Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
621

In this sea of fakes I guess I should give the Aliya’s store a shout out for actually delivering on their promise
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-4PCS-lot-3-7V-18650-NCR18650B-3400mAh-Protected-battery-for-Panasonic/1382210_32514895471.html

Order arrived after 2 weeks, the tracking never went live though, can’t complain since it was fast.

Bottom pcb makes it quite tall, but it still fits in an S2+

Cells were tested and all were within spec.

Cut off voltage was about 2.4v, I ran one down and tested voltage every 30 minutes until the protection tripped and the multimeter read 0v.
Protection reset upon placing in charger. Ncr18650b spec is down to 2.5v so its a last ditch protection, best to stick to recharging based on the s2+’s warning at 3v.

Still waiting out my paypal dispute with 192led’s fraud.

622

Glad you found honesty in AliExpress.

I wouldn't worry about the low protection cut-off, that is really a no issue. So much is said regarding this over discharging thing but that is all baseless hearsay. Go find me a source with actual testing evidence in this respect. The high voltage accelerated aging, nonetheless, is a known verified thing.

So you went PayPal dispute with 192led without even waiting for any sort of possible delivery period, did the seller said anything?

I ordered a couple Lii-100 chargers from 192led a month ago or so. I was to at least wait 2+ months. I say this because in eBay, for example, super cheap items ship with super cheap shipping and those orders are generally set aside during Xmas time due to the much increased postal traffic and plenty of priority shipments.

Cheers ^:)

623

192led is a fraud.
Paypal just told me there is no answer from them and refunded what I paid.

624

I just go by the spec sheet. For example, the Samsung 30Q says not to recharge a cell if it has dropped below 1.0v. Between 1v and 3v, charge slowly at first. Above 3v, go wild! (Okay, actually it’s max charge of 4A, with 1.5A recommended.)

So, yeah, a protection circuit that kicks in at 2.5v is more than okay.

625

Ah well 192led is well past the point of proven dubious, their live chat doesn’t even work. The search result is deprioritized on google, and the store ratings are likely fake. Delivery period is already past a month, never mind the other reports of fraud.

The low voltage protection isn’t for me, but for others I gave flashlights to. You have to ignore the convoy low voltage blink for hours before its a problem, but I guess it will save you from accidental activation inside a bag.

Funny thing about the liitokala engineer 500 I always forget, after the nor capacity test the thing doesn’t recharge the batteries, and then I wonder why the cells are so dim lol

626

Whereby? The NOR test cycle is charge + measuring discharge + recharge. At least that is what mine does (and I always pay attention to avoid full recharges LoL).

Cheers :-)

627

Yeah, my Lii 500 charges after the NOR test is over. It is finished when the ‘END’ is lit & stops blinking.

628

Yea I guess that’s why it was partially charged with marginal voltage readings, they were still blinking, its a full day long process with 4 cells :stuck_out_tongue: they missed a trick not lighting the charge and nor labels at the same time at the end of the process.

629

Yep, if you removed the cells while ‘END’ was still blinking the cells were not finished charging. The sooner you removed the cells after ‘END’ started blinking, the lower the voltage.

630

The way :-D I do it. I usually remove cells once rail output hits ≈3.95V. Bear in mind that, since rail resistance causes a voltage drop equal to resistance times current, it is convenient to minimize this factor wiggling the cells over the rails on startup and checking the resistance reading until it is low for all.

Cheers ^:)

631

I always do the “cell wiggle” too Barkuti to try & achieve the lowest resistance results. :+1:
I charge mine to the ’bitter END’ though… usually 4.18 - 4.19V. :beer:

632

Soooo, UPDATE

I finally received my 18650s from the Aliya Battery Store: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1382210?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.7a5b23dbkNLBYu

And I can say that they are truly genuine, and arrived on time to Canada!

Proofs and pictures of legitimacy:

1. They all weigh the same, around 45,9g and 47,2g.

2. The NCR18650GAs have the protruding flat top, and the Samsung 30Qs have a 3 pole positive terminal. No problem there.

3. The resting voltage for the 30Qs is 3,41V, and 3,51V for the NCR18650GAs. So, conform to shipping regulations.

Capacities will be tested later this week, along with internal resistance.

633

@BSM, how long before they arrived from order?

634

Ordered them on 11/11.

Got them today on 12/17.

So 1 month of transport even during the Canada Post strike.

635

That's pretty good. When BG was shipping batteries to Canada it took me 3 months to get 4x30Q's from them.

636

Yeah it was really nice, and it was shipped by DHL Packet too. So that was the reason why for the shipping fee.

637

Very nice, if the capacity and drain checks out too.

638

ah nice, guess i’ll post the weight of the aliya ncr18650b as well

639

Now, some detailed capacity tests!

I’m using my own battery holder with my own large Beryllium Copper spring, which allows accurate capacity testing up to 3A without a 4 wire method.

-I first started testing the NCR18650GA at 2A current, with a charge voltage of 4,185V and ending voltage of 2,6V.

Capacity at 2,6V, being 3308mAh.

Energy at 2,6V, being 11,56Wh.

Capacity at 2,8V to compare with HKJ.

Nothing checks out, so I can confidently say NCR18650GAs from the Aliya Battery Store are legit

-For the Samsung 30Q, it has been tested at 3A, with an ending voltage of 2,6V and charge voltage of 4,191V.

Capacity at 2,6V, being 2963mAh.

Energy at 2,6V, being 10,28Wh.

Capacity at 2,8V, being 2865mAh.

Energy at 2,8V, being 10,05Wh.

With the tests in mind, I can confidently say that the Samsung 30Q from Aliya Battery Store is legitimate

To end on a final note, my results are quite precise, with good accuracy, but on each of the tests, I did not account for the voltage drop of 0,05V during the tests because of the XT60 connectors and wiring, which may slightly have affected energy tests due to lower overall voltage on discharge.

Therefore, all batteries from the Aliya Battery Store, as of 12/18, are all considered legitimate, can be ordered from the link below:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1382210

640

Hi,

You need to perform a higher Amp discharge because good fakes can still match genuine at lower amps.

Using a CBA is best to see the discharge curve and any unusual behavior. Otherwise you’re just basing it off the mAh?.

Have you performed a 10A & 15A and monitored temps and voltage, comparing them to a genuine?

My CBA shows 2968mAh at 10A. Spec sheet states 2,700mAh minimum & 2,983mAh typical at 10A

Would be interesting to see what yours reads at a higher current if possible