even paid for Express International, I ended up getting Priority International. :thumbsdow
I've expressed my concerns but they have not emailed me with a response.
So guys if ordering from bugoutgear, please buyer beware with shipping as I didnt get what I paid for even tho stating that I wanted Express International. :shakehead
Cheers AW for your quick and easy battery order.
Have a good one CPF. :wave:

Hi pracola,

Have you contacted Flavio about the mistake? I would be very much surprised if he didn't remedy the error in some way.

On another note, what will you be using the batteries for/in?

BTW if you're from Melbourne, we have regular CPF meets where you can come and meet some of the craziest people around and see some awesome torches. You're welcome to come

 

[DM51]

I was just wondering how you were getting on with using a nano charger with power socket adapters on it & if you have found any quirks/tricks for using it?

He shouldn't be having any problems, as the Nano charger works fine on anything between 110V - 240V.

However there have been two recent reports of problems with Nano chargers, although it is not clear what the cause was in each case. In one case the problems could well have been caused by spikes or surges in the mains voltage.

@ Dr. J: I'm wondering from your question - have you been having any problems like this?

@ pracola: I'm glad you are pleased with your set-up. I'm sorry to hear you got stung on the shipping, but I think if you get back to Bugout they should help sort this out.

 

[Dr Jekell]

DM51 - My charger & batteries are coming in a couple of weeks. I was just trying to find out if he has any hints/problems using the nano charger attached to a socket converter.

Also have another question - How well do AW RCR123A cells hold up to getting damp (not submurged underwater but in a lighthound CR-123 Battery Holster) eg light rain, mist, fog etc?

 

[DM51]

It is not a good idea to let any battery get damp or wet, as there will be a risk of it shorting. Batteries are best kept cool and dry for storage, as this helps them keep their charge better.

But for everyday use, when you need to take spares with you, that holster is perfectly OK, although I might think twice about using it if for example the weather forecast was for heavy rain. There are various waterproof / air-tight cases available for use in wet conditions, such as aboard a boat. Here is a recent thread about battery cases.

 

[Dr Jekell]

It would mainly be if I got caught in a light rain shower, mist or fog during spring/summer when I am wearing a high-vis vest while covering an event (Volunteer Medic).

If it is going to be more than a short duration shower then I have a wet weather jacket which will cover it over & protect it.

 

[DM51]

Then I would say this holster would do fine. You should probably cycle the batteries through, i.e. use them within 12 months of carrying them like this, just to make sure they aren't dead when you need them.