icr,imr max drain have a problem

[nic_fix]

first mech. I am using a nautilus. it vapes like a freight train until it just stops. then the battery at below 2.5v. I ran an icr down to this and recharged it promptly. can I safely use that battery again? can I do that with imr's? if not how do I know when I have depleted the battery without constantly checking it. with the nautilus there is no difference between full and stone dead. I know this sort of thing has been asked but I did not see a definitive answer. also my charger takes like 12 hours then. I just do not want to have an explosion!

thank you.

 

[MamaTried]

no way you should even be using an icr for vaping,, especially on a mech. start here:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...op-reference-shop-new-experienced-vapers.html

most mech users detect a drop in performance in the vape around 3.6V and swap then. i have dropped imrs down to 2.5 and have continued to use them. afaik that only reduces the number of times you can recharge it, and might reduce the top-level charge from 4.2V

 

[nic_fix]

thank you. I read all that. my coil is 1.6ohms. so it was safe for the icr per that article. that battery was being used in a provari for a long time. I have on hand 30 amp imr batteries which I imagine are fine. like I said there is no loss in production. at least there was not with the icr. I will see with the imr it is good to know at least those can be fully discharged. it says right on it "maximum discharge battery". I don't know what brand they are. they are red and have like a 4 way arrow. if you think I should toss it, how do I do so safely? or can i still use it in the provari? i know these are no joke so don't want to be sorry.

 

[MamaTried]

thank you. I read all that. my coil is 1.6ohms. so it was safe for the icr per that article. that battery was being used in a provari for a long time. I have on hand 30 amp imr batteries which I imagine are fine. like I said there is no loss in production. at least there was not with the icr. I will see with the imr it is good to know at least those can be fully discharged. it says right on it "maximum discharge battery". I don't know what brand they are. they are red and have like a 4 way arrow. if you think I should toss it, how do I do so safely? or can i still use it in the provari? i know these are no joke so don't want to be sorry.

i would not use an icr period. even with a 3 ohm coil. they simply are not meant for vaping. i wouldn't even use them on a regulated mod, like a provari, but many do. ymmv.

if you don't know what battery you are using, you need to assume it is unsafe. from how you described it, it sounds like a cheap chinese fake something or other. it sounds scary to me. i'm pretty sure Baditude's posts in the link i posted describe most of the safe batteries available. batteries are cheap. don't go taking chances. it ain't worth it.

oh yeh, almost forgot. did you get those batteries in a starter kit, with a mod and a charger? if so the charger is most likely dangerous.

sorry to be a bummer. just want you to be successful.

 

[nic_fix]

batteries: EH IMR 18650, 30amp, 1600mAh, Flat Top
charger: TrustFire Multifunctional Charger

I see many good reviews of both of these. but I am guessing they are bad. I did not buy those at those places. I hope it is okay to post links here. I will toss the icr. hopefully it does not explode in the trash. the icr was from the provari it is a Samsung 2600mah. the charger is left over from the provari as well. it charged those icr's hundreds of times. if this stuff is dangerous please tell me! oh, it says the imr is a sony. so perhaps they are okay?

 

[MamaTried]

batteries: EH IMR 18650, 30amp, 1600mAh, Flat Top
charger: TrustFire Multifunctional Charger

I see many good reviews of both of these. but I am guessing they are bad. I did not buy those at those places. I hope it is okay to post links here. I will toss the icr. hopefully it does not explode in the trash. the icr was from the provari it is a Samsung 2600mah. the charger is left over from the provari as well. it charged those icr's hundreds of times. if this stuff is dangerous please tell me! oh, it says the imr is a sony. so perhaps they are okay?

posting links is fine, if ecf don't like it, they automatically turn it into dots.

i'm surprised that EH is rebrandings Sonys. my experience with EH is that they are second tier at best. i'll never buy another.my guess is that these are "seconds" that Sony didn't want to put their name on. that said, these do appear to be safe based on Madvape's description. just keep in mind that EH is known for exaggerating specs.

as far as the charger goes, my favorite all-time ecf post came from Baditude: "never buy a battery or charger with ***Fire in its name." (paraphrasing)

that is funny, but it's not just a joke. trustfire, ultrafire, and all the other fires i can't remember, are dangerous. stick with Pila, Xtar, or Nitecore (or anything else Baditude recommends). again, ymmv...

 

[nic_fix]

I don't mean to be smart being a newb here. I have been deep into flashlights for many years. the exception would be surefire. there stuff is fine. we are not going to use it in an ecig anyways. they are plenty expensive. trustfire batteries are just okay. the problem is the fakes on the bay will most certainly explode. I asked because I never have used an 18650 in an unregulated circuit. the trustfire charger has one issue. qc. it will either catch fire the first time or work for years. granted nitecore is a lot better. I already knew the dangers of li-ion. I knew they can be very dangerous if used in a direct drive circuit. I did not know enough. I am glad I read that faq. thank you. I am probably safer with a bdcc than rba. especially since I can't seem to build a kayfun without shorting it every time. I am older and not good with small parts anymore. luckily this is quite frankly working nicer than the provari anyways. I agree though. fire is a tell tale name for an item that often catches on fire in general.

 

[Rickajho]

I will see with the imr it is good to know at least those can be fully discharged

Not "fully discharged". IMR's have more of a chemistry tolerance, so to speak, against being damaged when drained as low as 2.5 volts. But you still want to make sure the specs for your particular battery say that is allowable.

Trustfire chargers are crap and that's considered normal - for a Trustfire - if it's taking 10+ hours to charge an 18650 of any reasonable capacity. If you want a good charger that can charge 18650's safely in under 4 hours take a look at Xtar or Pila.

 

[nic_fix]

obviously it is junk. those are only 1600mah. the evic can charge a 2600mah in three hours. I will get another one. I can't find the datasheet for that battery so I will just toss it. better safe than sorry. thanks guys.

 

[nic_fix]

I was told by an expert on battery chemistry just now that anything that charges a 18650 that is down to less than 3.5v in less than 8 hours it will have a short life. I agree the trustfire is a pos. he told me to get the pila at his shop tomorrow when he is open. he did say expect that one to take about as long as the trustfire give or take two hours. of course it is a lot better and not have to worry about risking my life/home. I was just wondering if that is correct that the pila takes that long?

 

[Switched]

That battery expert provided you with a pile of dung!

Undeniably battery life will be shortened with fast charging rates, that is a know fact from Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University that shortened life expectency is minute, if any.

That being said it is always better to charge low and slow. Unfortunately it may not always be feasible.

Once again that being said a good charger like a Pila or an XTar, will pulse the battery in the beginning to sort of wake it up for the lack of a better word. Depending on the charged state of the battery the charger will then charge the battery at a rate to support the "proper charging" of the battery. This rate will vary during the charge cycle. These chargers are also know as smart chargers. For example:

• The Xtar WP6II has 6 bays, divided in 3 bays of 2 channels each. e.g 1,2 3,4 5,6
• each odd number starting from left to right is the main charging bay in dual cell charging scenarios.
• placing a cell in each of the channel 1 and 2, will cause the majority of the power to go to cell one while a pulsing charge is going to cell 2. This will alternate between the two cells so they come up evenly. The latter is important for folks who still to this day stack batteries
• If you want a more rapid charging of two individual cells, use them in two different bays e.g channel 1 and 3

Wrt ICR and IMR batteries, all Lithium batteries are dangerous period, one is in no way safer than the other, by any stretch regardless what has been said here or elsewhere. I'll get back to this...

In the day, before IMRs hit the market, there were protected and non protected Li Ion batteries. The use of unprotected battery is/was a no brainer, you didn't.

The delta between Li Ion (ICR) and Li Mn (lithium manganese) or IMR is Ln Mn is a safer chemistry, but still a wolf in sheep's clothing, they have gone ballistic. The will both burst if subject to over current but the later will vent without FLAMES.

The safest battery to use is indeed a protected battery, if used for its intended purposes. It has a protection circuit. That being said, I would never purchase batteries of flea bay. Always purchase your batteries from a reputable dealer. If you stumble upon AW batteries or any other brand name batteries at a fraction of the cost BEWARE, good chances they are not the genuine article.

I don't have a dog in this fight. However it gets to be tiresome arguing with customers on safe practices were they respond well I read it on the Forum or FB or whatever. Your cheapest investment is a good charger and batteries followed by a multi meter. The latter is a necessity for those using rebuildables, yet I see folks using their provaris or any other device as an Ohm checker

In closing, right from Provape. The Provari is to be used with AW batteries only, and most definitely not Protected ICRs where the protection circuit of the battery doesn't play well with the protection circuit of the Provari

 

[nic_fix]

you are very knowledgeable. now I wonder why we put these things in our face. of course we also all smoked analogs! honestly I think the chance of one exploding if we heed the warnings is slight. at least I hope so.