G’day guys,
A mate at work is in the process of building a big battery pack, think he will need about 80 18650’s.
Capacity and price is important, protection not required.
Anything from about 2600 mAh should suffice, but value for money is paramount.
What is the best way to bulk buy 18650’s?
Which are the best value for money?
Is there a problem bringing a box of 18650’s into the country?
Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh, Panasonic NCR18650BE 3180mAh, Panasonic NCR18650PF 2900mAh, can all be had for less than $4 a cell. Go with the PF’s if you need higher amp discharge. Fasttech is a decent source I think. Look at the 2 and 4 pack pricing. They’d probably provide a further discount on this type of QTY as well.
Seems name brand cells, 2600mAh+ in moderate quantities get down to around $3.50 a cell. Samsung ICR18650-30B 3000mAh, Samsung ICR18650-28A 2800mAh, Samsung ICR18650-26F 2600mAh, and some LG and Sony cells are around there as well.
Charging safely may be an issue. Can’t say about bringing them in but air-shipping probably won’t go. You’ll want to ask the seller you’ve got in mind then check AU regs for receiving procedures.
As a side note, you’re less likely to get stalled in shipping when you use one company through the whole process from door to door. Moreso when you use their fastest services as there’s less time for anyone to scrutinize. All bets are off if anything looks unusual or draws attention to the possible contents of the package.
Phil
That ‘last mile’ can get pretty teejus…
Some folks are selling bulk 18650 for cheap at the endless sphere forum, I think they had samsung 25R, 30Q and sanyo GA for about $3.50 each, and shipping from europe was about $30 for the box of 40pc as it comes out from the factory. This is actually cheaper than buying from China and safer shipping as well.
There are many listings, this is one of them:
Is he building a electric bike battery pack or a solar setup? Remember to use a high quality BMS to properly protect and balance the cells, 80x 18650s can turn dangerous…
I have been waiting to build a 1kw pack for a solar charger but didn’t want to spend for a spot welder. BTW look at this beautiful pack:
Thanks for the advice guys, I passed it along to him.
Wow wills34, that’s a beautiful battery pack! He is building an electric bike, so he will need something like that.
