Protected Batteries

[Fidola13]

I know very little about batteries except the basics for safer vaping and to check Mooch’s Chart of batteries before buying them from a reputable source.

I’ve seen batteries on these that are called protected batteries. Are they not suitable for vaping and if not why? And would a design of protected batteries be a good idea for vape mods especially in mechs or semi regulated mods.

I’m curious about them and couldn’t really understand from google how they would relate to vaping devices.

Thanks

 

[sonicbomb]

Summoning the Guru for an accurate response, @Mooch if you please.

 

[sonicbomb]

I found this article that should answer your question. The short answer being no, protected batteries are no suitable for vaping applications generally.
Why buy protected cells for box mods, etc ?

If you are interested in fully educating yourself generally on batteries, time spent reading Mooch's blog or watching his YT channel would be an excellent investment.

Mooch's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

Battery Mooch

 

[Baditude]

We should always choose the batteries that we use for vaping by their specifications; primarily by their amp rating (maximum continuous discharge rate, or CDR). You may need to find the amp rating on the product specifications page, as it is usually not printed on the battery itself.

If you look at the specifications for the majority of "protected" 18650 batteries their amp rating is usually below 6 amps. This is way too low for 95% of our vaping requirements. These batteries are generally described as "high capacity" (high mAh) batteries as opposed to "high drain", and designed for use in low intensity flashlights, walkie talkies, or portable radios. They usually have a mAh capacity of over 3000 mAh.

The 18650 batteries that we typically use for vaping are called "high drain" batteries, and generally have an amp rating of at least 10 amps CDR, but can be as high as 30 amps, and never have a mAh rating over 3000 mAh. These batteries are generally referred to as unprotected batteries because their chemistry (IMR/INR/NCR) is "safer" than the chemistry of protected batteries (ICR) and don't require an integrated protection circuit. These batteries are designed to be used for high energy devices such as portable power tools or high intensity flashlights.

Protected Orbtronic 3400mAh 18650 battery (6.8 amp CDR)

Unprotected/Safer Chemistry INR Samsung 20S 3000 mAh high drain 18650 (30 amp CDR)

 

[Punk In Drublic]

@Baditude - Well said.

One should also take note of the dimensions of a protected cell for they are longer than a typical 18650 due to the protection circuitry. Even if their CDR ratings fell within a usable range, their size will limit what device they could be used within.

 

[sonicbomb]

Thanks Bad

 

[Fidola13]

I found this article that should answer your question. The short answer being no, protected batteries are no suitable for vaping applications generally.
Why buy protected cells for box mods, etc ?

If you are interested in fully educating yourself generally on batteries, time spent reading Mooch's blog or watching his YT channel would be an excellent investment.

Mooch's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

Battery Mooch

Thanks for the article. I’m already a Mooch disciple !!

 

[Hawise]

Baditude's explanation covers it nicely. I'll just add an explanation of why you might encounter a blog or other article saying you should use protected cells for vaping: it's out of date. ICR batteries came out earlier than the other chemistries and they were used for vaping when we didn't have any better alternatives. Now we have better (both safer and more powerful) options, there's no reason to use the old ones.