New 18650 Batteries

[uniqueuser101]

First of all hello I am new here, and i would like to post a question. Since i live in a country where it is hard to come by on some things, i got in contact with a fellow vaper, who is an electrician...he suggested i try his batteries. He is swearing by them, as he is using them as well, and we are talking watts between 50 to 80...I will post pics from the batteries, but my main concern is the pin marks on the top and bottom...He tested them in front of me and the discharge was 3.7w with 2600mah...i am a basic noob in this, so i wanted your opinion...are these ok to use on short term, till i order new ones, on those watts, 50-80, or i should not put my head in the fire? They are new, with no visible marks, no wear and tear, and they look pretty descent to me.
Thank you for your time to look on this tread

 

[Eskie]

What are those pin marks from?? Those surfaces should be smooth, not dented in like that. Also, 3.7V 2,600 mAh doesn't tell you anything about the current it can deliver. I'm guessing they're supposed to be Samsung 25R,s but those are 2,500 mAh. The Sony VTC5a is a 2,600 mAh 25A CDR and comes with a green wrap, but the insulator on the top is black, not white. batteries are easy to rewrap which can make it impossible to tell from just looking at the wrap to know what you have. And new batteries don't come with pin marks on them.

I'm not saying your fellow vaper is lying, but I'd be surprised that an electrician who knows anything about batteries would look at those and say they're fine for use.

 

[Izan]

Hi and welcome,
The "spots" on the top and bottom are welds. Those cells used to be part of a battery pack.
I would NOT use them.

Where are you located that Li-ion batteries are limited or restricted?

Outside the EU: NKON | ru.nkon.nl
Inside the EU: NKON | eu.nkon.nl

Cheers
I

 

[Eskie]

Hi and welcome,
The "spots" on the top and bottom are welds. Those cells used to be part of a battery pack.
I would NOT use them.

Where are you located that Li-ion batteries are limited or restricted?

Outside the EU: NKON | ru.nkon.nl
Inside the EU: NKON | eu.nkon.nl

Cheers
I

Weld marks. That makes sense. Thanks on that, I learned something new.

Yup, if pulled from a battery pack you really have no idea what those are and should not be used for vaping unless you have a death wish and good home insurance.

 

[Rossum]

Looks to me like those marks are where connector tabs were once spot-welded to the cells; tabs that have since been removed, meaning the cells were harvested from a pack of some kind.

The capacity in mAh is not what determines whether they are safe at a given power level. What you should measure is their internal resistance, and how warm they get when run at the power level you intend to vape at.

 

[Rossum]

Yup, if pulled from a battery pack you really have no idea what those are and should not be used for vaping unless you have a death wish and good home insurance.

Depends what kind of pack. If it's a laptop pack, I agree; those are low-current packs. But if it's a power-tool pack, they'll be reasonably high-current cells and should be OK.

 

[Tabac man]

An example....

 

[Dudeman]

If you're using them in a regulated mod, you should be okay. If they're too weak you'll get a warning message or it simply won't fire with much power.
If you're using them in a mech and they start getting warm to hot, you know they're not powerful enough.
Batteries getting too hot is what causes failure.

Batteries aren't made for e-cigs to begin with, we just get them before another company puts them in battery packs. We used to have to harvest batteries from packs back in the day.

 

[uniqueuser101]

Here is the deal. I ordered me some Aegis Solo but I didn't want to order Chinese cheap batteries from AliExpress, before I knew about the "good" sites I am going to be using them for fairly low Wats, and he claims they are LG cells, probably they are refurbished...but since I am new, my panic was that they can explode...I got as a gift two more from a friend, they seem fine for low vapes. I'll post pic from the free ones I got (these are new, never used, they were a spare to a friend). But these seem more "heavy", more full, they have new wrap, new security on the top, and they do not have a single scratch on them. So the solder pins on the top and bottom got me scared a bit. But as I see, regulated mode should do the trick for the next month or two aye? He said if they are weak or what not, he will give money back.

 

[uniqueuser101]

Thank you btw for the suggestion about the nkon site...I didn't know that one I live in Macedonia...middle of EU, bit not EU yet hahah how long does the delivery usually take? Month? I will order some

 

[DaveP]

Here is the deal. I ordered me some Aegis Solo but I didn't want to order Chinese cheap batteries from AliExpress, before I knew about the "good" sites I am going to be using them for fairly low Wats, and he claims they are LG cells, probably they are refurbished...but since I am new, my panic was that they can explode...I got as a gift two more from a friend, they seem fine for low vapes. I'll post pic from the free ones I got (these are new, never used, they were a spare to a friend). But these seem more "heavy", more full, they have new wrap, new security on the top, and they do not have a single scratch on them. So the solder pins on the top and bottom got me scared a bit. But as I see, regulated mode should do the trick for the next month or two aye? He said if they are weak or what not, he will give money back.

Check out Mooch's blog for info on the best cells for your vaping style. Higher MAH ratings indicate longer vape time, but you need to pick the cell that has an amperage rating for your vaping style.

List of Battery Tests | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Don29palms]

The bottom line is if you don't know what the batteries are don't use them. It doesn't matter what mod you have. The first rule of battery safety is to know what you are starting with.

 

[Izan]

Thank you btw for the suggestion about the nkon site...I didn't know that one I live in Macedonia...middle of EU, bit not EU yet hahah how long does the delivery usually take? Month? I will order some

I can't comment on delivery times to your location, but I usually receive the package in about 10 days. (EU.nkon.nl)

HTH
I

 

[DaveP]

The cells in the picture "look" like Samsung 25R (green wrap with white insulator on the positive pole). They should say Samsung and 18650 25R in black inkjet on the side of the wrap if they are. Still, they could be fakes or good cells. If the guy who gave them to you has a battery analyzer and test them to 2600mah that's also an indicator that's in line with the Samsung 25R appearance.

 

[stratus.vaping]

One of the problems with "repurposed" cells from packs can be that internal damage is caused when the tags are pulled off.

I can see that the terminals are slightly bulging, likely an indication that the metal has been pulled up when pulling or prising the tags off. Can you be sure that the internal connections to the foil materials inside are still good?

I've prised tags off myself when re-celling radio battery packs, and damaged the terminals too. I wouldn't use such cells again, particularly not for high drain devices.

A pro cell tester can check the internal resistance and for shorts too. At the least get that done. 8)

 

[uniqueuser101]

He said something in that line, tested in front of me (even tho I'm new to this), and he guarantees the safety of it...as for a test, I have an electronics store near me, so I can try them, if they are willing to do me a favour to test the batteries but, they seem just fine to me, as far as my eye can see, I don't see any damage, any bulking on them...they seem fine. I ordered up some Samsung 30q, so let's see what will come

 

[Baditude]

...he claims they are LG cells, probably they are refurbished...but since I am new, my panic was that they can explode...I got as a gift two more from a friend, they seem fine for low vapes. I'll post pic from the free ones I got (these are new, never used, they were a spare to a friend). But these seem more "heavy", more full, they have new wrap, new security on the top, and they do not have a single scratch on them. So the solder pins on the top and bottom got me scared a bit. But as I see, regulated mode should do the trick for the next month or two aye? He said if they are weak or what not, he will give money back.

I'm not sure what your batteries above are, but they are not LG. I don't recognize the brand logo on the left of the wrap. They look nothing like the LG batteries below.

Just going by the color of the wrap (which you should never do to identify battery make or model), LG does make a few models with that color of wrap. Only two of those four have the right specs to be used in a vaping battery device.

LG F1L 18650 3350mAh 4.8A (only 4.8 amps)

LG HB6 18650 1500mAh 30A (30 amps, good for up to 90 watts per battery)

LG MG1 18650 2850mAh 10A (only 10 amps)

LG HD2 18650 2000mAh 25A (25 amps good for up to 75 watts per battery)


As you can see, four batteries made by the same manufacturer with very similar colored wraps have very different specifications. So, the batteries given to you are at best are rewrapped batteries and not LG. You don't know who made them or how many amps (continuous discharge rate) the batteries have. Taking the batteries to a store to be tested will prove nothing as there is no gizmo that tests for the amp rating, that is determined by the manufacturer. Your Geekvape Aegis Solo requires a high drain battery with at least 15 amps cdr.

I ordered up some Samsung 30q.

Good choice. That's what I use in my Aegis Solo. Vaping at 30 watts setting, I get nearly a day's use with one battery. The Samsung 30Q are good for up to 45 watts per battery.

Do you have a Li-ion battery charger to charge your batteries?

 

[Layzee Vaper]

With the cells you have, there are just too many unknowns. You have no clue what current rating they are, what chemistry they are or how they have been used/abused. What's printed on the new wrap means nothing.

Personally I would buy some new decent quality cells from a reputable supplier. They are not expensive. Anything else is a gamble. Not worth the risk.

 

[Fidola13]

First of all hello I am new here, and i would like to post a question. Since i live in a country where it is hard to come by on some things, i got in contact with a fellow vaper, who is an electrician...he suggested i try his batteries. He is swearing by them, as he is using them as well, and we are talking watts between 50 to 80...I will post pics from the batteries, but my main concern is the pin marks on the top and bottom...He tested them in front of me and the discharge was 3.7w with 2600mah...i am a basic noob in this, so i wanted your opinion...are these ok to use on short term, till i order new ones, on those watts, 50-80, or i should not put my head in the fire? They are new, with no visible marks, no wear and tear, and they look pretty descent to me.
Thank you for your time to look on this tread

I wouldn’t use those if you paid me to. Why take any chances? Batteries are the cheapest part of our gear and the most important!!! But some new ones from a reputable source.

 

[Baditude]

For future reference. The amp rating determines the wattage output of the battery.

WATTAGE PER SINGLE BATTERY on REGULATED MOD:
(Total wattage doubles using 2 batteries; Triples using 3 batteries.)

Up to 45W:

Samsung 18650 30Q, 3000 mah 15 amp CDR

Sony 18650VTC6 3000mAh 15 amp CDR

​

Up to 60W:

Hohm Life 18650 3000mah 20 amp CDR

LG 18650HG2 3000mah 20 amp CDR

LG 18650HE4 2500 mah 20 amp CDR

Samsung 18650-25R, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR

Sanyo UR18650NSX, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR

Sony 18650VTC5, 2600 mah 20 amp CDR

Sony 18650VTC4, 2100 mah 23 amp CDR

​

Up to 75W:

LG 18650 HD4 2100 mah 25 amp CDR

LG 18650 HD2 2000 mah 25 amp CDR

Samsung 18650-24S, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR

Sony 18650VTC5A, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR

Molicel 18650-P26A, 2600 mah 25 amp CDR

​

Up to 90W:

LG18650HB6 1500mah 30 amp CDR

LG18650HB2 1500mAh 30 amp CDR

LG18650HB4 1500mAh 30 amp CDR

Samsung 18650-20S 2000mah 30 amp CDR