Unprotected 18650 Batteries

[epesos]

Hi!

So I bought some 18650 batteries from a US supplier. They were blue and looked like some protected ones I ordered from China that still aren't here. But I emailed the ebay guy and asked and he says my 2 18650 Ultrafires are not protected. I bought them for a silver bullet and I don't know anything about batteries. So if I use it there is a chance of it exploding? And how should I charge them, take them off right when they charge, to avoid over-charging? And if I let them die they will under-charge and explode? I don't want a pipe bomb. And if they are dangerous to use in the sb what can I use these batteries for? Anything?

Thank you.

[VaporX]

most of the explosions come from mixing more than one lithium cell of different charge levels.

the charger you get should have protection in it to prevent over charge but don't leave it plugged in over night or un-attended for a long time

over discharge is usually less dangerous but be careful, most times just causes the batter to stop working(wont hold charge, weak etc)but it can be worse,
when it gets low you should notice a drop in vapor, when you do, charge it( a cheap multimeter will help a lot dont let them get under 2.9V)

[epesos]

thank you, I'll try that. I really want to try the SB.

[Nuck]

Over and under discharge isn't really an issue with a protected charger. The problem is shorts. They can happen is there is any short in the mod including the atomizer. An 18650 in a sealed metal tube would be a huge amount of energy and would could do some serious damage.

Up to you, but the risk does not justify the reward. Get protected bats.

[Dave Rickey]

Somewhere here there is a thread about a CR2 that blew up a sealed case mod. Fried the guys hair, rammed the atomizer into his mouth hard enough to take a chunk out of his tongue, and blew flaming bits of battery all over the room. And that was a CR2, a *tiny* little cell with 1/6 or less of the energy of an 18650.

Ever see the results of an M80 going off in someone's hand?



Link if the image won't inline.

Now imagine that 4 inches from your mouth. Don't use unprotected 18650's, don't use unventilated mods.

--Dave

[epesos]

Thank you. I've got protected batteries coming, they are just taking like 3.5 weeks to get here and right now have got the unprotected ones that I ordered (by accident). I used them a few times just to try the SB, but it sounds like a bad idea and I should get the protected ones in in a few days, so I've been sticking with the 510 since I finally got to try the SB and didn't blow myself up while satisfying my curiosity.
Thanks for the advice, guys, I appreciate it.

[nick76]

I used the 18650 blue unprotected for 2 weeks before my protected batts came, no issues. If you have a proper charger for it , could be OK for temp use but DO NOT try to test it current by multimeter, there's no self shut-off a short present thus very dangerous. My Protected batts auto shut-off when a short happen or when I test its current.

Nick