A123 18650 bought from fasttech and a123rc.com ARE DIFFERENT!! which one is fake?

[realista]

hi, i ordered some lifepo 18650 for the first time.Firstly i ordered here from fasttech.

1. https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002801/1208601-a123-systems-18650-lifepo4-1200mah-high-discharge

but i was not sure about the quality of the cell because i saw that battery voltage decreased from 3.6v charged within minuts or hours to 3,3v. so i ordered from a different seller ( i think trusted) another bunch of batteries from a123rc.com

2) a123rc.com - Informationen zum Thema a123rc.

now i let you see the pictures of the 2 kind of cells. Also the minus pole as you can see is DIFFERENT. fasttech one is totally FLAT.

LEFT SIDE —> a123rc(without back bar code) RIGHT SIDE —> fasttech
ps: i performed a test with my opus c3100 and BOTH batteries were about 1100 mah, fasttech ones little higher 1200/1250mah.

[hank]

Huh. Look at the positive end of the battery on the right side in your last photo. Do you see corrosion in there?

I got six from FT that match the photos you have — coarser pixels on the printing, and the exact text and numbers.
Of those I got from FT, all six had corrosion — brownish red crusty stuff — around the outside edge under the rim.
Looks to me like you may have the same thing on yours.
FT gave me full credit for them after I sent them pictures of all six, closeups of the problem.

I wonder if FT has an older batch, as they say theirs came out of equipment.

Well, well — it’s always useful to Google, I wish I’d remembered:

Authorized Online Resellers

A123’s only authorized online resellers of individual battery cells for direct purchase are:

http://A123batteries.com (For North American region Sales)

http://buya123batteries.com.tw (For Asia-Pacific region sales)

True Blue Power

A123 warns its customers against purchasing products marked with A123 identification from unauthorized online resellers. These products may be scrap products or, in some cases, counterfeit products, and do not meet minimum A123 quality and performance standards. Additionally, counterfeit products may pose significant safety hazard to their users due to improper design, use of unsafe materials, or poor construction and quality control.
http://www.a123systems.com/solutions-commercial-products-group-vacps.htm

http://www.a123batteries.com/ link looks legit — no 18650s, they’re selling a newer cylindrical 26650 cell there, along with a prismatic cell.

There is a picture including a yellow-wrapped 18650 cell on the A123systems.com page:

It’s low-res but it doesn’t match either of the cells discussed in the OP.

[led4power]

Both are fakes,and A123 doesn't exist anymore.

[ryansoh3]

@led4power

Both are fakes,and A123 doesn’t exist anymore.

They’re not freshly manufactured cells from A123, I think everyone can agree on that.

They’re either old stock or pulled from battery packs that used these cells. (Or fake.)

[hank]

The story of lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems seems to sprout more irony by the day.
A123 was once enthusiastic about electric cars, supplying batteries for the 2012 Fisker Karma.

Then a recall drove A123 into bankruptcy; soon Fisker Automotive followed it….
Now, both companies are now owned by Chinese automotive supplier Wanxiang, but they appear to be going in separate directions.

While Wanxiang is still working to relaunch the Karma, under the new Elux brand name, A123 is moving away from electric cars—in the U.S. at least.
…
The company will focus on lithium-ion starter batteries rather than battery packs for electric cars, CEO Jason Forcier said in a recent interview with Automotive News (subscription required).

Electric Cars "Not Viable Markets" For Reborn A123 In U.S., Europe In Next 10...

and oh, the irony, it burns; found in another story:

“We rely on our early customers to identify issues like this for us,” Russell Datz, Fisker’s director of corporate communications, said cheerfully at the time.

[realista]

ok looking at official picture here http://www.a123systems.com/lifepo4-battery-cell.htm , both i received are fake. But seems strange that a site ( a123rc) that sell 80% product from a123 ….is shipping fake ones.

i need a GENUINE one to use in a jump battery car i wanna build, but i don’t know HOW TO test their max Ampere outputted in a real test (to start engine car).

[HBomb]

HKJ has some other pictures for reference as well (Test of A123 18650 1100mAh (Yellow))

And LiShen worked with A123 to make some for Dewalt (Dewalt lithium pack pulls)

I know of K2 and Valence as other brands of LiFePO4 manufacturers.

[realista]

my TWO type of batteries are different from the original…. so ….2 fake both?

is there any chance to buy a REAL GENUINE a123 18650?

results of the last minute: on opus charger c3100 ( set to max 3,7v in internal switch).

*2 batteries from fasttech 1300mah (about)
2 batteries from a123rc 1000mah (about)*

so…even if the fasttech one are now “new”…. still have higher ampere. but i can’t test the burst rate. i don’t knwo how to discover which one go over 60 ampere(60c) burst

[realista]

pictures unwrapped .
left battery from a123rc seems also corroded and with rust

[hank]

An update, answers to my email inquiries:

A123 forwarded us your below request as we (StorTronics) are the distributor for their products.

A little history …. A123 actually obsoleted their 18650 cells a little over a year ago. However, due to the overwhelming disappointment in the industry, they have recently been re-introduced into the market. Unfortunately, we don’t have any stock currently but product is in transit to us from China. We expect to see this product any time.

There are only two authorized distributors of A123 product worldwide. We are one of them, the other is out of Taiwan.

For more information, you can visit our website at www.a123batteries.com or e-mail us at sales@stortronics.com.

and

A123 is hoping to ship new product within the next month or so. They did ship us some pre-production / sample stock. However, that product is currently in non-conforming due to some testing issues they are having.
— StorTronics

TL:dr — A123 is now making the 18650 cells again, restarted production. Any A123 18650s currently for sale — right now — is still old stock, because the new production is still in testing.

[realista]

good to know.
any improvement of the cell quallity?

[hank]

the new production is still in testing.

I’m not testing them.
I quoted from the people who told me the manufacturer is still testing their new production and not shipping them yet.