Recommended batteries for this Teslacom 4-cell 18650 light?

owkaye · 2019-09-28T20:12:22.000Z

I just ordered this Teslacom 4-cell 18650 light:

https://www.amazon.com/TESLACOM-Flashlight-Flashlights-Battery-Protection-Technology/dp/B07M6Y69SY

… and I got it with a 50% vipon discount coupon:

https://www.vipon.com/product/5844884

I haven’t received it yet, and this will be my first 18650 flashlight, so now is the perfect time for me to buy 4 batteries for it, and a charger. Unfortunately I know very little about 18650 batteries and therefore I really appreciate your help in deciding which ones I should get:

1- The specs say it requires button-top cell, but if the most suitable batteries are not available in button-top, is it okay to attach 2mm thick by 5mm diameter neodymium magnets to the positive terminals, thus converting them into pseudo-button-top cells?

2- The flashlight itself has low voltage and overheat protection built-in, so unless I have misunderstood something in my research, I think I can use unprotected batteries, is this correct?

3- The description says the light will function on 2, 3, or 4 cells and the pictures show the cells connected in parallel. I have no idea if this “makes a difference” in terms of the battery specs I should focus on for this light, but one thing I want to make sure of is that I can get as much bright light as possible out of this new tool.

Can you post your battery recommendations for this light?

And where are the best sources to buy them so I do not end up with counterfeits?

One final question: I’ve been reading about high-drain batteries but I don’t know if this light needs them, or should have them, or even how to identify high-drain cells. Can anyone help me understand this a little better?

djozz · 2019-09-28T20:27:56.000Z

1) no-go! closing the battery tube will cause the magnets to shift making dead-shorted batteries highly likely

2) it is clearly a very cheap chinese SRK clone, do you trust their protection claims?

3) the batteries are indeed parallel, the light will work on any number of cells.

Final q ) I do not know either if this particular light can run safely on high drain batteries, that depends on the driver and the leds (which for sure will not be Cree leds)

Lightbringer · 2019-09-28T21:50:28.000Z

If you don’t want to wait forever for ’em, any US-based company (the usual suspects, someone’ll chime in) will get ’em to you fast.

It’s not that much of a high-stress light, so especially if you get a set of 4, you can go for capacity (3400mAH or so) over high-drain.

My go-to charger is an Opus 3100, checks cells nicely.

owkaye · 2019-09-28T22:21:10.000Z

Hi djozz, thanks for the replies!

no-go! closing the battery tube will cause the magnets to shift making dead-shorted batteries highly likely

Sounds like trouble. If I find a way to secure the magnets so they cannot shift, are there any other issues I should consider, such as electrical resistance of the magnets, etc.? Or is there a generally accepted “better way” to install buttons on the top of flat-top batteries? Or are the best batteries for this light readily available as button-tops?

it is clearly a very cheap chinese SRK clone, do you trust their protection claims?

I find it hard to believe any promises made by sellers of China-made products these days. Having said this, the seller claims to be in the USA, and the description makes a serious effort to boast about their protection technology, and they are offering an 18-month warranty … so I would guess that they probably do offer built-in protection in this light.

Final q) I do not know either if this particular light can run safely on high drain batteries, that depends on the driver and the leds (which for sure will not be Cree leds)

So you’re saying that if this light is not engineered to handle the current available from high-drain batteries it might “melt down” or “explode” or self-destruct in some other way? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

BlueSwordM · 2019-09-28T22:29:01.000Z

By safely, he means if components would just burn and stop working.

In regards to Chinese made lights, I’d be proud to say you can have confidence in what we recommend, so you don’t have to worry.

owkaye · 2019-09-28T22:54:02.000Z

If you don’t want to wait forever for ’em, any US-based company (the usual suspects, someone’ll chime in) will get ’em to you fast.

I’ll probably do this if/when someone chimes in. But I’ve read so much about counterfeit batteries that I wouldn’t know where to turn without some sound advice.

It’s not that much of a high-stress light, so especially if you get a set of 4, you can go for capacity (3400mAH or so) over high-drain.

I’ll definitely be buying a set of 4. What should I expect to pay for genuine 3400mAH cells these days? Any idea?

My go-to charger is an Opus 3100, checks cells nicely.

I’ll look into this recommendation now, thanks Lightbringer.

Lightbringer · 2019-09-29T02:51:10.000Z

Someone just posted a list recently in a different thread. Liionwarehouse, IMRbatteries, MTN, 18650something, etc.

“Counterfeit” can be decent if the cells are in fact decent. Crap cells are those that are pulled from ancient laptop batteries and rewrapped as “new”. I got “genuine Liitokala” cells for <3bux a pop, knowing full well they were LiShen or equivalent. And they all clocked in at close to their rated capacity. Close enough, I still gave them 4 stars for trying. For the price, though, they were okay.

Prime cells, expect to pay maybe 4-5bux each. I got 30Qs from Fasttech without issue. Still using ’em in my Q8 (BTs) and in other lights (FTs).

The US-based companies that’ll be mentioned will pretty much guarantee legit cells.

Lightbringer · 2019-09-29T02:53:44.000Z

30Qs:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10002357/6691702-authentic-samsung-inr-18650-30q-3-6v-3000mah

owkaye · 2019-09-29T20:20:39.000Z

Lightbringer:

30Qs:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10002357/6691702-authentic-samsung-inr-18650-30q-3-6v-3000mah

Thanks Lightbringer, I just bought the set of 4 via the link you posted. Appreciate your help!

Lightbringer · 2019-09-29T22:06:17.000Z

No worries.

owkaye · 2019-09-30T00:42:22.000Z

“Counterfeit” can be decent if the cells are in fact decent.

Yeah, but I really don’t want to waste money or time experimenting with off-brand cells that may or may not be a bargain.

I got “genuine Liitokala” cells for <3bux a pop, knowing full well they were LiShen or equivalent. And they all clocked in at close to their rated capacity. Close enough, I still gave them 4 stars for trying. For the price, though, they were okay.

So maybe this Liitokala brand is one that’s worth trying some day?

Lightbringer · 2019-09-30T01:13:54.000Z

owkaye:

“Counterfeit” can be decent if the cells are in fact decent.

Yeah, but I really don’t want to waste money or time experimenting with off-brand cells that may or may not be a bargain.

On AX, if you look up the cheapest “LK” cells for 2-3bux a pop, they’ll undoubtedly be a rewrap of new cells. LK doesn’t make cells any more than Thorfire or Sofirn or other purveyor of rebranded cells. Test them immediately on receipt, and make sure they’re at least within 10% of the rated capacity. A lousy rating would make the vendor wail and gnash his teeth, so if you grex about it, you could almost always get a good chunk of change back, if not a complete refund. Pictures, pictures, pictures…

owkaye:

I got “genuine Liitokala” cells for <3bux a pop, knowing full well they were LiShen or equivalent. And they all clocked in at close to their rated capacity. Close enough, I still gave them 4 stars for trying. For the price, though, they were okay.

So maybe this Liitokala brand is one that’s worth trying some day?

They ain’t LK, that’s for sure. It’s a buzzword like an “Ultrafíre” light. Sounds famous, so that’s how they brand it.

BlueSwordM · 2019-09-30T01:32:40.000Z

Not exactly…

Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores! Rechargeable Batteries

So, while I was looking at a nice low cost source for 18650s, I came again at the sight of the Littokala store. What I found was digusting! Then I noticed. The price of all 18650s have been cut by half, but many reviews are saying that their cells have leaked, have very low capacity, and have too low discharge rates. I would not buy any batteries from any of the Liitokala stores 6PCS of Samsung 30Qs: LG HG2s: Samsung 25Rs: I have not looked at more cells, but even if they were free, thes…

Lightbringer · 2019-09-30T01:56:15.000Z

BlueSwordM:

Not exactly…

Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

Those are the counterfeits/fakes, trying to be passed off as 30Qs, HG2s, etc.

The ones I got were in the typische green panny-B livery, no claims to any “brand” other’n “LK”. Paid something like 2something each, so I knew they weren’t the aforementioned. They all clocked in almost to-spec, so no sand-filled 10440s or anything.

Like I said, probably rewrapped Lishen cells, new, commodity cells, decent enough for low-stress lights.

wle · 2019-10-01T11:08:36.000Z

i would not try the magnets as button-top simulators, especially in a multi cell light.

i would either try them as is, or solder a little blob on the top, quickly

it looks like unprotected would be ok, usually it is, for flashlights

they seem to be in parallel where you could use 1, 2, 3 or 4 cells at once.
that probably will not affect brightness, but run time would change.

wle

owkaye · 2019-10-06T21:59:49.000Z

Lightbringer:

30Qs:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10002357/6691702-authentic-samsung-inr-18650-30q-3-6v-3000mah

Today marks 8 days since I placed my order for this set of four 30Q batteries. Little did I know that China was going to start celebrating their National Day on the same weekend I placed my order. In fact, before I ordered it never even occurred to me to check to see where this fasttech.com company is located. I just assumed that it’s in the USA. Nope. It’s in Hong Kong!

So while waiting for the batteries (which might get here in another week or three) I received the flashlight, and it’s built like a tank! It feel like I could drive my truck over it and it wouldn’t be hurt in the least. So if it actually functions like it should, it will probably last me forever.

Lightbringer · 2019-10-06T22:55:25.000Z

Yeah, I got a set of 30Qs that’s expected to ship tomorrow. They’re all hootin’ and hollerin’ and having fun, and only when it’s all over does the world start to spin again.

And yeah, it’s a pretty beefy light, no complaints here except for the UI.

Henk4U2 · 2019-10-07T07:19:29.000Z

Nice to know that this light is provided to us through: Quincy Technology Inc. Brighton CO USA.
Telling us: we have a joint-venture for manufacture in Shenzhen, China. That’s about all I could find.

In fact, that is even less than that other company. I think they call themselves Canada based.
Who apparently operated for years from an address in a residential area.
But now have facilities in other countries. Like soon to be opened in Berlin Germany. Under the balcony.

Well that’s more info than I could find about Teslacom. Though their add on Amazon screems: re-flow me

owkaye · 2019-10-10T12:57:15.000Z

owkaye:

Today marks 8 days since I placed my FastTech order for four 30Q batteries …

Lightbringer:

Yeah, I got a set of 30Qs that’s expected to ship tomorrow …

I was all excited when I got a huge 50% off Vipon deal on my first 18650 flashlight, and I knew I would want to use it ASAP when it arrived. So I ordered 4 batteries immediately, then I ordered a charger a week later. The flashlight arrived first, then the charger, but the batteries never shipped — so now I’m stuck waiting for batteries before I can use the flashlight or charger!

After waiting 5 days with no shipment confirmation from FastTech I created a ticket to ask them why my order still had not shipped. They ignored this ticket for another 6 days …

I finally lost my patience this morning because they have been so pathetically slow and unresponsive. It’s been 11 days since I paid but they still haven’t shipped, and I have received no evidence or communication to suggest that they might ship any time soon. Instead I discovered this notice on their website this morning:

We are experiencing a temporary spike in support requests. Our response may be slightly delayed at the moment. Please be assured that we are working on your requests as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

They sure talk a good story on their website, boasting about how fast and responsive and professional they are, yet their real-world performance tells a much different story … at least in my case.

So I cancelled my FastTech order this morning (we shall see if they ever return my payment) and I placed a new order for a set of four 30Q batteries on eBay from ‘genele3’, a USA seller with a reputation for fast shipping:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192967336455

Unfortunately after this disappointing experience I cannot recommend FastTech, nor will I be buying anything from them in the future. They may be a great battery supplier for some of you, but not for me.

In my opinion FastTech should have placed a PROMINENT notice on their website at least one week before the start of their National Holiday, alerting everyone that they would be temporarily “out of business” for this holiday and therefore unable to ship any new orders during the first two weeks of October. But they did not do this, and the result is that I wasted 11 days waiting for nothing.

nick779 · 2019-10-10T13:47:55.000Z

owkaye:

Hi djozz, thanks for the replies!

it is clearly a very cheap chinese SRK clone, do you trust their protection claims?

I find it hard to believe any promises made by sellers of China-made products these days. Having said this, the seller claims to be in the USA, and the description makes a serious effort to boast about their protection technology, and they are offering an 18-month warranty … so I would guess that they probably do offer built-in protection in this light.

I guess youll find out, potentially the hard way.

Most of the cheaply built clones use even cheaper components than the originals, typically use counterfeit/fake emitters, and blatantly lie about specs.

Personally I prefer to opt for something a bit more proven when im handling/storing a glorified pipebomb. Plenty of house fires and injuries caused by faulty, poorly made, and poorly handled lithium cells/electronics.