Unprotected 18650 cells for Convoy S2+ triple and FW3A

I have 11,000 posts and no high quality unprotected 18650 cells...

It's time to fix that!

These will go in my Convoy S2+ triple, and eventually in the FW3A.

I want long runtime, but on the cheap.

I don't care about brightness that much.

What's the best bang-for-your-buck high-capacity cell?

I want to buy 4 of them.

I don't mind buying from China if it's cheaper that way.

These are probably good, right?

Okay, maybe not...

I don’t know how many amps your S2 is pulling and I don’t know how many the FW3A will pull either. If you aren’t worried about extracting every last lumen from them I use LG MJ1’s. 10amp 3500mah cells. I have always had good luck with them. They come in button top or flat top. A bit on the pricey side but you can catch them on sale once in a while. Flat tops will run ya about 5.50 to 6.00. The button tops will bleed an extra dollar from ya. I’m sure there are other great ones but, those are the only high mah cells I have.

My go-to is the Samsung 30Q. Best balance of capacity, charge cycles and current rating. They’re rated 15A continuous.

That being said, if you really need the extra ~0.5Ah the NCR18650GA is great (3500mAh) and had a discharge rating of 10A.

Only 12,000 mAh, can’t you do better than that? Just kidding.

Being rather OCD, I try to limit the types of batteries I have lying around.
For quite some time my standard unprotected battery is the Samsung 30Q.
Those are almost (ahem) as good available as regular AA cells. And reasonably priced.

I am aware that progress has brought us batteries that are (slightly) better in power or capacity.
But I also believe that much of their advantages can be attributed to “the eye of the beholder”.
In a sense that a few percent more power may make a difference to a luxmeter, but hardly to the eye.
For a triple you wil at least have to maintain 10Amp. Line up others to the 30Q in HKJ’s comparator.

PS I will shoot you a PM when your Milla-bot has reached 12,000 posts :stuck_out_tongue:

Is this entire thread a joke or are you seriously asking for recs?

For high cap + high current I like my 35E’s.

I don't know batteries very well, so this thread is serious.

(Well, except for the 12,000 mAh cells.)

Samsung 30Qs. They’re dirt cheap on Illumn right now.

Sanyo/Panasonic 18650GA or Samsung 35E.

Don’t have any myself, but lotsa people swear by sanny-As. I’m kinda hip-deep in cells I’m “keeping in reserve”, trying to burn down the ones I already got in rotation.

Ven sent me a 3Tronics triple with LD-2 and three XP-Ls I think it DDs on Turbo at 6A+ and I’ve got it configured for 18350s, using the Aspire jobbies.

I doubt you’re pulling more than that, but if you’re near 6A-7A, the S/P NCR-GAs are fine. If you’re at 10A, then something like the 30Q would be appropriate.

I’m running Sony VTC-5As in my Emisar D4 219, just to leave some wiggle room.

VTC-5A, much like Emisar, is the answer to many questions.

Chris

I'm leaning towards Samsung 35E's.

I'm wary of buying Li-Ions from AliExpress, eBay, and Amazon...

Are these a good deal:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10002357/5641200

Seller Genuinecells on Ebay is reputable and has free shipping to the US. I think there are more than a few guys on here who use them. Everything I have bought from them has always tested out good. They have the 35E’s for about $6.50 a piece with free shipping.

I used HKJ’s wonderful resource:

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650comparator.php

to compare available (easily, to the UK) batteries and ended up choosing Sanyo GAs for runtime up to 3A, which covers most of my linear driver based 18650 lights, and a Sony VTC6 for the FET based C8 i have yet to build.
The VTC6 seem to give a little more brightness in the same lights over the GAs at lower currents but nothing significant for my usage which favours runtime over brightness, and either cell would cover all my needs adequately.

[Edit] Though… looking at the graphs now i see the extra runtime of the GA only comes at lower voltages i would only run my cells down to in an emergency, so the VTC6 actually suits my needs better… d’oh! What a muppet :smiley:

These are both reputable US sellers.

Orbtronic 30Qs in all of my lights including Nichia triples/quads. Ill probably replace a few of them next year with VTC5A 25A cells, at least the Non Nichia lights.

I just got a dozen GA cells from Illumn… top notch… Actually wish I had about 4 more… grrr

Guys, remember that VTC6 life is rated at around 300 cycles. It’s on the lower side unfortunately. Can’t see another good reason not to go for them :slight_smile:
Unless you need runtime like OP claims to. I’d say NCR18650GA or MJ1 would be a good choice.

I have been using 1 30Q and 2 LG HG2’s I have not noticed any difference in them. I just ordered 2 more HG2’s. I wish I would of seen the sell on the 30Qs, but then again there pink, hmmmm

Now I have a question.

In my GT mini manual page 6 the mode group section says

sets 1-6 100%= 2.3 A LED drive
sets 7-12 100%= 4.5 A LED drive

Does this mean this light is only 4.5 amps max? I thought this had a fet

Well, I changed my mind and ordered some 18650GA's from Genuinecells on eBay, with a 10% off coupon.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!