Protected vs. Unportected

[chew socks]

For christmas i am going to ask for a Dereelight. According to Dereelight's sight, their lights have a low voltage cutoff. Looking at AW's Li-ion thread i noticed that unprotected 18650's are have the price of the protected ones. I will also be asking for a Pila IBC charger to charge them. Is it ok to get the unprotected ones or am i that much better off with the protected ones?

Thanks,
Chewy

 

[csshih]

wrong title spelling*


anyways,
protected batteries are safer still. You might accidentally short them in your pocket, or whatever.

 

[greenLED]

Unprotected are not for the faint of heart or unexperienced user. I stick with protected cells, regardless of the flashlight's circuit.

 

[chew socks]

wrong title spelling*

Yeah my bad......i tried to fix that but it didn't look editable.






What about one of each kind....or is that a worse idea:thumbsdow

 

[chew socks]

Is it true that Unprotected cells have a longer shelf life....i think i heard somewhere that the protection in some cells consumes a little bit of power

I suppose this could justify buying both kinds.

 

[csshih]

yes indeed, but the protection circuit consumes an extremely small amount.

 

[chew socks]

yes indeed, but the protection circuit consumes an extremely small amount.

Do you know what the comparison of shelf life would be?

 

[Oddjob]

I agree with what has already been said. Protected cells are safer. The IBC is a good charger. If you are going to be using Li-ons regularly I recommend getting a digital multimetre if you do not already have one.

 

[Hodsta]

More important, I think, than which you choose is knowing how to use the one you choose safely, within its limits and the routine checks to make sure your cells have a safe/useful life. For this reason alone I would choose one to start with until the checks become second nature.

Protected cells have an obvious safety advanage but one should not be lulled into a false sense of security. The same applies to lithium primaries.

 

[chew socks]

I agree with what has already been said. Protected cells are safer. The IBC is a good charger. If you are going to be using Li-ons regularly I recommend getting a digital multimetre if you do not already have one.

Okay...it seems pretty obvious now that EVERYONE prefers protected.....which means that i should too.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good multimeter that is preferably less than $20?
Right know i have my dads multimeter from the late 80's to early 90's that according to the manual is accurate to about 3% is that good enough?