Li-ion battery from old cell phone - Solar Mintyboost

[MagnificentDax]

I would like to put together a solar mintyboost (i've done 1 regular mintyboost). I just upgraded my cell phone from an HTC Incredible to the Samsung Galaxy s3. In doing that I have a left over Li-ion extended battery from the Incredible. listed on the back as 3.7vDC 2150mAh (model BTE6300B). It has 3 contacts on the end, and I'd like to get some advice of using this battery (very low usage) as the storage for a Solarboost project? I really don't want it burning up or blowing up as I've heard they can do if done improperly. I'm an extreme novice, the 1st minty was my first soldering project. I just don't know how to go about deciding how to add this battery to my project safely. I'd like to use this rather than just recycle it. Any Ideas?
Dax

[adafruit_support_bill]

If you search the net, you may find a spec sheet for that cell or a compatible replacement. The third contact may be a thermistor to monitor pack temperature when charging. Other things to look for are a protection circuit to limit discharge to safe levels. Not all cells have these built in. The Solar charger will protect against over-charge, but it can prevent over-discharge.

[john444]

Hi Mag,

A little typo in Adafruit's response:

The Solar charger will protect against over-charge, but it can prevent over-discharge.

Should be:
"The Solar charger will protect against over-charge, but it can not prevent over-discharge."

John

[adafruit_support_bill]

Thanks John. That is correct

[MagnificentDax]

Thanks for the response, I did do a little checking and found similar replacement batteries, but was not looking specifically for protection circuits. I'll try again. What I get is that if it does have this circuit than it should be a viable solution. Thanks again for the advice.
Dax.