Efest 26650 - Leakage? Is this one safe?

[kestik]

I recently bought a nice setup from CanVape in which I ordered 2x Efest 26650 batteries for the sexy Golden Stingray (Which is magnificent by the way). I've attached some pictures of the battery in question alongside the other one. It seems that one of the 26650's has some kind of gelly goop under the positive connection and also seems longer/bulging at the positive end.

Just curious if any of you fellow vapers have seen this phenomena in batteries and if this is safe to slap on the intellicharger and start vaping with. I DID test it in the stingray (probably an idiot move on my part) and it did fire my atty although I don't have a multimeter to test any numbers or check it's voltage.

Thanks for any insight, I'd hate to bother the fellas at CanVape yet again!
(I know there's a sub for this but Canvape is the best. Period. Rock on canvape!)

Appreciated,

Steve

 

[retired1]

Moved to Batteries and Chargers

 

[CastleRat]

That battery is NOT safe. Period. Sorry.

 

[jstjoehere]

Never re use a battery that is bulging. Best place for it is the trash.

 

[kestik]

That battery is NOT safe. Period. Sorry.

Damn. That's what I had thought. Guess it's time to contact the boys for a replacement.

Never re use a battery that is bulging. Best place for it is the trash.

I'm aware of that for sure. I'm usually over-cautious with battery safety, however I've never had experience with these batteries. Do both of them appear to be bulging? The other battery (non-gooped up) seems to be functioning just fine. Went through a charge cycle no problem and vapes nicely. The "bulge" in that one, if any, seems to be coming from the plastic wrap, not the casing or cap of the battery.

 

[Yotdawglife]

I stay away from Efest, you should pick up some MNKE.

 

[kestik]

I stay away from Efest, you should pick up some MNKE.

What's the reason for that if I may ask? I've read that Efest are solid batteries, albeit a lower amp limit on most. Plus, Efest is the only decent brand I trust from my retailer. (Others are trustfire and panasonic but they don't carry a panasonic 26650, only Efest)

 

[Froth]

That battery is NOT safe. Period. Sorry.

You make a pretty brash statement based off pictures alone.

PERSONALLY(so, this is what I would do...you don't have to.) I would check the starting voltage of both and if it was close to the same I would charge them both at the same time, check to see if they both reach full charge at the same or roughly the same time then I would measure the voltage of both batteries after the charger to see how close they were. Honestly from your pictures it looks completely fine and I would personally(there's that word again) use it without hesitation. I can understand being sort-of nit-picky with batteries due to safety but this might be a bit too much.

I stay away from Efest, you should pick up some MNKE.

Nothing wrong with Efest, they are putting out many very good batteries lately.

 

[jswag5]

i would stay away from the gooped battery personally, unless you could prove the goop came from an outside source like a leaky atty, or contact gel.

 

[Yotdawglife]

My personal rationale to why I stay away from Efest, is why would you buy something that purportedly has been caught or has claimed higher amp limits on batteries one, and two when they make Sony VTC5's, all around champion batteries. That's just my two pesos.

 

[Ryedan]

I recently bought a nice setup from CanVape in which I ordered 2x Efest 26650 batteries for the sexy Golden Stingray (Which is magnificent by the way). I've attached some pictures of the battery in question alongside the other one. It seems that one of the 26650's has some kind of gelly goop under the positive connection and also seems longer/bulging at the positive end.

Just curious if any of you fellow vapers have seen this phenomena in batteries and if this is safe to slap on the intellicharger and start vaping with. I DID test it in the stingray (probably an idiot move on my part) and it did fire my atty although I don't have a multimeter to test any numbers or check it's voltage.

Thanks for any insight, I'd hate to bother the fellas at CanVape yet again!
(I know there's a sub for this but Canvape is the best. Period. Rock on canvape!)

These batteries are a can (the outside and the negative end are one piece) with the positive end fastened on. That's where the venting system is and that's the only place they can leak unless they are punctured. IMO your battery has failed there. I've never seen this before. If it were just the goop, I would assume it didn't come from inside the cell, wash it off and see how it goes, but with the bulge I would not use it. I'm sure Canvape will exchange it for you.

Canvape is also my first choice for vape gear if they have what I'm looking for. I'll be heading over to the flea market later today to pick up juice flavorings. But they have a lousy selection of batteries.

I also will not buy Efest cells. I've heard from too many people I trust that they do not last nearly as many charge cycles as others. IMO Panasonic, Sony, AW, MNKE and Samsung are all very good.

I buy Sony cells generally from Illumination Supply in the US and I buy AW from JR Custom Turnings in Canada. Happy Vapor has better battery selection, but their prices are very high.

 

[kestik]

These batteries are a can (the outside and the negative end are one piece) with the positive end fastened on. That's where the venting system is and that's the only place they can leak unless they are punctured. IMO your battery has failed there. I've never seen this before. If it were just the goop, I would assume it didn't come from inside the cell, wash it off and see how it goes, but with the bulge I would not use it. I'm sure Canvape will exchange it for you.

Canvape is also my first choice for vape gear if they have what I'm looking for. I'll be heading over to the flea market later today to pick up juice flavorings. But they have a lousy selection of batteries.

I also will not buy Efest cells. I've heard from too many people I trust that they do not last nearly as many charge cycles as others. IMO Panasonic, Sony, AW, MNKE and Samsung are all very good.

I buy Sony cells generally from Illumination Supply in the US and I buy AW from JR Custom Turnings in Canada. Happy Vapor has better battery selection, but their prices are very high.

Thanks for the info. Canvape did, indeed replace it free of charge and instructed me to dispose of the goopy one. I'm always a better safe than sorry guy so stuff like this freaks me out! I'll be using the Efest 26650s for 1+ ohm builds but from what I've researched, I'm going to pick up some MNKEs or something for my sub ohm builds. I'm new to mechs altogether so I really want to ensure I don't end up with half a face and a few less fingers. Plus I want to get the most life out of my batteries as you've stated.

Do you have any 26650's you'd recommend that aren't too expensive to acquire and ship to our good ol' Canada?

As a side note, for 18650s, my Efests have been most excellent. I've had my current ones for over a year, probably around 200 charge cycles and they are still holding a 4.1 volt charge (says my Z-Max, likely rounding down) and discharging at the same rate as new. The only reason I want to make sure I get quality is so I'm safe!

 

[Ryedan]

You're welcome kestik. Good to hear Canvape exchanged it for you. They are a great shop

I don't use 26650s so I can't talk about them from experience. I understand both MNKE (rated 20A) and Sony 26650 (rated 50A) are quite good, but that neither does well above 20A in testing. I would probably limit them to 10A max if I had these, which is a not too shabby 0.45 ohms.

I would not worry about the Efst 26650 as long as they are in good shape. They're rated for 15A and test quite well up to that. I would be comfortable running these down to 0.6 ohms.

Illumination Supply sell the MNKE for $13 a piece, but they are out of stock right now. They charged me $8 I think to ship a pair of 18650s to me and they didn't take long to get here. Some American companies charge a lot more than that for shipping to Canada, as I'm sure you've already found out. I don't think you're going to find these cells for much less from a reputable shop, but that's just my opinion.

Best of luck with it!

 

[kestik]

You're welcome kestik. Good to hear Canvape exchanged it for you. They are a great shop

I don't use 26650s so I can't talk about them from experience. I understand both MNKE (rated 20A) and Sony 26650 (rated 50A) are quite good, but that neither does well above 20A in testing. I would probably limit them to 10A max if I had these, which is a not too shabby 0.45 ohms.

I would not worry about the Efst 26650 as long as they are in good shape. They're rated for 15A and test quite well up to that. I would be comfortable running these down to 0.6 ohms.

Illumination Supply sell the MNKE for $13 a piece, but they are out of stock right now. They charged me $8 I think to ship a pair of 18650s to me and they didn't take long to get here. Some American companies charge a lot more than that for shipping to Canada, as I'm sure you've already found out. I don't think you're going to find these cells for much less from a reputable shop, but that's just my opinion.

Best of luck with it!

sweet lovely, lovely links! Very handy info thank you for linking that! I'll have to check in and see if they are getting any MNKE 26650s in soon. I appreciate all the help!