Thanks Jeff, I will definitely check the Vapcells in the future. I live in Madagascar and what I do is order from nkon.eu Europe in the Netherlands.
Then I ship to an authorized French logistics company who can ship dangerous goods such as batteries to Madagascar by sea freight (only France due our colonnial ties LOL). It takes a few months but it is a small price to pay I guess.
For the Vapcells you mentionned, I will try to order them in the future. I asssume these batteries are shipped from the USA (since the website says Phoenixville, PA) and I am afraid it will be a pain to ship them internationally because most carries such as DHL, FedEx or UPS wonât accept to ship batteries outside the US ( I tried!). Please let me know if you can find a workaround on this logisticis issue in general.
Like to Mayotte or RĂ©union and then to Madagascar?
Im curious how they work shipping fees with that. Sure, you might technically be in a different hemisphere and thousands of miles away from Europe, the continent, but at the same time youre literally only a couple hundred miles outside France
I bought a box of 397 various size o-rings from Harbor Freight many years ago for around $5. I only needed a couple but individual ones at my hardware store were about $1 so the box made more sense.
If you only need a few you can get them from almost any hardware store for a few dollars.
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Actually no, not the DOM/TOMS. La RĂ©union and Mayotte are indeed french territories but I am getting batteries directly from Metropolitan France.
OK here is how I order batteries:
1- I place a normal order on nkon.eu or any relatively trustworthy European or Chinese website.
2- Then the seller ships (by ground only) to a French company based in the Paris area. This is one of the very very few companies that accept to ship parcel-sized cargo by sea freight. As you surely know, you have to send large volume of FTL/LTL cargo if you want to send by sea. But this company is collecting small parcels as well.
3- Then at the end of each month, the company palletize and sends everything by sea. I receive them a few months later at my door.
This is the easiest way for me to source batteries. It is relatively hard to send directly because no couriers will accept to ship dangerous goods. Also, even if I manage to smuggle them like Ă la drug-dealer-style, I will definitely get in trouble with the customs office as they are well known to be pesky.
That is why buying Vapcells maybe another headache for me since I do not know any option on how to get them shipped internationally. But I will try, I will send them an E-mail and ask if they have a shipping method avalaible for international customers.
Most of the guys on Alibaba and AliExpress all have ways to ship pretty much anything internationally. Doesnât mean its legal or that itâll work 100% of the time or that you wonât get in trouble with customs, but the sellers donât care if you donât lol. Iâll give you an example.
I was looking to buy an oxygen concentrator a year or two ago because I make stuff with glass using an oxy-fuel torch that goes through a lot of oxygen tanks. But you can buy an oxygen concentrator that pulls oxygen out of the air and bottle your own oxygen. But these are supposed to be for hospitals and the elderly. Itâs medical equipment.
Itâs legal to buy refurbished concentrators no longer fit for medical use, but if you want a nice new one you need doctors prescription. Itâs only available with a prescription.
But, and I didnât end up doing this, they have these on Alibaba. I was talking with manufacturers about how theyâd get it past customs. And these arenât like a little bag of batteries either theyâre big machines that cost a few thousand $$. Like they arrive on a pallet right. They said normally we use a box that just says theyre big air purifiers but we can use ones that say itâs beauty equipment and call it an âoxygen facialâ machine, we can say itâs for aquaculture like pond aeration, or for dog breeding.
Theyâd ship it in a box with puppies wearing oxygen masks on it lmao
That last one is kinda brilliant. What kind of customs official is going to take oxygen away from puppies! If you donât let this through customs youâre literally killing puppies! Diabolical. And this was all during the start of covid too when every hospital was looking for oxygen. Ya theyll do whatever lol. Oh not vapcell though. Iâm sure vapcell does it all by the book 100%. Iâm talking about the other guys. *wink wink
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Thatâs so messed up and brilliant at the same time Jeff. I donât know if you still order these concentrators but if you do, I am sure youâll need to switch tactics now since youâve made this info availaible on the internetâŠLOL
Have a nice weekend, and happy Easter!
Ok, so, the diameter is not really the issue here. There are so many ways to fill that space difference that it really isnât funny.
The length difference is the potential problem. Crushing the battery or springs can happen and can be a big problem. IF the flashlight has huge springs that can take 5mm of compression without damage, then yes a 21700 cell can be used in place of a 26650.
A piece of PVC tubing, a toilet paper roll, a thick advertising flyer from the mail, almost anything can be used to keep the cell from rattling. As long as nothing shorts the cell there is no issue. I even have a big light that originally used a proprietary pack that now has a cut down Maglight tube inside PVC to allow use of two 32650 cells.
If youâre worried about fire, the cells would have already burned to start your spacer on fire! I cut aluminum tubes or Delrin tubes, whatever is most handy.
If using an adapter allows noiseâŠBlack electrical tape around the plastic spacer can tighten up the fit so it doesnât freely slide up and down make noise. No problem.
Experts, arenât those the oneâs with the most experience? Ten years and well over a thousand lights modded should count for something, yes?
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