I bought 2pcs Sony 18650 VTC4 from Aliexpress from a vendor in China; i know not the smartest thing to do. I received them and put them in my Liitokala Lii-500 and got this results: charging max: 751mah/ 910mah. Did a test and got 1603mah/1646mah. I started a dispute at aliexpress; this one is still waiting for an reply. In the meantime i also weight them; 81-82gram? The fake are mostly under weight; best weight 46gram; but 81gram what type of 18650 could it be? Hopefully someone can help me; i already googled manytimes but could find an answer. The wrap code shows: SE US18650VTC4 C4 G C790044WF05G Both batteries have the same code (doesn't need every battery has an different code?). I know i am a newbie; but i hope you can help me so i know if i can use them?
Already 25 reads; nice to see that people are reading this; hopefully someone got the answer.
To make it easier to identify those 18650; Here are some pictures i made;
http://s13.postimg.org/4l3j8gkgn/image1.jpg
http://s13.postimg.org/ng3vcm9w7/image2.jpg
http://s13.postimg.org/dhiwq50gn/image3.jpg
http://s13.postimg.org/m3m6aqcgn/image4.jpg
http://s13.postimg.org/88nvs9i1j/image5.jpg
The dimensions;
Length: +/- 64-65mm
Diameter: +/- 17mm-18mm
Welcome to BLF!
twice the weight and about half the mAh?
Strange that weight, sure the real experts will shout the answer in a bit, and I am equally curious as you.
Thank you @ The Miller.
I hope someone has the answer here @ BLF. Otherwise it will be a waist of money and waiting time.
To update this story; today i received another 2 pcs of the Sony 18650 VTC4 (same vendor @ Aliexpress); they went straight into the charger to test them. They need another 3 hours to finish the test.
Ofcourse i will put them on my kitchen scale; within 3 hours i will let you know.
I’m sorry for my bad English (it is not my mother tongue).
I just checked my latest batch. Serial code (2nd line) could be the same but I noticed that the barcode pattern are different for every pieces.
Hello Robbedoesch. Welcome to BLF. Where the wallets are thin and the most heard of defense is: …… no honey, but why do you need 50 pairs of shoes just to walk to the car?
May I suggest that your next order coming is from this shop: Sony / Murata US18650VTC4 2100mAh - 30A - 18650 - Li-ion - Oplaadbare batterijen | NKON
Hello Henk; thanks for your reply. How do you know that my wallet is thin? It is no offence Henk; i’m great you wanted to help me; i appreciate that 
.
I will explain myself; i choose for aliexpress; because it is more reliable then ebay. Or another online vendor; i have no guarantee at all for a dispute at all. At aliexpress if i got fake products i can make an dispute and get problably a full refund. I already know Nkon; affordable and reliable batteries. I prefer to buy at Nkon.
But Nkon doesn’t have the Sony in stock right now (or last 2 months); otherwise it was an easy choice; but i could wait 3 months; so that why i choose aliexpress.
Instead of the Sony i want to go for the HG2 from LG; but also not in stock. So i have to wait almost 2 months; or choose the LG HE4. Last week i wanted to order those; but where sold out; they are available again now.
But like promised; more picture and more test results;
http://postimg.org/image/w9b2cbtcd/
http://postimg.org/image/rkq0k0xu5/
http://postimg.org/image/momdsbxot/
http://postimg.org/image/v5lw392dp/
The other two i received today; same weight 80-81gram and tested 1567mAh and 1568mAh.
The weird thing is; i ordered at 19 Februari and 10 March; but all have the same serialnumber.
I made a few new pictures; also from the serial number and info on the screen of my charger.
Hopefully someone can help me.
Lol :-(( ; About the 50 shoes; i need only 3 shoes for my device (I’m Dutch they like it cheap and don’t buy more than they need).
Yes one can be unlucky with AliExpres but just do not confirm receipt and start communicating with seller.
If dispute is needed, just do it with the pics of the discharge tests.
I bought 8 (2x4) panasonic 3400mAh protectedcells on AE. These are good.
And if you stick aroundthere will be a deal good for you (I just ordered another 4 panasonics based on a thread here, for $12.)
I agree AliExpress sets itelf apart from the rest being a platform where mostother ways of getting things from China is via shops who lose money if they refund. AE does not lose money since they offer vendors a place to trade.
And your English is fine (prima te begrijpen hoor en daar gaat het om)
@ The Miller; i agree to that heer Molenaar. Nice to hear that my English is understandable for another Dutch person (or 2).
Yesterday i also ordered 4x LG 18650 HG2 at Aliexpress. Again if they are fake; i will start a dispute again; and hopefully get a full refund.
Otherwise i will write on every topic i can find; don’t buy batteries @ Aliexpress.
If you follow these steps a dispute almost always pans out
Do not confirm receipt (once money is paid to seller AE has to get it back, while it does not matter if they pay you or seller in terms of ease)
1 Write message to seller asking when te ordered product comes stating you have received something with a list of issues.
2 Wait 24 hours in case no reply ask again.
3 Wait 24 hours, still no reply, ask again but conclude with ” sorry you force me to open dispute ”
4 Open dispute (also if they reply but do not want to refund a fair amount)
Upload pics of evidence
(When in the communication before a dispute is opened with seller they want proof, upload part pics and name them dispute 1, 2 and 3, a lot of the times they will offer settlement if you choose personal reasons and you’re done)
5 if you are A4 like me disputes go fast, if not wait it out and repeat your demands and post your proof.
If the system offers a solution read carefully, once accepted it is done
I have had disputes going from 33% to 60% and in the end 100% refunds by declining the solution and respond with proof and demands
However nowadays I accept $2,50 less to cover their shipping, the loss because of poor information provided by factories should be reclaimed from the provider of false info by seller.
@ The Miller; thanks for your reply. Last year i was also an A4; but gone down to A3 last few months.
I always test/use the product from AE a few days/weeks and then release the feedback.
But is it necessary to contact the seller first? Never did this; i go straight for an dispute and i always had a full refund (2 out of 200 orders). Some times i contacted the seller because something was missing. And they always send the missing parts to me.
About compensation less then 100% from the seller; he had to know he was selling bad/fake batteries; if he wants to make money; he had to test the batteries himself before shipping them (if it was my business; i would do this). I don’t see why i have to ask less than a full refund. He advertised with specific product details that wasn’t delivered. A simple weight test (2 seconds a pcs) should have done it.
I also sell product; i always know what i’m selling ( and also good listening to the buyers demands); if necessary i will double check the quality before shipment. This because i don’t want to hurt my reputation.
When i choose to send products that are bad (read; not meeting demand); i give a full refund and don’t ask the buyer to pay also a part (like shipment) because of my mistake.
But someone has to have an answer on my simple question; which 18650 battery is around 81gram and has 1600mAh capacity? This is a forum about flashlight and stuff; where is the man that knows everything :-/
I kind of assume showing good will and intent helps.
And when they offer a good solution it can be settled faster.
I learned here on BLF and by talking to sellers some are just poor people trying to make some bucks (stay at home moms) and they rely on the information provided by the party that actually ships the items (drop shipping)
So now I accept $2,50 loss so these people are not unhelped by my buy.
Of course there are also good knowledgeable sellers focussed on specific items like Simon from Convoy, these know their stuff.
@ The Miller; i understand; but being poor or an home mom (or both) is not an excuse for selling fake stuff (batteries in my case). Those home mom choose to sell me dangerous fake batteries; i use them for my flashlight and also for vaping. If i did not do my research and i use it in my RX200 of even in my unregulated box mod it will gives me a chance of exploding in my face or blow my hands off. The general rule; don’t mesh with stuff you don’t know anything about. In case of drop shipping; they have to do research before work together with a company that offering them drop shipping. If the don’t; they are naive/ stupid. Those company are using them like a decoy/mule. I feel bad for those people. So it is no problem for me to do charity; i prefer always transfer money to charity because of a tsunami of somekind of tragic; but not giving money to people that have put me in danger. By the way; the shop i bought my batteries sells all brand of batteries and charger on aliexpress. They have to know about the fake batteries. I think it is a scam; because not everybody checks their products and they calculate in a percent of people that will complain. They will give those people a full refund. It is not the first time i experienced/ noticed something like this on AE.
But sorry i have to stay on topic.
Which 18650 battery has an weight around 80gram (1.8oz)?
I think it might be filled with something else than lithium, maybe powder or something like we have seen in some older threads
Here for example
Yeah, I would bet that there is a smaller cell incased in that 18650 “shell” with the remaining space taken up by some form of “filler”.
If you are so inclined, you might (carefully) crack one open and see what’s really inside.
I also saw some youtube video about a smaller cell in a pvc tube. I though about it; why put more weight in it than the original; i would aim for 45-46gram not 81grams.
I’ve got now 4 batteries at exactly the same weight. The small battery from this video was under 200mah; i did an slow test (@300mAh current); and got those results; 1794,1703,1676 and 1674mAh. So a small battery at 1800mAh is even more weird.
I opened up an dispute at Aliexpress; i gone followed the steps The Miller gave me. If Aliexpress doesn’t decide in advantage of me i gone look for more evidence (need to open op battery). With this evidence i gone make a clear youtube video about it to warn more people. Also in the feedback at aliexpress i will point to this video; and leave a picture of the product including fake/ danger (added with paint or photoshop).
I googled manytime to find some info about other brand 18650 around 80grams; i found some advertisement of other batteries at 81grams (2.74 oz). Found even a advertisement with an LG 18650 HB2 (1500mah) at 3oz. But also weird thing is the LG HB2 should be around 45-46gram; this is probably also a fake one.
I wait on the dispute; to finish; I always can unwrap the battery and gone look for info on steel casing of the battery. But opening a 18650 battery is for me like defusing a AID (roadside bomb); i don’t know how and probably will kill myself? If their is someone that knows what he does on this forum; i will send him a battery for free to defuse. Maybe their is someone with the right equipment here that wants to test those batteries. I’m very curious what the have send me.
I would be very interesting to see what they used
A good cell weighs half of yours and there is not a lot of spaceto put material in.
And ince they deliver some power, there must be some power delevering stuff in there, the casing is standard.
That leaves not a lot of material to fill it up and still get to these high weights, maybe the casing s very thick?
@ The Miller i came to the same conclusion. But they need also +1500Mah battery fit inside.
This is the youtube link with a small battery inside a tube (Fake ebay batteries 18650 - YouTube) shows a 66Mah battery.
But i’ve got another good idea:
Does some know how to blow up a battery from distance safely (without explosive) by just stress out the 18650?
This will make a nice Youtube warning video; from the left over i can decide if the was a small cell inside. This is better solution than open up the 18650 with some tools (get acid on your skin or even dangerous gases in your face).
We better could name this thread by; “The mysterious overweight 18650 battery (81gram)” . I think someone knows the answer; but is enjoying himself with letting us guess. Comeon let us know }
When I see nicely disassembled cells it seems much safer to take it apart then let it blow
You have to clean the toxic stuff and when abusing one to the point of blowing it is going to be hard to find it all.
Also those gasses will fly what if ca cat just strolls by for example.
If you have access to a safe chemistry experiment room (with those glass air sucking cupboards) it could be a good idea, if I wanted to do something like this I would call my old chemistry teacher from high school.
@ The Miller; thanks again for you *GOOD *advise: using a chemistry experiment room (with glass and air sucking) is not an luxury. I’m a little bit to old to ask my science teacher to use his equipment; a big chance he is already passed away already because of coming at age.
@ Freefly; thanks for the BAD advise to a newbie: you wrote ” you might (carefully) crack one open and see what’s really inside”. I like a surprise; but acid of battery liquefied gass in my face isn’t one of them.