Great article No 1 picture caught them out if you want to unwrap your battery, unreadable production and ID stamping wouldnt be allowed in most countries, the weight is a good sign 43/44g and under there fake Ive had them as low as 38g the mAh were 45% of advertised 3800 mAh. For the rest of this blog post, these cells will be displayed in this order, labeled Cell #1, Cell #2, Cell #3, and Cell #4. However, please remember thatmarkings in most cases are to be taken with a grain of salt. I bought 6 batteries from supplier as per your recommended visual and weights ,everything is ok till I put in charger ,first charge burn second charge also burn !! Width is not the most telling factor, as there is little variation in 18mm 65mm (18650) batteries. (7/8 oz)). So Im ordering LG HG2 and I realize that I have no way to tell authenticity. A gentleman on the ECF named Mooch told me to do my research and I did. Choose a 18650 battery for your mods, below 5 important features should be considered: A Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) 18650 cell (battery) purchase may be more than you bargained for. How can you tell which battery is still good? : 18650masterrace - Reddit A PVC company that either: A.) Who would you recommend? Here in the UK/Northern Ireland it is an absolute nightmare trying to get 18650 batterys. Now its becoming clear that Cell #2 is not an HG2. Consider, for example, the endless stream of phishing emails you receive every day. The heat is mainly caused by the resistance of the cell and the equation is P=R*I^2. After realizing this I went back and took the measurements again and made sure to zero the calipers. This is what I got in the mail: https://imgur.com/a/GyI4Txl It doesn't look like the Wemos shield. A 500 mAh difference suspicious! This should normally raise a red-flag, however in this case it can be explained, and I will do so in a moment. In fact, there are "empty" cells made that are not fake, they are simply sold as empty to fill a mechanical void for battery packs with odd numbers of cells, and are used to fill a space mechanically for the structure of tha pack, without unbalancing the individual strings of cells. Since Cell #1 was charging for longer - it has more capacity, after all - it started just a bit hotter than Cell #2. Take a close look at your top-caps (positive terminals) and the white washer - there should be no variation between this photo and your battery when looking at the top cap. Good brands will tell you the weight of the battery. Best Gadgets That Use 18650 Batteries-battery-knowledge | Large Power I am learning from everyone I can about using these 18650 batteries but I dont see much info about their C ratings only mAh's/fake or not. (For high-level battery geeks out there: the reason the charts begin at about 3.4 volts is that our testing equipment doesnt sample quickly enough to capture the high-voltage discharge that occur immediately after testing begins.). I need to find my magnet\jumpers to apply 3.7V to each cell to see if they will charge up. If you notice a lot of voltage jumping your battery may be discharging in a similar way. My Dewalt, Skill and Bosh drill batteries hold up very but then their great charging systems provide automatic balanced charging that I can always depend on. We are using a RePower battery charge and discharge station (AC 220 / 60V / 20amp) for these tests because itwill accurately show us adischarge of up to 20 amps - which the HG2 is rated for. I recently ordered batteries from a vape company, 18650 3000mAh 3.7V HG2, received them in the mail today. The answer was that this is a real date code from the Samsung factory in Tianjiin, China. Dont forget to sign up our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates! This battery was also being sold as a new Sony VTC5 - but is obviously not. Option 2. Reply The major players involved in the lithium ion battery market are LG Chem Ltd. (South Korea), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (South Korea), BYD Co. Ltd. (China), BAK Group (China), A123 Systems, LLC. Does anything in this photo immediately raise red flags? Is there a reliable vendor from which to buy authentic batteries? How many do you think make spark plugs AND batteries? I do not know if all Samsung 25R cells have this mark, but the two that I tested for this blog post do. If the counterfeiters are ever able to pass these tests well enough that you can no longer identify them, why would it matter to the consumer if they were counterfeit or not? You should be able to see some kind of printed text on the steel under the blue PVC cover. Do your cells have any noticeable differences? Ive asked a battery wholesaler about the Manufacture Date Code JF4T. What is the valid capacity ranges of Lithium Ion 18650 batteries? Can you notice the similarities? And Balderrama participated in a conspiracy. I would think measuring the internal resistance of the cell would tell a lot about it. Checking out the length, there is more variation here between different batteries. 5 Easy Ways to Spot a Counterfeit 18650 Battery . This is not an absolute indicator, but can be a form of corroborative evidence you may use. Beware of unusual amounts of wear and tear. Large amount of bottom scratches. Example: 18650 protected will be longer than 65mm ranging from that all the way to 70 (ish)mm. 4 years ago Take em or leave them, but regardless We got this industry on lockdown and so it wont hurt us either way. What is this? However, around the same time, a large batch of HG2 batteries had been sent to Japan for a certain 18650 pack assembler, which orderedin excess. Both Cell #1 and Cell #3 show the right amount of capacity, a bit above 2500mAh: this is what you would expect from a 3000mAh nominal cell at 20A discharge. During this period, nearly every Chinese supplier had run out, causing a shortage in other most other countries like the US. I had the Nissan parts manager of Vancouver inspecting a car I was selling. Several Im certain. Licensing technology like the NCR chemistry or other parts of a battery is very profitable so intellectual property protection is important. Many of the companies that originally manufacturers batteries, are the same ones that make spark plugs. They do not, and it seems to be a unique characteristic of the Samsung 25R. There are two possibilities: While there were definitely a few errors in the experimental setup here, it was sufficient to show that Cell #2 is indeed not an HG2. When I lay them down I can see that general characteristics of all the cells are the same. In some cases the counterfeiter will file off any markings, which will appear rough and slightly depressed from the original surface. That is, unless theyd like to identify the batterys brand. This 2500mah charger figure is just an internal calculation based on the current draw from the cell being charged. These automotive companies, are run by the countries governments. Apart from that it is hard to tell the difference. This is excellent, thanks so much for doing this! Copper is used as the conductor for nearly all printed circuit boards, including those employed on protected batteries often found with flashlights. Good brands will tell you the weight of the battery. Therefore, even in the modern cordless drills and other tools we still see cells with only 2000 mAh capacity. I applaud his suggestion as well. When the seller only sent (2) batteries to me, I contacted them to let them know. I suppose that IED code on the cell explains some od the Galaxy Note 7 problems :), You Wrote: You can see over 2500 mAh is now held by the battery.. Beware of Fake Lithium Battery Capacities - Lightsngear Many people say that Efest batteries are rewrapped Samsungs. The video below shows an easiest way to know if the 18650 battery you buy is fake. There are so many specialists or groups have shared their valueable knowledge on the internet, here are some knowledgeable sources we collected: In this post, I just share you some simple ways to spot counterfeit batteries, of course if you can get access to professional testing devices, things will be more clear. How to Recognize FAKE 18650 Battery - YouTube In this video I show you how I recognized a fake 18650 battery, and then I will go to disassemble it to see what it contains. Pictured above is a good viewing angle to check out your battery's vent. If you find our results controversial, have questions, or have spotted something we haven't please let us know in the comments. 18650 Date Code Lookup Tool - 18650 Battery | BATTERY BRO The width should be between 18.26 mm and 18.40 mm. Japan has their own too, and China is filthy rich so if Japanese and American companies want to open factories in China, Burma, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, well Thats what they do! Samsung, connected to Hyundai/Kia/Nissan. Even most battery chargers like the IMAX B6 will discharge down to 3.0v when testing batteries. Cross-reference any batteries you buy with the manufacturer's specification. What is your experience with using other batteries than the supplied on? We guarantee every 18650 battery is Grade A, 100% authentic, and meets the advertised specs or your money back! Now, let'stake a closer look at the color difference between the cells. However, Cell #2 only ends up with about 2050mAh. It is obviously impossible for the average person to identify a fake. Only in our modern society is so much emphasis placed on vilifying those who expose the truth. Please take a moment to observe the difference for yourself. 0Cart Log in US +1-877-729-6467 Home 18650 Batteries Battery blog About us Battery safety Date checker tool Quick FAQ Create account Custom packs Contact us One thousand thanks cannot be enough for this deep and all-round, forensic approach in proofing a fake. -Research. First, Cell #1s voltage rises MUCH more quickly than Cell #2. The cost difference between the LG HE2 vs the LG HG2 can be upwards to $1.00 USD, making the HE2 substantially cheaper. (/ Just ask. How to Recognize FAKE 18650 Battery