Quote:
Originally Posted by CurtEgerer
Beware of the cheap no-name 18650 batteries, LED flashlights, and chargers. Lots of info on explosions and fires. I had lots of these no-names for my business and have long since trashed all of them. The no-name 18650 batteries are the worst offenders. I had about a dozen identical UltraFires (the most common no-name cheapo) and peeled the labeling off of them to find every one was a different recycled used piece of crap (see photo of Chinese factory below). A good 18650 3400mAh battery costs at least $20 each. Everything we have used daily for the last several years is Nitecore brand.
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It's easy enough to stay away from the junk and/or re-wrap brands. However, the real problem is knowing how to spot (and stay away from) outright counterfeit cells. Many of the higher-demand cells from LG, Samsung, Sony, etc. have been counterfeited to death. Some of them are so good that you can't tell unless you unwrap them, and/or check the internal resistance.
You can get genuine top-brand 18650s for a lot less than $20 a pop, but unless you get them from a trusted/reputable vendor, you are rolling the dice.
The link I posted above is a good source, as are IMRbatteries.com and Liionwholesale.com.
Quote:
Originally Posted by look 171
Nitecores are good. I only use Panasonics now on everything. If there's a something Fire at the end, I stay away form. From Sunfire to Ultrafire or whatever. They are all junk, including the flashlights and drop-ins.
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Yeah, that's the golden rule. If a flashlight/battery brand has "fire" at the end, run away, lol. The one exception I've found is "Thorfire". They actually make some decent lights, but I wouldn't take a chance on their batteries.
For 18650s, I am using Sony VTC6 and Samsung 30Q cells for everything. I have a few LG HG2s laying around that are excellent as well.
The unprotected cells give you better performance, and the chemistry is safer than the protected cells (IMR vs. INR), hence no need for a protection IC.