flashlight

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Reusing vape batteries in flash lights? Is this a crazy idea. (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago by Cheese@lemmy.world to c/flashlight@lemmy.world

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So people throw out disposable vapes all the time. I cracked one open to take a look and it turns out they have a 18500 battery in it. So I was thinking of 3D printing a spacer to make it the same size as a 18650 and putting some shrink wrap on them. I just wanted to see what people who know more than me think. Is this a bad idea that is going to burn my house down? a waste of time perhaps?

I did a trial run in my wurkkos fc11 and they seem to work, it charges and looks just as bright.

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[–] Zak@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Most newer flashlights have over-discharge protection, and most flashlights with built-in charging terminate properly without overcharging cells. Both are true of the FC11, and its original battery is unprotected. It is a very popular flashlight, and I have never seen a post about a safety-related malfunction with one in any of the popular flashlight communities.

@dr_jekell@lemmy.world has a point that cells salvaged from random low-quality devices may be unsuitable for another application (or even their original application). There's a chance that the current draw will be too high, or the charge rate too fast, for example. There's also a chance that the cells will be poorly manufactured and/or lacking the basic safety devices that even unprotected cells normally have. I don't recommend using them.