How come the 18650 batteries in my torch last a short time(relatively) and ev 18650 batteries last over ten years? Apparently there are different flavours of 18650 so why can not I get car type 18650s for my torch?
On 21/10/2017 9:17 PM, FMurtz wrote:
The manufacturer of your torch will have supplied the cheapest and nastiest Chinese 18650 cells available to ensure an attractive retail price for the complete package. A torch buyer won't pay more today for batteries that will still be going strong at some indefinite future tomorrow. You certainly can get car type 18650's for your torch. Try the Panasonic NCR18650B which is a close relative of the Panasonic cells Tesla uses in their ev's. Tesla finagles the nickel cobalt cathode mix used in the car cells to suit the charge/discharge pattern peculiar to use in traction batteries. A quick check online shows that NCR18650B's from various sellers cost something over $10 each for singles and something under $10 each for lots of 10 or 12. Buy in lots of 100 or 300 and the price per piece declines steeply. There are of course plenty of Panasonic forgeries coming out of China, complete with wrappers saying Panasonic and Made in Japan. It's a great idea to buy a decent Li-ion battery charger that won't improperly charge and destroy your nice new cells. iMax B6AC multi chemistry hobby charger is good for around 60 bucks. There are B6AC's for around 20 bucks which are actually rip=off forgeries of the genuine article. Avoid because the copied hardware and software does not deliver the necessary precision. Here's an excellent Danish website that does reliable test and reviews of Li-ion cells, chargers and torches.
I'll second that. I've been using NCR18650Bs (both protected and unprotected) for torches etc. for a few years now and not only are they still going strong but when I monitor capacity they've not dropped more than a few percent in that time.
I got mine from AliExpress, this store
For charging duties I use a LiitoKala Lii-500, also from that store. I've used several different chargers. Lesser chargers might charge the cells as well but this one is great for testing capacity as well (a valuable feature when you're ripping old laptop batteries apart and wanting to know if any cells are still 'good'). I sold my Nitecore i4 after using the Lii-500 for a while.
-- Shaun. "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification in the DSM*." David Melville (in r.a.s.f1) (*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
how deeply are you discharging the cells in your torch?
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Not very,but sometimes they sit too long before recharge, or sit in charger for ever.(I am not very reliable at charging)
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