Re-wrapping 18650 Batteries-Reasons, Method and Materials

Nowadays, lithium-ion batteries have become the main sources to provide electricity for human civilization, which makes it more and more popular all over the world. And, as the representative of them, 18650 battery has been widely used in various industries and fields, even in our daily life.

The 18650 lithium-ion battery belongs to secondary battery, which means that you can reuse it by charging it. Fortunately, 18650 battery has a very long cycle life that you can reuse it for hundreds of times.However, it is hard to avoid the damage to battery wrap with multiple reusing.

In many people’s minds, the plastic wrapped over the battery is just the packaging, likes the clothes we wear every day. But in fact, it is a kind of cognitive misunderstanding, which can lead to some safety problems in the use of batteries.

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So Why do 18650 batteries need to be wrapped?

Due to continuous installation and removal of batteries, which we do it usually but inevitably, the wrap of the battery may become nicked, scratched, dinged, ripped or discolored. In fact, few people will notice the importance of wrap.Actually, the wrap doesn’t play the role of ‘cloth’ to the battery, it is more like a rampart to a city or an armor to a soldier in ancient talk.

First, the wrap can protect the 18650 battery from short circuit. Most of the causes of battery explosion or other safety accidents are short circuit, the cause of it is that the resistance between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery was too low, which will cause excessive current. And the plastic wrap of the battery wrap is mainly made of polyethylene, which provides a benign insulator between the battery wrap interior and electrical appliances to reduce the possibility of short circuit. Therefore, in order to protect battery from metal on metal contact which may cause a short circuit, we have to wrap our battery.

For another one, the wrap of the battery can give our batteries an extended cycle life so that we can use it for a longer time. The wrap can minimize the damage to the battery’s metal case, which can be the guarantee for the long-term reusing of the battery. And on the other hand, after the wrap of the battery is damaged, it is easy to leak, and the air leakage will cause secondary damage to the wrap, so as to accelerate the aging of battery life, that is why we need to re-wrap our 18650 batteries.

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And how?can?we?re-wrap?18650?batteries?properly?

1.You need to remove the old wrap with a knife, preferably a box knife. And in order to ensure your personally safety, please start it from the bottom of the battery, which is to reduce the contact with battery’s positive electrode. Most important, be careful not to puncture the metal casing of the battery, if you’ve done it, all you are supposed to do is to discard it and buy a new one. Don’t forget to keep the small circular paper insulator, because you may need it in your next steps.

2.According to the shape and size of the battery, use ruler and scissors to cut your new wrap and slide the new wrap over the battery, make sure that you have left approximately 3mm overhang at the top and bottom of the battery. Then put the paper insulator you have kept on battery’s positive electrode. If you have checked that the old paper insulator is excellent without damage, you just can put the old one back.

3.Use some tools to heat it up, you’d better use a hair dryer, it is used to shrink the wrap around the battery so that the wrap can stick to the battery. But be careful, don’t blow away the paper insulator when you are using the hair dryer. You should heat it slowly from the top of the battery to the bottom. And don’t over heat the battery or wrap,it will melt wrap just enough for the wrap to shrink nicely around the battery.

After completing these steps, it can be said that you have successfully re-wrap your 18650 battery. More-over, if you want to learn more about the battery’s characteristics (Continuous Discharge Rate and milliampere) and its cycle life, you can put a label on its wrap.

What?materials?do?we?need?to?re-wrap?18650?batteries?

There is no doubt that you need a 18650 battery which has to be re-wrapped first. You have to buy a new wrap for your battery, and the scissor used to cut it are also necessary, so dose the ruler or calipers, but be careful if they are metal, unless you want to take the experience of a short circuit.

During your re-wrapping, you are supposed to prepare a new paper insulator to replace if the old one has been damaged, it is also essential although you are sure that the old one is intact. And you also need a heat gun or a hair to heat the battery up and shrink the wrap around the battery. If you do not have them both, a lighter is also okay to heat.

From what has been discussed above, it doesn’t take a professional approach for us to re-wrap a 18650 battery, anyone can learn to do it. What we are supposed to pay attention to is that the lithium-ion battery’s maintenance is quite necessary, even for the most unimpressive wrap, which also can help us extend battery’s circle life and reduce the occurrence of short circuit.

In a word, compared with the disposable lithium metal battery, the lithium-ion battery represented by 18650 battery greatly provides convenience for people -- Reducing the cost of production and purchase of batteries, reducing the pollution of disposable batteries to the environment and waste of resources. Of course, in order to better realize the above advantages, it is very important for us to learn how to maintain the battery, such as re-wrapping for the batteries.