Thread: Trusted 18650 suppliers?

I can do you a better deal on a batch of 10, drop me a PM

Nitecore from AliExpress have been good for me. Not sure how prices compare to local outlets at the moment though.

www.batterymasta.co.nz would be worth a look

Originally Posted by mudgripz

Make sure they are button top, and protected cells. Expect to pay around $60 a pair. Here are some Maxtoch 3500s - still likely genuine:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...8?bof=zbzRjOFg

Why button top?

I have been using these in my big torches. They seem ot go well.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...0?bof=7YnfUo7L

Originally Posted by Shearer

Why button top?

helps when you series them.

It means it has the protection circuit to stop it being over or undecharged I think

Originally Posted by Shearer

Why button top?

usually protection cct is in the base not the top................usually

Originally Posted by gonetropo

usually protection cct is in the base not the top................usually

depends on where your base is - protection circuits would usually be at the anode end.
they can sometimes have a PTC block on the cathode end.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

Make sure they are button top, and protected cells. Expect to pay around $60 a pair. Here are some Maxtoch 3500s - still likely genuine:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...8?bof=zbzRjOFg

Both my pard and sytong gear specify non button batteries and as they are usually single cell units so there's no issue with needing them for inter-cell contact. If if you're dealing with recoil (springer, centrefire) then button is best on single cell torches. I'm not sold on protected batteries, a lot of the modern torch drivers run their own voltage regulation which makes it a bit redundant, plus, the extra length can be an issue. I have protected fenix 21700s that will not fit my convoy L21b's without damaging the internals.

Originally Posted by Makros

Jacob at https://www.piercingthedarkness.co.nz/ one of the forum sponsors. Good guy and good gear.

definite +1 from me too.

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

Agreed. But, good ones can do this too, particularly if your charger has a fault. I always charge mine with the charger in the middle of the workshop concrete floor, clear of any combustibles, just in case there is a failure.

There was a house burnt to the ground locally about 10 months ago due to a battery failure while charging. Was a battery pack for a remote controlled car. Kid was charging it in his bedroom when it fizzed up. Family lost everything, and had no insurance ......

Food for thought - where do you charge your batteries, and if one failed, what would catch fire and what would you loose?

@hotbarrels Food for thought, mine were not charging- charging had finished some hours before and they hand been sitting in a plastic carry case after I put the charger away. The batteries in question were actually in use at the time on a slow drain device while we were watching TV...We were going to go to the movies that night and changed our minds at the last minute- two possibilities arise there....if we had taken them with us to use afterwards on the trip home, they could have gone off in the car in the car park if we had left them there, or as we had done previously, in our bag in the theatre (action movie would have been very exciting- Theatre management not so much...) or if we had left them at home, I would not have been there with the extingusher and we could have returned to find ourselves homeless.......Either way we were very lucky.

They were locally sourced grey (probably chinese) batteries

Post deleted sorry.

Id be interested to learn more about long and short 18650. I bought a cheap “ powerbank “ with 18650 inside at jaycar that you could charge by usb but the battery is short so i cant use my torch batteries to charge my phone in the hills. What gives ?

Y’ what ?
Wring thread sorry.

Originally Posted by Makros

Jacob at https://www.piercingthedarkness.co.nz/ one of the forum sponsors. Good guy and good gear.

Jacb at piercingthedarkness has great products at a very good price. I have bought a pile of rechargeables from him and never had a problem.