Anybody know of a good current source of Keeppower 3400mah 18650 cells. I’m looking for a U.S. based vendor, if possible.
If you want US based you might have to consider other brands.
I think US dealer was going to stock them at one point, but I don't remember who, and whether anything came of it.
If you're not in a hurry I suggest ordering from doingoutdoor if you're really set on Keeppower. Used to be Kumabear was the go to guy for batteries, unfortunately he's been away for quite a while.
MD-Lightsource Link is a US retailer that stocks Keeppower batteries. However, at the moment, they only show availability for the Keepower 14500. Suggest you contact them to find out if and when they will have Keeppower 18650s back in stock.
Ahh, I remembered there was a dealer couldn't for the life of me remember who it was!
Highly recommend MD-Lightsource, he is a member on here (Madecov) and provides excellent service.
He also sells Keeppower batteries on Ebay (and uses the same alias/user name, as I recall).
Hi guys,
I don’t stock the Keeppower 18650’s at this time.
I do stock the 14500 from them.
I stock Xtar cells in most configurations ( a bit more cost effective )
I may stock the 18650’s and other cells from keeppower in the future.
Yes, I use the same user name on every board, including e bay. I don’t hide. If there is a problem I want you to find me. I also include a packing list and business card on all my e bay sales.
+1 Can’t recommend this dealer enough. If there is a problem he will solve it very quickly, runs some great sales, and his standard prices are reasonable as well. Madecov is the Man!
Those cytac's from IS sound real nice, wonder if there's any review info available. The low resistance # is impressive, though I would like to see it tested by HKJ because apples to apples comparison with other protected Panasonic cells would be good.
the doingoutdoor price for qty 8 is pretty good on the KP's.
Here's the review Tom, nothing extraodinary.
I think there was JOE. Here who was selling keepower I think 25.00 $ a a pair of 3400 mah 1860's
I contacted JOE already, he isn't selling them. Thanks for all of the suggestions folks. After my bad experience with Fasttech's protected NCR18650B's, I'm searching for better replacements.
Ohhh - I know he was thinking of it, didn't know that went through, good to know...
Hmmm. What do you mean by “extraordinary”? HKJ’s conclusion was “These batteries uses a undisclosed cell, that works exactly like a Panasonic cell, i.e. it is very good.” Given HKJ’s rather restrained use of superlatives in his reviews, it is no stretch to interpret that statement as a very favorable endorsement.
Oh, thanx!! Hhmm, KP's are just a little better in internal resistance, 0.09 vs 0.10, shoot... Close though. This resistance testing is a good sign of how well the protection circuit is designed when comparing protection circuits on the same cells, such as in this case.
You make a very good and practical point.
On the other hand, if someone is focused on determining what is the best-of-best among a set of high quality but similar items, one could say the Cytac is not “extraordinary” (i.e., clearly superior to the rest of the set).
But for someone like me, who is mostly interested in simply finding domestic options for sourcing high quality batteries, being in the middle of the high end is probably good enough if it is available locally and competitively priced. Given the current restrictions on air transport of lithium batteries from Asia, I imagine that an increasing number of folks will think likewise.
Sure, and from the source, IS (Craig/Calvin) is great with support, service, etc. and of course JOE is excellent, personnally not familiar with doingoutdoor (Bill), but I assume they are a good source, referenced here quite a bit.
Update: Oopsie, doingoutdoor is China I think... my bad!
The OP was looking for a US vendor but doingoutdoor is located in China (nothing inherently wrong with that but they may having the same lithium battery air shipment problems as the other Chinese vendors).
A big thumbs up re your comment about IS. AFAIK, they are the only US vendor selling the Soshine protected 3400mAh18650 ($19.95 a pair) which is a OEM Panasonic cell as well. I bought a pair and like them.