The Bolt - Batteries - Saftey - Low Resistance

[melkoren]

Hello everyone,

I just got a Bolt from a local shop.

The kit came with a Trustfire Charger (001 I think) and what I think is a Smoktech battery.

The batteries are labeled "+ smok IRC18500 1600mAh -" and from what I can find on it, it is NOT protected.
I am about to order a new/better pair of batteries and a new/better charger. I don't relish the thought of having flames and gasses near hand, much less my face.

After spending the day reading about Li-Ion batteries and chargers and batteries and mods, I have the following questions:

1) Will a "AW IMR 18490 3.7v 1100mAh" in my Bolt be negatively effected when paired with a Low-Resistance DCT tank Carto?

2) Do IMR 18500 (18490s) come in higher mAhs than 1100mAh? This is the highest I've found.

3) Is there a higher quality IMR Li-Mn battery than the AW Brand? I don't mind spending more money for a higher quality product.

4) Is there a simple battery mod that I can build or buy to add to my bolt that can break the circuit in the case of a short?

5) Since this is my first mod, please provide any Tips or Tricks you think might be helpful for a newb!

Thanks,

Melk

 

[six]

The battery you have - Is it the green one? If so, it is protected.

1) - no. That is the best battery you can use for that purpose
2) - not that I know of in that size. IMR batteries can not store as much electricity in the same amount of space as can li-on
3) - no. AW buys premium cells from panasonic and others. AW is the best you can get
4) - there are mod springs out there designed to collapse when there's a short or overheat situation.
5) - clean your contact points, threads, and connector regularly. Keep a bottle of noalox on hand for threads and contact points.

 

[melkoren]

Six,

It is the green one, here is the exact battery:

Battery For Bolt Mod | ICR 18500 Batteries | 1600MAH Bolt Battery

The problem I am encountering is I am finding conflicting descriptions. The above link has no information about the battery.

The SMOKtech website says:

Bolt battery is a kind of battery without PCB inside. So it is full output. When it is in full charge, it can up to 6v. It would have the best taste then and biggest smoke.

see website #1: Smoktech e cigarette Bolt

A Random GOOGLE link provides:

Packs a 18500 3.7 - 4.2V protected battery that charges externally so it far cheaper and easier to replace the battery rather than the whole unit

see website #2: Bolt Personal Vaporizor | Smoktech Bolt 1600MAH MOD |18500 3.7V-4.2V Bolt

I thought that PCB was the protective circuit inside the battery, but the second site claims it is protected.

I'm a bit information overloaded so I might have it wrong.

If it is protected, is there anything I should know about pairing the included battery with a LR DCT?

Thanks,

Melk

 

[six]

I can't find the thread, but someone cut the cover off of one and had some pictures of the protection circuit. It is in the ring around the top.

It most certainly is not 6.0v... whoever translated for their web page must have struggled. I think you're better off going by the description at crystal clear vaping or sterling vaper etc.

No matter what though, you're better off with an AW IMR 18500 or getting the bolt extension and using an AW IMR 18650.

 

[melkoren]

Thanks for the replies Six,

I've decided to run Li-Mn cells.

I'm looking at some threads about Fuse-Coil mods,

Also, I found a higher mAh AW IMR at: AW IMR 18490 3.7v 1600mAh High Drain

It worries me that it says "not for 18500 use" whats that about?

All the AW IMRs I've found online are 18490...will I need a new spring anyway just to fit these batteries?

I didn't see where anyone said they had trouble fitting these batteries, but they aren't as popular as the 18650s.

 

[six]

It worries me that it says "not for 18500 use" whats that about?

All the AW IMRs I've found online are 18490...will I need a new spring anyway just to fit these batteries?
.

1) just because it's shorter by 10mm. Batteries are supposed to fit snugly but not over-compress a spring. If it's too loose, you could have a short.

2) I really don't know if you'll need a new spring. Maybe. Maybe not. It will depend on the fit... and you might be able to just stretch your spring a little bit to make up some of the difference. There's also magnets. Several places sell magnetic battery spacers. I have a few, and I have occasionally used them. However, magnetic spacers do require some caution when screwing your tube mod together so they don't move out of position (they can also cause a short).

 

[Bozzlite]

I am using AW IMR 18490/18500's in my two Bolts and they fit and make contact just fine with the original spring. Got them from SuperTmanufacturing. $8.99 ea plus $1.71 to ship both.

I am also alternating them on a daily basis with the original green Smok batteries that came with the PV's. CCV advertises them as protected.

 

[Nomoreash]

18490 and 18500 is just 1mm difference in length. The first 2 digits designate the diameter of the battery in mm and the next 2 digits designate the length in mm. 1 mm isn't going to make a difference in most mods unless the tolerance is really....really tight. You'll be able to use it in your Bolt with no issues.

 

[melkoren]

Thanks Nomoreash for the info.

Has anyone ever used one of these 1600mAh 18490s?

I'm dubious of the fact that I can only find 1 site that offers them for sale.

 

[six]

I'm dubious of the fact that I can only find 1 site that offers them for sale.

Lots of people use them in their REO 18490 Woodvilles and other mods. I'm not sure where you found them, but here are some and here are some and here are some... AW IMR 18490s are in lots of places. You'll have to check with whichever vendor what the actual mah rating of their current stock is. The 18490 and 18650 have received refreshes and higher mah ratings from AW in recent weeks. And, I think the mah rating is inaccurate at 1600. I'm pretty sure I read the new AW IMR 18490 is supposed to be 1350 and the 18650 went to 2000 mah.

 

[RB37]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/nhaler/237122-nhaler-announces-kick-evolv-19.html#post5477513

In case anyone cares...

 

[tj99959]

To begin with 49 & 50 = 1mm difference in length. I doubt that the spring will care all that much.
If you want, Altsmoke carries the "hot spring" as a replacement part.
The Kick by Evolv will give you protection between the carto connection and the battery. You would need the Bolt extension or have to use 18350 bats.
Good luck finding a Kick tho', both Altsmoke and Electronicstix sold out their first shipments in just a couple of hours.

 

[Rocketman]

All the the suggestions given are appropriate.

The question of "is this a protected cell" needs to be answered. Not knowing if a Li-ion cell is protected or not is about as bad as using an unprotected cell. Know how to identify the protection board. IT is on the bottom, negative end. There is a protective device built into the positive end but this is not what is referred to as 'protected'.

Here is what the typical protection board looks like on a "protected" Li-ion cell.
And the positive end.
And the schismatic of a typical protection circuit.

 

[muzichead]

Six,

It is the green one, here is the exact battery:

Battery For Bolt Mod | ICR 18500 Batteries | 1600MAH Bolt Battery

The problem I am encountering is I am finding conflicting descriptions. The above link has no information about the battery.

This is the description from the site of the link you provided:

What You'll Get With The Bolt Mod Deluxe Kit

1 - Bolt Vented Tube and Mechanical Sure Fire Big Solid Button Switch

2 - 18500 1600mah Bolt Protected Battery

1 - 3.5ml Smoktech DCT 1.5+0.2ohmz

1 - Trustfire Dual Battery Charger

1 - Case

In my opinion the information provided is very clear as being protected and the vendor would be liable if the info provided was to be false..... I am assuming you purchased the kit from that site?

 

[carlton]

I care.

I was wondering if the Kick would work in a Bolt. Now I know. Too bad Kick's aren't in stock anywhere.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/nhaler/237122-nhaler-announces-kick-evolv-19.html#post5477513

In case anyone cares...

 

[melkoren]

Surprise! The SmokTECH site has revamped their "The Bolt" description page.

To be clear for anyone who stumbles upon this thread, the quote in my earlier post was cut/pasted directly from the page I provided. Since that post they have changed the information from what I quoted.

Also to be clear, SmokTECH, who as far as I can tell manufactures the bolt, does not claim on their site that the batteries sold with the unit are protected by PCB. The only sites who do make such claims are 3rd party distributors.

If the older product information was simply an error, that's fine, but it specifically said no PCB.

And, I also care =)

The Kick looks like a great solution.

 

[melkoren]

Also, A quick update:

I've been vaping on The Bolt with 2 AW IMR 18490s and a LR DCT for weeks now. I'm really liking the step up from the Ego!

 

[Cigarman]

All the the suggestions given are appropriate.

The question of "is this a protected cell" needs to be answered. Not knowing if a Li-ion cell is protected or not is about as bad as using an unprotected cell. Know how to identify the protection board. IT is on the bottom, negative end. There is a protective device built into the positive end but this is not what is referred to as 'protected'.

Here is what the typical protection board looks like on a "protected" Li-ion cell.
And the positive end.
And the schismatic of a typical protection circuit.

Very helpful post Rocket, thanks for the info.

 

[Rocketman]

Cigarman, I guess as a vendor you often get caught in the middle.

The distributors can change what they put in the kits they send you, and unless you open each one and dig around in each and every box before you ship, or cut the wrappers off all the cells to see what brands are underneath, I can see where stuff can slip through the cracks.

Pictures of a cell from a Chinese website aren't enough. It's our vendors running interference for us that helps. But,
In the end, the user (customer) needs to know how to tell what they receive.

I think that was one of YOUR cells I cut open to show the protection board.
I taped it back up real good with some Kapton tape and am still using it.

Rocky