Test/Review of Keeppower 16650 2000mAh (Black)

[scout24]

Just ordered a pair of the "A" suffix 2500ma protected cells from doingoutdoor via Amazon. Looking forward to seeing how they work on a 4.2v charger, and how quick shipping is. More capacity than 17670's, and I won't use these in the high-drain stuff.

 

[LightWalker]

Are these actually shorter than the AW 17670?

 

[Bright_Light]

I have the new KeepPower 16650 2500mAh UR16650ZTA 4.35V battery and it fits a LITTLE tighter in my WF-139 charger. So just a hair longer than AW 17670.

 

[LightWalker]

I have the new KeepPower 16650 2500mAh UR16650ZTA 4.35V battery and it fits a LITTLE tighter in my WF-139 charger. So just a hair longer than AW 17670.

Ok, thank you.

 

[CSSA]

Orbtronic (orbtronic.com) expects to have 16650 protected cells available next week.
What charger would you recommend to charge the 16650? XTAR says the VP2's 3.8 Volt setting charges to 4.35V.
"Output: DC 3.0/4.35v
3.0v/3.2v LiFePO4 Battery Charger (Charges to 3.2v)
3.6v/3.7v Li-ion Battery Charger (Charges to 4.2v)
3.8v Li-ion Battery Charger (Charges to 4.35v)" XTAR VP2 Specs

 

[Bright_Light]

Just an FYI,

I got my new Xtar WP2H charger in today and I can't get my KeepPower 16650 2500mAh UR16650ZTA battery to charge up to 4.35V. The charger gives me the "short circuit" warning and stops charging the batteries at 4.17V when using the 1 amp setting. I can get it to charge up to 4.21V when I use the .25 amp setting before the charger gives me the "short circuit" warning.

So it must have something to do with KeepPower's protection circuit. That's my guess at least....

 

[thedoc007]

Just an FYI,

I got my new Xtar WP2H charger in today and I can't get my KeepPower 16650 2500mAh UR16650ZTA battery to charge up to 4.35V. The charger gives me the "short circuit" warning and stops charging the batteries at 4.17V when using the 1 amp setting. I can get it to charge up to 4.21V when I use the .25 amp setting before the charger gives me the "short circuit" warning.

So it must have something to do with KeepPower's protection circuit. That's my guess at least....

Interesting, I have a VP2, and the same Keeppower 16650. Testing now - it has been a while since I needed to charge (run it in my Elzetta, and 235 lumens takes a LONG time to drain a 2500 mAh cell). Perhaps the protection circuit was not properly designed for the higher voltage? We shall see...

 

[Bright_Light]

Perhaps the protection circuit was not properly designed for the higher voltage? We shall see...

Maybe.

Let us know what happens with your test. Thanks

 

[thedoc007]

At 4.26 volts, as indicated by digital readout on my VP2. No issues so far, still charging away.

 

[thedoc007]

Just an FYI,

I got my new Xtar WP2H charger in today and I can't get my KeepPower 16650 2500mAh UR16650ZTA battery to charge up to 4.35V. The charger gives me the "short circuit" warning and stops charging the batteries at 4.17V when using the 1 amp setting. I can get it to charge up to 4.21V when I use the .25 amp setting before the charger gives me the "short circuit" warning.

So it must have something to do with KeepPower's protection circuit. That's my guess at least....

Well, it isn't just your cell. It seemed to be running OK, but of course the readout leads the actual voltage by a bit (more at higher charge rates). My cell stops a bit shy of 4.2 volts also.

I just noticed that the label on the cell lists it as 3.7 volts. If the spec was correct, full charge at 4.35 volts, it should be listed as a 3.8 volt cell. So now I am really annoyed. Whether or not the original cell was rated for 4.35 volts, I'm not sure, but clearly the protection circuit is not going to allow a 4.35 volt charge. So the specs (I bought mine at Illumination Supply) were definitely misleading. I wish I had a way to measure the total capacity of the cell, with a 4.2 volt charge. I suspect it will be substantially lower than 2500mAh.

Overall, I still think it is a good cell. As I said before, I get plenty of runtime. But I will be informing Keeppower and Illumination Supply about the charging issue, and hopefully they will get the specs updated.

 

[Bright_Light]

Thanks for your report, thedoc.

I bought mine from Illumination Supply as well. Let us know if you hear anything back from Illumination supply or Keeppower.

Thanks again

 

[Aperture]

I suspect it will be substantially lower than 2500mAh.

The 2000mAh version tested by HKJ only looses 72mAh when charged at 4.2V, nothing to worry about IMO.

 

[thedoc007]

Thanks for your report, thedoc.

I bought mine from Illumination Supply as well. Let us know if you hear anything back from Illumination supply or Keeppower.

Thanks again

I did hear back from Illumination Supply. They have updated the listing with a note about the protection circuit - it was simply an error of omission. Apparently all of the KP protected 16650s have the same 4.2V cutoff.

 

[Bright_Light]

Thanks for reporting back. Hopefully Keeppower will use a 4.35V cutoff protection circuit some time in the future. I really like these 16650s with my Surefire G2L hosts.

 

[Greenbean]

I have two off these coming from Amazon, hoping to use in a G2 and a Quark 123x2 Turbo.

 

[HistoryChannel]

So what would be best to run SF123a Surefire Lights that won't take the 18650 cells?

The KeepPower 16650 2500mah battery or 2 x K2 LiFePO4 600mah batteries? I'm thinking it's better to run the KeepPower 16650? Why would Surefire pick such a low performer to sell (LFP123a) if a 16650 Sanyo/Panasonic cell would work better?

 

[thedoc007]

So what would be best to run SF123a Surefire Lights that won't take the 18650 cells?

The KeepPower 16650 2500mah battery or 2 x K2 LiFePO4 600mah batteries? I'm thinking it's better to run the KeepPower 16650? Why would Surefire pick such a low performer to sell (LFP123a) if a 16650 Sanyo/Panasonic cell would work better?

Definitely, unquestionably, the Keeppower 16650. Single cell is safer, and you will get a lot more runtime.

Surefire is quite often behind the curve...their first light that takes 18650 was only released a few months ago.

 

[Timothybil]

The other thing to remember is that until very recently, all Surefire lights (except the ones that used the B65 rechargeable battery) were designed for primary cells only. People have been wanting to use rechargeable cells since the first RCR and 16340 cells came out, but the voltage mismatch was too great for their incandescent lamp assemblies. Their answer was the LiFePO4 cells because their voltage is almost a perfect match for a CR123 primary. With the conversion to LEDs, some started using LiIon cells with sometimes mixed results. Now that they are finally doing mixed fuel and 18650 lights, things should work better.

 

[HistoryChannel]

I have a couple of 16650 KeepPowers coming this Fri so I can try them out. Surefire is kind of like Apple, I guess they don't want to be first to the market necessarily because that creates all kinds of problems with reliability and end user experience problems, etc. That being said, I suppose Surefire isn't in the battery business so it's probably just not a priority for them?

Good point also about the lights were designed to be used with SF123a Lithium batteries, and since demand for a rechargeable option is so high (me assuming) that they put a band-aid on the demand by selecting the K2 LFP123a as their "Officialy" endorsed rechargeable option for their non-rechargeable lights.

It's a good sign with the release of the P1R and hopeful release of the R2 Lawman that more 18650 Li-Ion flashlights are on the way... Although, it wouldn't be a big deal for SF to just bore out the Fury series to 18650 size and offer both options? Instead they decided to create a whole new light (P1R) and bundle it with their own charger and battery. I've been wanting to buy another P1R but I already have a gazillion 18650 batteries and chargers that I can't justify buying another package set.

Thanks for the responses, I definitely look forward to trying out the 16650.

 

[HistoryChannel]

Ok, I got the KeepPower 16650 2500ma batteries and like others have experienced.... Even on the 3.7v (4.35 cutoff) setting on the Xtar VP2, it appears that the on board circuit of the battery cuts off the charging at around 4.29 v.

It's a tight fit but it fits in the G2X Pro and E2B and I can't perceive any brightness loss initially.

Thanks for the great review that made me try these.