Blue 18650 bad idea?

[Jerethustra]

I've been using my Reo grand for about a month now. So far it's been great.

Living in Chile, it can be tough to get e-cig items. I was at an electronics store and found another 18650 battery. Though i already own two, I figured it would just buy another. Now I realize I may have made a mistake. It's a blue battery, which I think means it's unsafe and unprotected.

Is it a really bad idea to use it with my Reo Grand?

edit: It's also a 3.6v battery. Should I not charge it with my UltraFire Rapid charger, which says it's for 3.7v Lithium batteries.

 

[Mudflap]

Can you post a picture of the battery? Does it have any markings on the wrapper?

If it's not protected, you shouldn't use it in your Reo.

 

[Jerethustra]

Sure, here's an image:

 

[Mudflap]

I found what appears to be the same battery here.

It appears to be unprotected. I wouldn't use it.

 

[Jerethustra]

Thanks, that looks exactly the same... But it is white around the positive side. I don't feel a PCB board either, so I take it to be unprotected.

From Overready:

There are 3 categories of rechargeable lithium cells:
1.Red cell, safe/unprotected (IMR - available from Oveready)
2.Black cell, unsafe/protected (LiCo with PCB - available from Oveready)
3.Blue cell, unsafe/unprotected (LiCo without PCB - not available from Oveready)

Sound right?

 

[Jerethustra]

Kinda nuts I paid over 16 bucks for this... Yes, we have 19% sales tax, but they have quite a nice profit margin!

edit: lol looking at dealextreme, it seems like the store's entire stock is from this site. Even the charger they sell is the same that they carried.

 

[lostknitter]

Wow, good thing batteries last a lot longer than attys or cartos!

 

[Mudflap]

Thanks, that looks exactly the same... But it is white around the positive side. I don't feel a PCB board either, so I take it to be unprotected.

From Overready:

There are 3 categories of rechargeable lithium cells:
1.Red cell, safe/unprotected (IMR - available from Oveready)
2.Black cell, unsafe/protected (LiCo with PCB - available from Oveready)
3.Blue cell, unsafe/unprotected (LiCo without PCB - not available from Oveready)



Sound right?

It's right with respect to the batteries sold by Oveready.

The recommended battery for the Reo Grand is the AW IMR 18650. It comes in 1600 mAh and 2000 mAh models and both are red. 2.5 amp load testing done by David at Super T Manufacturing has shown that the 1600 mAh version performs a bit better in unregulated mechanical mods like the Reo Grand.

The protected LiCo AW batteries are okay to use in the Reo Grand. They all have black wrappers with silver accents. The 2200 mAh model is the one to choose for your Grand. The 2600 mAh, 2900 mAh, and 3100 mAh are all too tall and will over-compress the ground spring in the Reo Grand. The spring needs to be able to collapse and open the circuit in the event of a short.

 

[RocketRod]

Length is an issue to be concerned about also. Too long and it may collapse the spring too much which is your second safety point. 1st being using the recommended battery. I think battery safety gets much forum mileage, and it should.

 

[Jerethustra]

Good point. Yes, it's slightly longer than my AW IMR 18650s. But, I see a metal strip through the casing. Could be connecting to a chip... Anyway, I'll just keep it aside for some flashlight if I ever get one that uses an 18650.

And I really have to say that the spring really works to save the mod from doing something it shouldn't. One night the plunger got stuck down while I was asleep and the spring collapsed. It was right next to my head.

 

[redeyedancer]

Thanks Tripp I really appreciate it when you guys jump on these situations .
Welcome Jerethustra

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

Welcome, Jerethustra!