Anyone know anything about these cheap 18650s?

here

Cheap, decent capacity and decent discharge current. The reviews are positive.

A lot to like, but sound a bit too good to be true… anyone know something about these cells?

You can see the listing in English here: https://ru.nkon.nl/rechargeable/li-ion/18650-size/k-tech-inr18650p-2500mah.html. The 1.75 Euro translates to just under $2 in US$. The 2500 mAh rating is in the realm of possibility unlike similarly priced Chinese batteries which give impossible mAh ratings as high as 5000 mAh. You have to ask if the company can make a quality battery at that price and still make a profit. They have to cut costs some way and often it is skimping on the chemistry in the battery.

I use the cheap batteries (Trustfire, Ultrafire) when it doesn’t matter such as when run time between recharges is not important. For things like bike lights I use genuine Panasonic batteries rated 3,400 mAh and that cost around $7 each. My experience is that the run time for the Panasonic batteries in the same light is about 4-6 times as long especially for the ones rated beyond what is possible.

EU listing here: https://eu.nkon.nl/rechargeable/li-ion/18650-size/k-tech-inr18650p-2500mah.html

There's nothing “too good to be true”. Everything's possible and there's nothing strange in the performance/price ratio of that cell.

Besides selling (unreasonably some of them) expensive consumer retail cells NKON is also a sort of wholesale seller, with lots of products for battery pack assembly. I really doubt they would gamble with any potential junk. They had well above 3K pieces of that cell weeks ago, now they're waiting for their next stock shipment aaand… it is 10K (just add 10000 to the cart :} and see).

The big brands also make products for that market, for example: https://eu.nkon.nl/rechargeable/li-ion/18650-size/sanyo-ur1865zl2-2310mah-10a.html

The Sanyo UR18650ZL2 was recently reviewed by Henrik: https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Sanyo%20UR18650ZL2%202310mAh%20(Red)%20UK.html

The cell delivers above 2500 mAh when charged to the standard 4.2 V max., and it would barely lose ≈150 mAh if charged to 4.1 V.

And for those who don't mind ordering big packs directly from China, in AliExpress some wholesale offers can also be found. Months ago I ordered this EAIEP 26F cell for Henrik to review it, looks like it is manufactured by Heter. Can be bought for a bit less than €1.75 a pop shipping included in 40 piece packs: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32842234584.html

Just some examples, there are more.

I’m skeptical by nature :wink:

Thats actually a very nice looking cell indeed. Thanks for sharing.

I hadn’t heard of K-tech before, and was curious if someone had. I buy almost exclusively from NKON since the shipping is fast and reliable. Especially for lithium batteries I like to play it safe. So buying from aliexpress is not really my kinda deal.

And I was looking at this cell to buy in bulk for a project of mine. But if someone had negative experiences with the brand I would’ve probably stayed clear of em. Now I’m not sure anymore with that sanyo cell doing almost the exact same (and I like me some big brands).