what is the latest most reliable 18650 battery for 2012?

picard

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what is the latest most reliable 18650 battery for 2012? I have been out of touch.
 

ChrisGarrett

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what is the latest most reliable 18650 battery for 2012? I have been out of touch.

In my limited time here, I'd say that AW, Redilast and CalliesKustom, who were THE triumvirate in 18650 cells for 2011 and before, have now been thoroughly unseated by a host of other players, all sourcing the famed Panasonic NCR18650A cell and now the NCR18650B (3400 mAh).

The new players, like Orbtronics, International-Outdoor, Xtar, EagleTac, Keeppower (OEM maker for most of these people) and some others, are all generally cheaper than the $20/cell that the 'old guard' are commanding, even before shipping.

I got two new EagleTac 3100s for $20.39 delivered back in March and while they might test out a tad lower for the two samples, versus some of the others, they're close enough for government work.

Keeppower 3100s and Orbtronics 3100s are ~$26.00 a pair delivered. Tough to beat.

Chris
 
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HKJ

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what is the latest most reliable 18650 battery for 2012? I have been out of touch.

Panasonic, either 3100 or the new 3400 mAh (Called NCR1865A or NCR18650B by Panasonic).
You can get the first one from many different suppliers, the second one is not really on the market yet (The first batch was sold out rather quick).

You can find brand names for suppliers in my battery test, there are significant variations in price, but not that large variations in quality.
 

march.brown

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Panasonic, either 3100 or the new 3400 mAh (Called NCR1865A or NCR18650B by Panasonic).
You can get the first one from many different suppliers, the second one is not really on the market yet (The first batch was sold out rather quick).

You can find brand names for suppliers in my battery test, there are significant variations in price, but not that large variations in quality.
I have recently bought two Xtar (Sanyo) 18650/18700 2600mAh protected cells , plus two Panasonic 3100mAh NCR1860A protected cells (with another two in the post to me.

I have always used 3.6 volts as the "Empty" point and as such , I topped my cells up before they reached this voltage ... Are the newer cells capable of going down to a lower voltage or do we still keep 3.6V as "Empty" ?
.
 

HKJ

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I have always used 3.6 volts as the "Empty" point and as such , I topped my cells up before they reached this voltage ... Are the newer cells capable of going down to a lower voltage or do we still keep 3.6V as "Empty" ?
.

It depends on when you measure the voltage, when the battery has rested and is without load 3.6 volt is probably a good value (On my batteries I uses 3.3 to 3.4 volt as empty).
During load the Panasonic can go down to 2.5 volt before they are empty.
 

Stu_Travelbee

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It depends on when you measure the voltage, when the battery has rested and is without load 3.6 volt is probably a good value (On my batteries I uses 3.3 to 3.4 volt as empty).
During load the Panasonic can go down to 2.5 volt before they are empty.
Could the same voltage range you give for "empty" on 18650s be used for 16340s?
 

LuxLuthor

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Panasonic, either 3100 or the new 3400 mAh (Called NCR1865A or NCR18650B by Panasonic).
You can get the first one from many different suppliers, the second one is not really on the market yet (The first batch was sold out rather quick).

You can find brand names for suppliers in my battery test, there are significant variations in price, but not that large variations in quality.

Thank you for this specific resource, and for the incredible ongoing work you have done and shared over the years. Really useful and comprehensively useful.
 

march.brown

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It depends on when you measure the voltage, when the battery has rested and is without load 3.6 volt is probably a good value (On my batteries I uses 3.3 to 3.4 volt as empty).
During load the Panasonic can go down to 2.5 volt before they are empty.
Thanks for the information ... I will continue using the rested voltage of 3.6V as "empty" ... I don't usually go as low as this as I prefer to top-up at about 3.8V ... I have still got about 40% left even at 3.8V.

Thanks again.
 

mauiblue

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The two brands I use is Redilast and Callies Customs. They fit in all my lights with no issues and they are easy to charge and maintain.
 

Shadowww

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Thanks for the information ... I will continue using the rested voltage of 3.6V as "empty" ... I don't usually go as low as this as I prefer to top-up at about 3.8V ... I have still got about 40% left even at 3.8V.

Thanks again.

The Panasonic NCR-series cells have 40% left at 3.65V, so you might want to recharge them at that voltage. For other cells, 3.8V indeed is a fine value.
 

march.brown

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The Panasonic NCR-series cells have 40% left at 3.65V, so you might want to recharge them at that voltage. For other cells, 3.8V indeed is a fine value.
Thank you for the information ... I will make a note of that , as it is my intention to only buy the Panasonic 3100mAh cells in future ... I also have two Xtar (Sanyo) 2600mAh that are new ... The Ultrafires are being phased out , though four protected cells are still at 4.19V to 4.20V rested ... When my two new Panasonics arrive from the Far East , the four Ultrafires will be my spares and will eventually be replaced by more Panasonics ... I don't need many spare cells ... Three spares will be enough.

Again , many thanks.
.
 

DonK

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Has anyone assessed which of these batteries has the most robust construction - abrasion resistant wrap etc ?
 

LEDite

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New Panasonic 3400mah cells would get my vote.

Very low internal resistance to maintain higher voltage.

No protection circuit board for higher reliability.

I've used many different types & brands of #18650 cells in my lights.

LEDite
 
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DonK

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several companies seem to build protected button cells using Panasonic as base.

Question now is - who does the best product and who offers the best charger ?
 

DonK

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I need button, so looks like my choice is partially made. Orbtronic site says everything is out of stock !
 

DonK

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I'll browse their sites - I have been using a couple of Ultrafire 2600 batteries with a T-100 (Tenergy ?) charger and have had good results. BUT the Ultrafire get a lot of bad press, so I figure that I'd best get something better before disaster strikes. I'm looking to pick up 6 batteries and a charger.
 

march.brown

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I'll browse their sites - I have been using a couple of Ultrafire 2600 batteries with a T-100 (Tenergy ?) charger and have had good results. BUT the Ultrafire get a lot of bad press, so I figure that I'd best get something better before disaster strikes. I'm looking to pick up 6 batteries and a charger.
I am still using my two old Ultrafire (blue) unprotected and five (grey) protected 2400mAh ... I have used them for about three years now and they were all OK ... Only recently have they started to fail ... One died and couldn't be revived and a couple more are not holding the 4.20 volts after being charged to about 4.24V ... Those two are dropping to about 4.11V ... The others are at about 4.18V rested ... So. I have a total of seven workers including the ones that drop to the lower voltage ... I have got two new Xtar 2600mAh protected and two new Panasonic 3100mAh protected plus two more coming ... I will be sending for another two in a few weeks time ... I will then get rid of some (possibly all) of the Ultrafires.

In all fairness , I have been a bit cruel to the Ultrafires as they are stored at room temperature , fully charged ... I will do the same with the Xtars and the Panasonics ... If I have to buy two new cells (on average) every year or so , it isn't really going to break the bank at less than £15 for two delivered ... I just like to have my spare cells fully charged ... I will standardise on the Panasonic 3100mAh's now.

I now use some of the cheap home made Li-Ion chargers and am very pleased with their performance ... I haven't thrown out my other Li-Ion chargers but I don't use them now ... I am keeping them "just in case".
.
 
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