dx 18650 advice

[arficus]

Can someone help guide me towards the best 18650 purchase on dealextreme? I assume protected is the way to go. The 3 highest mah rated button-top ones I see are:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5776
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3287
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

One of these is a LC18650 and another a TR18650- what's the diff between the LC and TR designations?

 

[mdocod]

You won't find many people who will actually recommend any of those cells. The hit and miss quality issues with them are not worth your time and trouble. 18650s that are worth your time and money can be found here:

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1305

 

[MatajumotorS]

Can someone help guide me towards the best 18650 purchase on dealextreme? I assume protected is the way to go. The 3 highest mah rated button-top ones I see are:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5776
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3287
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

One of these is a LC18650 and another a TR18650- what's the diff between the LC and TR designations?

I have some experience with http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790
They work! I do not know about exact capacity, but it is arround 2000 for shure, protection works well too. Ofcourse they look cheap. But it is cheap, $5 for one protected and with shipping worldwide! But if you plan to drain the li-On's higer than 1,5-2A - buy from AW.

 

[saeckereier]

I don't trust them but use the silver/grey UltraFire ones. So far I had to dump the occasional cell, but all in all they work nicely. From your preselection I'd say take one of the grey ones as they seem to be the newer version and look cooler.

Besides I think they'll be all more or less the same. I am using UltraFires because they were the first I bought. Don't rely on the PCB, monitor them closely before and after charge and it should be fine.

(The cells recommended by mdocod btw are top-notch, with those you can't go wrong)

 

[Fallingwater]

I got a few 18650s from DX and I'm pretty happy with them. I have one non-protected 1800mah one I use on my modified mp3 player and two 2400mah protected ones (sku 3287) for the flashlights.

 

[LEDite]

If you want RELIABLE #18650 cells day in and day out,

then find brand-name Sanyo, Sony or Panasonic #18650 cells.

One of my Sanyo 2400's went thru a short circuit driver failure yesterday, and handled it fine, except for the black soot from the smoking driver.

I've got hundreds of Korean and Chinese cells that all failed prematurely.

I do buy some lights from Kai and DX.

Larry Cobb

 

[rizky_p]

Recommend only a protected Ultrafire 18650 if you want to get from DX. I have abused several unprotected 18650 ultrafire none of the vent into flame they just leak (safety features?) i know this sound strange but that what is happened to my ultrafire 18650s. They are dangerous but not as dangerous as we imagine. But as always safety first.

thanks.

 

[Mash]

I have bought the silver 18650s and 17670s from DX. One 18650 failed after a few charges. But Ive been happy overall.
However when you work out the sums, although the UFs are half the price of AWs, it makes more sense to buy the AWs with their record of quality. I havent bought from AW yet, but my next purchase will be from him.

 

[scott.cr]

I'd have to vote for the AW cells you can get at Lighthound. The DX cells are pure garbage. Their cost is lower, but when you consider that you'll get one failure out of every four cells, the cost for the good cells goes up by 25%, and then you're paying about as much for an inferior cell as you would have for the AW.