Shorted cells condition

[1N4001]

We should all be very careful around Lithium cells, naturally. Still, accidents happen. I accidently shorted two 18650s for like 5-10 seconds. They heated up, but not so much that I couldn't touch them anymore.

Now I'm wondering if they're still good. Normally I wouldn't use them, but they're the only ones I have left, they're needed for a pack.

Ri looks good. CID didn't blow. I'm assuming I'm good to go. Thoughts?

 

[BenjAZ]

It's up to you, right now, they have been abused and they are way weaker than the rest.
If the battery pack is for another person/customer, I'd replace them. Or it'll come back and have to replace them in warranty for an unhappy customer/friend.
If the battery pack if for you, I personally replace them, but you can give them a go. Just make sure they are in different parallel groups and on the outer side and easy to replace if needed.

 

[dogman dan]

If you could still touch them, I would think they are still usable. In regular use, some packs get pretty hot, if they are not big enough to spread the load to many cells.

So those two might have more wear, but would not say they are ruined. If you smelled electrolyte, then they vented and are ruined. But yeah, not re sellable as new now.

 

[Philaphlous]

Your essentially doing nothing more than loading the cells to their max discharge. As long as they're not overheating I'd say they're good. This would be no different than placing an unfeasible load on the cells.

 

[1N4001]

To nobody's surprise, opinions diverge I concur that it's "probably fine", but was waiting to see if somebody had some other experiences. Thanks for your replies!

No, I won't be selling it. The pack is for personal use.

Your essentially doing nothing more than loading the cells to their max discharge.

And that's considerable! 3.7V and, let's say, 10mΩ gives you 370 amps...

 

[kcuf]

consider em battle tested

 

[dogman dan]

Might have exceeded max discharge rating, but it was not long, and the cells did not get too hot to handle.

Any real doubt can be eliminated by a load test, comparing the other cells to the battle tested ones. If the internal resistance of battle tested cell is a lot higher, then it did sustain a lot of wear out, quickly.