Call all Battery Boffin's

Joe90

Joe90

Member
Hi All,

So my new light and charger has arrived. I'll be running 18650's now, which means I need to start looking after and charging batteries. That means I need to learn something about them and how to best do this.  I was supplied with a Nitecore UM20 charger.

I have a few questions to start with.

1-What are peoples thoughts on best batteries and where to purchase.

2-With the UM20 will it stop charging when my batteries are full or will I likely blow up my house? Some Vaping sites suggest it does but can't see anything to say so on their own site or manual.

3-What are the basics I need to know to care for these batteries. I've always used AA and never gone down the rechargeable route before.

Many many thanks, I'm sure this has been done before. But hope you kind cavers have the time to help me avoid strapping a pipe bomb to the back of my head.



Joe
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royfellows

royfellows

Well-known member
Most people will agree that if you do nothing but follow manufacturers instructions you wont go far wrong.

Avoid like the plague any cells with "fire" in the name and stick with good brands. However most will be re labelled Sanyo or Panasonic cells which were supplied as OEM to the re seller. The OEM cells have no protection circuits, so you will need to buy one of the retail brands. Other people on here will make their recommendations.

Its possible that the lamp has its own protection electronics so above will be OK, read the manual and look on manufacturers website under FAQs.

The manufacturer will know more about their lamp than anyone on UKC.
 
E

Ed

Active member
The phaetheon uses unprotected cells.

As Roy says follow the instructions and quality cells.

I use Sanyo /Panasonic in mine and a Nitecore D4 charger. Job done.

I only upgraded to D4 as I also use a number of rechargeable AA and AAA cells
 
royfellows

royfellows

Well-known member
Joe90

Joe90

Member
Thanks,

Does anybody know if I'll damage anything leaving the batteries in the charger overnight?

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ZombieCake

ZombieCake

Well-known member
Cells from reputable suppliers (e.g. not dodgy looking eBay sites) such as Nitecore & Fenix protected cells are best.  Current limit on capacity is c. 3400mAh, so if you see adverts for the likes of anything larger (5600, 8000, 10000 and so on ) it's probably a scam and the content of the cell rather dodgy to boot.  I suppose you could put the resulting fire footage on YouTube.  Cell protection is good as it prevents over charge or over discharge.
Also look at the positive end of the cell, some are flat and some have a raised bit like AA batteries for example so may or may not fit your light.
Nitecore chargers are very good (I've an intellicharger) , but again there are fakes:  http://www.nitecore.co.uk/Blog/Post/16-identification-guide-for-nitecore-charger-users.htm  so get from a good supplier (Amazon, TorchDirect, etc.).  A good charger should be OK to leave overnight, but I personally wouldn't leave anything with lithium in it unattended (call me paranoid).
 
Joe90

Joe90

Member
Okay. So I have unprotected batteries, as its what I need for the light. Will my charger be safe to leave or could I damage the batteries. I don't know the difference between protected and not.

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NewStuff

NewStuff

New member
The only Ebay sites that are worth bothering with are "Torchy" (Big_f_d_d) and "Ecolux". Both are well known, reputable sellers.

 
Joe90

Joe90

Member
Okay,

Chargers.... Charged a set fine and then whilst enroute to the cave was charging a second set in the car. The charger got hot and half the screen went black. I unplugged it sharpish, and let it cool. Now only the left side works, the right displays 100% every time I put a cell in.

Has anybody had anything like it before with a Nitecore UM20

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ZombieCake

ZombieCake

Well-known member
Photo is rather blurry - does the charger look like this : http://charger.nitecore.com/CHARGER/UM/UM20/  springs on yours seem a bit different, as does text on the right moulded in to where the battery goes, but could be the photo.  Secondly, what batteries were being charged, and thirdly could be defective unit I suppose.
 
Joe90

Joe90

Member
Sorry, yeah bad picture.

It is a UM20. Came with all the right stuff and looks right.

Nitecore have said they won't replace, as it came from a secondary source not themselves. To be fair, they didn't seem to care about it at all.

Can anybody suggest a good charger I should look at replacing it with. Is it possible to get one that does a discharge to a set level also for storage?

Thanks

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NewStuff

NewStuff

New member
The best chargers are a bit more work. iMax B6 AC - Be aware there are fakes out there. You will need croc clips, magnets and balance taps, but they are all pennies on ebay. It does mean you can charge and balance up to 6 cells at once though. These will charge (and discharge, storage charge) any batter I've cared to throw at it. LiPo, Li-Ion, LiFe, NiMH, NiCad, Pb....

I love it, wouldn't be without them. Not the cheapest (Genuine ones are about ?50, fakes are ?15-?20). Not had a problem with the fake/clone I bought out of curiosity, but YMMV, Lithium cells are not something to experiment on.
 
Joe90

Joe90

Member
Balance taps?? Sounds like a lot of work for something that ought to be simple. No?

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NewStuff

NewStuff

New member
Joe90 said:
Balance taps?? Sounds like a lot of work for something that ought to be simple. No?

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Click to expand...

It's a fancy phrase for wires in a connector. It's actually super-simple once you've done it once.
It's for voltage monitoring, so you can balance the cells if you are charging more than one.
 
I

Ian Ball

Well-known member
Not to hijack the thread but I have a question about NiMH cells.

Ive a set of 4 cells which have been used a lot, are about 6 years old and are rated 2700.  Sanyo superalloys.  I got them with a Sanyo charger from a Leica sprinter level.  The charger they came in stops charging them after about a  minute but they are unable to power a my digital radio for more than a moment.  Charging them for 18 the hours (the recommended time) in a NiMH dumb charger they last for a few days so the cells are able to hold charge.

I thought it was just lack of use, and a blast in a dumb charger would jumo start the cells and then charging with the manufacturers smart charger would be wise, but it made no difference.

Measuring capacity with a multimeter for voltage isn't really very useful on a 1.2v cell which stays at roughly 1.2v for the majority of its discharge run.

I've always suspected the cells, but how likely is a charger to stop working?
 
NewStuff

NewStuff

New member
Dumb chargers have little feedback. Chances are the smart charger is sensing something is amiss, and stopping the charge. The dumb charger carries on regardless. I suspect your cells are "on the way out". However, that's just speculation.

NiMH are easy and cheap to replace. I buy Ansmann, they seem good and as a brand, have been for the last 15 years,but I have far less to do with them than Li-Ion, so I have no other suggestions.
 
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