You probably need to throw the cell away. The problem is that even an "unprotected battery" is a battery that's built from a cell, and removing the protection from a LiIon battery leaves you a raw cell, not a battery--it would still need to be rebuilt with new caps and insulator to be a battery.
The Zmax, as a variable voltage/wattage device actually has the over-current, under-current and short-circuit protection built into the device itself, which is why they suggest using unprotected batteries. Read the fourth and fifth paragraphs of this post:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/mom-pop-vapor-shop/319932-introduction-batteries-101-a.html to get a little bit of an idea of the difference between protected and unprotected batteries as they pertain to vaping.
Now this post,
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/mom-pop-vapor-shop/478416-pvs-apvs-mods-e-cigs-101-a.html, paying attention to the parts about the Electronic APV's.
It will really help to understand my points in the following paragraph if you're already familiar with the information in the "intro to APVs" post.
Now, the ECF has decided that it is easier to make a blanket statement that "protected batteries are always safer" than to try to explain
when unprotected batteries are actually just as safe (if not safer) than protected ones. For the most part this is true since most people new to vaping already have a lot to absorb. However, the variable voltage and variable wattage devices are becoming more and more standard, and the fact is that protected batteries do not work as well as unprotected batteries
in these units because they already have a better version of the same protection schemes built-in. The over-current, under-current and short-circuit protection is a function of being able to regulate
and vary the voltage and/or wattage delivered from the battery, so the battery's protection is, at best, unnecessary. On the other hand, unprotected batteries have a higher C rating so the device can deliver more current (whether for lower resistance *omizers or for higher voltage settings) without compromising the battery. The devices are designed to use IMR batteries. Using protected batteries in a variable voltage/wattage device will, at best, limit the functionality of the device to less than its design limits (although most vapers wouldn't notice this). At worst, though, the protection in the battery can "conflict" with the protection in the device and prevent it from working (at least with that battery) or even end up permanently tripping the protection circuitry of the battery (effectively destroying the battery itself, though not likely hurting the device at all).
I was going to put a paragraph in the APV post about which batteries are best for which types of Mods/APVs, but I decided against it because it would be recommending the use of unprotected batteries in those devices used to protect them and the ECF has a blanket policy
against recommending the use of unprotected batteries, ever. So the following should in no way be construed to be a RECOMMENDATION of behaviour on the part of Mom and Pop Vapor Shop--that follows this sentence is purely
my personal opinion:
Any device
whose manufacturer recommends using IMR/unprotected batteries will work better with IMR batteries. And IMR batteries are much better, and far safer, than
unprotected LiION batteries.
IMR batteries
can be perfectly safe in mechanical mods,
as long as you have researched battery safety and know what you are doing.
Protected LiIon batteries should
always be used in un-regulated electrical devices, and most regulated (but non-variable) ones.
