Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

Done and done.

Let's say you and maybe others too presumed they were reputable.

Advice: extinguish expectations, presumptions, etc.

Do you actually know actual China inland wholesale/trade factory prices for these cells?

As far as my understanding goes, the only univocal identifier for AliExpress stores is their store number. Is store number 217753 the store you are referring to?

AliExpress stores can change their names and I can share proof for you to see: "AM battery Store" Google search

Store number 1721160 first named itself (or as far as I am aware of) as “Colaier Direct Sales Store”, later they changed their name to “AM battery Store” and now they're called “liitokala 0fficial Store”. All names exactly as I have written them.

Agree, but store numbers and or pure & shitless links. Format: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/STORENUMBER

The “www” can be changed with locale prefixes (es, de, ru, etc.) for translation but please avoid them here. 


Cheers ^:)

@Barkuti, yes I do.

I have asked companies on Alibaba their prices on their 30Qs and VTC5s, and they quoted me around 2$ if I bought in the 1000s of 10000s.

I’m beyond frustrated. Have no clue how to post a question . Just recieved my blf gt. Can I use my Tenergy tn 261 charger to charge batteries ? Is 3500 mAh 3.6 volts same as 3500mah 3.7 volts

Was trying to post a picture but it says I need to have a link for a photo no clue how to do that

Here's a thread on how to post images on BLF:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/47268

A 6-pack of 25R cells quoted to me for $12.98/€11.39.

Cheers :-)

So which one is the real LittoKala store? I see these mentioned in this thread.

liitokala 0fficial Store - since this has the number 0 + fficial in the name I assume this isn’t it (store # 1721160)
LiitoKala Official Flagship Store (store number 133859)
liitokala Official Store - lower case name (store number 217753)
liitokala Factory Store - lower case name (store number 725333)

Update: Edited the "Q30" typos to "30Q." Thanks!

Used my LiitoKala Lii-500 to analyse the six Q30s 30Qs just received from the AliExpress LiitoKala Factory Store, and got the following results (in mAh):

2935, 2825, 2899, 2962, 2963, 2908 Average = 2915.

They have four fins on the positive end which indicates that they are NOT Samsung Q30s 30Qs.

The results of primitive load tests I did with one of the LiitoKala Q30s 30Qs and a Samsung Q30 30Qs I received from Orbtronics in May is illustrated in the line graph below.

The A6 stayed in Turbo mode for about 35 seconds and then dropped down into High2 for the rest of each minute. After the flashlight was turned off, the battery was removed and its voltage tested. This was done 66 times for each battery. It took almost two hours to test each battery.

it seems to me that the Orbtronics Samsung Q30 30Q and LiitoKala Q30 30Q performed about the same in this primitive test. The LiitoKala battery came out a little ahead but this is probably because it was charged to 2935 mAh and the Samsung Q30 30Qwas charged to 2828 mAh. The LiitoKala Q30 30Q will probably not be a bad battery for my application if it holds up to the test of time.

@ActiveAI, do you have a way to test high drain cells?

Because there are 10A 3000mAh cells on the market, and they probably used it to fake the 30Qs since not many people have the equipment to test cells, let alone at >10A.

Update: Edited the "Q30" typos to "30Q." Thanks!

No sir I don't. I am fairly certain that the max current drawn by the A6 is significantly less than 10 amps so your premise is quite valid. The only thing my test shows is that the LiiKola Q30 30Q can power an A6 flashlight. Perhaps lumen output should be tested to see if it really matches the Samsung Q30 30Q in performance.

I don’t mean to be picky, but some people not familiar with these batteries may think you are referring to a battery other than a Samsung 30Q, since you refer to it as a Q30. Just thought I’d mention it.

BlueSwordM, do you think that the SM8124A Battery Resistance Voltmeter Internal Impedance Meter discussed in this BLF thread could provide the resolution to differentiate between a real Samsung 30Q and a re-wrapped 10 A, 3000 mAh 30Q fake? According to this data sheet, A real 30Q should have an internal impedance of ≤ 26 mΩ. A 30Q fake would have an impedance significantly higher. Right? Thanks!

GreenLights, thanks for pointing out my 30Q typos!

Got my 6 today:

Doing a NOR TEST on my lii-500. If they come out at ~3Ah, I’m happy.

That doesn’t really apply for newer cells. We were talking above about how cheap over the last year the 25 r has become but it’s been out for several years. 30q and vtc5 came out to the public in 2015 I believe. There’s still a premium price on them and hg2 because that’s what the world is purchasing more then the older cells. The he2 and he4s are coming way down in price as well with the 25r. Even the 20r is down to about 3 dollars a piece now in small quantities

Doesn’t the lii-500 indicate internal resistance on one of the bays? What does that show for these?

These testers can’t test internal resistance well even if their lives depended on it.

You need either a constant current load with a internal resistance tester, or an internal resistance meter for batteries.

It shows something, but from what I read before I bought mine, it’s not to be trusted.

FWIW, they’re showing 35, 32, 34, 32, 45, and 32 mR.

[quote=JackJax] Doesn't the lii-500 indicate internal resistance on one of the bays? What does that show for these? [/quote]

All four of the Lii-500 slots will provide an internal resistance reading, but the problem is, for me, that the readings are untrustworthy. Here are measurements taken of the six LiitoKala 30Qs I got from the LiitoKala Factory Store:

Internal Resistance Measurements (mΩ)
Cell Slot One Slot Two Slot Three

Slot Four

1 15 47 32 33
2 10 16 10 33
3 10 10 44 10
4 10 33 10 32
5 31 10 10 10
6 10 10 10 10

A reading was taken for each battery in each slot of the Lii-500. I spun the cells in the slots a little or put a little extra pressure on the spring to ensure good contact. Maybe these values show a trend, or maybe my machine is malfunctioning and they are completely worthless. What bothers me is that I can't get consistent (repeatable) readings to any degree.

So I recently ordered a Battery Resistance Voltmeter Internal Impedance Meter LCD Rechargeable SM8124A. Perhaps it will provide some IR measurement consistency I can hang my hat on.

If they come out at ≈3Ah, you're happy? Well, at least in this respect you shouldn't fully be.

In an accurate Lii-500 or adjusting its capacity measurement (example: mine reads ≈98%), a 30Q cell at 0.5A down to 2.8V is to deliver ≈2.9Ah, and it will deviate very little from this figure. Quality cells are very tightly binned.

Those cells may be rewrapped LG HG2 brethren, or not. They may also be some even cheaper cell from another OEM.

For reference, take a look at this see-through rewrapped known good 30Q cell:

Receiving something different is not good and is cheating no matter what. For a battery pack builder this uncertainty can be untenuable.

By the way: About AliExpress' FLAWED feedback/rating system and FIX-UP

Cheers :-)