Are my batteries Protected or Not???

[Shortstuff116]

I know that the first thing someone will tell me is to check out "The ABC's of batteries" which I have and elsewhere but still haven't found the answers I'm looking for.

I purchased 2 TrustFire 14500 batteries a few weeks ago. They are blue in color, rated at 900mAh 3.7V and it says right on the batteries "...with PCB" which I'm guessing means Protected Circuit Board. These batteries are 52mm long.

I just purchased 4 more 14500 batteries from MadVapes and they are the UltraFire brand. These batteries are silver in color, rated at 900mAh 3.6V. There is no mention of a PCB or any type of protection on these batteries. These batteries are also 52mm long.

I went online and found the specifications for the TrustFire unprotected 14500 batteries which said they were only 49mm long. I know that the addition of a protection circuit inside will extend the length over an unprotected one, but how do I know if these new silver UltraFire 14500's are in fact the protected ones?

Can the length of 52mm be one sure way to tell?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I don't ever want to use unprotected batteries in any mod I make.

Thanks!

 

[Marctwo]

Protected cells are slightly indented at the negative end where the PCB is.

 

[Shortstuff116]

Thanks for the reply. I did more homework and went to another website (I'm a member of) and found a really interested thread about the actual PCB circuits. If you check the link below (I hope I'm not violating any rules with the link) you'll see great pictures and detailed expanation of an 18650 protected L-Ion battery a genteman took apart.

Many may find this very interesting: Go Here.

 

[Marctwo]

You can buy the PCBs seperately for use with unprotected packs.

 

[Shortstuff116]

I have to give this a bump because I'm still trying to get a definitive answer. I don't want to use unprotected rechargeable batteries.

Anyone?

 

[hoogie76]

The 14500's that we sell are all protected.. If you look closely you'll see the indents at top and bottom of the battery in the shrink tubing they use.. You can also find and feel the flatwire that runs up the side of the battery connecting the pcb to the positive contact.

 

[Shortstuff116]

Thanks Hoogie. I guess that flat strip along the side is another good indicator.

 

[dgreen]

anyone wanna take pictures of what the indent is supposed to look like??

 

[Shortstuff116]

anyone wanna take pictures of what the indent is supposed to look like??

Go here and you'll see what they look like in detail.