Sad News

[antony73]

I was planning on going the Mech Mod route, (future proofing myself), and purchased a TOBH and a Kamry K100. Next was a good set of AWs and a good charger, DMM etc. I've been shopping around to get genuine AW batteries, and thought the safest way would be to order directly from Andrew Wong at CPF Market Place.

Guess what, Andrew doesn't sell or deal at all in mainland China. "Sorry, I don't sell or distribute in mainland China. All AW batteries you can find in Alibaba and Taobao are fakes." Andrew Wong.

Does this apply to all batteries here? I can't be sure. Safety first. As the saying goes, "If in doubt, leave it out." This leaves me with no option at all for a Mod, regulated or mechanical. Getting IMR batteries sent overseas is a difficult thing, for example, AW batteries cannot be posted outside of the US.

This leaves me with one option as I can see it; stick with MVPs, and when they're dead, they're dead. Again, stock up on Ego 510s, and when they're dead they're dead.

A sad, sad day. Unless anyone here has any ideas. I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say, "I refuse to use anything other than a genuine battery."

 

[State O' Flux]

You might try locating some genuine Sony US18650 VCT5, Samsung INR 18650-25R or Orbtronic 18650 SX30. Not saying you'll have an easy time of it... but at least these particular batteries might be available in China.

 

[sando7]

get a friend in the states to send you some in a care package

 

[Ryedan]

get a friend in the states to send you some in a care package

This is a good idea if it will work. I don't know how difficult it is for you to import batteries as a gift.

I don't know how you feel about it, but I'm convinced that if Fasttech says the product is authentic, it is. Here are their VTC4s. And their VTC5s. They also have Samsumg 25R.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

Get to Singapore, Seoul, or Tokyo and buy a schwack of authentics (okay, so maybe watch yourself in Singapore). You should be able to get Sony's at least.

If it came to it, you could also buy some gear that has good bats inside - the VaperShark rDNA 30, for example, comes with a Sony VTC4 inside. You could use the device until it fails and then keep using the bat or sell on the device while keeping the bat. Possibly too drastic, I know, but it sounds like you're in a mood to examine all possibilities.

 

[antony73]

Believe it or not, fastech usually only sells to other countries. You've probably noticed a lack of Chinese writing on their site. This is why. It's a Chinese company for a Western market.

I think I'll just wait until I return home to England for my next holiday.

By the way, does anyone know the approximate standing life of an Ego type battery. For example, although no one knows production date, if an Ego type battery was bought, left standing without use,how long could it last for before becoming useless?

Thank you.

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[Racehorse]

By the way, does anyone know the approximate standing life of an Ego type battery. For example, although no one knows production date, if an Ego type battery was bought, left standing without use,how long could it last for before becoming useless?


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I have my original Joyetech egos and they are since July 2012 and still work fine.

I've thrown away about 8 clones in that time.

 

[stevegmu]

Even the Chinese don't want the junk Fastech sells...

 

[Rickajho]

Believe it or not, fastech usually only sells to other countries. You've probably noticed a lack of Chinese writing on their site. This is why. It's a Chinese company for a Western market.

I think I'll just wait until I return home to England for my next holiday.

By the way, does anyone know the approximate standing life of an Ego type battery. For example, although no one knows production date, if an Ego type battery was bought, left standing without use,how long could it last for before becoming useless?

Thank you.

It's not a black and white thing, more of a downward sliding scale. Once you hit the three year mark the chemical composition has reached the point that deterioration is going to start showing as reduced run times, whether the batteries have been used or have sat idle with only an occasional maintenance charge. As with any battery chemistry: used or not they don't improve with age.

 

[antony73]

It seems most online stores here selling AW batteries are e-cigarette stores. Most of the online 'battery only' stores appear to exclude AWs. Which leads me to believe that the 'battery only' stores are selling the real thing. Looks like I may settle for Panasonic NCR18650PD. Work out around $4 a piece.

 

[Ryedan]

Believe it or not, fastech usually only sells to other countries. You've probably noticed a lack of Chinese writing on their site. This is why. It's a Chinese company for a Western market.

Go figure! What about a friend mailing them to you?

By the way, does anyone know the approximate standing life of an Ego type battery. For example, although no one knows production date, if an Ego type battery was bought, left standing without use,how long could it last for before becoming useless?

If they were stored fully charged they lose a lot more than if they are stored half charged. If they're stored empty they go bad when the voltage gets too low. Anything higher than 20 deg C shortens their life. I've never had a camera Li-on last longer than five years, but I never tried cold storage. I still have my original eGo 650 non-VV battery from April 2012. It has maybe 60 charge cycles on it and a few months back it was fine.

 

[antony73]

Thanks for your help everyone. A real downer this morning.

I've come across a decent flash light vender who can supply me with some appropriate Panasonic batteries, along with the nitecore digital charger. As flash lights are a much older and smaller niche market by far, chances of them trying to pass fake goods is perhaps smaller.

Again, thank you for your help

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[Ryedan]

Thanks for your help everyone. A real downer this morning.

I've come across a decent flash light vender who can supply me with some appropriate Panasonic batteries, along with the nitecore digital charger. As flash lights are a much older and smaller niche market by far, chances of them trying to pass fake goods is perhaps smaller.

Again, thank you for your help

Best of luck with it antony.

 

[Andyhrn]

I'm still using 3 years old AW 18350 from a Provari website (3 in rotation). Got 4 new batteries from Ebay and a B&M store couple months ago. They are junk. Brand new ones don't hold charges and lasts just a little bit longer than the old ones. Should buy from a authorized seller.