18500 li-ion with pcb safe to use or not

[Jern59]

I bought 2 18500 but after seeing the post bout the batteries exploding I'm scared to use them is a battery with a pcb as good or the same as a protected battery I have no clue battery is a ultrafire 18500 1600mah 3.7v li-ion rechargeable with pcb from dealextreme.com pics are below

[KEITH97M3]

If I am not mistaken, PCB stands for protective circuit board and is considered a "protected" battery. Anyone who uses rechargables should have a voltmeter to test charger/battery to make sure it does not over charge more than 4.2 volts. http://www.batteryuniversity.com/ is a good place to get the basics on batteries, very interesting things you will find there. Hope this helps.

[capevette]

I looked at dealextreme these make me wonder???? sku2640

under the review section

Pros: They are what they is!

The capacity seems to be in the ballpark. They don't have a protection circuit to go wonky on you.
No doubt they have a higher capacity than a protected cell would have or, are shorter.
Cons: Not the best looking heat shrink wrap, but it'll do.

[Jern59]

So to use or not to use lol that is the question would any of u use them without worries

[MITRICH]

I'd say its worth taking a $5 loss.
The website does not say anything about them being protected, and the labels.... lol never go by what the label says especially mah
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2640

[KEITH97M3]

I could not find that exact battery on dealextreme. I did multiple searches and compared the pictures but nothing. PCB should mean protected, based on the overview explanations on dealextreme.

SKU 2640 looks the same but does not say PCB like Jerns does (according to pictures) , my guess is that it is a different battery. Only way to know is check invoice and verify what was ordered.

[capevette]

After looking around quit a bit and looking at tye pics again I would say those are not protected. Theres does not seem to be a slight bulge and indent near the bottom where the PCB would be. You would also faintly detect the printed connector that runs up the side of the battery to the + end under the shrink sleeve.

Look at the pic of the AW 18500 the - end is a very distinct indent then bulge
My AW 18650's look this way also
same with my Trustfire 18650's
All my Grey Ultrafire 14500 that are protected look this way and also the -end has golden metal endcap with Ultrafire on it.
Going to look into it more later but very weary of batteries wrap in blue.(most are unprotected)

[Jern59]

Well I see the wires under shrink wrap in 2 diff spots the ones I ordered off madvapes look identical and they say protected jus wondering why I ordered unprotected batteries not knowin the dangers and I get mine and they say there is a voltage regulator on them or pcb jus thought maybe they accidentally sent me protected I dunno kinda sucks though bought 2 batteries better throw them away or I'll be tempted to use them haha then boom they blow up thank you for the info everybody yall are awesome oh yea I woulda ordered them from mark off madvapes that i knew were protected I planned on getting protected even before I knew they were dangerous unprotected but didn't think it was a big deal so i ordered unprotected

[crashtestjeep]

If they have a coin looking piece on - end, thats the protection circuit. If it has a thin metal nipple like bump on - side, chances are thats NOT a PCB.
Heres what a PCB can look like...also the PCB usually has a tiny hole where the unprotecteds do NOT...
I know its hard to tell the difference at first, but the unprotected doesnt look like an xtra "coin piece" on the bottom like the protected ones.

UNPROTECTED ((1) VS PROTECTED ((2)

[crashtestjeep]

OH, almost forgot.....to answer ur question, usually the two-cell CR2 users have had the issues. No issues using single cell applications of either style battery reported that Ive heard about. I use both styles in my mods but when it comes to two-cell applications, I use protected, high drain and LifePo4s only


Also, without seeing a pic of the - end of ur battery, I am unable to tell whether its protected or not.