doesnt matter 3000mah 4000mah, black, red, gold, there all the same junk inside
all these are pure junk
edit read the comments in the amazon links i posted
Mine are the black and gold. I have a blue one that came with my first light 2 years ago that’s still going pretty strong.
my black and gold ones have about 500 to 650mah, i got all mine with cheap torches i brought, i did buy about 12 of them ages ago, i usually give them to my family with cheap torchs that are going to be used twice a year, and i ALWAYS tell them how crap they are, and to never leave them for long time in torch unused
Well, at least I wasn’t ripping anyone off. I was only charging them about what I paid for them. That’s why I started this post, to get away from the Ultrafire’s. Anyone recommend their favorites?
“favorites” cost a bit of money
how much you wanna spend?
edit for the money the ones i linked are a million times better than the ultrafires, not even in the same league
Hemi,
You don't state if your custom lights come equipped with low voltage protection. All of my lights (I do not mod or build yet) do have it and is a requirement for me unless I were to plan on modding the unit. Low voltage in a light is not a necessity for everyone but a required preference for me.
With Christmas coming in the somewhat near future (ugh) I plan on gifting quite a few lights and had to ponder batteries. I am torn and think that it would be cheesy of me to give people lights without batteries (although I would rather because of costs). For others, as an added layer of safety but not required I prefer to give protected batteries. Personally, from I have read, I do not even trust protected batteries. I instead try and utilize a quality charger and a a quality light. That is what I do for my lights I use.
For a friend of mine I purchased the following just for the hell of it and curiosity.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LC0ARZA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I never heard of these before but $20 is the cost of 2 decent batteries so why not try and see.
The result was that through VERY crude testing (I do not have any hobby chargers etc....just a quality DVOM) that these batteries held up by providing very ample run time. How reliable is the built-in protection - no idea because my low voltage protection kicks in before the battery drains to unacceptable levels and the charger stops at 4.2V.
Here comes the gas on the fire. After some research it would seem that these batteries are indeed manufactured by Ultrafire. Is Dulex a separate company subbing to UltraFire with mandated specs or is Ultrafire trying to put out a decent line of batteries - I do not know. I just know that these batteries seem to work and I have no regrets nor guilty conscience. For myself, I still prefer my unprotected Panasonic 3400's.
Two more points and no more soap box.
1. When people (other individuals NOT you) look at the cost of these rechargeable Li-Ion and think they are expensive they show their ignorance and the fact that they have not purchased batteries in a long time. Tell them to go buy a 8 or 10 pack of AA or AAA alkaline batteries and see how long they last AND how much they cost. 1 Package of batts equals 1 Li-ion that can be charged over and over.
2. Lastly, if protection is not a concern and you just need batteries for people to play with (used loosely) take a look at these threads as they are well worth the money and the gamble in my opinion (and yes I have bought and plan to purchase more)
Both of these guys are jam up good guys and there is no way in hell to find batteries cheaper than this unless they are stolen! LOL
Good luck with whatever direction you go!
Yes, all my drivers are equipped with low voltage protection, and I’m not building them crazy powerful lights for them either. The most powerful one to date is 2100ma.
Are those the green Panasonics?
Are you referring to my battery of choice for my purposes (work) - yes.
The laptop batteries from Hagg are Sanyo and Sony and from 18650 I believe they are LG or Samsung (but you would need too verify) - I am actually ordering from both next Friday.
I had considered the Panasonics. I have the Orbtronics and love them. May I ask where you get them from?
I purchased mine on Amazon before I knew better. Today if I needed fast and fair I would go here.
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_88
Other than that I don't know where. I would trust Banggood but I would not trust Fasttech for batteries even with your money. Banggood has been the best overseas vendor for me and I have zero compaints with Neal.
+1 on the two guys at the links provided. I’d trust them over any Chinese seller. Especially 18sixfifty - he tests his and they are new pulls from laptop packs that have never been charged or used. A great deal to put it mildly. As soon as I have some more money to spend, I’m gonna get some from him, if he still has some left by then!
I really dont trust banggood. As I said, they screwed me pretty good on some lights a couple weeks ago, and would not work with me to make it right. They advertise things that are false! I have no complaints about mtn electronics but again, haven’t bought batteries from them.
I used to buy from AW, never had any complaints at all, but since air freight’s become a problem I haven’t lately.
Nowadays I buy from MountainElectronics — much faster, no complaints, he knows what he’s doing.
http://www.banggood.com/2PCS-Sanyo-3_7v-2800mAh-UR18650ZT-Rechargeable-L…
These must be UN protected? Doesn’t say anywhere I can see, so I guess not.
Except they are out of stock on all the 3100, 3400 maH 18650…. I can’t find them anywhere.
I would go with the Sanyo UR18650fm, solid battery, holds high brightness for longer (less voltage sag) and available from places like fasttech, illumination supply and mountain electronics (last time i checked which was a while ago)
My opinion is — if MtnElectronics can’t get the cells, they aren’t available; you ought to ask directly about what and when they can supply that’s known good.
I’m sure there are people who would sell you fakes if you insist you have to have that cell right now — there are whole websites out there dedicated to selling the fake wrappers and size-changing crap to make garbage look like whatever you want to pay for.
I’ve recently seen news reports of li-ion battery fires inside China, which I never used to see reported at all. I suspect that means there’s beginning to be some attention paid to controlling the production and transportation of the really dangerous crap there.
There’s no standard for materials nor for construction of li-ion batteries, part of the problem is assemblers substuting whatever’s available cheaper that looks about the same.
The FAA’s been repeating tests on what should be the same product — and finding different and surprising results and new risk conditions each time.
And li-ion cells by design have this long time delay problem — crystals start to grow after a while and eventually may poke a hole in the membrane that should separate the reactants, at which point it suddenly starts to heat up. Replacing the chemistry and making the internal parts less susceptible to eventual failure is a big deal right now.
But the cheapsters aren’t waiting. They’re selling what they’ve got. Remember the electric tobacco product dispensers are a big ballooning market right now.
Me, I’m going back more and more to Eneloops.
Hate to jump in uninvited, but the reason I don't have any Sony VTC5 cells is because none of the reputable suppliers have them right now. I get messages every day from unknown/up and coming companies trying to sell me VTC5s or other hard to get cells, but I won't buy from them--the risks are just too big. Some well-known companies have recently been sold and tricked by good counterfeits.
Regarding the Sanyo UR18650FM: I did carry them, but they weren't popular at all--in fact, they were the slowest selling cell I've ever carried. I thought they were an excellent cell for the money.
You were invited since i mentioned your store 
What disadvantages do other cells have compared to the ur18650fm, i have only owned a laptop pull and these cells
Well, thank you for jumping in uninvited, that explains it I think.
Is Mtn Electronics your business?
Any guess how long/when to get any of these? I guess not.
Panasonic NCR18650B Protected 3400mAh
Panasonic NCR18650BD Protected 3200mAh
Panasonic NCR18650PF Protected 2900mAh
I’ve just been through the order and wait…. wait… 2 months, run out the paypal clock, start over.
Allan: Yes, Mountain Electronics (aka MTN Electronics) is my business. I expect a restock on all of those cells by early next week.
Bort: Honestly, in most lights around 3A there isn't any big advantage over the UR18650FM which has good voltage sag characteristics and good capacity. The PF/BD have a bit more capacity, but may not be worth the price. As you probably know, the 3400mAh B has more capacity, but also a bit more voltage sag than the FM. The big advantage to the higher drain cells is in the souped up lights; the super-high-drain cells (20R, 25R, HE2, EFEST 35A) can really put out a lot of current without breaking a sweat. The PF/BD are great compromise cells, sitting somewhere in the middle of the high-drain and capacity continuum (although the BD is right up there!).
The 4.35V cells offer some advantages in a lot of single cell lights, since they start off with a big voltage overhead advantage and maintain good capacity. Downside is that they can only handle around 6A discharge and require a special charger.