18650canada.ca

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

So today I went to 18650canada.ca and bought some cells.

Specifically I got ($CAD):

VAPCELL K30 18650 15A/30A FLAT TOP 3000MAH BATTERY - GENUINE × 4 $40.00
PROTECTED MJ1 3500MAH 10A 18650 BUTTON TOP BATTERY × 2 $34.00
PANASONIC/SANYO NCR18650GA FLAT TOP 10A 3500MAH 18650 BATTERY × 2 $36.00

I got decent shipping costs of $15. I could have aded more but that was what
I needed now. I’m up on the Alaskan border ao no cheap shipping options to me.

I have chosen to live here for half a century so no please no criticisms of
Canadian prices…

Did I chose in a smart fashion?
Four cheapos which should work in my high output headlamps.
Two high output which should work anywhere due to button top.
2 name brand.
Yes I switched cells to see if my Thrunite would work with flat tops and my
AT Wizard with modified button tops.

In a long past life this was my worst nightmare because people wanted to to be
told that they had made the right decision. I want you to tell me how I could
have done things better. So please be critical!

I just have two high intensity headlamps (TH30 and Wizard Pro 3) which require
such cells. I have a uvBeast arriving Monday and some Convoys arriving sometime
in July. If I put an extra cell into the uvBeast, well first or last? Middle perhaps?

2

Everything is fine if you could only buy from here, but I’d have recommend this cell in place of the NCR18650GA:

Extremely similar, but cheaper.

I’m surpried their prices are so abominably high though.
I knew Canadian were getting destroyed over prices, but this is too much.

3

If they are genuine name brand and not fakes, then they will likely last for many years. So the cost is not bad at all spread over 10 years and thousands of cycles.

It is difficult to get 1 or 2 cells from the big name manufacturers as they only want to sell to OEMs with large orders.

4

I think you did fine. I wonder about those LG MJ1 cells, though…did they update them? If memory serves the bare factory cells were only good to about 8amps (about the same as the Samsung 35E but the Samsung can handle a tad more heat at the upper limit of its current delivery). They’re calling them 10A, and they’re protected….? May not see that current delivery in real use. Perhaps they mean that the protection circuit is one of the newer ones that can deliver some more current, whereas earlier types seemed to max out at 6 or 8 amps.

Those should have a bit longer run time at lower normal currents in lights, probably up to 3 or 4 amps, where the capacity will outlive the Vapcell K30.

I generally avoid protected cells now although those newer circuits are better and remove some of the “disadvantage”, so to speak. They’re a good idea in lights that do not have reliable low-voltage shutoff in the driver, and/or if you’re fond of falling asleep while a light is running….or in lights that use two in series of course. Not sure what’s in that UV Beast as far as a driver, but perhaps the protected cells would be a good idea in that.

Have to compare test charts again but I think the Panny was pretty much lock step with the MJ1 (and the Samsung 35E making a trio of cells that are darn near the same in performance and capacity). The Molicel that BlueSword mentioned would be a great one, too…they’ve been putting out excellent cells in a few sizes and they’re usually less expensive to boot (and seem to be more reliable and longer lived than some of the other good china cells out there).

For a high drain, the Samsung 30Q or Sony VTC6 would both be a lot better than that particular Vapcell model, both in voltage sag, higher current delivery (if you’re approaching that 10amp+ level, and in actual running capacity, but those Vapcells are not bad at all.

I didn’t visit the site to see what they have available, btw. And at the prices you have to pay, if it were me I’d get the least expensive that is comparable in performance to what I needed (e.g. if the Sony were available but cost $3 more than the Vapcell, I’d likely get the Vapcell as long as it could deliver the current ok).

I’d be curious to see a review and some photos (esp of inside parts if you can open the head) of the UV Beast, if you want to share some of that. I’ve noticed that brand rising on Amazon and people seem to think favorably of them for the most part. They are not very forthcoming with specification and details, though, so I wonder what’s inside.

5

I get mine Monday.
I’m an old guy with a pension. I’m up for sending a second to a US address for take-down.

6

I don’t know what they can actually provide, but every MJ1 I’ve purchased has been listed as 10A.

7

Thanks everyone! I’ve appreciated the good advice! I do love this place where I’ve lived most of my life, and NW Canada has lots of dark to use flashlights in… You just get used to high prices.

My uvBeast arrived early! All works and I’m impressed. You will never perceive your home the same way again after getting one of these! While this is an 18650 thread - and rightfully so because feeding these is going to be a concern - it sure made me mad at my Eagletac with supposed 365nm from the side LED… I bought the uvBeast from AmazonUS after hearing from uvBeast that that was their strategy for non-US sales. Total with import was $99.63 - $131.90CAN. The Convoy C8 kit was $98.99US and so $20US more expensive., with $20US import and postage.

The Convoy C8 is more highly performing than uvBeast according to reviews on Amazon.

The flashlight to really get information on is the Convoy C8 which I don’t have yet.
High Quality C8 Real UV 365nm 5W Seoul Viosys LED Flashlight With Filter
US $35.99Unit price US $35.99
Item number:165392820799
Long Version C8
This should be in a different section - except which cells available in Canada should be used in this?

The last UV light I bought was the Convoy S2+ through Amazon Canada:
Convoy S2+ black UV 365nm led flashlight,with nichia LED in side,Fluorescent agent detection,UVA 18650 Ultraviolet flashlight,no battery .

$42 Can delivered - we’ll see. But it’s coming from China so no rush delivery.

8

HKJ’s test is really old…2012. Mooch’s is from 2016. HKJ stopped the 10A test when the cell temperature was in the 70°C+ zone while Mooch kept it going. That’s pretty dang hot and not really where you want to keep your cells while in use. Seemed to handle 7A just fine. Mooch went ahead and called it a 10A cell (he will call out manufacturers’ ratings and lower them when he feels it’s warranted), but keep in mind he focuses (or used to) on vaping device use, and in that case with pulse-drain, the temp never gets so high. Those are both pretty old tests…not sure, but it’s totally possible that LG improved the cells a little since that time, as we’ve seen with several models from other manufacturers.

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/LG%2018650%20MJ1%203500mAh%20(Green)%20UK.html

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/threads/lg-mj1-10a-3400mah-18650-bench-retest-results-an-good-10a-battery.774181/

9

For UV lights you can use any good quality cell you choose. UV emitters are kind of fragile and demand higher forward voltage than our usual robust white emitters, so none of them are driven with very much current. Any of the cells you got will be fine. You should probably expect shorter run time, especially if you use the lights on high settings, just because the electrical demands and sensitivity to heat become sort of self limiting. That’s pretty much true of all the UV emitters currently available. Ideally, for more efficiency and stable output, a UV driver will use a boost (or boost/buck) type of driver to help keep things at their best. With typical linear drivers it’s just a quick derating slope on a graph…just the nature of the beast with these (no beast pun intended…).

In some Convoy UV lights he is now using a boost/buck driver but you’d need to message him on aliexpress or post in his main Convoy thread to get confirmation.