Charging 18650 cells

[throbscottle]

I'm intending to "upgrade" an old SLA+halogen bulb lantern to LiPo+LED, but I'm not sure about charging the battery. Looking on eBay I've seen balance boards for 2 or more cells, and chargers (using TP5100 chip) which seem to charge the cells connected in series with nothing extra.
What should I be using?
Thanks

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It really depends what you want - if you want the best 'safety', then fit a balance/protection board on the battery pack, and then use the TP5100 to charge it.

As long as the batteries are brand new, and identical, then you 'should' be OK without a balance board - much commercial equipment doesn't use balance boards, even if they do use a protection board.

 

[throbscottle]

Ahh, I wondered if it was something like that. Thanks Nigel