I wanted to try a 16650 battery (the smaller cousin of the 18650) in a couple of my 2xcr123 lights after the recent review of the keeppower 16650.
I’m thinking I would rather go with the unprotected sanyo 16650. All I can find for a vendor is intl-outdoor. Anyone know of any other vendors out there? Not that intl is bad or anything; I’m just always looking for better prices.
Not one 16650 on flea bay.
I found some other vendors, but no one that I recognize.
Thanks!!! I don’t want 10, but no way I’m buying one from intl for $16.22 when I can get one in a 10 order for $4.50.
I say mark it up as much as you can if you can get someone to pay, but $16.22 for one lousy sanyo unprotected battery could almost be called highway robbery!
I did find flashlight-torch.com but have never heard of them. Has anyone?
http://flashlight-torch.com/sanyo37v2200mah16650rechargeablebattery1pair-p-54.html
Oh, I did see in my searches that Intel will be using this “new” battery in their Ultrabooks (as of May 2012), so we’ll probably be seeing more of ’em.
Erm… you got confused somewhere. 
The price on I-O Store is $16.22 for pair of batteries, not for single one.
That’s $8.11/piece, pretty okay considering that Aliexpress has $30 shipping (making it $75 for 10 batteries, or $7.5 each)
Also, Ultrabooks are using prismatic li-polymer cells, not 16650’s.
>>>>>>Erm… you got confused somewhere.
Yup, that’s me. Confused as always. Yup you’re riight. Missed it. But in my somewhat shoddy defense: It’s in the page title, but not on the page.
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/2-pcs-sanyo-ur16650zt-min-2100mah-liion-battery-p-214.html
Thanks for clearing that up. That’s MUCH better.
>>>>>Also, Ultrabooks are using prismatic li-polymer cells, not 16650’s.
Hmmmm. I didn’t research 30 articles; just grabbed one. But this seems to say they’re leaning toward the 16650s (notice that I say “seems to say,” so I won’t stick my foot in my mouth — its usual position — for a third time in this thread. 
“The most recent article mentions the cylindrical 16650 type cell, a smaller version of the very common Li-Ion cell found in removable laptop battery packs. “Intel Hopes New Batteries Can Reduce Ultrabook Cost.” said the article title.”
http://ultrabooknews.com/2012/05/25/ultrabook-battery-technology-is-not-likely-to-change/
I’m not trying to disprove you, but in more research, it looks like they are on the fence about what to use:
Further:
“The cylindrical battery seems to be the device of choice due to its low cost, but its diameter of 16 mm makes it a challenge to be built into Ultrabooks, which, by Intel’s definition, need to be less than 21 mm thick.”
So it looks like a crap shoot right now which they will use. But maybe there are newer articles with a firm choice.
At the beginning of li-ion laptop packs, I seem to remember Moli flat cells kicking around for a while. In fact, I just cracked a pack looking for 18650s recently. It was too thin for 18650s, but I thought it might be some weird 14500s. But it was the old Moli flat cells.
Why 16650? Odd size... Typically for 2xCR123 replacement one can use a good 17650 or 17670. Try Lighthound.com for protected and unprotected. I've used the unprotected one in an old streamlight and it worked great and fit with no issue.
16650 has higher capacity than 17670. 2100 for 16650 or 1500 for 17670.
Now this is what I like about BLF. I ask for one thing and a member goes completely out of his way to say that there may be a better, cheaper alternative!
>>>>>>>>>>Typically for 2xCR123 replacement one can use a good 17650 or 17670.
Thank you!!! I will check it out.
I just got xtar LIR123a rechargeables for that light and pretty much almost blew myself up last night, so I am even more leery of 2x li lights.
Was smart enough to check the xtars with a DMM last night before dropping them in the light. Good thing I did. But I almost didn’t. That’s what scares me. I almost didn’t check. Why bother? I had just checked them a few days ago and they were gangbusters a-okay fine.
But last night: one cell = 4.17; second cell = 0.23v. Checked with another DMM. Same thing. Peeled the battery; chucked the PCB. Same thing.
Can you say kaboom?
And now someone else (can’t see who because his name disppeared when I went to write this) …. Scaru? …… Says 16650s may be better. Man, I love info overload! I will ALWAYS take too much info over too little!
>>>>>Why 16650? Odd size… Typically for 2xCR123 replacement one can use a good 17650 or 17670.
Because of this:
Monsieur HKJ says:
“This battery is a 16650, i.e. it the diameter is less than 18650 batteries, this makes it a good battery for 2xCR123 substitution in lights that are to tight for a 18650.
To get the full capacity from the battery it must be charged with a 4.3 volt charger.”
I better stop answering my own posts … Starting to look weird.
Yes, but he tested them by charging to 4.2 and it only lost around 80 mah of capacity. Still much more than a 16650.
Would offer some Sanyo 16650s but I traded them for a flashlight. Mine were full capacity 2000ma+ from an Acer laptop pack salvage. Rumor has it loose Sanyo 16650 cells are old rejects.
>>>>>>Mine were full capacity 2000ma+ from an Acer laptop pack salvage.
Interesting. From the articles I SKIMMED (didn’t read em in detail), I got the feeling that 16650s were like completely new. But you’re absolutely kay-rect. I went back and rescanned. One says:
“So far, Acer has adopted 16650 cylindrical batteries, so its rivals might want to select the alternative.”
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for acer packs!
>>>>>Rumor has it loose Sanyo 16650 cells are old rejects.
Well, I ordered two, so I’ll let everyone know if they have any tab remnants on ’em.
They will not have tab remnants. Supposedly never made it to Acer due to quality issues. My capacity measurements were done @ 4.2V.
>>>>>Supposedly never made it to Acer due to quality issues. My capacity measurements were done @ 4.2V.
Who did you hear that from?