Most suitable 18650s and charger

[Kuryakin]

Looking to purchase a kick *** LED flashlight, and I've settled on the 18650 cell for size and energy density. The MG PLI is in the lead.

So, now for the care and feeding section, who's got the most durable yet highest capacity cells, and what's the fastest most suitable charger for 1 or 2 of these cells?

You guys have been great on the flashlight part, now for the power!

 

[buickid]

Although not the best charger, the WF-139 that AW sells in the MarketPlace has worked very well for me. As long as you take care not to reverse polarity, it should be fine. Many recommend the Pila IBC charger as the next step up in quality and safety, but it does cost a bit more.

As for cells, go with AW. His protected 18650 2600mAh cells are excellent, I have one, as well as several of his protected 16340s, IMR16340s and IMR18650s. All of his cells are excellent and some of the best you can buy. If you want absolute safety, go with the IMR18650s. Their chemistry makes it extremely unlikely that they'll explode if you abuse them. The downside is that their capacity is significantly less than that of his regular protected cells. As long as you take a few precautions, his regular protected cells offer huge capacity, and are quite safe.

 

[TranceAddict]

you can consider this zero cost solution
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=233932


it may looks lame in design but when you hook a oscilloscope you will see how sophisticated the charging algorithm is. charge always terminates precisely at 4.2v

 

[KiwiMark]

Looking to purchase a kick *** LED flashlight, and I've settled on the 18650 cell for size and energy density. The MG PLI is in the lead.

So, now for the care and feeding section, who's got the most durable yet highest capacity cells, and what's the fastest most suitable charger for 1 or 2 of these cells?

You guys have been great on the flashlight part, now for the power!

I have a MG PLI and AW 2600mAh cells and a WF-139, they all work very well together. I would highly recommend this as a good place to start, it will get you up and running very well.

AW's sales thread:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=200812

 

[TranceAddict]

I have a MG PLI and AW 2600mAh cells and a WF-139, they all work very well together. I would highly recommend this as a good place to start, it will get you up and running very well.

AW's sales thread:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=200812

if you were to get wf-139, get pila ibc instead, i just don't feel comfortable with the >4.45v termination, AW has robust protection but you should not use it as a charge termination algorithm, when it failed tragedy can happen, unless you place them in a fire-proof enclosure and have a cost-a-fortune L28 extinguisher ready, then you can have peace of mind.

 

[KiwiMark]

if you were to get wf-139, get pila ibc instead, i just don't feel comfortable with the >4.45v termination

Wow - 4.45V that is really bad - sounds like a faulty unit.

I have 2 of the WF-139 chargers, both charge to 4.2V.

 

[buickid]

My WF-139 also terminates right near 4.2, about 4.22V.
I haven't tried leaving the cell in the charger to see if it gets any higher, but I find it prudent to monitor charging lithium cells, regardless of the charger used.

 

[rookiedaddy]

using WF-139 to charge unprotected Panasonic 18650 2150mAh. It terminates charge at ~4.2V with battery fresh off at 4.21V and at rest 4.19-4.20V. However, I do notice that left channel charge faster and terminate higher than right channel, a different of ~10-15 minutes and 0.02V

for testing, i did try leaving a 18650 cell in the charger for more than 2 hours after the light turns green, the results is the cell came off at 4.17V, resting voltage after 48 hours is the same.

 

[old4570]

WF-139
or Trustfire TR-001 .

Ive left both on by accident overnight with unprotected 18650 batts and they were not overcharged .

Batts were just under 4.2v on each occasion .

I dont want to make a habbit out of it , but both seem to terminate ok .
If I needed another CR123A to 18650 charger , it would be the Trustfire , as I like its charge rate and method a little better .

 

[lrp]

I use AW and Pila and have yet to have a problem of any sort!!

 

[bullfrog]

I use AW and Pila and have yet to have a problem of any sort!!

+1

High quality stuff.

 

[JeffInChi]

I use the soshine charger on lighthound.com's website (even though they have it listed as shoshine battery charger).

So far, so good.

 

[John_Galt]

Is this http://www.flashlightz.com/product.php?product=171829 the charger you are refering too? I too am looking at going into the 18650 battery type lights, and am looking for a good charger, and some AW2600mah batteries.

 

[Kuryakin]

I'm liking the Ultrafire here. Reasonably priced, and has a 12v option. The Pila looks great, but $45? Not sure the bang is worth the buck.
The 18650 cell test was most interesting! I shall choose based on that.

Guys, thanks, you've been most helpful!

WF-139
or Trustfire TR-001 .

Ive left both on by accident overnight with unprotected 18650 batts and they were not overcharged .

Batts were just under 4.2v on each occasion .

I dont want to make a habbit out of it , but both seem to terminate ok .
If I needed another CR123A to 18650 charger , it would be the Trustfire , as I like its charge rate and method a little better .

 

[Kestrel]

I use AW and Pila and have yet to have a problem of any sort!!

+2

 

[Kuryakin]

Been pretty happy with my Ultrafire charger. Since I don't treat Li-ions like I treat nickel chemistries, no trickle charging for me. I yank them when the light turns green, usually the next morning. Ran them up and down a few times already (exploring abandoned buildings) and these batteries, the charger, and the MG-PLI worked quite well. Aside from holding onto one WARM flashlight, gotta say, I am quite pleased.

I'm liking the Ultrafire here. Reasonably priced, and has a 12v option. The Pila looks great, but $45? Not sure the bang is worth the buck.
The 18650 cell test was most interesting! I shall choose based on that.

Guys, thanks, you've been most helpful!

 

[DuncanHynes]

Yeah, I ordered a Malkoff MD3 body for a M60F, need to buy Li-ions and a charger, looks like it will be the Pila IBC, and AW cells (18500). How many of you buggers babysit chargers!? I can't and won't, (Ok the first time I will). Have used NiMH for too long in a nice Maha charger that never even gets warm on 5 hour mode charging 2700 mAh cells.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Been using my Pila 150A's (18500s)for years without baby sitting them, but they have overcharge and undercharge protection.

 

[mfm]

Many people seem happy with this charger: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105 (or the equivalent Euro-version).

The Soshine chargers look good on paper, but bad quality and lots of problems under the hood it seems... And with fake UL numbers, can they even sell them legally in the US?

 

[flatline]

The MG PLI has over-discharge protection built in, so if I were you, I'd spend a little extra to get the Pila charger, and then save some money by buying unprotected cells (or, get them free from old laptop packs).

In fact, that's what I did. I bought the Pila, a MG L-mini II (which has the same built-in protection that the PLI does), and scavenged 6 4-year-old Sony US18650GR cells from my wife's laptop. Works like a charm. I assume that since the cells are 4 years old that they have reduced capacity compared to new cells, but even so, they run for weeks of regular usage before I switch them at 3.7v (long before the flashlight's low-voltage warning kicks in).

I figure the money I saved by not purchasing new cells offset the extra money I paid to have the peace of mind of the Pila charger. That said, I still put the charger in an open ammo can that I set on a granite counter...just in case something does go wrong...

--flatline