Toshiba battery yields 18500 cells

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
7

Wow! 18500s! I’ve never seen those in a pack (but then again, that doesn’t mean much :laughing:.

Are you able to check if their capacity is actually 1700 mAh?

When I first started, I used 18500s in some “Techlite” (Costco) lights, with the convertor tube you linked, cut in half (so one convertor would be used for 2 batteries/lights). I still have them (the lights and batteries) in all our bedrooms, as emergency lights.

If you can confirm that these are 1700 mAh, I might have to pick up a pack, as most of the ones I found were lower capacity that that (like in the ~1000 mAh range).

Also, FYI, when I was searching back then, I saw some references that said that these were used in a lot of the solar-powered landscape lights :)…

Thanks!

Jim

8

Yep, I use 18500s in an l2m with shortened drop-in. It’s a tight fit but it works.

9

I just ordered two pack, they look like the Sanyo 18500

10

nice to use in decent 3AAA lights .I was thinking about an 18500 to use with the edi-t p13 I picked up from wallbuys

11

I don't have a charger that measures capacity. If they're OEM of a big name like Toshiba I'd think they should be close.

One just finished charging in a Nitecore i2, ~4hrs. @500mA, I didn't note the exact time I started them. I put the two 1.96V cells in that, the others in the Xtar WP6II @600mA.

Edit. the second in the i2 finished as I hit submit.

12

Two in the Xtar just finished.

13

The last two finished. All settling ~4.22V

14

Gj,

Thanks for the info!

Jim

15

You're welcome.

I just tried 4 cells in my UV Solarforce L2P. I had four 16340's using 1 extension, the 18500's fit using 2. Seems brighter with the 18500's, although I'd rather use protected cells with 4 in series.

16

this laptop battery should be throwwed out because they must be second used batteries inside.

the 18500 battery’s price is about 1.4usd made in china and about 2.5usd made in japan, how could they make a laptop battery and just sell it at 8.99usd with free shipping?

those chinese sellers are ruined chinese business reputation all the time.

i would advise my friends that do not buy those cheap products which are lower price than material costing.

17

A laptop battery can be cheaper than the cells, if nobody needs a battery for that laptop. A good find for 3AAA lights, thanks Gj.
Regarding never used old batteries I just wonder how the seller can be reasonably sure the battery is not dead. Judging by the cell voltages about 1.9V in other threads, the seller has not tested them.

18

some sellers do not concern about if the battery is dead, they want to make the prices lower so that buy many second hand batteries and no any testing before making the laptop battery.

they are ruining the chinese international business all the time, i hate them

19

You can put 18500 inside of a D cell case (nimh) and get a D size LiPo battery.
Or you can use a pipe to make 2 cell battery pack to use inside a maglite, and can use 6 cell bulb.

20

That battery is for, among others, the Libretto U100/U105 laptops, which were from, apparently, the 2005 timeframe, see:

So, these could be/probably are leftovers “new” packs that the seller are trying to get rid of.

As discussed elsewhere, it appears that if the pack is really new, e.g., in this older thread:

Pulls from a “new” pack come out a little low (in that case, the ones I got all came out of the pack at ~1.9V.

21

Nice find Gj, I have a couple of lights that I use this size cell in. Just picked up one of these, will give harvesting a go;)

22

How would a seller test them? All I can think of is to charge them. Then they're not new anymore, right? Or I misunderstood what I read in other threads.

These drop right into those free Harbor Freight flashlights and work fine without an adapter, should need recharging every year or so.

23

The cells look identical to the ones in your picture. 2 were at 2.23, 2 at 2.35 and 2 were at 2.02. 4 are in my SoShine Max 3 4 bay charger as I write this. The lower 4.

Battery case opened up really easy, tape came off clean, even the tabs were not too difficult to remove. Nice find! Nice price! Thanks for sharing this!

As far as buying these so cheap goes, with laptops getting outdated every year or so, these are almost assuredly old stock that the laptop they were designed for is not longer in production. So they are just recovering some losses. Makes sense to me, at any rate, to get Japanese cells for $1.50 ea works for me!

Thanks again, really appreciate it!

24

I just noticed this thread for the first time. Thank for finding and sharing this Gj. I bought 2 packs.

25

My first 4 are up to 3.94V in the SoShine S1 Max V3. I’m thinking they will work nicely in any of my single 18650 lights with a short spacer. :slight_smile: Almost free, considering. I have a single AW 18650 Protected that’s 3400mAh that cost over $20 by itself!

With a couple of smaller lights that actually used to use the 3AAA adapter, this works well and I plan to put them to good use. Now if I could just round up all those lights…

26

Thanks for the report DBCstm. Please keep us updated.

One of the lights I plan on using these cells in is my Rook. I get tired of fiddling with the 14500's and these are close to the capacity of 3 of 14500's. Plus, I have other lights the 14500's can go in.