Stop getting ripped off!!!

[Rocketman]

Maybe ECF should just ban any vendor not selling only AW IMR cells and Pila chargers.
Eliminate all the small batteries and stacked battery mods.
If people aren't smart enough to make intelligent decisions, force them
Call em stupid?

Dog anyone that evens suggests any other brand.

 

[steliosak]

Come on , Isn't this a bit excessive ?

There are many good battery supplier out there.

AW uses Panasonic made cells .

 

[Patrick21]

I was peruseing the net one day and i came apon site that was selling a pack of 2(18650) 3600mAh batterys and a charger that was able to chare cr123a's for... wait for it... $9. I also bought 2(cr123a) my grand total was $14.11 with free shipping. All i am saying is dont get boged down with one perticullar site, or set of sites. If i were to by that same set up elsewhere i would have paid at least three times that. IDK if its kosher for me as a memeber of this forum to put the website but just look around.

Coulndt agree more to be honest. I was looking at cartridges for my realis and i noticed the ones on the offiicial site are £15 for 10 empty ones, i went onto the microlite site and saw 50!!! for £30 bargain

 

[warlike36]

I don't feel as though I'm getting "ripped off" at all. I expect anyone that is in business to make a profit. I certainly do. Be very careful my friend.

Off topic...but... I watched a mini-marathon of Firefly last weekend. I never seen it before that, what happened to that show ? I love it, would like to know more !!

 

[Patrick21]

I don't feel as though I'm getting "ripped off" at all. I expect anyone that is in business to make a profit. I certainly do. Be very careful my friend.

Agree with this in some way as well

 

[Rocketman]

Serenity picks up the story line.

Did you see all 14 episodes of FireFly?

Maybe you should have read up on batteries instead

 

[bigtiime]

Off topic...but... I watched a mini-marathon of Firefly last weekend. I never seen it before that, what happened to that show ? I love it, would like to know more !!

Because of Fox's "wizdom" they axed it even before the first season was complete. I have to agree, at the time, the ratings where below what Fox expected but I think if it had gone full season or maybe two, they would have seen it do what it has done since the cancellation. It's become a cult classic.

There is a DVD set available including the episodes that were not aired. Also, a movie was made in 2005. A bit "darker" than the TV series but I liked it and it does clear up some of the questions left unanswered by the short lived series. Yes, I watch them over and over.

I apologize for the hijack guys. <slaps wrist>

 

[Rocketman]

Netflix has the 14 original Firefly episodes and the follow up Serenity?

I hate when they stop an ongoing series without a proper ending.

The Riches was another good one- stopped in mid stream.

You may now return to the regular argument

 

[mwa102464]

AW's all the way, However, I came across these and would like to try them seeing they use the same and newest technology Panasonic power cell and there IMR looks pretty good = Callies Kustoms 3100mAh 18650 Panasonic Batteries

I posted a thread asking if anyone has ever tried them, so far it has 63 looks but nobody has replied, someone surely must have tried these and if there as good as they look it's nice to have another option other then just AW. I just ordered 2 of the IMR 2250's to test out

 

[Elendil]

Maybe ECF should just ban any vendor not selling only AW IMR cells and Pila chargers.
Eliminate all the small batteries and stacked battery mods.
If people aren't smart enough to make intelligent decisions, force them
Call em stupid?

Dog anyone that evens suggests any other brand.

Because if we did that, then everyone would call us Democrats.........

 

[Rocketman]

Oh Crip,
here comes amother infarction

 

[mynameisrob]

I would def be careful with buying cheap batteries. Trustfires and ultrafires are the most commonly faked batteries. You can buy Trustfire 3000mah batteries on eBay for really cheap, but almost all of them are counterfeits and they are downright god awful and perform very poorly or not at all.

With batteries it's def worth it to spend the extra few bucks and get good ones. It's kinda funny that output say stop getting ripped off bc out of all parts of ecigs, buying super cheap batteries is prob the most likely way to get ripped off bc there's a fairly good chance they will be fakes

 

[VapoVamp]

Amen! Rule! You tell em' I'll stand behind ya!!

Because, in reality, we are using these batteries for purposes other than for which they were intended.

 

[VapoVamp]

You said it perfectly! Rocket...Now, will they heed!? Me willl!!!

Ripped off?
Ripped off could mean getting a counterfeit product, like a double wrapped fake battery,
or being charged for a primo product when it's really bargain basement stuff.

Vendors that lie, or sell a counterfeit 'by accident' should be put on notice.
An example would be an selling an unprotected cell as protected.
It's so easy to fool the typical consumer. How many times have you seen posts
"how do you tell if a cell is protected?"
What about relabeling? Is it a marketing practice? Fine. But to hide a lie?

Vendors that mark up cheap stuff to guide customers to a slightly higher priced item.
An example for this is the Red and Black "Big Red" Ultrafire 3000mah 18650.
I've seen this cell offered for as high as $13.99 EACH. Why?
My guess is to make the next higher priced cell look like a bargain.

Many folks think the Big Red is a crap battery. It is. It is not 3000mah, has a higher internal resistance than better cells, and as a result of a protection circuit designed to trip at a low (matches cell capability) 2.5 amps trips out when used for severe applications. High powered flashlights or high powered vaping needs a better cell.
For less demanding applications, like 2 amps in a 3.7 volt e-cig mod, it's a pretty good bargain at $4 (or less).

Ripped off can also be poorly designed products that end up being marketed through "reputable vendors".
I'm not talking about products that aren't 'top of the line' but things that have design deficiencies that would be easy to correct. One of the cheaper chargers is the single slot one with the boat shaped end. The pointy end is the negative end. Sort of counter intuitive but the biggest problems with most of this type is the sliding negative contact has SHARP EDGES that damage the thin plastic wrappers on cells. The sliding contact barely fits the longer cells like the 14650 and 18650.
Cheap might be fine, but self distructive is not.

A ripoff may also be propagated by HYPE. Don't believe everything you read (especially anything written by that Rocket guy). I key on words like 'Best' when reading vendor ads. You think maybe a vendor just might be a little biased?
Duh.

Ripped off? It's a 'buyer beware' world and you don't always 'get what you pay for'.

 

[VapoVamp]

What!? At least you realize it's offfff topic...

Off topic...but... I watched a mini-marathon of Firefly last weekend. I never seen it before that, what happened to that show ? I love it, would like to know more !!

 

[WillyB]

AW's all the way, However, I came across these and would like to try them seeing they use the same and newest technology Panasonic power cell and there IMR looks pretty good = Callies Kustoms 3100mAh 18650 Panasonic Batteries

I posted a thread asking if anyone has ever tried them, so far it has 63 looks but nobody has replied, someone surely must have tried these and if there as good as they look it's nice to have another option other then just AW. I just ordered 2 of the IMR 2250's to test out

Have you any real evidence that AW are the best? Can you give a link to a site, a corporate office, and technical papers with detailed specs?

And who is Callie? Some T-Shirt printer? Why would I buy anything from him? Does he provide any info on what he is reselling? And he is obviously an idiot with statements like "95% of batteries from China are fakes". Yea OK. If I wanted some Panasonic 3100s I'd get them here.

2pcs New Panasonic 18650 Li-ion battery 3100mAh With PCB Free Shipping | eBay

He at least mentions Japanese protection circuits, Seiko (SII) is a well respected company.

And I've got and tried the not that new HD Panasonic cells with their nickel hybrid cathode. BTW IMR/LiMns do not contain any nickel.

They seem to be the best bet for high drain cells, in a couple of tests I've seen they do much better, initial volts and mAh that the AW IMR1600, and they are from a legitimate company Panasonic/Sanyo. In Panasonic's literature they claim that are as safe as LiMns. They are also an excellent value at about $8.

Although not a super test here's a comparison of the CGR18650CH 2250mAh.

Some quick numbers, these are naked cell (no mod involved) tests with a 2Ω resistor.

- CGR18650CH-> 4.06V

- Tenergy 2600-> 3.91V

- Trustfire 2400 flames-> 3.48V, note these cells have some major mileage on them.

But with a 2Ω carto, although the initial hit is a bit less the Tenergy's seem to get slightly longer vapetimes. The Tenergy's mAh ratings are quite accurate.

A chart comparing the CGR18650CH to LiMns.

Panasonic engineers have managed to square the circle with the new PSS rechargeable batteries: on the one hand the new technology provides the same high energy density as ordinary Lithium-Ion batteries with cobalt cathodes and on the other hand, thanks to their exceptionally high thermal stability, they feature the highest possible standard of safety that until now has only been found in Lithium-Manganese types.

Just to add a bit to the UF3000 discussion, here's 6 that were opened.

Kinda hard to tell but they are all different cells.

 

[rodmen]

Thanks. but I lost a lot of money for for browsing the cheapest sites.
I lost $50 from a company in China original Ego-T that came useless and I return it but got lost in China because I didn't pay for a $40 insurance.
I lost $60 from Vapor Kings for a Pipe that came useless and I return it they send me back a new one that last me only 2 days, I lost about $40 in atomizers.

These are the companies.

Aqua vapor
Hoossier
Big Box
Vapor Kings

 

[Rocketman]

Willy,
thanks for the update on the new technology.

That shot of the Ultrafires is disturbing. 6 different cells? I guess whatever is in the bargain bin gets sold.
I've had about 60 of those over the past 3 years and have seen some variation but only a couple that just didn't perform well. No venting, gut spilling, just low performing and into the recycle bin.
I've used them (stripped to the bare cell) for 4P3S HID flashlight packs (with a 3S laptop control board) and some just didn't perform up to snuff. My balance test was pretty severe. 2 amps for five minutes. Any cell outside the group by 0.1 volt was tossed. 16 could easily give me a dozen matched cells. When I used to vape 2.8 ohm cartos with a single cell they worked fine, never any problems, and as long as I didn't expect any more than 2400mah all seemed fine. I guess over the past year things have gone downhill with the ultrafires and various vendors are getting they from who knows where. (note that even I won't you the Ultrafire 3600mah)
The 12 cell flashlight packs are still working fine, still balance well.
From my experience, sorting cells runs the cost up somewhat (from $3 a cell to a little less than $5 each). I doubt it would be worth it for someone wanting just a couple of cells.
I also agree with you that the Tenergy 2600 cell seem to be good (hope that doesn't change). I've used a couple dozen of the unprotected ones, and of course with a protection board added, for 3.7 volt mods.
Bought by the dozen they are a bargain and for any of you really crazy modders out there the Tenergy 38120 LiFePO4 10,000 mah cell seems to be a real monster. No I haven't used a pair in a 6 volt mod, yet Just a 6S 19.2 volt power tool pack.



Leave it to you to drag up real data. Thanks for the effort.

 

[evosil98]

I'm not getting ripped off. I don't try to find the cheapest battery on the market but the best, no matter what the price is. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[Bozzlite]

AW's all the way, However, I came across these and would like to try them seeing they use the same and newest technology Panasonic power cell and there IMR looks pretty good = Callies Kustoms 3100mAh 18650 Panasonic Batteries

I posted a thread asking if anyone has ever tried them, so far it has 63 looks but nobody has replied, someone surely must have tried these and if there as good as they look it's nice to have another option other then just AW. I just ordered 2 of the IMR 2250's to test out

I have never used them, but Kallies, along with Redilast, and AW batteries are all highly thought of by the Candle Power Forum crowd.