Are these NCR18650B batteries legit?

Regarding discharging at higher amps to test voltage sag: that would be good, except would mean more expense (well, we pay to get/experience more knowledge…) So far, I only got the MC3000 (max 2A discharge) and an EBD-USB+ which I hook up to a USB-to-alligator-clip to a battery holder (both of which introduces a bit of resistance)… The EBD-USB+ can discharge at max 4A only (haven’t tested discharging that high yet on an Li-ion battery.)

Other than those 2, any suggestion for a higher amp discharge equipment/hobby charger (that’s hopefully not that expensive) that can do higher amps discharge (5amps? 10amps?) and also interface with a PC for logview?

I have had pretty good luck with the turnigy brand hobby chargers.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-250w-10a-1-6s-balance-charger.html Says it does 7 amp discharge.
I have the accucel 8 and a icharger 208b. You will need a power supply that can supply 10 to 20v, most people use a old computer power supply.
I use a Xbox (brick) power supply I converted to power the hobby charger. There’s tons of info on these type chargers found around the RC forums. Check around hobbyking you might want to spend more to get more. Don’t know how much you are willing to spend.

My iCharger 106B+ can discharge at a max of 7amps, about $85 when I bought it, comes with a special cable for PC through Logview.

Thanks for all the suggestions for hobby chargers and their max discharge current… $80+ seems a bit much, as I’m not into RC or Lipo packs… But I’ll keep those in mind in the future…

That’s crazy money . Why so many fees ?

Do you have to sneak them in ?

No, they’re not illegal in Canada or anything like that. You’d just have to declare them at the border when coming back into Canada, then pay sales taxes and maybe duty. That’s assuming you’re driving. I’m not sure what the rules are if you’re flying.

The problem with Canada is that almost nobody will ship them here, unless you pay ridiculous shipping fees to a carrier that will ship. UPS is notorious for ripping Canadians off with brokerage fees, which can add up to almost as much as the cost of their shipping.

Basically, the rule for ordering stuff from the US is don’t do it unless they will ship USPS.

Because they don't ship USPS only courier. I used to like fedex in the past as they had reasonable custom clearance fees, but now it looks like all courier companies in canada hit you as hard as they can no matter what the price of the product. I've never used couriers cross border for anything for years, but Gearbest got me last year when I ordered an L6 as I did not realize they used DHL and got hit with a massive bill that almost doubled the cost of the L6. In canada everyone learns there lesson fast and tries not to repeat it.

That is the golden rule up here for sure. If sellers don't give a USPS option to ship to canada, forget it.

Hi,
I bought some NCR18650B on aliexpress. They were sold as original and listing have more than 6000 orders with more than 3500 feedbacks (4.8 out of 5).
Now batteries arrived and they look very suspicious. I compared them with my 100% genuine NCR18650B (they are from Lenovo battery packs). All have same date code (7130). All cell have date code in same position. Date code is in different position than on genuine cells. Genuine cells have date code on heatshring and same date code is visible under heatshrink. Genuine cells have visible data matrix code under heatshrink. Cells from aliexpress don’t have same date code under heatshrink and they don’t have data matrix code at all. They have visible code with regular numbers and letters (starts with 9L17… - probably real date code?). Weird thing is this code is on every cell in different place and have different font. Genuine cell have date code printed and if you clean them with alcohol date code will be faded. Cell from aliexpress don’t mind this and date code is same.
I removed protection circuit from one battery and cell have completely different positive contact. I also have some different cells from panasonic and all have same positive contact.
I decided to make capacity test. I have ZB206 and ZPB30A1 battery testers with 4 wire holders. First test was with aprox 0.2C (600mA) to 2.5V and capacity was 3275mAh. I tested few cells and all have between 3100mAh to 3300mAh. Temperature in the room was between 16°C - 20°C. On one cell (same as first) I did my usual test with 1A to 3V an capacity was 2955mAh. Third test was with 5A to 2.5V and capacity was 3182mAh. Temperature of cell was under 45°C. Cells have low average volage, about 3.5V. Cells have big voltage drop under load. On some cells with 600mA load voltage dropped from 4.2v to 4V. At 5A load voltage dropped to 3.8V
Here is few photos: Dropbox - NCR18650B - Simplify your life
My conclusion is they are 100% fake, but capacity is same as original cell.
What is your opinion? What should I do next? Ask for discount? I don’t want refund, because they are OK, but not genuine Panasonic. Return is not option, because shipping to China will cost about half what I paid for cells.
Thanks and sorry for my english…

The capacity checks out as legit for a NCR18650B. The voltage sag (to 3.8v) under a 5A load checks out as legit too.

If they are fakes, they are good fakes. It’s up to you what you want to do, but it might be hard to make a case you got fakes, since under testing they appear to be okay.

Capacity test was for me always sure way how to tell if battery is fake or not. In the past I recieved few fake cell, but capacity was always around 2000mAh.
Now I am confused. Batteries looks like fake, but they have same capacity as original.

Do you REALLY need a protected battery?

Ohm711, WalkIntoTheLight and klrman, let me solve your doubts:

Fake cells, probably from Chang Jiang FST OEM. Related odyssey thread: Seems like I got a six-pack of counterfeit/fake Samsung ICR18650-30B cells :-/

Cheers

klrman, removing the protection circuit, button top cap and associated transparent wrap allows checking the original cell top, this would give ultimate clue to solve your doubts. Seems whoever installed the protection PCB assembly did a somewhat botchily job, just that.

Cheers ^:)

That is the last step for you to overcome. These buttons are spot welded over the cells' ones, fundamentally to mask and protect the protection circuit power feeding wire you removed.

Cheers ^:)

P.S.: a tiny flat head screwdriver may help.

Thanks. I'll have to think about that last step as I would be applying a lot of pressure on the actual cell to try and remove those caps. Last thing I need is this battery going bang in my house!

klrman, use combination/lineman pliers to grab the stuff and rotate it. You should find a flimsy nickel tab spot welded underneath.

Cheers :-)

You went too far with the close-up klrman. A bit more angled perspective and much better illumination helps too.

This picture is from HKJ's review of the NCR18650B:

Yours looks genuine, at least as far as I can tell with such image.

Cheers :-)

P.S.: now just file the nickel tab remnants from the top with a grinding bit equipped rotary tool and you're done.

Based on your image above, mine looks exactly the same, so not a fake then. Thanks for all your help in this Barkuti