EDIT: I’m sorry to report that these do NOT appear to be a deal. If anyone has ordered these, use the following information to determine if you got new cells. I had ordered 2 more earlier last night once I saw new looking Sanyo cells in the pack. If you don’t get new cells, file a claim and you should get your money back. The lid on my pack was not glued and just popped off with a slight squeezing of the two long sides. It snaps back together. I figured this meant the pack had indeed been refurbished. There is a bar code on the exterior of the battery pack. Mine had the date June 19, 2000. That didn’t bother me because I figured the cells would have been replaced in the refurbishment. The date code EEH on the cells, however, indicate the cells were manufactured in May 2000. First digit is year starting with A for 1996. Second digit is month starting with A for January. So the original cells were never replaced. I put the cells on the charger and went from 0 volts to 1.26 volts in a very short time. I don’t know for sure, but it was less than 1 hour (first time I checked was at 1 hour). I tried charge it a couple more times and it stopped charging within 10 minutes each time. Got the voltage up to 1.39 volts, but the cell has no capacity when I tried to run a light with it.
Unfortunately, these things happen sometimes when purchasing from unknown vendors. The vendor has a good reputation. So maybe my pack is an isolated incident. I feel bad that it turned out this way, but it is also a risk we all take when entering into these deals. Luckily, Ebay has a good buyer protection program.
18650 sized NiMHs? Although they look big, I’d guess they were AA sized.
EDIT: nvm, just looked at the data sheet as well… I guess I learned there are 18650 sized NiMHs now.
I have read that these types of cells are LSD. The old ones I have seem to hold there charge. I’ve never had to recharge them because they were sitting around.
If you have a TR-3T6 with the original driver that could run one cell, you can use 3 of these with the extension. Seems just as bright to me as 2 Li-ions. I also made a 6 pack that I use to drive a MG-T2, but I’m thinking of reducing it to a 5 pack. O-L uses these types of batteries in some of his builds.
EDIT: Just broke down the pack. Peeled the wrapper off a couple cells. They show no visible signs of age or use. They look the same as my old cells. Have “HR” stamped on the bottoms like my old cells. Also have a code that is in the same format as my old cells:
XE9
BOV
L64
Y
I’m a little concerned why the seller is selling these so cheap. The cells were at about .1 volt each. Just hooked them up to my charger. At 750mA charge rate they should take about 5 hours to charge. Unfortunately, I need to crash. So I will have to take them off the charger soon and resume tomorrow.
Ebay says it is a ‘Factory Refurbished’ item. To wit:
Item specifics
Condition:
Manufacturer refurbished: An item that has been professionally restored to working order by a manufacturer or manufacturer-approved vendor. This means the product has been inspected, cleaned, and repaired to meet manufacturer specifications and is in excellent condition. This item may or may not be in the original packaging. See the seller’s listing for full details. See all condition definition
Is there something that I need to know more? Does it mean that this item has been sent back to the manufacturer for whatever something? Before I try some of these, I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Not sure what to think about that. Could be a bad thing if the cells are used and were not replaced. I’ll report back how long they take to charge. If they are good, they will take about 5 hours to charge on my charger. I just got an Accucel 6, but I can’t use it yet because all my power supplies are 19v, which is 1 volt beyond the rated input capacity.
If the cells are old like mine, I recommend you don’t. Mine won’t take much of a charge and are losing the charge they do take rapidly. I hope I got the one bad pack and that anyone that ordered gets good ones.
Good point. I didn’t even think about what type of computer they would fit. I did assume they may have been refurbished a while ago. At the price they’re selling them for, I figured most people would buy to salvage like me.
Overnightcomputers sent me 6 packs of batts apparently like the OP got even after I requested almost immediately in placing the order to cancel it. They have been responding to me on e-bay messaging in a very rude fashion. Giving them the benefit of the doubt as I haven’t received the shipment yet but it’s a very small benefit of the doubt. I’m pretty much expecting to have the same bad experience as the OP. I will be working with e-bay and PayPal to show them what’s what when it comes to false advertising if indeed these are defective, ie., not refurbished to manufacturer specs as they stated on their e-bay site.
Buyer beware big time is all I can say. Regardless if they come in fine when you’re rude to a customer when they’re trying to fix things I think that tells you everything you need to know about the business going forward and your sentiment of ever doing business with them again.
Btw Ima4wheeler, I think you should change the wording in your first sentence to be in context with the updates.
Oh my gosh. Thank you for catching that. Corrected.
Yeah, I’m fighting with them too. Very rude indeed. I tried to cancel my second order of 2 packs, but they shipped them anyway. I should get them today. I’m hoping they are good, but not expecting them to be. I’ll report back on that tonight.
Out of curiosity, did you use this thread to justify canceling the order?
Yes I used it and like I mentioned kept communication records through e-bay messaging. Between the both of us I think overnightcomputers is in for a surprise.
That high rating they have now is getting close to going bye-bye because I bet we’re not the only ones getting the shaft here.