they are the best value for the money and real lm output you can tell there fake just buy the amount of power they use or dont.
Something is wrong if you have an 18650 based light that only lasts 40 min in flashing mode.
Lol yes - unmarked 18650 + extremely cheap (£2) but very bright single cell torch = flashing at high brightness for 40 mins, too dim to be of use for cyclist visibility purposes thereafter. I'm sure I should make a little powerbank out of 18650s and solder it to the torch. My long plastic macintosh raincoat is always on flashing mode, never runs out of power and is always highly visible to pedestrians and traffic
Wow! Really? Cheers, that's an excellent tip! I had no idea there were 18650s in those things! I had assumed it'd be some some strange oblong cell Poundland negotiated in bulk from somewhere... Time for a quick cycle to Poundland... (with no efffort whatsoever, on PAS level 9 lol) because it's cheaper and faster than yet another disappointing delivery from China! Poundland must have bought many millions to get 18650s down to a point where they make profit on a complete power bank. Maybe it's hit and miss because they're B, C or D grade factory rejects? The cheap ones I got on ebay are probably the same. I'll get a few and make a powerbank for the torch!
the only way to tell is to capacity test them tho fake cells tend to be half the waight of real ones and avoid anything with ultra fire brands just look on you tube.
hobbyking.com
Cheersfor the links! Especially the 5A balance charger... Do you charge these Poundland 18650s at 5A?!?!?! How long many charge cycles do they cope with? I don't know much about lithium ion cells but 5A sounds high - the charger for my ebike battery only charges at 2A.the only way to tell is to capacity test them tho fake cells tend to be half the waight of real ones and avoid anything with ultra fire brands just look on you tube.
you can test them with this.
IMAX B6 DC Charger 5A 50W (Copy)
IMAX B6 DC Charger 5A 50W (Copy). Hobbyking for the best deals in all things rc.
just connect the 4 pins with some wire and solder for pos and neg connection top and bottom.
note do not put the cells it the wrong way round it will make a direct short if more than 1 cell is in it!
you can also charge all 4 cells in it.
View attachment 40034
thats why the one on the right melted could not handle the amps lol
you can select the charge rate from 500ma to 5a but i charge them at 1 amp fast charging just means a shorter life than normal.
I'm very happy with my Ultrafire torches but the Cree LEDs always burn out, I'm always buying new ones every year or so. The 5A charger and the 4 cell holder will come in handy - I've been charging the 18650s for the torch individually thus far. A swift, DIY economically sourced Poundland 18650 power bank would give consistent light for longer.you can select the charge rate from 500ma to 5a but i charge them at 1 amp fast charging just means a shorter life than normal.
you should get around 1000 cycles out of the cells if there decent ones b4 you bin them for good esp in a light anyway.
the imax charger is for rc stuff so hi energy discharge batts so 5a is not alot if you want your helicopter or plane back in the sky fast
you can also charge pretty much any batt with it as well in the settings just not massive ebike batts as only 50w tho you can get much bigger ones but price shoots up.
