recDNA
Flashaholic
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2009
- Messages
- 8,761
It should also protect against short circuit or overheated battery in unattended light. I recently had a high quality (not AW) protected 18660 vent for no apparent reason in a solarforce flashlight with a 1.5 amp xpg2. I had been using the light. Shut it off. Put it down. And 10 minutes later pop whoosh. Even if I left it on at 1.5 amps it should never get hot enough to vent. I assume a short circuit but a protected cell should have been disabled before it vented. Fortunately no flame but it scared the heck out of me. I was going to switch to all imr batteries but read there is really no such thing any more - that all cells are hybrid chemistry regardless of what labels say.Doesn't this light already have low-voltage protection built-in? What is using a protected battery getting you? The light isn't going to short the cell, or drive it harder than allowed, or run the voltage too low. Isn't that all that battery protection is giving you?
I suppose a protected battery also gives you protection from a charger that goes crazy, but I wouldn't leave lithium-ion chargers unattended whether charging protected or unprotected batteries.
So, can't you just use a regular flat-top unprotected Panasonic 18650? That's what AW uses as the cell, isn't it?