check your local walmart garden centers for cheap 18650 cells - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ptricks
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2017, 11:52:22 am
content: I found in local walmarts in the garden center near the outdoor path lights, solar powered, etc , packs of westinghouse 2000mah 18650 cells. There are 4 in each pack, cost $1.00 per pack, original price was around 19.00. YMMVEven if they are not top of the line, can't beat 25 cents each.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2017, 01:37:33 pm
content: !!!WOAH, wait a minute...First of all I thought solar LED lights use either NI-CADs or small soldered in lithium packs, why would they need a 2Ah battery (unless it's for camping lamps)? Second, for a quarter each, I'd be suspicious of them being fakes (IE, tiny capacity). Buy a pack and test their capacity, if they turn out to be real, that's a China crushing price. Are you sure they aren't on clearence?

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2017, 05:16:58 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on September 29, 2017, 01:37:33 pm'original price 19.99' would suggest they are

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2017, 05:23:34 pm
content: They are likely to be LiFePO4. That is common for solar lights.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 02:49:38 am
content: Appears to have decent capacity:https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/westinghouse-2000mah-18650-bench-test-results-only-a-7a-battery.804431/The 3.7V marking means they're clearly not phosphate, but either cobalt or manganese.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 03:45:19 am
content: Here's the inventory search link:http://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory-checker?sku=50178247

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 04:47:49 am
content: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Clearance-2pcs-18650-3-7V-6000mAh-Black-Lithium-Rechargeable-Battery/155141885?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=12579891-3efe-4965-88f5-ccf4a50528a3&config_id=106&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=12579891-3efe-4965-88f5-ccf4a50528a3&item_id=155141885&parent_anchor_item_id=50178247&parent_item_id=50178247&placement_id=irs-106-t1&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id=e2CiTd23eCwRVCJpc5HPYIAre these legit? Somebody with more experience tell me please.

author: The Electrician
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 06:55:17 am
content: Quote from: calexanian on September 30, 2017, 04:47:49 amI don't think there are any 18650 cells with 6000 mAh capacity. I've seen reviews of cells claiming upwards of 9000 mAh capacity. When tested, they are less than 2000 mAh. Beware.

author: jpc
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 07:58:48 am
content: 3500mAh is the biggest made by the big names apart from some experimental cells around 4000mAh not available to the general public as far as I know. There are a few small retailers in the UK, probably in other places as well, who sell primarily to the vaping crowd who test individual cells for capacity and will guarantee cells, usually Panasonic 3500, at 3600 for an extra £1 a cell. Useful if you really need the maximum from an 18650 and don't mind paying a quid extra over the price of a standard Panasonic 3500.But avoid anything claiming more than 3500, especially if it is a no name brand, Unfortunately, many sellers rewrap fakes as genuine name brands. I've occasionally deliberately bought some of the so called 4000 and 5000 cells and even a claimed 50,000mAh, often with the word fire in the name. If you are lucky the very best will give you about 2000mAh but don't be surprised to see cells as low as 1000mAh and down to even 600mAh. The claimed 50,000mAh actually gave a maximum of 1700mAh but would lose about 30% of its charge in the first 24 hours before settling down to a maximum available of 1200mAh. A good guide if you have some genuine big name brands to compare against, is weight of the cell. Compare to a known good cell of a particular rating from someone like Panasonic, LG or Samsung and even if the fakers fill the empty space in the fake cells with sand, as BigClive found with some he tested, you can still often tell the difference in the lower weight of the fakes. The 4000mAh and 6000mAh mentioned above were half the weight of a genuine Panasonic 3500 and the so called 50,000mAh cell was roughly a third of the Panasonic's weight.By the way, the name gives them away, i.e. Surefire. Ebay and Amazon are swamped with different coloured and claimed capacities of Surefire 18650 cells and variants on the somethingFire name. All are not the claimed capacity, the very best ones ones irrespective of the claimed capacity might be around the 2000mAh mark but many are half that or less. Note that Walmart have a disclaimer under the ad saying that they are only quoting their supplier about the spec. Unfortunately, from a fair bit of experience the average user of 18650 batteries doesn't have a clue to what the actual capacities of the cells they buy are and what it should mean to their usage patterns. Hence the reason you get so many 5 star reviews from confirmed buyers of the fake or poor cells in question on Amazon, both UK and US.Sorry, rant over but I have a thing about fake items on Amazon especially when Amazon handles the sale for the seller, 18650 cells and SD cards of various types being among the worst offenders. But at least with the various SD type memory cards it is fairly easy to test them, just write data to their claimed capacity and see if everything you copied can be read properly after the copy. However, not that many people have 81650 cell capacity testers handy unless they tend to be into them in a big way, e.g. vapers or ebike users.However, if buying them for use with the solar garden lights, even fake 18650 cells should be good enough as the ones with NimH rechargeables in them are rarely more than around the 600mAh capacity so even your average fake 18650 could match that.Edited a few typos. I'm getting blind in my dotage.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 03:24:52 pm
content: TrustFire is a bit overrated but not as ridiculous as the other *fire brands:http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/TrustFire%20TF32650%206000mAh%20%28Black-red%29%20UK.htmlhttp://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/TrustFire%20TF26650%205000mAh%20%28Flame%29%20UK.htmlhttp://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/TrustFire%20TF18650%203000mAh%20%28Flame%29%20UK.htmlhttp://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/TrustFire%20TF18650%202400mAh%20(Flame)%20UK.htmlThe 3000 is a 2500 and the 2400 is a 2000. Meanwhile their 6000 (32650 size) is actually more like a 6200(!).

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 04:11:22 pm
content: No, I wouldn't trust any battery that's namedFireand has pictures of flames on it!Also...what is this? They call it a "32650"

author: jpc
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 06:58:54 pm
content: Should be round like an 18650, just a greater diameter and the same length giving a higher capacity than an 18650. Either they made a custom case for it or maybe jamming in more capacity.Like with the 18650,the first two figures refer to diameter and the last three to mmx10.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2017, 07:34:07 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on September 30, 2017, 04:11:22 pmThat's not a standard 32650. The standard ones are round.I am, however, surprised that there aren't more "squared" cells that are identical to the round versions except having a squared shape to make better use of space.