14500 Battery- Please Help - Dangerous???

[Kemosabe]

One of my Trustfire 3.7v 14500 batts is reading .49 volts on the multimeter. my batts that are in my PV right now are reading fine..3.82v right now ive been using them for a bit. one of my spares is in the normal dead range: 3.29v, but my other spare is reading between .49 and .51. its not warm or showing signs of being dangerous, but im scared to charge it. what should i do???

if its garbage, which brand/chemistry of 14500 is better than Trustfire?

 

[pho]

Cannot comment on your technical question, but AW IMR 14500 is generally the recommended battery

 

[Nomoreash]

.49 volts is way to low, it's most likely toast. I doubt your charger would attempt to charge it if it has under volt protection, many do. The damage has already been done if it's accurately reading that low, if you do try to charge it, keep an eye on in and don't leave it unattended.

I'd personally recommend sticking with AW, IMRs mostly but if you aren't using dual core or low resistance protected will be fine.

 

[Kemosabe]

its a pretty cheap charger. im not sure if it has undervolt protection. its this one:
14500 dual Li-Ion battery charger
i typically use 1.7ohm resurrectors but i do use my dual coil vision atty often. maybe i should upgrade to AW IMRs. i found em for 8 bucks a pop, doesnt sound too bad.
i suppose i could still use the same charger.
i was aprehensive about them at first because they are not protected, but i guess the chemistry is safer in the AWs meaning i dont need a protection circuit.
also, i noticed that they are 600mah, where my trustfires are 900mah. i herard someone mention that the 600s last just about as long due to the different chemistry...is this typically the case? thanks.

 

[Kemosabe]

i have no idea how the battery could have gotten that low. a few days ago it was approx 3.3v just like my other dead spare. i have been having charging issues with my batts lately, i bet this one batt is the culprit. maybe its been dropped, causing it to suck somehow.

 

[Kemosabe]

any idea on the level of quality on Efest IMR?

Efest IMR14500 700mAh 3.7V Rechargeable LiMn battery (2 pack)

 

[Nomoreash]

The description in the link to the charger you posted doesn't have much in the way of specs, so no way to tell by that. I wouldn't attempt to charge a battery that actually measured anywhere close to as low as your voltage reading though.

If you use 1.7 ohms and or DC definitely go for high drain/imr. They are a safer chem in comparison and don't have a circuit. Mah isn't quite as high as protected but probably won't be noticeable, especially when using LR or DC because you're likely getting close or stressing the batteries current capability anyway.

I've never used efest but the do seem popular, I tend to stick with AW. The ones in the link you posted are flat top so if you go for those make sure your device will work with flat top batteries.

 

[Kemosabe]

i will take your advice. im chucking the battery. and im getting some AW IMRs. my PV is a varicool smokbox sold by the same vendor whos selling Efests (but he also sells the trustfires and those were the "recommended" ones for my mod.
i emailed the vendor but i havent gotten a response yet so i think im just gonna go with the AWs seeign how i can really afford to wait. i need to have spares.