Hi I am new. Still trying to figure this stuff out picking some batteries.
So this guy made a video comparing VTC6 vs Liitokala VTC6. Video is in Russian but you can see all the numbers for yourself.
Tested all the way up to 30a. And well… Liitokala passed with no practical difference.
Unlike LG HG2 vs Liitokala HG2 where 20a test killed the latter. Passed at 10a though.
It seems the cheap Chinese knockoffs are perfectly usable? Even with the LG one are you ever going to use it that intensely for that long at full 20a and at those temperatures?
For a flashlight seems just fine?
Just bought a blf a6. Comes with a Samsung. But as a second battery… Originals seem to be hard to find and cost significantly more while these are cheap and right there on aliexpress.
You can buy genuine cells at NKON for reasonable price (they also were offering a super cheap €5 “pickup at Correos office” shipping option more or less recently, if you can't see the option now drop them a line).
Don't waste your time with LietoKala (pun intended) unless you know what you are doing or buying and who you are messing with (LoL!). The LiitoKala 5000mAh 26650s are good cells (PLB made), though.
Are you sure Liitokala batteries are counterfeit?
I tested some of them and all had the stated capacity. There was measureble difference between 3400 and 3500mAh cells, too.
IR was 60mOhm for a branded Lii35A cell, and 150 for the protected NCR18650Bs, measured on an Opus charger.
Technically speaking they're not counterfeit because they do not brand them as the originals.
LiitoKala, as certain others, usually buy cells from certain chinese li-ion OEMs (BAK Power, Heter Cell, Power Long Battery for 26650s, etc.), often change their wraps to look like first brand ones and certainly use big brand known cell model numbers.
They may sell some original here and there, this may be due to them buying their cells in bulk from unscrupulous cell providers. But certainly it's a bad gamble.
Did you noticed where do they place the small LiitoKala sticker? Just over where the first brand name should be on the wrap.
Original cells are wrapped with professional equipment at factories. Original wraps have a distinguishable smooth feel and a precise wrap color. On top of this when you unwrap genuine cells usually certain factory codes can be found printed on the steel can. Fake cells fail in all of these details: wrong cell tops, wrinkled wraps -sign of cells rewrapped by a 3rd party-, wrong shade of color in the wraps, lack or different factory codes on the cell cans…
The counterfeiting thing is very real, but bear in mind first brand names do have little interest in sueing these small businesses. This is because layman consumers are not their customers.
Maybe I got lucky, as all cells from this seller works well for me. Sure, they are not sub-20milliohm, but they work.
They even have the same IR as my 4 year old, but not abused “fasttech genuine” NCR18650B cells. I measured it again, now with a 1-Ohm resistor and multimeter.
I will certainly remember your advice when buying my next batteries though.
I’ve tested a number of the Liitokala Lii-50A (black) 5000mAh 26650.
Most of the time, the capacity tested (I’m using my own testing parameters, so it may not match other analyzing chargers*) for Lii-50A ranges from 5200-5500mAh, which seems to be a bit big variance, but probably still within tolerance.
I have measured a few samples (maybe 2 or 3pcs out of 20+ Lii-50A) that only got 4700-4900mAh capacity.
The AC IR test (I use YR1030 IR resistance meter) is a bit more revealing: most of the “normal” Lii-50A batteries will have 17-18 mOhms AC IR.
But I’ve had 1pc “better” Lii-50A that read 14.x mOhms AC IR initially.
And several pieces (maybe 4 or 5) that have higher AC IR (22mOhms or higher, and had one that was 33mOhms AC IR) — the capacities were still within the range above, apart for somewhat higher IR.
I did have 1 “dud” Lii-50A (all of them I got from 1 supplier, but at different times), that only measured ~2000mAh capacity only; so I consider this 1 piece as a “dud” (this piece has lower capacity, and slightly higher IR; but it’s not a “bad” battery (as in, it doesn’t self-discharge at a fast rate, like some older batteries do).
*for testing capacity of the 26650, I select these parameters to measure capacity:
SkyRC MC3000 Refresh C>D>C (charge to 4.20v, ending charge current 0.10A; discharge current –1.0A, cut-off voltage: 2.50v)
I notice my MC3000 has a variance in capacity measurement, possibly up to 4% variance in capacity test measurement between the slot with highest capacity readout versus the one with lowest capacity readout (I have calibrated the MC3000 voltage so they should be nearly the same voltage).
What I can say (assuming that the Lii-50A I got are indeed all genuine — they look physically similar, and I also weighed them, with typically just +/- 1 gram difference in weight), is that the Lii-50A have somewhat poor consistency. The bulk of the Lii-50A are mostly OK (5200-5400mAh capacity and AC IR 17-18mOhms). But maybe about 5-10% have the inconsistent measurements (much higher IR; or notably lower capacity).
