“Samsung, Sony Murata, LG, Panasonic compared against three high mAh capacity 18650s made in China.
Tests include ambient mAh capacity, internal resistance, cold temperature mAh capacity, and a contest using 18650 powered fans.
Brands tested: LG HE4, Samsung 35E, Samsung 25R, Samsung 30Q, Sony VTC6, LG MJ1, Sony VTC5A, Panasonic, Ultrafire, ETSAIR, CASTNOO, and BXE.
This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume the responsibility for the results. Project Farm LLC ”
What a load of rubbish. It would have been nice if he tested some legit chinese cells. (And who pays $7.89 for a Sanyo GA?)
At 14 minutes we see the motivation for rigging the tests:
He went out of his way to find the worst cells to make a hit piece. This is no better than a flashlight reviewer comparing a “9000 lumen XMLT6” to a Surefire and concluding that all chinese flashlights are a waste of money.
There are plenty of respectable chinese OEMs who produce batteries with honest ratings.
If he tested some Molicels, Lishens, YDLs, it would show a different story. Some of these cells beat Samsung, Sony, LG in the same category per Mooch. Or for rewraps, test some Vapcells and Shocklis. Some of these cells measure higher than the rated capacity.
To be fair, those rubbish Ultrafire-esque fakes are what most people will find when they simply type 18650 on eBay/Amazon and therefore gives the impression to non-enthusiasts that Chinese=fakes. On the other hand, he should have done more research in those area and not made himself look silly in that video. Then again, how many people beside BLF/CPF knows that decent Chinese OEM brands exist.
Problem is he only looks silly to those real tech geeks like us here. Most people have no clue. The average person will not even know how to use the data provided by HKJ and Mooch.
A year or two ago I told Project Farm not to bother with 18650’s because of the reaction that we see here. At the time he agreed and said he would avoid the subject, but his viewers are constantly requesting 18650 tests and he tries to satisfy popular requests, so I guess it was inevitable…
Some are accusing him of “rigging” the tests, which he certainly doesn’t do intentionally. He’s an honest and objective reviewer, but he is not an expert on li-ion cells and let’s remember that he’s basically correct that regular consumers are far better off to buy Japanese brands rather than Chinese brands.
The biggest problem that he doesn’t mention is that many Chinese cells are labelled with Japanese brands and, in fact, we don’t even know if his Samsung/LG cells are legitimate or not. When viewers go to buy his “better” cells, there’s a good chance that they’ll wind up with fakes anyway .
Keep in mind that he’s talking to average people that don’t know anything about these batteries and simply buy JunkFire brands off eBay or Amazon. It’s still the case that major product manufacturers prefer to use Japanese brands instead of Chinese brands when cost is not a priority. Project Farm is also right to teach consumers that 9000mAh 18650’s are fraudulent products. I, for one, support what he’s doing.
Project Farm does not make “hit” or “push” pieces. He purchases every single product at full price and he refuses to accept “for-review” products, period. It’s a good channel which accepts no sponsorships, but he definitely got in over his head in this case .
I knew that his tests would be inadequate for BLF members and his testing methodology should indeed be improved, but that doesn’t mean that he’s some sort of con man. He should just avoid this particular subject .
Or… point him to some quality Chinese cells and he’ll probably do another video as he genuinely enjoys being surprised by his results. I suspect that “surprise” results probably get his videos more likes and views, as well.
Everything is avoidable. If Project Farm doesn't wants to look like @#$% to knowledgeable people, they must entail the required disclaimers and whatever additional information for everyone to look in their reviews.
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