Hello Everyone - This is a critical heads up for the benefit of all those who plan on purchasing 18650s in the US from ORBTRONIC. An excerpt from a Amazon customer review of this battery pair selling for $ 25.31 + 4.99 shipping. The Gentleman’s screen name is rdw96187 and the review is dated 30th May 2012.
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is for: TWO PROTECTED 3100mAh 18650 (Industrial NCR18650A Panasonic inside) Li-ion Rechargeable Orbtronic Battery Cells- Most Powerful 18650 Battery on Planet Earth - Button Top, PCB Protection (Electronics)
I use this battery for an electronic cigarette. I have 3 different types of 18650 batteries. The first kind i had was Trustfire, those are horrible, and do not work properly after a couple of hours of use. The second type i have are Soshine 2800mAh, they work awesome and have never had a problem with them. I use the same charger for both of them and they charge fine. I got the orbtronic batteries because they were 3100mAh, and I thought they would last a bit longer than my 2800’s. First thing I did when I got them in the mail was charge them. I pulled them off of the charger and looked at the positive tip, and they had shifted from placing them on the charger. I originally thought that they were sent to me like that, so I was disappointed and contacted the seller to return them. The seller promptly responded, and was very knowledgeable about them. He knew exactly what the problem was and told me to use an object to push the tip back into place. I have had them for about a week, and I have a couple problems with them. It is getting very odd having to push the tip back into place after charging, as both other brands I have do not have that issue. As a result of the tip moving, it goes underneath the paper around the tip. Yes its PAPER around the tip, and it peels off and looks horrible. Somehow, even after a full charge, they dont last as long as my 2800’s without dying. Though the seller is very helpful (has even sent detailed spec’s to me of the battery) I still would not recommend them if you are using them for the same thing I am.
Interesting, if it is, it appears to be legit. It is actually cheaper by $3.20 to buy directly from the Orbtronic site with free shipping. I don’t recall HKJ having these issues with the batteries he tested.
“I pulled them off of the charger and looked at the positive tip, and they had shifted from placing them on the charger.”
If these were recycled, It seems to me that this is exactly what could happen. Place a new button top onto the old flat top, install a new PCB on the bottom and rewrap with a new paper sleeve. Voila! a brand new cell.
Usual the + nipple is welded, but some heavy pressure can break it loose. I have only seen it happen on cheap batteries, but then I do not apply a lot of sideways pressure on the nipple when testing.
I don’t know about the reviewer’s e-cig, but the followup comment on amazon suggests that e-cigs don’t take long protected cells very well. It sounds like the reviewer may have tried to jam the battery in and knocked the +ve nipple loose. (Which sounds very scary to me, given how close the battery is to the face…)
The reviewer is talking about his experience with the battery charger and not the e-cig. He also mentions that two other brands don’t show this shifting of the +ve terminal.
Mea culpa… I didn’t notice him saying that it was only the charger. That said, some chargers are tight, and could do the same thing. My WF-139, for instance, won’t load Panasonic protected 3100s (HKE).
Well Well Well………this review has been deleted from Amazon today morning. Someone is trying to cover up the quality shortcomings on the Orbtronic 18650 batteries.
Strange how genuine feedback on a platform like Amazon can be manipulated to mask bad quality products.
I would stay away from Orbtronic protected 18650s.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Orbtronic batteries.
If you don’t abuse them, these batteries will serve you pretty long time (it is Panasonic inside).
By abuse I mean: pushing them with a great side force into your old battery charger, which is not made for new generation of protected 18650 batteries.