Test / Review: "Himax 2600" 18650 batteries from "pingyi.co.ltd" on eBay (very poor results)

great after 6 months of being on the fence i ordered 12 of these things :zipper_mouth_face:

I talked with Shane at The Pro-Tactical Shop and he is going to peel the wrapper back on some and check them but he won’t be able to do that until tonight around 6pm or 7pm.

Here are pictures of the HI-MAX that I got from Shane. He just sent me these.

Well, its a question does he has same batch as pingyi.

That’s where he orders his from.

What I am suspecting is that maybe the factory employees do a switcheroo on some of their cells, so perhaps for some of them they put in the good “Himax” cells we’ve come to know and love, and for others they swop in some old lappie cell.

At least that’s the impression I got from the email reply.

I accept the fact that I pretty much dont understand/know whats happening there (in China) :slight_smile:

God knows what happened in this instance, but I dont think its unusual, its like mor usual than unusual thing for quality to drop…

I’ll definitely be redoing the tests in time. Been pondering about it and was worried that perhaps my attempts to mimic HKJ’s battery testing clamp might be sub par.

I won’t want to run the risk of putting people off a good supplier, so I will be waiting for this el cheapo DX charger to arrive and cannibalise its case and battery holder for the sake of… testing!

Please post your results too, your post was actually the one that set alarm bells going off in my head.

So far, no Hi-max/ low-max for me.

I will post my results, I dont have much time, but Ill do my best, Im just measuring one of these 3 cells second cycle, to see will capacity improve.
But, capacity wasnt some big reason for me to buy them (after all its only 200mah more than standard 2400mAh), small voltage sag was the main reason, and all three I tested today have voltage sag at 1A pretty same as almost any other cheaper cell… In 1 minute it drops to around 3,6V, depending of the cell. I dont have equipment to make diagrams, Ill just post their capacities.

WShyang,

I have had a lot of luck with these batteries. Not even an hour after you posted this the news made it to me. I’m interest in knowing where you are getting the “US18650GR” or “MEHM4CA” can you please peel the the battery back to confirm this? I will replace what you damage either with the HI-MAX that i stock or another 2600 brand of your choice that i stock.

These batteries are done by SHENZHEN PINGYI ELECTRONICS CO in Shenzhen,China. They are supposed to be a Samsung core cell and they are fair people to work with, yet this has me worried. I will talk to the PINGYI sales rep. tonight about this.

Please send me an email,
shane@protacticalshop.com

-Shane

My results until know, dscharging at 1A to 2,8V

1. cell: (1) 2293AH (2) 2238 Ah (first and second cycle… I know, little weird)
2. cell: 2113mAh
3. cell: 2232 mAh

All have large voltage sag same, worse or little better than much cheaper cells.

PS: resting voltage after discharging by 1A to 2,80 V is 3,43V….
SO that would be like at least 0,63V voltage sag.

Ecig,
How depleted where the batteries before you did a recharge? Also when you recharged them what was the trickle, 500mAh or 1000mAh?

-Shane

I use XTAR WP2 chargers, old and new one, so Im not sure with wich one I charged them, was it with 600mAh (old one) or 1000mAh. I dont thik that so important. It is?

I dont understnd first question, sorry, can you clarify?

Hi Shane. Glad to see you here.

Guys this is one of my personal favorite guys to deal with.

I highly recommend him to anyone needing flashlights, batteries or chargers.

Brad

On the WP2 II charger there is a dip switch on the top that reads 0,1,2. The 1 is 500mAh the 2 is 1000mAh. 0 is to charge a 0.5v device off the batteries(Reverse). I suggest draining the batteries to a weak state but not completely then do a recharge on dip switch 1. The charge will take maybe 3-4 hours. When you get the time try your test again. I would like to see if we get to the 2600mAh.

-Shane

Ok, I will tomorrow. (must go to sleep now, its 4AM here, hehe)
I just hope Ill figure out how to drain batterie to a weak state (I mean I know how to discharge via USB, but Ill probably have to out it out every now and than to check the voltage…). to wich resting voltage?
And than to charge them with 1A, Ok

Hey Brad!

Thanks man… Honestly, I try to stay off these forums as i get beat up with questions.

Guys, I have bought several sets of Hi-Max from Shane and they are some of my better cells. I hope this all gets sorted out Shane, I'm sure you are more worried about this than anybody.

I just did it for one, seems like it is quite unlike anything I’ve seen, apparently there is no other layer of shrinkwrap inside and the printing is on the cell itself:



And this one’s a Sony.

I’ll try to find one with the Sanyo. Just as a disclaimer though, I didn’t see the “MEHM4CA” through the shrinkwrapping, but what gave it away for me was seeing some of the distinctive “D” symbol that is normally on the Sanyo cells.

A comparison with a “real” Sony:

Pardon the gross mouse! Now I better go wipe it with some detergent!