Musicmanager
Well-Known Member
Morning Guys
I wanted to share some of my recent battery experiences in the hope that the information may help folk in the future.
A while ago, I started a thread on here seeking advice about the use of Lithium batteries for a project toy I had in progress for my grandkids. The conversation was somewhat animated over concerns of fake or genuine lithium batteries, indeed there was a member from North America somewhere, name escapes me, Agnieska or something like that .. who was adamant that fake batteries could be easily identified by their name. For example, I had bought a set of 5 'Ultrafire' batteries, only to be told that ALL Ultrafire are fake.
Since my intention was to put these batteries in the proximity of my grandkids this worried me some, not least because my wife would never forgive me if I blew one of them up ! I found a small company in the UK who specialise in the supply of Lithium batteries and approached them for advice; I was told that the fake Lithium battery market was alive and virulent but my suggestion that it was limited to certain manufacturers, and the likes of Sony, Panasonic etc would be safe & OK was a flawed notion. He asserted he could show me a fake version of almost any manufacturer I chose to mention, but equally a perfectly kosher one.
My current project involves the assembly of 5 small circuits, each one powered by a rechargeable 18650 battery; 2 of these are built and working very nicely, including the recharging of the battery using a TP 4056 module.
Yesterday morning I completed the third circuit, attached the battery and checked the circuit worked OK, and then attached the wall-wart power supply to check the battery recharging; Initially, all appeared OK but then, fortunately whilst I had moved away from my bench, there was a loud crack like a gunshot, a bit of a flash and then bits of hot battery all over my bench together with an acrid smell.
After having a change of underwear, I spent some time with investigation and found .. .. .
.
The battery on the left is a fake; notice the hollow in the button and the colour of the surrounding plastic which ,although the photo doesn't show it well, is actually translucent and some of the contents are visible.
The battery on the right is genuine; the button is solid, the plastic surround is opaque.
There are other more subtle differences - the printing of the markings on the fake battery are different but only in font, font size and case, so not very easy to spot.
The practical difference between them is that the genuine battery gradually takes less current as it charges; when it reaches a certain level the TP 4056 uses that to identify a 'charged' battery and switch off the charging process; The fake battery continues to take current at a gradually increasing rate generating some considerable heat, not just the battery but the TP 4056 and the L7805 V. Reg. chip supplying it ( both are limited to 1.5 amps ); presumably, something in the battery melts and causes a short circuit and then boom !
I hope someone may find this information useful .. .. .. I'm off for a lie down !
S
I wanted to share some of my recent battery experiences in the hope that the information may help folk in the future.
A while ago, I started a thread on here seeking advice about the use of Lithium batteries for a project toy I had in progress for my grandkids. The conversation was somewhat animated over concerns of fake or genuine lithium batteries, indeed there was a member from North America somewhere, name escapes me, Agnieska or something like that .. who was adamant that fake batteries could be easily identified by their name. For example, I had bought a set of 5 'Ultrafire' batteries, only to be told that ALL Ultrafire are fake.
Since my intention was to put these batteries in the proximity of my grandkids this worried me some, not least because my wife would never forgive me if I blew one of them up ! I found a small company in the UK who specialise in the supply of Lithium batteries and approached them for advice; I was told that the fake Lithium battery market was alive and virulent but my suggestion that it was limited to certain manufacturers, and the likes of Sony, Panasonic etc would be safe & OK was a flawed notion. He asserted he could show me a fake version of almost any manufacturer I chose to mention, but equally a perfectly kosher one.
My current project involves the assembly of 5 small circuits, each one powered by a rechargeable 18650 battery; 2 of these are built and working very nicely, including the recharging of the battery using a TP 4056 module.
Yesterday morning I completed the third circuit, attached the battery and checked the circuit worked OK, and then attached the wall-wart power supply to check the battery recharging; Initially, all appeared OK but then, fortunately whilst I had moved away from my bench, there was a loud crack like a gunshot, a bit of a flash and then bits of hot battery all over my bench together with an acrid smell.
After having a change of underwear, I spent some time with investigation and found .. .. .
.
The battery on the left is a fake; notice the hollow in the button and the colour of the surrounding plastic which ,although the photo doesn't show it well, is actually translucent and some of the contents are visible.
The battery on the right is genuine; the button is solid, the plastic surround is opaque.
There are other more subtle differences - the printing of the markings on the fake battery are different but only in font, font size and case, so not very easy to spot.
The practical difference between them is that the genuine battery gradually takes less current as it charges; when it reaches a certain level the TP 4056 uses that to identify a 'charged' battery and switch off the charging process; The fake battery continues to take current at a gradually increasing rate generating some considerable heat, not just the battery but the TP 4056 and the L7805 V. Reg. chip supplying it ( both are limited to 1.5 amps ); presumably, something in the battery melts and causes a short circuit and then boom !
I hope someone may find this information useful .. .. .. I'm off for a lie down !
S