AVR-Chat

At 07:59 PM 3/15/2004 -0800, LightYearCS wrote:

>I work with a lot of different types of rechargeable Li-Ion batteries in my work.  My current project uses an internal 2200mA/Hour rechargeable cell.  I would just like to clear up a few misconceptions.

If this is re my discussions earlier on backup, I was specifically talking about lithium primary cells.
No intention to recharge, and in fact the whole point was to avoid even a few hundred nA of charging current. 
A single point failure, like a shorted diode, in a simple switchover circuit, will cause large charge currents to flow, and damage the battery, and maybe the user.

In this context, you're meaning secondary cells for powering a significant load, and yes, cheap cells are probably more of a danger than most people realize.  They are "just as good" as the name brand cells, except for that 1-2% that explodes for no apparent reason. 

Then there's the deliberate counterfeit.. I just saw this weekend, "DuraKing" and  "Dunacell" batteries, in gold and black cases, with use-by dates, just like the real thing.  Some counterfeiters are even more aggressive, and their work is impossible for the layman to tell from the real thing.

Good batteries aren't cheap, so there's money in making cheap batteries look like good ones.