What dou you think?
Are these cells realy IMR?
Hi, nekdo:
Sorry to have not responded sooner. I've been trying to do some research on these two cells and I'm not comfortable listing them as valid options. In general, unless you give an ebay seller a 'trusted' rating here on BLF, I would not recommend buying batteries from them. It is too easy to slap a label on anything and sell it, so at least with some of our known flashlight resellers, we have some manner of recourse (IOS has changed two listings after inquiry). As we are discovering with this ICR/INR/IMR saga, even that is no guarantee. To be honest, I almost didn't link the DX Trustfire versions in post #1 because of the reported fake 26650's they sell.
Some bad experiences over at CPF with Keygos and Palight 26650 batteries. They appear to be fakes. I can find no OEM sellers - only ebay. The IMR version you link to is IMR in the title of the listing only. The pictures of the cell mention nothing about IMR and the product description lists it as Li-ion. Also, IMR do not usually come with protection circuits. I doubt this ebay seller even knows what IMR is. The link to the second blue cells on ebay also has an inflated capacity and lists very few real specs. I would not trust these to be real new cells either, but if someone wants to be the guinea pig and test them, feel free.
Something to remember: the highest reported capacity of regular Li-ion(Cobalt) 26650 cells is 4000mAh. IMR and LiMnNiCo other variations do not have as high a capacity, so if someone is claiming 4000 - 5000mAh capacity for an IMR, they are not being truthful. I suspect this is one of the reasons IOS no longer carries the MNKE 4000mAh IMR and just yesterday removed the King Kong INR 4000mAh listing - when called on it, they can't support the claim. It should be noted that the ICR King Kong is a well-rated battery, however. My issue with them on this is the mix and match of two chemistries and non-disclosure in the product listing. To Hank's credit at IOS, he will fix anything in error that is pointed out to him and do it very quickly.
I haven't seen this one mentioned.
Thanks, I'll add it.
"To Hank's credit at IOS, he will fix anything in error that is pointed out to him and do it very quickly."
+1Foy
Your question has been bugging me, kramer; I finally found an answer:
"Lithium (NCM) Nickel Cobalt Manganese - Li(NiCoMn)O2
Tri-element cells which combine slighlty improved safety (better than Cobalt oxide) with lower cost without compromising the energy density but with slightly lower voltage. Different manufacturers may use different proportions of the three constituent elements, in this case Ni, Co and Mn."
~ So, much like ingredients on packaged food, different proportions could mean a re-ordering of the constituent elements. The above from Electropaedia - Battery and Energy Technologies.
KingKong ICR26650E XSL discharge test:
1A down to 2.8V:
4358mAh
3A down to 2.8V:
4240mAh
5A down to 2.8V:
4139mAh
It looks like it only discharged down to 3 V, but the cutoff value was set to 2.8V. This is caused by the fast dropping voltage from 3V to 2.8V.
There looking good.
No arguments there. I just felt compelled to remind people here, especially those accepting/dispensing advice about dead shorting batteries to see how much load they can handle, about how dangerous even the safe chem cells are, let alone LiCo chem cells. [/End PSA]
Thanks, N.Shock. Discharge test noted in OP.
SOLID!! thanks for doing that.
I am leaning towards the 3600 powerizer cells.
Heard back from Ric at CN Quality Goods - updated OP to change description for King Kong 4000mAh cells.
I have one question: in 1 post we have information about cells 4sevens are ".. non protected"
Here my old (blue) and new (green) cells:
And now - on label is visible "with PCB", as well visible under isolation the belts of flat wire.
Doesn't this mark that however these cells are "Protected" ?
They 100% are protected, I have the green-wrapper one and I had overdischarge protection kick in few times on it.
Good catch, kris2 and Shadowww - 4sevens 26650 cells are now listed under the Protected section in the OP. Funny that 4 Sevens doesn't note this in their product description.
Edit: I contact 4sevens and they have updated the product description to note it is a protected-cell battery.
Just a little update... I placed an order for 3x Battery space 3600 LiNiCoMn cells this weekend.
I'm only pushing them at ~1.38C in my ultrafire HD2010, so it should be a cake walk for these cells and I'm well within their capable range. I think I'm sticking with the 1x26650 setups, thats about as big as I can comfortably carry. No knock against BIG lights, I'm just not getting any younger, so weight and space are something I need to consider on the trails. They're At $9.50 from a reputable USA source it seems like a safe bet.
I think that's a smart choice, kramer. Please post impressions when you have a chance to test them out.
Sure... I can't do any detailed analysis, just tail cap current measurement comparisons and a 1A discharge capacity test with my hobby charger.
I just went to purchase some of them too, until I found out they want $9.95 for shipping.............yea I can't justify that shipping cost.
Yeah, you can't beat the free shipping from many of the other www retailers. So thats a major bummer. Battery space is about 35 minutes from my home, and still it was $7.50 for S&H... and I chose the cheapest shipping method via USPS (!!) I would just drive there to buy them in store if I didn't have to pay $6 bridge toll to cross over the SF bay.
sigh... anyways, I'll post an update to this thread when I get them and cycle them a couple times.