Vapcell gold from 11.11 sale all went bad in first use!

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Preface: I typically do not order cells from China, almost exclusively from liionwholesale, and I have several of the gold Vapcell 14500 1000mAh’s in use and have been more than pleased with them.

The 11.11 sale from Vapcell on aliexpress was to good to pass up and I bought 2 pair, they arrived a few weeks ago between 3.2 and 3.6v and I charged them right away (at 300mAh charge rate).
I put one in a light immediately (and set the other 3 in my ready to use container) and the light gave me a low battery warning and totally shut down, including aux LED, within 48 hours. Now typically I get a few weeks out of the light before I decide to charge at around 3.3ish volts, before lvp has even started in (in truth I’ve never once seen lvp kick in on this light as I typically use it at very low power and replace the cell before necessary). Strange but ok. So I pull the cell and it’s reading 0.4v, I go to get another one of the same batch and it’s at 2.8v having sat unused, another is at 3.6v, this is < a week from being charged the first time!

Vapcell Dennis says it must be me cause they only use legit cells from big manufacturers but these 4 received no different treatment then the liionwholesale cells do.

What gives? Is it really my fault or does Vapcell just not want to have to refund me? Do note these 4 are flat top, all the liionwholesale ones I’ve ever got are button tops.

I will NEVER buy Chinese cells again, between the fake Banggood 30q’s and now these I’m zero for 8 on Chinese sourced cells in 2019! In the mean time what recourse do I take with these 4?

2

Vapcell does have a reputation to loose, so I would be surprised if they, knowingly that they sell bad/fake cells, cheat a BLF member over a few dollars.

So I would, apart from suspecting Vapcell, also investigate other things that may have happened with these cells, like improper storage during transfer (but I’m not an expert how storage can affect batteries).

3

That was one of the things I suggested to Dennis. Shipping was about 6 weeks, not sure what conditions may have happened during that time.

BTW The two cells with the lowest voltage have a very powerful chemical smell to them coming from their positive posts. It’s not a super strong smell, you have to get your face right near them to waft the smell but it’s powerful enough when you do that I definitely won’t repeat purposely smelling it!

4

Hmm… Sounds like a clear case of faulty cells to me.
The smell indicates they have vented or somehow leaked otherwise.
Is there also moisture under the wrappers (between the cells and the wrappers)?

5

Good call Jerommel! Upon closer inspection there is some residue under the wrappers near the positive pole of both the lowest voltage ones, doesn’t seem like moisture, it appears dry but definitely some sort of substance underneath the gold wrap!

The voltage of cell 2 is fluctuating badly, earlier today it was reading 2.92v, as of this instant, sitting outside in a plastic container it’s 4.09v! That’s with no attempt to charge or discharge.

6

Is it too late to open a dispute or something?
There is a link in every order (in ‘my orders’) even long after ‘confirmation received’ / ‘finished’.

7

I just flew an airline flight and saw a warning that decompression can cause li-ion cells to leak, if they’re flown in unpressurized cargo. Apparently the sudden change from sea level to 30 thousand feet altitude can make a problem if they’re not built to withstand the pressure change.

8

The battery of vapcell 14500 1000mah is from a large brand factory in China. The original box is sealed to our warehouse. Stable quality, good consistency. We have enough confidence in the 14500 gold. We’ve never changed another battery. Please refer to HKJ’s photos, including the diameter, height and internal resistance weight of the battery.

Before that, we have never received such complaints about battery performance. We have received the problem of button top welding before, but we are trying to improve the welding quality.

A few days ago, the customer reported that one battery was broken and four batteries were bought. I said to contact our after-sales customer service to apply for a quarter of the amount of compensation

Today, we rechecked the same batch of batteries in the warehouse. The consistency of voltage and internal resistance is excellent

The customer reported yesterday that other batteries were broken

Then the customer said that almost all the four batteries were broken, and the battery had leakage, which was a surprising situation.

We check whether the customer is within the scope of the specification. If the battery is improperly used, such as high current discharge or overcharge, overcharge may lead to battery failure. If the battery is scrapped due to improper use, the responsibility shall be borne by the customer

We have sold dozens of 14500 orders in double 11, and only received this complaint at present

It is impossible for us to change the batteries for several batteries and replace them with batteries of poor quality. The reputation of vapcell is very important.

We are investigating this incident. We attach great importance to this kind of accident. If there is any updated information, we will let you know

Please contact our customer service for compensation

Best regards

9

Banggood sells fake Samsung 30Q?

10

I doubt Banggood would ever sell any fake batteries knowingly. With such a big business they have, reputation is important. I bought a ton of stuff from them and all legit.

11

Fake 30q’s

12

I mentioned in another thread something I just learned on an airline flight recently —- li-ion cells can leak due to experiencing a fast major air pressure change.
That can occur in unconditioned cargo space on an aircraft going from sea level to cruising altitude “between 33,000 and 42,000 feet” in a few minutes,
and with an accompanying temperature change.

13

i would check your charger.
its possible to get duds but the charger might be defective.
like grossly overcharging.
if so quiet,uneventful death is a good outcome.