So after four days of waiting they finally got back to me with this.
“Sorry to hear this issue. Could you please let us know the defect of the batteries of each types of batteries so we could resolve it for you?”
I already sent them pictures along with a detailed explanation as to why I can’t use two different kinds of batteries and that the one they sent was the wrong battery.
I noticed that no matter what these places never just do what is right the first time. They always demand that you answer twice at least and send extra information. Although I would like to know what else they need to know. They know they are shipping out the wrong batteries. What else is there to know? Apparently they think that it’s ok to send the wrong batteries as long as they haven’t blown up yet.
They really are slipping. This should be a no brainer really. They shipped the wrong batteries and they know it too. I am really disappointed with them on this one. If they don’t fix this by tomorrow night I will file a paypal claim and see if that gets their attention.
At this point I asked for a store credit and I will be happy with that. It beats sending them back and having them send out more of the wrong one. We will see I guess.
I got a reply to my response (about my replacements not being ICR though they said they would make sure they were). Just says, " Sorry, we'll check with our warehouse staff and get back to you soon." I didn't ask for another replacement or store credit yet. I'll see where they go with their response.
So it looks like the flattops are INR, and the buttontops are ICR. Seems like an easy correction. I think the biggest problem is the language barrier. Someone needs to put it as simply and plainly so they can get a grasp of what exactly we’re complaining about in as few words as possible.
I tried in my support ticket to explain about the difference between ICR & INR (chemistry) and provided links. They just refused to believe it and kept reiterating what "their supplier" told them which was that ICR & INR were just batch / date codes. I don't know how I could get more clear with them. I also provided links to a website selling both ICR & INR types of King Kongs.
They contacted me and I’m sending them back, they say for replacement but I added a note saying that I prefered a refund. At this point I don’t trust them to get it right. If they don’t send a refund and send me out the wrong batteries again I will not be shocked.
This is just my 2 cents. I am not by any means saying things are this way from all dealers, vendors and am not speaking specifiably about this dealer.
We all know that a large portion of the cells being circulated from China are re-badges from the same box. When it comes to chemistry labeling this is no different.
I ordered some of the popular gold color cells from a wholesaler in china about a year ago that were advertised as INR. When they came my cells said ICR. When I contacted them about getting a replacement they asked why and I explained. This is when she told me that the chemistry for the cells labeled INR and ICR were actually the same. She also told me that I could have what ever I wanted written on them provided it was with dot matrix. I told her I would like a pair with some lengthy wording on them. Sure enough a few weeks later the gold colored cells turn up at my house with the exact wording on them I told her and nothing else.
So is it possible that maybe she just lied and said that the chemistry was the same for both cells so they would not have to replace them?
Maybe...
Is it possible she was telling the truth and that all the cells come from the same box just with different wording on them to get more search engine hits ( INR ICR IMR etc)
Maybe....
Or could it be that they were different chemistry and the person or company I was speaking with just does not understand that INR and ICR are much more than just lettering.
Maybe....
Regardless of which conclusion you choose to draw the result is exactly the same, its somewhat of a crap shoot. So until the glorious day when a factory is opened on good old American soil, to the dice table we will continue to run.
HKJ did test some INR and ICR cells and got different results that agreed with the labelling.
I agree that anything can be written on a label, but in that case we would expect the better chemistry to be the mislabel, for example chinese lumens are not underrated, they are overrated to bring in the gullible
I agree with your Bort, it is possible to win sometimes, and odds can be significantly increased for the informed buyer. Otherwise none of us would ever play :)
The reason I would think it made sense for them to apply INR, IMR and ICR labels to the same cell is to gain the extra ten thousand search hits for each cell type. People looking for ICR cells may not consider them worse than IMR or INR. Plus the vast majority of the planet is not going to wield the kind of knowledge most of the enthusiasts at BLF posses. Many of them are probly just goggling what amounts to a part number to find a battery they have heard something about.
More likely they get the best price by buying in quantity like anyone else. It's cheaper to buy 1000 of any one type than 250 of 4 different types. And hard to predict the relative demand for each type by customers.
Weird, that's the opposite from what I'd expect based on comparing my unprotected Samsung 18650 INRs vs. ICRs. INR will do around 4.35A direct drive into a XML2, back to back (to back) test in the same light with an ICR does 3.72A. (& Panasonic NCR18650 2900 does 3.65A)
Is there any definitive way to tell if the KK's chemistry actually matches what's printed on the side? I need some for a Maglite project and haven't waded into the 26650 pool yet...
Dangit, I was just going to post a suggestion for you about some 26650’s that I just got in. It was an ali-express deal so I didn’t want to post it until I got them. Now the price is jacked up on them. They were $6 each and you had to buy four. Now it’s $75 for ten of them. They are Sony with a max of 50amp HKJ reviewed them too and said they were good. I tried them tonight and they rocked. Not nearly the capacity of a king Kong though.
INR is a safer chemistry battery and ICR is supposed to be able to discharge more amps. What ticked me off is that I wanted to have two sets of three not one set of four and one set of two.
Oopsie - I was referring to just the Kong Kong 26650's - it's not all about the chemistry. Yes - the Samsung INR 20R is the best 18650 cell for low resistance, while the KK ICR is better than the KK INR for low resistance.
