Thanks for updating us Rockspider. I'm interested to see how T-mart responds.
-Garry
Hi all,
I've had a long PM exchange with Sherry of T-Mart. She has been very nice and helpful, that's something to note when dealing with customer service.
Initially she said they did not know anything of those cells, and asked for more detailled infos and pics.
After that they agreed that those cells do not have a PCB and agreed that their website add must be changed accordingly (see now it says without PCB), even if only in the last line of the description:
http://www.tmart.com/1Pcs-TrustFire-26650-5000mAh-3642V-Lithium-Battery-Black-and-Red_p150233.html
Those cells are supplied to them from an external supplier, and the only info they got from him is that those unprotected cells are Lithium-Cobalt chemistry.
They offered me refund for it, but as the unknown-brand cell is anyway working properly, and also considering that sending it back the postage exceeds the cell value, we settled on a partial 50% refund, which seems to me fair enough.
I will soon test this cell with an RC charger to monitor real charge/discharge values, just for curiosity.
Sherry also pointed out that they have another add which has cells with PCB, but goes for sale two cells together:
Personally I would have liked the website add changed with clear explanations that those cells are indeed clone cells, like CNQG does on some cells with indication "genuine" and "copy", but this is up to the store owner. Now the "without PCB" is there, anyone reading will make his own considerations.
How about leaving product feedback on this on the product page so others can read about it there too?
-Garry
I want to have real capacity numbers to judge the value of this cell first.
Thank you Rockspider
Thanks for the update, Rockspider - very valuable information! I am getting to the point of giving up on most China suppliers of cells outside of CNQG, IOS, HKE and yes Manafont. The first three always seem to stand behind what they sell (In my experience) and Manafont always seems to have good cells, or at least they test better than most. Even when they sell counterfeits, they label them as a Mimic. Dino, DX and TMart have all been caught and called out multiple times for selling fake batteries - I won't purchase from them in the future. eBay? Forget about it.
In light of this post about wrappers from dchomak, I think we should all exercise more caution in who we buy from.
Let me see if my brain still works after reading most of this thread…(shakes head)
For IMR 18650 and 26650 AW and MNKE are the tops. I’ve got the AW 28650 IMR 2000mAh. I’m getting the new MNKE 26650 IMR 3500mAh. Sound good?
Rockspider, your counterfeit cell photos confirm my suspicions in at least this one case:
The Counterfeit cells do NOT have the hologram in the label. I'm certain that TrustFire placed the hologram intentionally to make it more difficult to copy.
These are the photos that give it away:
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Look for the "rainbow" shiny horizontal lines in the swooping silvery area that crosses the ® symbol. That's the hologram. It's much easier to see in real life.
Notice it's missing from your cell.
Hi, Boden and welcome to BLF! The idea on the thread was to post any good finds and actual battery tests. I'll take care of updating the OP so that is a resource to go to for 26650 purchases. There are to many word of mouth pushes to purchase that are based on best price vs best value. If you have something supporting a good cell, by all means post it up or send me a PM with links and I'll add it.
Here’s a couple observations on my recent 26650s:
King Kong 4000mAh raised top from intl-outdoor: 3900-4000mAh at 1A discharge
Trustfire protected 5000mAh: 3400-3500mAh at 1A (Original, with holograms)
Keygos 4800mAh protected from Keygos: 2900-3000mAh at 1A
Keygos and King Kong give 4-4.5A with my HD2010. Trustfires limit the current down to about 3.4-3.5A.
I measured two cells of each type.
Looks like there is Trustfire Black/Silvers out too.
They have the hologram sticker too
if someone wants to take a chance
Just received an additional 3 Trustfire TF-26650 5000mAh cells to live with my Skyray 9xT6 flood monster. Like the previous sets I’ve received from Manafont over the last year, they are genuine Trustfire cells and each had a static voltage of exactly 3.83 volts.
More evidence the King Kong’s are the way to go 8)
I’m lucky to have more King Kongs (not measured yet). They are the way to go unless you need protection circuit.
Got a Kingkong INR26650 4000mah last month from Hank, made a discharge capacity check out of the box, yielded 4180mah
How do you go about doing a discharge test? Use a hobby charger?
Cheers
Matt
I only trust the King Kong 26650’s in a 1 x 26650 light, such as my Fandyfire HD-2010 or a couple others. No way I’m using 3X unprotected cells in my Trustfire TR-J12 or Skyray 9X T6.
Just received (2) Trustfire Flame 26650's from FastTech and can confirm they are genuine. FastTech is the cheapest place to buy genuine TF 26650's!
EDIT - both arrived at 3.92v.
-Garry
At $16.46 for a 2 pack delivered, it sure is the cheapest on the net. Did you happen to check the voltage of each cell before you tossed them in the charger? I was curious what static voltage they arrived at. Thanks.
He said they were 3.92 volts, in the other thread.