[TriEmbed] Lithium ion batteries.

Glen Smith mrglenasmith at gmail.com
Mon May 8 22:47:18 CDT 2017


Some people picked up Li-Ion batteries at tonight's meeting, and I want to
make sure that anyone who is new to Li-Ion at least has a chance to
familiarize themselves with some safety aspects of a technology that has a
chance of creating some pretty nasty problems if not properly cared for.

First and foremost, understand that you are probably already using Li-Ion
batteries, but in a slightly more protected manner than the bare cells that
were available tonight. Most laptops and cordless tools use exactly these
cells, but they are built into packs with battery management circuitry and
polarity protection that preclude most of the problems that can arise from
naked cells. Cell phone also use Li-ion technology, but in a different form
factor.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard of the e-cigarette
accidents, the exploding Galaxy phones and the flaming hoverboards. These
mostly are a result of improper use of Li-Ion battery technology. These are
NOT lead acid batteries that Dad used to use. When they go critical, they
can release Hydrogen Fluoride. THIS IS BAD. Inhalation of Hydrogen Fluoride
gas causes serious long term medical issues, that can take time to show up
and you don't even know it.

Please spend some time familiarizing yourself with the proper care and
feeding of this technology. There is an entire thread dedicated to Li-Ion
safety on the flashlight forum that I have mentioned during various
meetings. http://budgetlightforum.com/node/45314 As with any topic
involving personal responsibility, there are some people who will use OSHA
recommended safety precautions, and others who will attack with a hatchet
and chilly hands after uttering the words: "hold my beer and watch this!"
Where you are in this spectrum is up to you, but please make a conscious
decision about it, rather than proceeding from ignorance.

Invest in a quality charger, the one I use is a LiitoKala Li-500 analyzing
charger, available in many places, but cheapest from overseas at
Bangood.com
https://www.banggood.com/LiitoKala-Lii-500-Lithium-And-NiMH-Battery-LCD-Smartest-Charger-p-999106.html?rmmds=search
or
Gearbest.com: http://www.gearbest.com/lii%5E%5E500-_gear/ Many other
chargers exist, some are better than others. Most will auto-sense the cell
under charge and make a best guess what to do with it. How much you trust
that firmware is up to you. Some of my flashlight buddies charge in an ammo
can in the garage, others in the spare bedroom.

Don't short circuit these cells. They have an amazing ability to deliver
large amounts of current - Samsung 30Q's are spec'ed at 15 AMPS. Testing
has shown them to be capable of delivering 20 AMPS. This is not a cell to
drop in your pants pocket with your keys.

Thank you for listening.
[/soapbox]
Glen
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