eVic Modification Info

[pcrdude]

OK, so learn me up you experts on everything (tm)!

I want to get an 18350 battery, a black tube for it, and a dual battery charger for my eVic.

What battery chemistry, button or no button, mAh for the 18350, and what is a good, safe charger.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SRusackas]

There are a TON of eVic and battery threads here on ECF to read through. EVic uses non-button-top batteries.
UltraFire WF-188 charger has worked well for me, I read that TrustFires are good too. Li-ion batteries are kind of standard, with LiMn batteries reportedly a little more stable (correct me ECF if I'm wrong on that!)

 

[crxess]

decent battery - efest 18350 - 800mah
Better battery AW IMR18350 - 700mah

 

[100%VG]

There are a TON of eVic and battery threads here on ECF to read through. EVic uses non-button-top batteries.
UltraFire WF-188 charger has worked well for me, I read that TrustFires are good too. Li-ion batteries are kind of standard, with LiMn batteries reportedly a little more stable (correct me ECF if I'm wrong on that!)

LiMn = more Stable, as in, Harder to make them have a problem, especially bad enough to Explode. They really have to be badly abused for that, so they are much Safer. So, not really a Correction, but a Clarification.

 

[100%VG]

UltraFire WF-188 charger has worked well for me...

Sorry for the bad news, but please see this...
Review of Charger UltraFire WF-188

 

[100%VG]

Please see this for a very good explanation of the different Battery Types, and some good info on Charging some them properly.
Rechargeable - Flashlight Wiki
NOTE: 18650 Batteries are used in Flashlights a lot, hence the Flashlight Wiki.

As an explanation of what "C" means (in the article above), when it says, Lithium Manganese (LiMn₂O₄) cells (also LiMn) should be charged at 1C to 2C, the "C" relates to the mAh rating. Charging a 2000 mAh Battery at 2000 mA (or 2.0 A) is the same thing as charging at 1C. Therefore, a 2C Charge would be at 4A for this Battery (though not recommended for the Best Battery Life Cycle).

For the Greatest Battery Life, and the Fullest Charge Capacity (relating to how long the Charge will last), it is best to charge Li-Ion (ICR) Batteries at 500-600 mA - even a 2600 mAh and a 3400 mAh Battery (according to individual Battery Specs and Datasheets I’ve seen), even though they may Safely be charged at 1C, and LiMn (IMR) even at 2C. Since a LiMn is also Lithium-based, the same 500 mA charge rate would be best followed as well. Oddly, the faster a Li-Ion Battery is Charged, the Lower its Capacity… meaning that if charged at 1A (or 2A), it won't run your PV as long as it could if charged at 500 mA. Plus, it hurts the Total Battery Life to charge it faster. I assume that this goes for LiMn as well. It would be best to have 2 Batteries, so you can use one, and charge the other for however long it takes to charge at 500 mA.

Studies have shown, and maybe even the 18650 Battery Spec states (I don't have it), that a Li-Ion Battery achieves a greatly extended Lifetime by not being fully Charged to 4.2V, and especially not Over 4.2V. This would apply to an 18350 as well. It's also best to fully End charging when it is Charged, and therefore, not to allow Trickle Charging. Some chargers both Over-Charge and Trickle Charge (see Charger Reviews below). This should not cause an Explosion, but may greatly reduce the overall Battery Life Cycle. Over-Charging is an issue for LiMn too - a lesser issue, but an issue.

So don’t charge your Batteries too fast, don’t Trickle Charge them, and don’t charge them above 4.2V, to get the Best Battery Life. Charge at 500 mA for the longest duty cycle.

Here is some really good info on 18650 Batteries, in a Comparison format (Off Topic, but useful)
Battery test-review 18650 summary

Battery Comparisons for the 18350 Batteries are much harder for me to find (I haven't found any). No Group Reviews, either. Individual reviews are available.

Panasonic is the Gold Standard for Batteries, in both Li-Ion and LiMn. Some brands will be repackaged Panasonics. These Batteries are the absolute Best. If you have selected a Battery, but haven’t purchased it yet, and you’re curious about it, your can google it with the word "review" after it, like this...

efest 18350 800mah review
Test/Review of Efest IMR18350 800mAh (Red)
and
aw imr 18350 700mah review
Test/Review of AW IMR 18350 700mAh (Red)
Save or Print the pages and compare them.

Look here for several Charger reviews
Batteries and chargers

To me, The Xtar SP2 is the all-around winner, for several reasons, with price being among them. It has selectable Charge Rates of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 Amps, so it can be used to charge LiMn (IMR) faster. It will also charge your 18350 Batteries at 500 mA. It will normally Terminate the Charge at about 4.18V, which is a good thing, but it does have a low Trickle Charge, so a Charged Battery should be removed from the Charger immediately after the Full Charge indication lights, or soon after. However, this Trickle Charge is also true of Many chargers, so you really need to know how your charger Terminates. The SP2 has a Low Trickle Charge compared to some. The Review site says it Over-Charges slightly, but Users have said that it doesn't (so at least, not always).

If you want to avoid the Trickle Charge altogether, then read through the reviews (above) to find one that charges an 18350, Charges and Terminates Properly (not above 4.2V), and also does not Trickle Charge (though no Trickle Charge is technically part of a Proper Termination). It’s kinda hard to find all of that in one, affordable package.

The pila IBC is known as the Gold Standard of 18650 Chargers, for its excellence in following the 18650 Charging Spec, but it costs about $45, and it can be touchy... bump the table it's on, and it can stop charging, and you have to Reset the pila (a push-button) to start the Charge again. However, the pila charges at 600 mA, Terminates Properly, and does not Trickle Charge (all excellent), and may charge the 18350's with adapters (IDK for sure, but it comes with two of them). The pila is only mentioned to state that Charger Quality varies, a lot!!!

Sorry I don’t have a definitive answer for an 18350 for you. AW is very good, if you can’t find a Panasonic (or a repackaged one). And you will need a Flat Top. For a Li-Ion, this generally means, No Protection. LiMn does not need Protection, and doesn’t come in versions with it, because they are much Safer to use.

Maybe you could ask the Vendor you are going purchase your 18350 eVic Tube from, "Which 18350 Batteries are Recommended for the eVic, known to Fit, and make a good Connection," and then look at the reviews from there, to pick the best one, since crxess didn’t say he actually uses those in an eVic (nothing against you crxess, no insult implied, just sayin'). You really need to know it Fits and Connects.

An 18350 Battery should be exactly 18mm in diameter, and 35mm in length (very few are). Too much beyond that, and it won’t fit into the Tube, or will be too long.

That’s all I have. Hope this helps!!!

 

[AnsonJames]

The Nitecore i2 and i4 are super chargers and fantastic value.
The Panasonic CGR18650CH 2250mAh IMR Battery is fantastic as is the Panasonic NCR18650A.

There's a flat top Efest 2250mah hybrid and regular Efest 3400mah imr's that would also work a treat.

 

[SRusackas]

Great posts 100%VG! Thanks!

 

[100%VG]

pcrdude,

Please check up on any and all Charger recommendations for yourself (even mine!!!) on the Batteries and chargers link.

Even if you don't understand everything that's said, you can compare the Charge Graphs for cleanness of the patterns (the green currents and red voltages should be very thin), make sure it easily charges an 18350 (and comes with the adapters if needed), and easily charges a Flat Top (should have protrusions on slide-bars for contact), and that it won't cut you up using it, and especially the Summaries and Conclusions. You might be amazed at what you find. There are other Charger Review sites, but this one is fairly inclusive, and you really want to see the Graphs.

You can do the same thing for any Batteries, via Google (or your favorite search engine), like I showed you.