Am new to the mods thing, ordered some Samsung 18650-30Q batteries as they are supposed to be "high quality". The description said they are INR. But the picture shows ICR. I have looked for pictures of the 18650-30Q, most show INR18650-30Q SDI 136 but some show ICR18650-30Q SDI 136. Other than that they look the same, same color etc. Am a bit concerned that these might be fakes, with the danger of lithium batteries exploding if these are not REAL Samsungs would be afraid to use them. Am going to test capacity when they arrive but even charging a fake could be dangerous I think.
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Zaryk’s question is the biggest factor in guessing if you have fakes. Always buy batteries from a reliable vendor, that way you won’t have to worry about fakes. Imrbatteries dot com, illum dot com, and orbtronic dot com are three good vendor that do not sell fakes. Avoid eBay and Amazon when buying batteries as a general rule. Charging them shouldn’t be dangerous but monitor them as they charge. Good luck and I hope your cells perform like they should.
Heh, ebay as they had a 15% off yesterday
Unfortunately it seems a lot of batteries being sold at ebay are Chinese fakes. I don't see how two models of the same batteries could look EXACTLY the same other than the INR/ICR printing, even if there are INR and ICR models would think they would be a different color and some of the other numbers would be different.
I remember mooch saying most cells are mislabeled Inr or imr. It’s above my pay grade so I won’t try to explain it. They could be authentic cells but it’s hard to say. I would only order from eBay if I knew the seller and he was trustworthy. The sellers rating may help you determine if he sells authentic cells. @Mooch May be able to tell you how to spot a fake. Hopefully he will pop in and have an easy way to spot a Samsung 30q fake. Good luckHeh, ebay as they had a 15% off yesterday
It is a roll of the dice when buying batteries from ebay. I have before, but I knew the seller and talked to him before placing an order. Hopefully mooch, or someone else experienced in the world of batteries, will chime in and share their knowledge.
I don't have expertise to ID the fakes, but as previously mentioned, the BEST way to ensure you get authentic batteries is to buy from known, trusted battery vendors.
Great batteries are just a few bucks - it's not worth the risk of exceeding the capacity of a re-wrapped "fake". Heck - those 30Q's (which I like, too) are around $5.00.
Some good sites I've bought from:
Illumn
RTDVapor
Liion WHolesale
IMRBatteries
Orbtronic
Great batteries are just a few bucks - it's not worth the risk of exceeding the capacity of a re-wrapped "fake". Heck - those 30Q's (which I like, too) are around $5.00.
Some good sites I've bought from:
Illumn
RTDVapor
Liion WHolesale
IMRBatteries
Orbtronic
Heh, ebay as they had a 15% off yesterday
Chinese companies can be experts at replicating the look of a legit item. Don't underestimate their abilities.Heh, ebay as they had a 15% off yesterday
I'll report back when the batteries arrive. The batteries ship from the US but that does not mean it is a US seller. I use an OPUS BT-C3400 (great charger, look into it, LOTS of features and can handle most any cylindrical rechargeable battery). Should be able to get the capacity, if off will contact seller, heck will contact seller if the batteries are printed ICR as the description says INR.
The actual CDR and mAh of the cell is more important than the specific chemistry. Buying from Ebay is a terrible idea.
Assuming it is genuine, the Samsung 30Q is a superb cell. If it is not genuine then who knows whats under the wrap.
You should buy from reputable dealers.
UK/Europe
Batteries Plus - Specialists in rechargeable batteries for cordless phone, mobile phone, digital camera, solar light and torch batteries and a large range of button cells, all at Batteries Plus in the UK
Fogstar - The UK's #1 trusted source of 18650 Batteries
NKON | nkon.nl
myepack.co.uk
North America
www.liionwholesale.com
www.imrbatteries.com
www.illumn.com
www.rtdvapor.com
www.batterybro.com
www.orbtronic.com
Assuming it is genuine, the Samsung 30Q is a superb cell. If it is not genuine then who knows whats under the wrap.
You should buy from reputable dealers.
UK/Europe
Batteries Plus - Specialists in rechargeable batteries for cordless phone, mobile phone, digital camera, solar light and torch batteries and a large range of button cells, all at Batteries Plus in the UK
Fogstar - The UK's #1 trusted source of 18650 Batteries
NKON | nkon.nl
myepack.co.uk
North America
www.liionwholesale.com
www.imrbatteries.com
www.illumn.com
www.rtdvapor.com
www.batterybro.com
www.orbtronic.com
The actual CDR and mAh of the cell is more important than the specific chemistry. Buying from Ebay is a terrible idea.
Assuming it is genuine, the Samsung 30Q is a superb cell. If it is not genuine then who knows whats under the wrap.
You should buy from reputable dealers.
UK/Europe
Batteries Plus - Specialists in rechargeable batteries for cordless phone, mobile phone, digital camera, solar light and torch batteries and a large range of button cells, all at Batteries Plus in the UK
Fogstar - The UK's #1 trusted source of 18650 Batteries
NKON | nkon.nl
myepack.co.uk
North America
www.liionwholesale.com
www.imrbatteries.com
www.illumn.com
www.rtdvapor.com
www.batterybro.com
www.orbtronic.com
Great info thanks. I kind of rushed into this because of the ebay 15% off everything. I did my search eliminating everything except US sellers, also checked feedback of the seller for that particular item. All the feedback was good, but, how many people actually know if the battery they got is genuine, unless they have a good way of testing the capacity etc. Normally would not worry TOO much but with lithium batteries which can explode, well, I think you are correct, buy from a reputable source. So a "fake" is just a rewrapped battery? Could be anything, not the brand or even the chemistry you think you are getting? Geez, fakes are bad but faking something that can be very dangerous is criminal IMO.
I did a quote of your message but not sure how to do partial quotes, any tips on that?
Great info thanks....
......I did a quote of your message but not sure how to do partial quotes, any tips on that?
Hi,
You should be able to edit between the first "]" and the last "[" of the quote.
The only way to make money selling fakes is to pass off cheaper, inferior cells as ones that have a reputation for being a good cells.
What makes a good cell? One that has the advertised capacity, and an internal resistance low enough to make the supposed CDR feasible. I wouldn't even think about buying cells from sketchy sources like fleaBay without the equipment to test both characteristics. Stuff like this:
Playing with a Vapcell YR1030 AC Resistance Tester
Just treat it like a low amp battery when you get it and you won’t have to worry about it exploding. If it’s a fake it could just be low discharge cell. You could use it for low discharge applications but not vaping. If you run a test with your opus it should give you an idea of the quality of the cell. Just don’t pop it in a mod and crank it up to 100+watts and vape away. Then you won’t have to worry about it exploding. Lithium cells can be dangerous but people have to do something stupid to make them explode so you should be fine.
Sonic and Rossum have given you very sound information. THE battery expert around here and elsewhere is Battery Mooch. He's made a series of informative You Tube videos on batteries, including "battery chemistry" and "counterfeit batteries". Check out his other videos, too.
Where do you buy the YR1030? I see one at ebay, comes from China. The official brand is made in China but that does not mean there are not Chinese fakes of legitimate Chinese products
Yeah I tried that but could not delete the picture. For partial quote looks like just highlight what you want to quote and reply from the highlight.
You should be concerned, a man died a few months earlier in an incident with a battery he was using in a mod.
Batteries are only dangerous if misused or abused. If you follow some basic safety procedures, and use cells of known performance, you can choose an application that sits inside those known parameters. If you draw 30 amps from a 10 amp cell that you thought was capable of 30 amps you are going to have a bad day.
Battery abuse doesn't necessarily end in fireworks, you may just get a bad vape or very short battery life-spans.
I've suffered property damage and injury as a direct result of mishaps with 18650s. Even with knowledge and experience it's possible to mess up just from being complacent. Have a good read of Mooch's blog and youtube videos, and if you have any questions feel free to ask them.
Mooch's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
"Legitimate Chinese products" made me laugh.
Giggles aside, the vast majority of electronic products of any kind these days are made in China. Whether any of them are high quality or not is the real question, ESPECIALLY with batteries. Chinese manufacturers, at least many of them, have a different standard of quality than the rest of the world. My
Again, I refer to the expert who knows about these things:
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One more post for now, so many great replies I can't respond to all but have read them all. So a blanket thanks to all who posted. I will try to post again when I get the "suspect" batteries. I will probably run a "charge test" on my OPUS, it tops off, then discharges, then fully charges. Not sure what setting to use, there is 200, 300, 500, 700, 1000, 2000. Since this is supposed to be a 3000mah probably 700 or 1000. Best test is probably the charge refresh mode, runs 3 charge/discharge cycles but can take a LONG time........
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