AW 18650 red wrapper cracked off some

[MiamiMom63]

So if the red wrapper on an AW 18650 battery cracks or chips away some, do you really have to throw it out and it's no good anymore? How is that thin red plastic wrapper on it so important? Is it just for decoration and packaging appearance? I hate to throw out good AW's just because the red wrapper cracked but I will if I have to.

 

[Jammin J]

It slightly depends on what mod you use it in. If it's exposing the metal and you're using it in a metal tube mod, in theory it could cause a short.

If you see exposed metal under the wrapper, I would do one of two things:

1) Wrap some electrical tape around the exposed metal to prevent a possible short
2) Throw it away

Thats just my 2 cents.

J

 

[MiamiMom63]

Thanks alot Jammin for explaining to me why it was bad. I can understand it now as far exposing metal to metal. That sort of makes sense. No one ever would tell me why it was no good, just that it was no good. I kept staring at them and thinking, but why? LOL. I appreciate your response.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I'm using it in a Provari but it just makes me soo mad when the red wrapper cracks and it's still a decent battery. Yesterday I dropped one and it broke the wrapper off alot and they aren't cheap.

 

[wokkerk]

would you rather replace a 10-19 dollar battery or your ProVari...that's just my two cents but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Jetmec]

You can insulate it with clear tape and just check it each time you remove it from your mod. Electrical tape may be too thich depending on how tight the fit is in your Provari.

 

[Butters78]

no idea lol, just want to say hello from a fellow Floridian.. I was born and raised in Hollywood

 

[Mrgreen819]

If electrical tape will not interfere with it sliding inside the tube its the best option. Most quality electrical tape is rated to insulate up to 600 volts. I use it on 480 volt taps, so if it works there it will insulate a 4 volt battery easily. If it keeps the battery from easily sliding inside the tube then its of no use. Time for a new battery.

 

[Mrgreen819]

Thinking about this a bit more the obvious dawned on me. The entire outside of the battery case is ground. The entire tube on a pv should also be ground. So even if the entire wrapper peeled off the battery it should not make a bit of difference. The bump on the top is positive and insulated from the case, if it wasn't the battery wouldn't function.

 

[dragonrage]

well i will put my in the top of the battery is the most important on a ni-mh or ni-cad and on a li-ion there is the same little tab that keeps the + from the - if those should ever come into contact then there is a problem( learned from my rc car world when i shorted a cell that had the rap come off and a big boom blew a chunk out of a 160 rc chassis ) so if you don't put something to keep the 2 away from each other the battery could go boom and hurt you.

 

[DummyMe]

Mr Green, i think you may be incorrect. I believe that the individual cells that make the battery are not in parallel. I believe that most cells are 1.2(something) volts. That means that the cells are in series (at least 3). That would mean that the negative point would be on the bottom & the "negative" end of the next cell up would be electrically at 1.2(something) volts. If the cells were in parallel, then what you said would be true. I could be wrong, but it's easier to wire 3 cells in series in a sigle battery.

 

[Rader2146]

Mrgeeen is correct. The entire case is the negative pole and the positive is insulated from the case. Lithium batteries don't have individual cells inside a case like a 9v battery does. The chemistry makes it capable of 3.7v, not the sum of smaller cells in series.

Electrical tape, thin wall heat shrink (electrical wire type), or you could probably find the actual plastic heat shrink that the wrapper is made of.

 

[DummyMe]

Thanks for setting me straight, Rader.

 

[Rader2146]

Here's a pic of a pre-assembled battery.

File:Lithium-Ion Cell cylindric.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The "guts" are coiled ribbon about 15 feet long that contains the working elements. You can see the white isolator on the positive button. When sealed, the case is crimped above and below the isolator to keep it from moving or being pushed in. You can usually see this crimp in the form of a shallow ring about 2mm below the top of the battery.

 

[Mrgreen819]

Radar,
Pretty neat to see the insides thanks for posting that. Made like a polyester film cap,makes me wonder if they are self healing? Anyone who has any lithium batteries with peeling plastic wraps and dosn't feel safe using them feel free to send them my way.

 

[MiamiMom63]

no idea lol, just want to say hello from a fellow Floridian.. I was born and raised in Hollywood

Nice to meet you, Eric.

 

[MiamiMom63]

Thanks for all of the really good information. I always wondered why the batteries were considered unsafe just because a little plastic cover split. It's good to know now what to be careful of and I think I will just get new batteries. I tried electrical tape on one battery awhile ago but it was a little bit too thick and did not slide in the tube of the Provari very well.