Well I thought I'd try a GOOD 18650 battery so I ordered a Redilast 2900 mah after reading some charts etc.
I can squeeze an Ultrafire Blue with 2 pennies ( 2.86 mm ) into the little travel charger so if the Redilast is really 69 millimeters long it should barely fit, right ? EDIT - YES.
Torch is no problem lots of room with the spring flex.
Well- should be about a week till I see the Redilast - will a Cree Q5 pull more current from these in addition to 40% more runtime than an Ultrafire Blue or the *Ultrafire Black 3600 mah ( yes I know, bad ) which will be here tomorrow ?
On a really good torch ( my next one, maybe )- are these Redilast actually brighter?
Or is it better to get Trustfire Flames and forget it ?
Received the Ultrafire Blacks with an engraved "Ultrafire" on the negative bottom plate and they are better than the Ultrafire Blues.
Update- received the Redilast 2900 after about 4-5 days and was shipped with a tracking # for only $2.50.
Seller refunded my mistake of paying $2.50 twice in shopping cart VERY quickly ( 24 hours ) with Pay Pal note without me notifying them.
Really nicely packed with nice sheet with 20 safety and usage tips for using Li-Ions.
The Battery itself is a little thicker and a few millimeters longer than the Ultrafires I have but still fits into my Ebay travel charger.
Has button on positive side but a little flatter, and has gold color alloy on negative side to discourage wrong polarity inserts- really well thought out, nicely wrapped with Redilast Silver Logo Label.
Don't have equipment for tests but performs as claimed- runs hotter/brighter than the Ultrafires and about 30% longer, expected from tests I've read where this 2900mah battery puts out 2950mah and capable of higher current delivery.
Do you have a link from where you ordered it from?
it will depend if your torch is regulated or not if it is the batteries will not make it brighter at all, if your torch has a built in low voltage cut off you might not be able to use 100% of the mah capacity the same would go for trustfire flames even, but they should give you high current draw readings and longer run times.
next week im going to buy a couple to try out this is where ill get them from
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?235778-Redilast-Li-ion-Battery-sales!-High-quality-Made-in-Japan-Korea!
I would much rather buy 2 Xtar 18700 2600MAH for $13.50 than pay that much for one of those. I doubt that they will beat the Xtar batteries, too.
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they beat the xtar,s in more then one way but not on price
xtar 2450 mAh (claimed 2600 mAh)
hi-max 2450 mAh (claimed 2600 mAh)
TFF 2450 mAh (claimed 2400 mAh)
redlist 2950 mAh (claimed 2900 mAh)
the xtars are put together cheap and have an over stated mAh ratting
my money is on redlist over xtar but yes there is double the price send me your best xtar and i will do a internal resistance and mAh high current shoot out.
but if you search xtar on here they trip with current draw of 5 amps so the ic,s on the red,s should be better if they are from japan and not hon kong like xtar, the hi-max batteries can handle a higher current draw then the xtar,s going from a post of this forum
the xtar,s take the same mAh as the trustfire flames food for thought, but alot of people dont know how good or bad there batteries really are cause they are using basic chargers with no data read out and some never get pushed
http://lygte-info.dk/info/Batteries18650-2011.html
im not saying the xtar,s are not good but there is the posiblity of some thing better out there but it all comes down to $$$
I ordered from Redilast.com so the battery will be here to Florida in a few days I assume rather than waiting for overseas shipping etc.
Torch runs on 3aaas or with adapter tube a 18650- a good emergency light because of dual power options- brighter on 18650 .
http://www.szwholesale.com/images/ProPho/3973/DSC_2311.jpg
This is a link to the Saik Sa9- my first Torch and first 18650 device. I did not buy the light at this store- it was from Ebay- it has a nice wide flood that tailstands to light up a 12 X 12 room like a small fluorescent lamp would- only prettier light.
It also has a Laser like penny sized beam on full Zoom mode that projects a clear image of the LED easily a few hundred yards and with a little humidity the beam is visible kind of Laser like.
Has nice medium mode, solidly made, turns from flood to Zoom in about 90 degree turn of the greenish metallic ring.
I only got two batteries with it and a travel charger on Ebay for $16.50 - one battery the Blue Ultafires works great one is a dud.
I want to see what a really good battery will do so I ordered a Redilast 2900 after reading that they really test out above 2900 mah.
They have a 3100mah but most chargers I've read will not be able to take advantage of the extra capacity anyway.
I am a novice but will report on the Redilast when I get it- my guess is that this light is NOT regulated 'cause it was so cheap but it's solid and I love the color and brilliance of the Cree Q5 and the glass sphere lens really focuses well.
I have a few Ultrafires 3600 ( fake ) which are from a nearby dealer coming tomorrow which will probably be bad............we'll see.
In the future the worst batteries I'll bother with will be Trustfires.
I think these 18650s are great if they standardize them and make honestly and safely- they could be used in Radios and other devices in USA- little powerhouses IMO.
im in the same boat, i would like to try the opisite end of the scale. Your Q5 torch sounds awsome i have a couple of Q5 lights and realy like them and my TR-1200 has to be on of my fav,s 5 X Q5,s
The only different thing for a charger is that it will have to charger for 30-40 minutes more. Both batteries are fully charged @ 4.2V, (2900mAh & 3100mAh). So any charger that chargers 18650 will do it. There isn't something special that a charger has to do for that 3100 battery.
Hikelight- maybe I misunderstood then- I thought that most of the small chargers only go to 4.2v and that to take full advantage and get fully charged you had to go to 4.35.
Or to put it more simply- with my little travel charger- a 2900mah Redilast and a 3100mah would only get charged to 2950mah- the same anyway.
ILIKEFLashlights-on a practical basis I agree with you, the difference in performance does NOT warrant the cost- I just want to try one of these.
The whole thing on 18650s is so odd anyway- there's fake ones, they are almost ALL relabeled, very few companies make consumer versions, the average person does not even know about these batteries( like me one month ago) but they are in almost every laptop, and they are very powerful and eco friendly in many ways- compared to throwaways especially.
There are some tests on the XTAR's. http://budgetlightforum.com/node/1929
FWIW the 2600 are also Sanyo batteries, I would much rather trust them than a lot of the others floating around.
Redilast cells are Panasonic cells with added protection circuits. Panasonic doesn't have cells that reach full charge @ 4.35, only 4.2V.
2900 - Panasonic NCR18650
3100 - Panasonic NCR18650A
Just like CK and others
http://industrial.panasonic.com/www-data/pdf2/ACA4000/ACA4000CE254.pdf
The cells that reach full capacity @ 4.35V and are 3000mAh like the Samsung ICR18650-30A when are charged to 4.2V, they will only have a capacity of about 2800mah or maybe even less. They have a nominal voltage of 3.78V, unlike Panasonic which have a nominal voltage of 3.6V
Thanks Hike- got it, I either read something that was wrong or maybe misunderstood.
Will be interesting to have a good battery, then if I get a Solarforce or an XM-L of some kind - I'll get some solid 2600mah ones, but it is cool to have a few of the premium ones- , like Seny Bor etc.
Also if my little torch is unregulated it may pull more current from a lower resistance, high current capable battery, so I may get more brightness from a Rediast or Seny Bor compared to the Blue Ultrafire that came with the torch- correct ?
As Hikelite stated, it is some Sanyo cells that require charging beyond 4.2v to achieve full capacity (there is also a 16650 cell rated to 2200mAh Max/2100mAh Min that requires charging to 4.30v).
The higher capacity Panasonic cells only require charging to 4.2v, but if memory serves, their capacity is calculated with a discharge down to 2.5v rather than stopping at 3.0v, so you could still observe lower capacities if you stop at 3.0v.
This is certainly the case with the 3100mAh cells - can't remember off the top of my head if the 2900mAh cells are rated down to 3.0v or 2.5v.
2.5V cut-off for both, 2900mAh and 3100mAh Panasonics
I was mentioning about the Samsung ICR18650-30A.
But of course Sanyo has some cells too. Like UR18650ZTA needing 4.35V or UR18650ZT needing 4.3V
Sanyo likes to state only the minimum capacity on cells. Which is 2900mAh and 2700mAh in this case.
And the 16650 cell too, UR16650ZT, 4.3V min. capacity 2100.
2100 got 3120mAh on the NCR18650A @ 2.6V termination.
Oops, apologies for the misquote, you did indeed say Samsung, but I was obviously thinking Sanyo.
I'll stand by what I said about rather buying 2 Xtar 18700 2600MAH batteries from Serena for $13.50. I'd almost bet money they will last as long and perform about as well as the Redilast 2900MAH. And you can buy 3 for what you pay for one of these. No matter how you figure the math, the Xtar is the better buy.
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in your opinion and maybe most others aswell and maybe not every one.
i say you send me one of your xtar,s ill pay the shipping ill buy a redlist 2900 and ill stress test, test mah, maxium current draws and voltage sag and internal resistance and see witch perform,s better and if your right then people can make up there mind witch is better and witch they find better value for the $$$ they will mostlike pick the xtar simple for price.
or if people want to donate some coin to my paypal i will buy a hi-max, a TFF, a xtar and a redlist and compair them all with some pritty pictures.
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/1929
The Xtar batteries have one of the best wraps of any battery that I have seen. And it looks like they will last with the best of them.
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so you wont take me up on my offer ill compare wraps ?
i found this interesting
this was very interesting
also this
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/2279
I would like to see how those two perform on a 2.5A discharge until 3V.
Xtars 2600 are Sanyo UR18650F, rated min. capacity 2500mAh
Old's tests show:
Xtar 2600 = 2448mAh @ 0.5A to 3v
Sanyo 2600 = 2433mAh @ 0.5A to 3v
Some have reported that they don't get 2600 mAh from these cells.
They are rated 2600mah only when a 0.2C discharged is performed. But if you look closely on the discharge curve, that is not totally reached. Probably 2580mAh, but that is what is called 2600mAh, no problem.
At 0.5C they are rated 2500Mah
At 1C they are rated 2400Mah
At 2C they are rated approx. 2350 mAh
That is to down to 2.75V and 20 degrease Celsius.
Looking forward to see someone reproduce the tests Sanyo has done on their cells.
Sanyo & hon kong vs panisonic & japan
let me know what test you would like to see on the redilast i might get some redilast 2600 so it,s more even with cut off current and mAh
I'd like to see 1A & 2.5A discharges from the Xtar 2600mAh and the Redilast 2900mAh down to 3V.
It would be very interesting to see if they maintain the 11.5% difference between them.
tuesday ill buy some redilast and maybe the next tuesday ill get some xtars and play around more with data logging as im intrested, but the 0.5 volt diffrence with the cut off might make a diffrence from what im seeing with the trustfire flames charging with 0.7 volt diffrence from start to finish, they might come close, might have to step up the discharge rates.
Well before you keep quoting me I think you need to look at the overall picture. The Trustfire flame batteries I have been told by some that they are probably almost as good as the Xtar but not quite. Now how long they will last is yet to be seen. But money does become an issue on overall value and to some they don't like paying $19 for 1 battery that promises you the moon. Personally I say buy what you want, and I will buy what I want. For me, I will only buy the Trustfire flames, Xtar, Hi-Max, or Sanyo protected batteries. I think all of these are good batteries. Some may be a little better than others. But all should be safe and offer a very good value.
My flashlight collection
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Here are graphs for the AW 2900s (same cell inside as the Redilast) and at the end is a comparison to the Sanyo 2600 (what is supposedly inside the XTARs)
Flames don't quite measure up, but at the price they are still hard to beat.
Thanks for the responses- they are all applicable and make perfect sense.
Not the best for $ but the Redilast on my little torch ( similar electronically to the Tank 007 TK 737- but not as nice a host and unregulated) should/ might run a bit hotter/brighter during first hour and also run quite a bit longer due to larger capacity and running down to 2.5 volts- I'll check it out.
Seems like 18650s are like electric guitars- no two, even the same brand and type are exactly alike........
I can't see any photos or links in the post.
going by some test of CPF the redlist have better pcb's (IC's)
I think it's significant the ILIKEFFLASHLIGHTS is getting good results and good Trustfire Flames- seems I read that there are some inferior or counterfeit versions of those around as well.
18650s- great power source, but very quirky supplies.....
But- I've been reading lots of threads and charts lately- and the Trustfire Flames have been one of the most consistent performers of all always- 2400-2450 mah- which is really amazing considering they are a budget battery.
And for about 3 times the price -you can get about 20%- 30 % more performance from the Panasonic repackaged cells, and a very few exotics ( depending on which spec ) - and you can get about 10% to 15% more performance for about double the price on a few other brands ( depending on which spec ).
Not an expert so please correct me if the above is wrong regarding increased performance- it's oversimplified at best- I know many of you have done some accurate tests, so I'll edit if it's wrong
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