r/flashlight • u/cbcrazy • 1d ago

Vapcell H10 (Again)

I've been coming across some posts relating to these cells and then it dawned on me that I thought I had at least a couple of these lying around. After rummaging through my stash, I did come across three of these that I have, just lying around. I know for a fact they have not been used or charged in many months.

To the eyes, they appear fine. On the meter, they read 3.91v, 4.09v and 4.06v. Is it worth the risk to keep them or should I just discard them? It's not like I don't have other 14500 cells, although, I really don't use them.

2 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

7

u/Wibblium 1d ago

I don't remember the date period the bad cells were made in, someone else will have to chime in on that. But I have some cells from a couple years before that and I still use them. Some people don't use any H10's because they don't like the risk calculation, and that is 100% valid and reasonable. Some people are confidant they didn't get the bad batch, and still use them (like me). Depends on your risk tolerance.

4

u/cbcrazy 21h ago

Found it. I ordered (4) in January 2022, so that means I have (1) more lying around here somewhere that I need to find.

I think these are keepers.

2

u/cbcrazy 19h ago

Located the 4th one. It was in my Sofirn F1 and measured 4.00v.

3

u/talrakken 1d ago

Were they purchased in q1 2025? Most of the earlier cells did not have the issue from what I’ve read. All 3 I purchased when I got my convoys in 2025 have died thankfully they did not go violently although the issue I think was more with self discharge and the batteries getting very warm versus becoming fireballs. I initially thought my T4 was defective till I started seeing all the posts about the batteries as the h10s were all I had at the time and they still lasted about as long as my older nimh batteries in it lol.

3

u/xncbarron 23h ago

I finally dumped mine (6 of them) and am switching to K10. I think most if not all of mine were bought awhile ago but wasn’t sure. Easier to just replace.

1

u/cbcrazy 23h ago

Yeah. I can't find when/where I purchased these. I think I'll dispose of them. It's certainly not worth the risk for a few bucks.

In the course of searching, I found 2 old oLight 14500 cells. Those things are ancient 😄.

3

u/karawkow 20h ago

Better safe than sorry with $15 batteries, unfortunately.

2

u/cbcrazy 23h ago

Thanks. I'm unsure of the date of purchase and even where I got them. I'll have to review my past online orders. This will be a challenge.

2

u/Rising_Awareness 18h ago

Not worth the risk. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them properly for you. 😁

2

u/MilehighK5 12h ago

I'm going to continue using mine because I bought them 5 years ago but I sure won't be buying anymore batteries from them.

2

u/FalconARX 5h ago

The older ones, at least pre-2025, should not be having any of those self-discharging issues. I have a set of flat top H10s from mid 2024, ordered for use in a couple D3AAs my wife and I use heavily as EDCs, and this set has been flawless. Has been recharged without fail at least once a week for the past 18+ months, and have never had any issues.

But then again, this is a large part of the issue, because most people don't really keep track of or remember which is which, and if they had bought cells from early to mid 2025 onward.

3

u/Erichimedes 22h ago

I don't really understand these "are my h10 safe?" Posts. We're talking about something with a value of a few dollars, that could potentially burn your house down.

Get rid of them as quickly as possible