Hi, thanks for the tip. I’ll find some more repair shops, see if any have good deals on battery packs. One thing to keep in mind down here is that the recycling programs are non existent. And if they figure that a good quality cell (new of course) goes for 6~9 dlls, then the price for a used battery pack (in any condition) goes up to 20 or 30 dlls, assuming. 3~4 dlls per used cells, simply because of the number of cells you would get. It’s really bad hahaha.
But thanks!
Do they pull the 18650s out of the packs for you? Or clean the weld spots off? Or give each 18650 an initial charge & test? What charger do they use?
A bad pack is a bad pack. It only becomes a bunch of used 18650s if someone invests more labor capital in the conversion process. And then they’re used 18650s. Tell them to eat their bad packs, you’re going to “Bob’s Computer Repair” from now on.
If you don’t have other computer stores near you, how close are they? I’ve found that (after you determine they have bad packs) explaining how to extract the 18650s puts them in a more receptive frame of mind than starting with the ‘why’. This is also a good time to explain the care required to use, charge & maintain 18650s; and to mention some of the better “vent with flames” stories.
You might also find some of your neighbors with bad laptop batteries, who might appreciate you picking them up for “proper disposal”…
Lol yeah right, i doubt they even have knowledge to do such testing.
I just pulled the trigger on a Lenovo 9cell 94wh, 87ah (81ah minimum) battery pack from Ebay for 13dlls. Doing a bit of math throws out 2700mah for each cell on minimum, taking the “used” part into consideration im guessing 2300~2500mah for each cell. I hope. :-/
Would you consider the Xtar vc2 a decent charger to charge and get an estimate on the mah capacity?
Thanks!
I don’t use one, so I’ll leave you with the expert’s conclusion. His other charger reviews are here.
Pulled 6 cells of Panasonic CGR18650CG 2250mah from an ACER AS10D51 pack.
Edit: 4400mAh, 10.8V all were at 3.9V
Ansarogu,
I like the LiitoKala Engineer Lii-500 charger. when dealing with “old” cells it is really handy to have an internal resistance measurement that way you can minimize the time spent on a charger for (at that point an known substandard) cell.
I draw the line an 3x of the same cell new internal resistance measurement or if I have a lot of cells 2x to find the best of the used ones.
Much safer and faster then charging cells that clearly are not up tot he job any more.
Ah poop, i already bought the xtar vc2. That LiitoKala Engineer looks real nice. Maybe next time, thanks for the suggestion!
Unfortunately, all cells have about half of the capacity left 
They ranged from 1000 to 1450 mAh
I went to Home Depot today and pulled an 18V Ryobi ONE+ P104 battery pack for cordless drills from the recycling bin.
When I got home, I took it apart. It had 10 of SANYO UR18650SA 1.3Ah 10A (high drain) cells in it.
All cells are at about 3.25V, haven’t had a chance to test the capacity yet. Will report later.
Don’t fret… The vc2 is still a good charger. But keep in mind that it only tells you input capacity. IOW, it might show a higher capacity for cells that may have trouble taking a charge.
For the real analyer/chargers, there is the Liitokala Li-500, and the Opus 3100 v2.2 (aka 3400 v2.2). I have both now, and both are very good to have - and both will show the internal resistance. Also here, keep in mind that the IR readings, for both, may not be very accurate - however, they may at least give you a general idea of a cell’s health. They also both do 10440’s (AAA-size) - and I think will even do a bit smaller size as well, but I forget which. BOTH of these charger/analyzers will also work with NiMH batteries as well! Bonus! 
Another good Li-Ion charger would be the XTAR VP2… It can be set to work with 3.2v LiFePO4 batteries, and also 3.6, AND 3.8v Li-Ions. The Opus can do that too, but you would have to open it up to flip a switch - which is why I got the VP2. With the VP2, the switch is external and on the back. You can also specify the charging current, which is good for the little 10440’s - which you can’t do with the VC2’s set 500ma current. However, this one doesn’t seem to show the input mah (I just got it yesterday, and opened it up today). It will show exact (x.xx) voltage though.
hehe…. I’m growing quite a pile of GOOD Li-Ion chargers/analyzers lately! $) But the good thing is all of these chargers can be had for VERY cheap via all the various Chinese/Hong Kong sites. …. Which wasn’t the case when I got my Maha c-9000, and even the LaCrosse BC-900 many years ago which only do NiCd/NiMH.
As far as pulls go, I just recently tore apart a pack for an old, circa 2003, Dell laptop that wouldn’t work in it any more. Surprisingly, ALL the cells turned out to be fairly good - ~2200mah. They were ok with my vaping devices, but now are becoming relegated to flashlight duty.
I did my first two laptop battery pulls, both from Toshiba laptops. the first, a fairly old XP-based laptop yielded 9 Sony 17670GA’s and the second, a somewhat newer Toshiba, yielded 6 Sony 18650’s. I didn’t record the labeling on them yet nor have I done any testing or charging since it was late. I suppose the 17670’s could be used in an 18650 flashlight especially with both head and tail springs. I’ll check their viability when I can spend some time on it.
It’s also possible the 17670s will fit in some 2*CR123-only lights like the Streamlight ProTac (e.g. only, not shilling) or the older CR123-based torches. I have a pair of very-beautiful old SS incan torches that are bored too small for 18650, but will take a 3v bulb (or LED if I decide to mod one). So do you mind telling what laptop had them in it?
I’ll post it when I get home after work today.
I pulled the nine 17670’s from the battery pack of a Toshiba model 2400-S251 laptop, Part no. PS240U-02S4H7.
i got 16650 from an acer netbook pack.dont recall the model but it had a water drip effect molded in the lid.
and dont worry about being accused of shilling.
this isnt that other forum lol!
This is my very first post, I totally agree with you Dimbo when you mention the culprit of a bad battery in computers are the circuit board, as I have over the years reclaimed so many cells,
for the history , I was first fooling around with Ni Cad from Makita and Dewalt Power Tool,
I used to revive them by specking method using a rasp and 12 volts or 24 volts and making a jig in series where one cell would be treated at a time , so I would drag the last part of the circuit on the rasp using a brass bolt creating a lot of sparks but the batteries were coming back to life as good or better then new in a matter of 2 seconds,
During these early days I even discovered the hidden secrets of Dewalt Chargers
I believe they must have been the very first one to actually have auto sensing relatively high amp chargers but they did not mention that fact, those chargers could auto sense 7.2v 9.6v 12v 14.4v in the early days 16.6v was tops
Any how, they manage to keep this secret for many years until I think Ryobi boasted about such a charger, so every manufacturers when on the ban wagon,
I then move to the Lithium with the advent of the laptop computers and I even found some 26650 in a laptop computer which I still use but did forget which brand and model, having dealt with so many of them,
it is late and I will post later some of the stuff I do with those beyond lighting, hint, my E Bike’s range is 50 miles + 24 volt controller running off a 28volt lithium calculated at 4 volts 7 cell series 4 parallel
You all have a great weekend, I am very pleased to have stumbled upon this Awesome thread.
Ryobi 40V 5Ah pack like Dchomak reported here. I think these are going to start showing up a lot in recycle bins as I have now found another one and dchomak has found like 3. Pack only measured 18V, but every cell was at 4.06-4.07v. Capacity and resistance measurements showed all cells to be in like new condition. Rebuilt into a 5P4S pack for driving a HID spotlight and seconding as a automotive jump starter. Contained 20 Samsung INR180650-13Q's.
Also found one of these 40v slim packs, but haven't broke it down yet:
Yes, I have found 3. Then I actually bought the tool that uses that battery. I got it on clearance, $40.03. (regular price of $160) I made it a point to do that to get the charger for this pack. That charger is $60 separately, plus I got another a new pack and the tool
Of the 3 I found, the first one turned out to be brand new and will charge and discharge at full capacity. I think the reason it was tossed is that there is loose connection of one of the leads that goes to the battery health meter. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I have decided not to risk the repair to the joint as all solder joints a covered with silicone. I may short out something if I try to scrape it away to re-solder. The battery is like new, except I can’t read how full it is. Best to leave well enough alone.
Of the other 2, one will charge and is in perfect health, but will not discharge through the low cutoff circuit. All cells are like new.
The 3rd is toast, all cells are sitting at near zero. I see that a lot in packs in the bin. Sometimes a component on board leaks, taking one or more cells with it.
Can’t wait to see the results of this light. Any light that needs 20! cells has got to be awesome.
This Dyson power pack looks brand new. I found it in the recycle bin. After taking it apart I found that it contained 6 - Sony VTC4’s, (IMR). All cells tested at over 2100mAh. They are rated at 2100mAh. I don’t know why this was tossed. Maybe the onboard BMS board was faulty.
I’m scrapping a 3-year old ASUS ultrabook that bit the dust, and I found it had (2) flat Li-Polys, and the pack was marked as 7.4v 5100 mAh. Trying to think of a good use for those. Maybe build emergency area lights around each one? Anyone try to use these flat cells or have any other good uses in mind?