Should I buy these batteries now ?.

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

hi there, im awaiting the release of the new ZL SC600wMkII, and already looking for 18650’s for it.
i am looking at both AW 26 & 3100’s, but on the other hand I was told to wait till the light is released as its now 5.4mm shorter in length and the battery may not fit it.
??
…also I was told now there is even better than AW for this flashlight, and its just not all about AW.
what do you say on this?
do i really need to wait? - should I buy yet?, and should it be AW’s?.

im worried a little that if i do buy the AW’s they wont fit!.
one said they wont, one said they will.

thanks.

2

What length are the AWs ?
I notice that Fasttech’s protected panasonics are a bit longer than most:

NCR18650 2900mAh 69.2mm
NCR18650A 3100mAh 69.7mm
NCR18650B 3400mAh 69.4mm

Blazar NCR18650A 3100mAh 68.6mm

I wonder if there’s a thread listing battery lengths.

3

I believe the protected AWs are flattops and much shorter than the other protected cells. To get shorter Panasonic or Sanyo cells, you would have to go unprotected.
I would wait and see what batteries it will accommodate. I can’t believe Zebralight would release a light that only took AW.
I’m not sure, but I keep thinking that when I bought my SC600 the dealer said it wouldn’t accept some flattops. I can’t remember anymore.

4

You can start here, the last chart is battery length.

5

Thanks HKJ.
I knew I’d seen that somewhere.

6

I have three AW 18650 PROTECTED, and they are NOT as the chart shows, or the picture for that matter!!
My AW are not flat top at all, they are 2200mah and button top, 67.26mm long, less the thickness of selotape!!
My newly bought SenyBor(panasonic 3100mah)are NOT protected but 67mm long exactly, again button top.
Hope this is of some help,
tabs

7

I believe the smaller 2200mAh AW is the only Buttontop 18650 available from AW.

8

My picture of the AW18650 2200mAh:

And I have the length as 67.8mm, the same value as shown in my chart.

9

If I knew how to put a picture up on here, and could be bothered I would, but I don’t and can’t, mine was as measured.
Maybe different times AW used different suppliers ?, but mine are exactly as your picture CONTRARY to the ones pictured in the battery test, which are flat top, so you see yours are not the same either as those in test from AW.
tabs

10

If you are talking about the big battery test, I did it , but there are include a couple of different AW batteries.

Usual the length will vary, due to a couple of factors:

  • Mounting of the button top is not always the same hight (This is not relevant for AW's 2200mAh battery and for flat top batteries).
  • The thickness of the protection circuit.
  • The thickness of the wrap, where it fold onto the bottom of the cell.

This can easily be more than 0.1 mm and I do always use the longest battery of the two I test.

11

Hi looking to choose still between AW and fenix, but more from a quality and safety point,

could this be said the same for the FENIX ARB L2 18650 cell?.
the fenix cell is made by a company named “BAK” in china, and the writer here says anything from china is bad.

or are they just as good?. better?.
see below.
thanks.

Here is what separates AW cells from the imitators:

Reliability: Less chance the cell stops working for no apparent reason (it happens)
Consistency: Every battery has similar performance (as opposed to variable)
Safety: Mechanical and electronic safety features (a “protected” cell)
Lifetime: Longer total life span because of the characteristics above
AW batteries are, without question, the best lithium flashlight batteries in the world. They assembled in China, but the actual cells are top tier cells from Panasonic in Japan. AW batteries are specifically intended for high performance applications. You can buy Panasonic cells from online retailers for 1/2 the price, but you are getting second tier cells…basically batteries rejected by other companies.

NOTICE: My lights are ONLY intended to work with a single 18650 lithium-ion battery. 2x CR123 lithium primary batteries are not recommended because they cannot sustain the high current draw of “high” mode. Using them may be dangerous.

2x RCR123 (rechargeable) batteries will fit inside the body, but the driver CANNOT accept more than 6V. Using 2x RCR123 batteries will damage the driver.

If you aren’t convinced, read on…

High quality batteries are the life-blood of any flashlight. This might sound obvious, but buying cheap batteries is often a “go-to” cost cutting measure. There is a reason you don’t put cheap gas in a Ferrari, it won’t run right. There are a lot of Li-Ion batteries on the market with a vast range of quality. Cheap lithium batteries are at best unreliable; and at worst dangerous.

Fortunately I’ve eliminated the guesswork for you. AW lithium-ion flashlight batteries are simply the best you can buy, period. They are the only brand I’ll sell along with one of my lights and I don’t recommend that you put any other brand in there. If you are a flashlight expert, then do what you want. If not, trust me.

What, don’t want to take my word for it? Candle Power Forums is THE place on the internet for discussing everything flashlight related. Turns out that a lot of “flashaholics” are also electrical engineers and rocket scientists that know a lot more about batteries than I do. So don’t take my word for it. Go to CPF and see for yourself. You’ll find one brand is recommended above all others, far above, and that is AW.

So the funny thing is AW is a small company…as far as I can tell. So why are AW batteries the gold standard? First, it appears to me that AW’s goal is simple: be the best. It’s not just because they are twice as expensive as other batteries. They have been tested and retested by the CPF community against every “other” brand and they simply perform better, for longer. AW sells (almost) exclusively to the after-market flashlight community and those standards are exceedingly high. Remember the rocket scientists? They have lab equipment.

The AW 18650 is constructed using top-tier Panasonic cells, made in Japan
AW quality starts with the raw li-ion cells. When batteries are manufactured they undergo a battery of tests (hehehe) to determine their performance characteristics. These batteries are then “binned” according to quality. The high quality ones go to big companies like Toshiba, Dell, HP, etc. Instead of getting tossed, the lower quality cells go…other places…like secondary online battery retailers. AW buys top bin cells from Panasonic, not second rate ones. Then each cell is fitted with a custom circuit board that protects the cell from things like over heating, over voltage, under voltage, shorts, and excessive current drain.

A lot of li-ion batteries are made in China. These of course are the cheapest ones. Now anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not against Chinese products. But in the case of li-ion batteries, word on the street (Science Street) is that they are inferior. Li-ion batteries store an immense amount of energy. You wouldn’t want to store an immense amount of energy is a sub-standard container would you?

Stored energy wants to get out there and do something. Don’t cheap out or they might do something besides turn on your flashlight.

12

Actually, keeppower and keeppower OEM Panasonic based cells repeatedly outperform AW in capacity tests. So I certainly don’t buy into ‘other’ brands using sub-par base cells.

Keeppower also claim to have tested and stripped AW equivalents and that their own brand is better quality, although they would say that and I can’t verify it.

Long story short, keeppowers for a decent price are generally the best quality/performance for the money.

Although I would also add that with an SC600 you should be fine with unprotected Panasonics anyway, as it has low voltage protection built in. Just make sure you get a good charger.

13

For a spring loaded battery holder the longer battery lengths would give you higher contact pressure which reduces contact impedance but this +/- 0.6% in length in this application is probably negligible.

To gauge the overall effect, figure circuit resistance levels.
A 3v flashlight with a 1/4A bulb is 3/0.25 = 12 ohms, so the total circuit resistance should be 5x or 10x less than this.
A 12v car battery cranking a 200A starter motor would give 12/200 = 0.06 ohm and I believe the specs on the voltage drop of starter motor cables is 1/4v, max, which is 2% per cable.

14

hi this AW 3100 states 68mm.
this is what I was thinking to use in the new zl sc600MkII

http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/AW%2018650%203100mAh%20(Black)%20UK.html