Nitecore Batteries Unwrapped

Since I had two Nitecore batteries where the protective layer had worn off exposing the metal strip down the side I decided to remove the protection circuit as well as the wrapping so I can salvage them. The two batteries were the 3400mah Nitecore battery and the 2600mah battery.

First of all the 3400mah Nitecore battery. It uses a NCR 18650B made by Panasonic.


Next is the 2600mah battery which interestingly enough was a Samsung ICR18650-26F battery.


Last is the protection circuit, I have no idea what kind or brand it actually is (maybe Seiko?) but maybe someone else more knowledgeable can comment on this.

Both layers on the 3400 wore through to expose the strip? Wasn't there the Nitecore wrap over the Panasonic wrap?

No just the external layer covering the metal strips that runs from the positive end to the negative end, and the connected protection circuit. Instead of rewrapping it I decided to just remove it all and use them as regular unprotected batteries.

snowlover91 said:

No just the external layer covering the metal strips that runs from the positive end to the negative end, and the connected protection circuit. Instead of rewrapping it I decided to just remove it all and use them as regular unprotected batteries.

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Got it. How old is the 3400? Does it have a lot of use?

It's maybe 1.5 years old, the wrapper was damaged when I put it in one flashlight that had a tight fit. I'm lucky it didn't short out because the metal strip was exposed lol but I noticed the damage before it was too late. I haven't seen any reviews of the Nitecore batteries and a lot of questions about what cells they use. Hope this is helpful to some on here with these batteries!

snowlover91 said:

It's maybe 1.5 years old, the wrapper was damaged when I put it in one flashlight that had a tight fit. I'm lucky it didn't short out because the metal strip was exposed lol but I noticed the damage before it was too late. I haven't seen any reviews of the Nitecore batteries and a lot of questions about what cells they use. Hope this is helpful to some on here with these batteries!

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Thanks for the info!! Didn't realize the pcb is under the first wrap. Thought it was under the second.

erict18650 said:

Thanks for the info!! Didn't realize the pcb is under the first wrap. Thought it was under the second.

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Yep! I didn't either until I took the battery wrap off. Main thing to be careful with in protected cells is the side metal wire, make sure it doesn't become exposed. I always inspect my batteries closely before charging and again before putting them in a light.

snowlover91 said:

Yep! I didn't either until I took the battery wrap off. Main thing to be careful with in protected cells is the side metal wire, make sure it doesn't become exposed. I always inspect my batteries closely before charging and again before putting them in a light.

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Yah - I had one short in the dark while changing cells. Was SKETCH. Melted the wrapper n sparked etc.

wow that's a 3.0yrs old ncr-b cell, nice!

So the Nietcore wrapper is not good quality?

erict18650 said:

Both layers on the 3400 wore through to expose the strip? Wasn't there the Nitecore wrap over the Panasonic wrap?

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Nitecore would have taken the Panasonic or Samsung cell and attached the protection pcb to the minus end and strip leading to the plus end, then shrunk their own wrapper over that, so the factory wrap would still be between the body of the cell and the strip.

G. Scott H. said:

Nitecore would have taken the Panasonic or Samsung cell and attached the protection pcb to the minus end and strip leading to the plus end, then shrunk their own wrapper over that, so the factory wrap would still be between the body of the cell and the strip.

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All Li-Ion cells as manufactured are unprotected. The manufacturer such as Panasonic or Sanyo will put their wrapper on the cell during manufacture. If they decide to sell some of the cells as protected they will add the protection circuit and wrap again. Anyone else selling the cell under their brand name will rewrap the cell to reflect that. If they are selling them as protected they will also add the protection circuit, etc., as G. Scott H. said above.

@ kreisl

kreisl said:

wow that's a 3.0yrs old ncr-b cell, nice!

So the Nietcore wrapper is not good quality?[/QUOTE


I believe my Orbtrontic 18650/3400mAh cells are also NCR-b's!! I have had them since 12.21.2012!:thumbsup:,,,,,,,,,, Over 37 months old w/ over 300 charge cycles! My guess is they are about 85% of original capacity. I have standard[no re wrap] NCR- B's that are 2 1/2 years old.

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i have had bad experience with wraps by XTAR and EAGTAC. the wraps were "not soft enough" but too brittle after some time. the circle-like edges of the wrapper, see the positive terminal or the negative terminal, chipped like a salty cracker, and actually the body wrapper cracked too. I have, still have!, 4 Eagtac blue labels in my tiny monster light, and all 4 wrappers cracked in the middle of the body. so i had to tape them, because underneath the eagtac wrapper is the bare cell. i could take photos of them, but this would be going off-topic too far and i don't want to harm XTAR or EAGTAC's reputation of material quality (here: the wrapper material).

sure, i regret having bought the Eagtac batteries .. but no other batteries fit in my TM light. (and i hate the TM for it!)

gist of my post: wrappers should be thick and soft such that they cannot crack, chip or become brittle. I like the generic protected ncr-b's. The transparent wrappers are thick and soft and don't chip.

You know what irritates me the most about this is that a manufacturer will take a $5 cell, re-wrap it with a PCB and then ask $20 or more.

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:

You know what irritates me the most about this is that a manufacturer will take a $5 cell, re-wrap it with a PCB and then ask $20 or more.

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I hear ya. I wonder what the profit margin on some of the lights are.

scs said:

I hear ya. I wonder what the profit margin on some of the lights are.

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Probably more than you want to know.

In the automotive parts business, there are at least 5 price structures. Wholesale distributor, Jobber, Dealer, Trade, and Retail.

A starter may cost $20 wholesale distributor, $35 jobber, $50 dealer, $70 trade and $100 retail.

I had a WD account for years. I'd purchase parts to rebuild a small block Chevy of Ford engine, rings, bearings, gaskets, pistons, valves, oil pump, timing chain from TRW or Cloyes for less than $150. The same kit available from a company like Summit Racing was over $500, not to pick on Summit.

I'd venture a guess, that a normal aluminum LED single emitter lights the size of a Surefire 6P, Nitecore P20, Fenix PD35 is probably less than $15. The materials are under $6, unless you're talking a hot emitter like a XHP50-70, or a Nichia 219.

For those wondering I would say the Nitecore wrapper is decent but my two copies were a little brittle and easily damaged. Some of the better rewrapped cells I've used are the Orbtronic which have a pretty nice wrapper on them. Most of my batteries are unprotected now I only have one protected battery and it's for my Nitecore that won't work with anything except protected cells.

Was the protection circuit soldered to the battery? Is it easy to clean off?

gunga said:

Was the protection circuit soldered to the battery? Is it easy to clean off?

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They are soldered to both the positive and negative terminals but it's easy to clean off. I used a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull up the piece still attached. Main thing to be careful of is when removing the protection circuit not to short the metal wire running down the side of the battery. Don't use anything metal to try to pull it off or you'll have some problems. I just used my fingers to pull the wrapper off then carefully pulled the protection circuit off the negative terminal. There might be a better way to do this but that's what worked for me.