[Sold out] 8 Purple Samsung ICR18650-28A $10 shipped

Nope. But I did finally get my 2 packs :bigsmile:
Opened up the first one- it was really, really well sealed/glued/cemented shut. Scuffed a few wrappers, but oh well.
I’m charging one now so I can test it’s capacity, but I’m just gonna leave the rest as they are, at 3.694V, and put them in cold storage. I had just ordered a half dozen cells from Mountain Electronics, then I saw the eBay deal for the green cells and got 10 of them, then I saw this deal and got 16 more cells.
I won’t need any more 18650 cells for a long time.

For anyone who feels they missed out on this deal, the green ones from eBay are really good cells. Just gotta keep an eye on his auctions to catch a good price.

These ASUS packs are brutal. I have tried that and it is really tight. I cant get a screwdriver in the gap. I may have to dremel it, but I didn’t want to do that.

Ask your friendly local sasquash for assistance…

The area around the connector is the weakest spot. Crack it with pliers an the slip a narrow bladed screwdriver or the aforementioned chisel in the break. Pry till you have a piece you can hold on to with the pliers.

Just be careful, take your time, and smile instead of getting frustrated about how silly this is!

Whew! I got it open. Thanks guys that was a PIA!! I marred one of the batteries but I think it will be ok. Now to charge them.

wow… that was fast… only 3 days from CA to NY :heart_eyes:

Well, I ordered 6 battery packs and all were dated April 2011 Woooohooooo!!!! Deal of the decade!!! or at least of the year right?

Each and every cell measured between 3.68V-3.7V

Update: Actual assembly date from date code on batteries 2A51 is saying my cells were made

May 1st, 2010

and the actual production date (on bottom right corner of the grey sticker on the battery pack is

July-2010.

I guess the April 2011 date is when they came ready for distribution.

Ok after taking apart all my battery packs I have tips to expedite the process with pictures. First battery pack took about 40 minutes (this pack is very difficult to open). After devising a game plan (seeing where wires were when opening the first pack, etc...), I opened the next 5 packs each in under 10 minutes. Very fast and not 1 cell was injured! Here's the pics I took to help you guys who still haven't opened yours yet, so you can save alot of time taking these apart!

TAKE YOUR TIME!!!

WEAR GLOVES AND EYE/FACE PROTECTION!!!!

All you need are:

  • Flat head screw driver
  • Heavy duty Razorblade
  • Pliers
  • snippers or wires cutters (optional, makes cutting wires easier)

Heres what I did:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Thanks for the tutorial Blfdemigod. Those packs look like a pain in the behind to open. Little worried about getting a short in that PCB though. Doesn't seem wise to touch or break any of the circuitry prior to disconnecting all the cells.

I received mine today (wow, that was fast), but haven't even taken them out of the cardboard boxes yet.

All packs dated April 2011 all cells with 3.7v . :bigsmile:

Well, using the screw driver to pry the pack didn't really touch the pcb, even though it kind of looks like it did. Just slightly inserted the screwdriver where shown and twist :)

Dremel I am guessing? Nice job btw, but I had to take my apart in the house (I use the built in computer nook area in our apartment for my workshop), with the wife and baby asleep, lol.

Good show, blfdemigod!

moT, how did you peel back the battery “cover”?

Ya nice work on that tut. That’s pretty much how I finally was able to get mine out. So they are on my i4 charging right now. :wink:

Ran the three sides around its corners on bench grinder till it started exposing gap most way around. Then went a couple shallow passes on the round side opposite the connector to give it a bend point.

Awsome Job blfdemigod with hand tools.

My first thought was hack saw it slightly in the middle and snap it in half then decided it be better to spew plastic filings all over the garage floor using the bench grinder.

Maybe I should take the pack to my dentist ?! :bigsmile:

What cells could be in here?
6 cells - 4400 mAh

and THX to moT and blfdemigod for their nice pics

They call it a battery for a Dell, not an original, authentic Dell. So it probably has junky “UltraFire” type cells in it.

thank you for the guide demi god… i would have never been able to open this thing without it

it seems i nicked the wrapping of EVERY battery… beginners luck!

i covered any gouges with elec tape for now… i guess ill invest in some wrappers from illuminationsupply soon to rewrap the cells

charging them all up now

how do you guys remove the 4 burrs that are left at each pole? or do you leave them there?

i guess i just worry about a small piece of metal becoming dislodged and causing a short.

That would have 2 banks of 3 cells in series. so 4400mAh/2 = 2200mAh cells

Based on the description I’d agree 100% with dchomak, it is a cheap aftermarket replacement and will have inferior cells. But, not all aftermarket replacements use cheap cells. It the states we have brands like Denaq or Maxcapacity that are quality replacements using high quality cells. Check out this interesting video of a battery factory tour. At one part they speak of a Polish branded pack using panasonics…