Eric R Snow wrote:
No, I'm not gonna make meth. Reading about lithium batteries and the
explosion hazard makes me leery about opening up the the battery but
on the other hand I've never seen lithium metal. Before I open the
thing up will there be any lithium left? The battery is dead. it is
the 3.6 volt cv3 type. And will the lithium start burning when exposed
to air?
Thanks,
Eric

If it's the typical 3.6V lithium ion battery used for cell phones and
such, what you have is a plastic case around the metal container of the
battery. I cut the cases off all the time with a Dremel saw. They often
have a circuit board mounted on top of the cell that is used to monitor
charging and for overload protection. I remove the board and wire
directly to the cell itself. When charging I monitor the charge
manually. I have slipped up and burned a charger before. I have also
cut into the battery before and never had a problem so far. They work
great for powering radios and hobby projects.