Batt Help....

Status
Not open for further replies.

redrhino

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
3,183
15
NY,CA,FL
OK I'm looking to get new batts for my SB and the BSB.....I only vape 6 Volts so please don't tell me about LR atty's and the HV vaping these atty's simulate.....

I use AW RCR 123a now that's why it's my first choice.. But been using them for a while so it's time to replace the old with the new....

Been hearing a lot of different reactions lately to batts....So I figured i ask before my next Batt purchase.....Please Post something conclusive....And Not Just, I think you should give these a try or try these out....I know there's a lot of good batt guys/members on here... So please feel free to Comment....Thanks in advance.....




Here are the Batts that I'm using Now AW RCR123a Protected 750 mAh Battery

And here is My second choice http://www.lighthound.com/AW-IMR16340-550-mAh-IMR-CR123-size-LiMN-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_2626.htm

Or should i just Go with these Card: 2 RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh LIFePO4 Rechargeable Batteries with a Smart Charger. | Battery Superstore

Thanks
redrhino
 

nj1001

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 14, 2009
902
340
Boston-ish
I remember hearing that using protected batts in a series (ie more than one at a time, which is the case with the SB) nullifies the whole point & makes them just as sketch as unprotected batts. Therefore, due to the safer chemistry associated with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) I suggest using option #3.
I am curious about the LiMN batts though. My primary concern there would be that they are 3.7V a piece, meaning that you'll be running 7.4V which could be a bit much... IMO. ;)
In short: I suggest using a protected batt if its only one used per unit, so with the SB it would be the 18650 for 3.7V. If your into 6V's (rcr123a's) then LiFePO4 is safer than protected. If your into a TON of voltage, 3.7Vx2 would be in order, but many folks have said its too much & kills the flavor of juice. Take it as you will.
 

pudgey7

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 25, 2010
100
5
Irving
I would defiantly recommend your second choice!:D I have been using these batteries for the better part of a month.....
The ones you are currently using are a good choice but they drop down to 3.9 soon as you push that pretty silver button!
The aw 16340 3.7 550mah are a high drain battery ( so I have been told ) I seem to get a full day of vaping. There is the occasionally late night around 2 in the morning where I will switch them out, but not every night.
I see and hear people making there comments about certain batteries, the biggest issue with personal experience is strictly dependent on how they vape...i.e. long drags, or just good olé' fashion hard core vaping ( I vape at least 5ml a day8-o ) someone might get a long time, someone might get 6 hours? whatever.....just felt led to share my 46 cents.:p
 

redrhino

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
3,183
15
NY,CA,FL
I would defiantly recommend your second choice!:D I have been using these batteries for the better part of a month.....
The ones you are currently using are a good choice but they drop down to 3.9 soon as you push that pretty silver button!
The aw 16340 3.7 550mah are a high drain battery ( so I have been told ) I seem to get a full day of vaping. There is the occasionally late night around 2 in the morning where I will switch them out, but not every night.
I see and hear people making there comments about certain batteries, the biggest issue with personal experience is strictly dependent on how they vape...i.e. long drags, or just good olé' fashion hard core vaping ( I vape at least 5ml a day8-o ) someone might get a long time, someone might get 6 hours? whatever.....just felt led to share my 46 cents.:p

Ok pudgey are you stacking them?
 

Quick1

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 11, 2010
2,684
280
USA
Yeah but quick what about the My second choice( AW red ones) i hear a lot about those batts but just Not really sure about them....Low drain or something....

Low internal resistance. They are capable of providing a large amount of current in a short amount of time -- instantaneous (max discharge rate). You're vaping at 6v. Actually more like 7v since your batteries fresh off the charger are going to be around 3.5v? Lets take the extreme case of a 2.2ohm 510. If the batteries could supply the amperage you'd be drawing about 3 amps (3000 mA). Your batteries probably can't supply that instantaneous current so you get a voltage drop. Since you've exceeded the max discharge rate your batteries are heating up rather quickly. No problem since it's "pulsed" usage instead of an application like a flashlight (if you were powering a 22 watt flashlight). I sort of remember that your AW 750mAh protected batteries are rated for a 2C max discharge rate (2 x 750 = 1500mA) so they should be able to provide a sustained 1.5 amps (and do so without tripping the PCB). Obviously you're drawing more than that without tripping the PCB.

Those 550 LiMN batteries are rated at a max discharge rate of a whopping 8C (8 x 550 = 4400mA) so they should be able to provide a sustained 4.4 amps -- sustained, meaning until they are drained which, at that current draw, would happen in about 8 minutes. Since these high discharge rated batteries are capable of providing plenty of current you would not expect to see any voltage drop in our example above. At 7 volts your 2.2 ohm atomizer would be drawing 3 amps from a battery capable of providing 4.4 amps so they would perform "better".

Are you happy with the vape you're getting now? If you would like it hotter then those LiMNs should give you an improvement. If you're happy with what you have then here is the trade off. You're stressing the batteries you have now. That translates to reduced life/number of recharge cycles/whatever. Are they lasting long enough before you have to re-buy? I have no idea how many recharge cycles the LiMNs are suppose to give you. Might be less even though you're not stressing them. On the flip side the LiMNs are not protected. If you short them somehow they will discharge in a hurry. Maybe your atomizer fails and shorts or something like that. Basically catastrophic. Best case scenario is that the spring melts (which it will do almost immediately) and breaks the circuit and you only get minor burns. Any other case is going to be worse. They can and will vent.

So maybe that's a bit dramatic but the protected batteries will disconnect the positive terminal internally.

I wouldn't even bother with the LIFEpO4s. Did you look at the Max discharge rate on those? It's something like 1/2C or <550mA. Safe or not, they can get hot enough to burn you and they can vent.

Conclusion: Unless you are dissatisfied with the heat you're getting from your current setup, I'd go with what you have.
 

Quick1

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 11, 2010
2,684
280
USA
I remember hearing that using protected batts in a series (ie more than one at a time, which is the case with the SB) nullifies the whole point & makes them just as sketch as unprotected batts.

I think you're wrong here. I believe what you heard is that *each* cell in a stacked configuration must have an individual protection circuit. What doesn't work is a single protection circuit for the whole stack.

Therefore, due to the safer chemistry associated with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) I suggest using option #3.

I really wish someone would explain what "safer chemistry" actually means... I believe you can get burned by LiFePO4 batteries. I believe LiFePO4 batteries can vent. So what exactly does "safer" mean? Can somebody quantify that for me? They won't produce flames? What temperature can they reach? They don't vent as fast? Is there a difference if they're in metal tube?

I am curious about the LiMN batts though. My primary concern there would be that they are 3.7V a piece, meaning that you'll be running 7.4V which could be a bit much... IMO. ;)

Ummm, 3.7v is the nominal voltage right? They charge to 4.2v don't they?
 

redrhino

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
3,183
15
NY,CA,FL
Wow..... I always said i wasn't a technical guy...I guess reading your post solidified that....I have no idea what you just said.....But i think i understand.....So if i want a warmer Vape then go with the red ones......But if i go with the red ones they are not protected for stacking? The ones that I'm using now are better for stacking because of the protection But not as good of a vape that i can be getting from the red ones....I think is that Correct? And the LiFePO4 are defiantly not as good as either ones of the AW bats? Please Please Correct me on anything and everything....Thanks for your time Quick
 

nj1001

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 14, 2009
902
340
Boston-ish
3.7V x 2 = 7.4V in a SB, given that each of the rcr123a-sized LiMN batts is 3.7V, which they are. & given that they do charge to 4.2 means fresh off the charger your actually ripping 8.4V, WAY too much for me anyway :p. The batteries he was referring to in the 1st post of this thread listed 3 links which we've labeled 1, 2 & 3. #3 is the LiMN's your a fan of, but again, they are the same size as RCR123A's & are EACH 3.7V.
I generally only vape @ 6V, personally, however my only exception is when I use my DBSB &/or LR atties using the 18650 LiMN battery.
I have heard for months on different threads here & there that using protected batts in a series is sketchy & defeats the whole point altogether. They were definitely not referring to using only one protected & another non-protected. When I read this, again, several places on several forums, it pertained to using 2 protected batts. However, this is simply what I had read & nothing I personally researched therefore with this particular point I was relaying what I had taken to be common knowledge based on what others had said.
Either way, it is my personal experience using my SB that since I grew attached to 6V's anything lower seems to not do it for me, with the only exception being to LR atties. Using the LiMN batts (which are my favorite 18650 3.7V batteries) with a normal 2.4oHm 510 atty is nowhere close to a 6V experience IMO, though I find its a bit better than a standard protected Li-ion.
My BB on the other hand, with the extended cup I'll use protected rcr2's with a normal atty or the standard 14500 protected with a LR atty.
Just my 2 cents... btw, I hope I don't come across as condescending or rude in my writing, lol, its hard to convey tone in writing sometimes & I fear coming across like an ...., so if I did I'm sorry. ;)
 

Quick1

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 11, 2010
2,684
280
USA
Wow..... I always said i wasn't a technical guy...I guess reading your post solidified that....I have no idea what you just said.....But i think i understand.....So if i want a warmer Vape then go with the red ones......But if i go with the red ones they are not protected for stacking? The ones that I'm using now are better for stacking because of the protection But not as good of a vape that i can be getting from the red ones....I think is that Correct? And the LiFePO4 are defiantly not as good as either ones of the AW bats? Please Please Correct me on anything and everything....Thanks for your time Quick

Rhino. If you're OK with the vape you are getting now then stick with the AW protected batteries -- the first ones in your list.

AW RCR123a Protected 750 mAh Battery

Far and away the best choice. Only way I'd consider the red ones is if you're really unhappy with the vape you're getting now because it's too weak.. And yes, I wouldn't even consider the LiFePO4s because they have such a small Max Discharge Rate. They would work but they are not protected and since you would be over driving them to such an extent that I would expect their life to be greatly reduced (number of recharge cycles).

Here's some basics that were referred to:

mAh: (milli Amps per hour) This is a capacity measure. If you were to draw the mA listed for 1 hour the battery would go from charged to pretty much drained. So if it is rated 750 mAh that means that you could draw 750 mA for 1 hour. Thats how much juice the battery holds.

Max Discharge Rate: Just how fast can you drain the battery. In other words what is the max rated current the battery can supply. This is an instantaneous measure and not over time. This figure is usually given in mA (milli Amps) or "C". 1C is equal to the mAh but without the time component. If the battery is rated at 750 mAh, then 1C for that battery would be 750mA. It is very common for batteries to be rated with a max discharge rate of 2C. A max discharge rate of 2C for that 750mAh battery means that you should be able to draw (sustained) a current of 1500 mA. Or in other words the battery is capable of being drained in 1/2 hour. If you exceed the max discharge rate for some amount of time the battery will overheat. At the very least you will decrease the normal life of the battery. Those red ones are designed to be capable of delivering large amounts of current -- high amps. They have a max discharge rating of 8C. That means they can supply a (sustained) 4.4 Amps of current. Because they have a capacity of 550 mAh (550 milli amps for 1 hour) at 4.4 amps you would drain the battey in 7 to 8 minutes -- and they can handle it.

We have a fairly high current draw application (low resistance). Vaping at 6v and above you're drawing 2 to 3 Amps, or at least you would be if the battey could supply that amount of current. Generally speaking, we overdrive our batteries by operating them above the max rated discharge rate. It's not so bad though because usage is "pulsed" -- you push the button for a short amount of time and then the batteries get to "rest" and recover (cool off). Remember that every case of exploding batteries involved some sort of extended button press or suspected short circuit? Like the guy who had the button held down by having the thing in his pocket. Another guy wasn't getting any vapor so he held the button down a lot longer than normal a couple of times before the incident -- probably had a failed atomizer that was shorted.

Ohm's law: I = V/R (it's the law, it's not just a good idea :)). The equation has to balance. So pick 2 values and you have determined the third. Let's say your 2 stacked batteries have a voltage of 7v. A Joye 510 has a resistance of 2.2 ohms ==> that circuit/load is going to try to draw about 3 Amps of current. The batteries you are using can't provide that current so you will see a voltage drop while trying to draw that current (the resistance of the atomizer is what it is and doesn't change).

If you were using those red ones you might not. By the way those red ones are just going to produce too much voltage stacked anyway. They charge to 4.2v. So let's say stacked you have 8v. And your atomizer at 2.2 ohms ==> 3.6 Amps. The batteries are rated to supply 4.4 amps so you would be well within the operating range of those batteries. Unfortunately the 510 would probably not last very long and it would probably be too hot of a vape anyway. Still, those batteries are not protected. What would happen if you melted the bridge/coil on your 510 and it short circuited. Those batteries have no shut off so they're going to produce a huge current for a very short amount of time. You might be the first person to actually melt a SB, or at least melt the spring. If you short circuit a protected battery the internal "circuit breaker" trips and opens the circuit.

Protected batteries: Have a sort of circuit breaker built into the battery. The circuit breaker trips if the battery is over charged, under charged/drained, charged too fast, or discharged too fast. Without the "circuit breaker" you can ruin your battery or touch off a reaction that feeds on itself (thermal runaway -- sort of translates to "explode")

So we overdrive our batteries for very short amounts of time with around 2 or more amps of current draw. Probably just fine. On the other hand those those LiFePO4s have an unusually small 0.5 amp max discharge rate rating. You would be seriously overdriving those. Again, I wouldn't expect them to explode, melt or vent but... I wouldn't expect them to last very long and if anything happened at all there isn't much margin there.
 

Drozd

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
4,156
789
50
NW Ohio
I'd go with option 4...
3V AW LiFePo4 16340 found here:
AW LiFePO4 3 Volt Lithium Rechargeable Battery

Which the AW dealer has said can be discharged up to 10C safely

the AWs that you're using now depending on what atty you're using...theres already a probability that your amp draw is exceeding the max drain rate of the battery..
but those that you're using you're already at 7.4V and not 6 anyway...

for 7.4V yeah I'd use the stacked red AW IMR 16340 LiMN..I'd rather have a battery that can handle what I'm asking of it than one thats overstressed..
 

Quick1

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 11, 2010
2,684
280
USA
but those that you're using you're already at 7.4V and not 6 anyway..

DOH! I see the source of all the confusion. I just assumed Rhino was using those AW 750s stacked now. But at the same time the original post said 6v vape...

Rhino, exactly what batteries are you using right now that you are looking to replace?
 

Quick1

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 11, 2010
2,684
280
USA
Ok... and you are using those stacked? now? 'cause those are 3.7v batteries.

That's fine. IF those are the ones you are using stacked right now and you are looking to buy new batteries to replace them, of the 3 choices you put up, I would go with those again.

(if that's not the case, and I misread the beginning, then I'm going to have to go back and delete all my posts in this thread 8-o)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread