"Unprotected"

[artec540]

I am collecting small pocket lights and recently asked for suggestions for others that I didn't know about. I was steered towards iTP A 1, A 2 and A3, which I have duly ordered, since they sound like the kind of light in which I'm interested.

One piece of supplementary advice was to use 10440 batteries to give the best output. In trying to buy some, it emerged that these are "unprotected" batteries, whatever that means. I had a go at the stickies at the head of this forum but almost immediately got lost in the thicket of abbreviations, initials, jargon words and unexplained technicalities. I intend no criticism here, it's just that I don't know enough to understand what the hell the knowledgeable writers are talking about.

Can anyone steer me to something really elementary that will explain all the technical terms used as they occur, so that I can understand the explanations?

As a start, I want to know what (or whom?) an "unprotected" battery is unprotected from? I suppose I ought also to know what or whom "protected" batteries are protected from and how they are protected? If I follow the advice given earlier, what precautions should I take, what can go wrong, how can I prevent that from happening, how much more output do these unprotected beasts deliver and are the advantages worth the risks? In the stickies there were alarming references to overheating and other dangers but I have no idea what causes these horrors.

Batteries 101, where are you?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Ragiska]

recommending li-ion cells to someone not experienced or knowledgable was not responsible. the light is not designed for 10440 cells, and their use must be done with extreme caution.

you will be much safer and better off just using nimh rechargables instead.

 

[HKJ]

The protection is designed to protect the battery from the user and this way protect the user from the battery :)

LiIon batteries must not be run totally empty, charged to much or shorted, the protection in the battery protect against this. If the battery are not protected, some of the these conditions can make the battery go :poof:, this is bad for both the battery and the user.


Small LiIon batteries does not have space for any protection and are always sold without protection. I do not believe that we have had any case where a small LiIon battery has gone:poof:. With larger LiIon there can be found some examples where they did go :poof:.

It is possible to get 10440 in protected from a single brand.

Using LiIon in flashlight not designed for LiIon will usual give a large increase in brightness and sometimes damage the light.

 

[ronkar]

Battery 101 at Battery University:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

 

[artec540]

Thank you all for your help. It is really appreciated.

HKJ, is it against the rules to tell me where protected 10440 batteries can be obtained? I've got some unprotected ones on order but if I can get some protected ones, I'd be happy to donate the unprotected ones to any suggested good cause.......

I have copied Batteries 101 to my desktop for study at my leisure. Let me add that it never occurred to me that there would really be a Batteries 101! I was merely using what I thought would be understandable shorthand!

Thanks again, all three.

 

[bstrickler]

Here's some UltraFire and TrustFire protected 10440's. I am not sure how reliable they are, though, so they may be crappy cells. Get yourself a good charger, too, otherwise you risk having the :poof: nightmare.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30788

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.36026

~Brian

 

[hazna]

take care... some AAA lights do not fit the protected 10440. The protected 10440 are slightly longer than non-protected ones.