Fake Ultrafire 18650 battery warning

[kennethsross]

First post - Ultrafire BRC18650 3000mAh - Are these fakes?

Hi

I received an LED bike light as a Christmas gift. It came with 4 Ultrafire BRC18650 cells (3000mAh)

Everything about the package seems cheap. The battery holder is very flimsy with desperately poor soldering, and I'm seriously suspicious that the cells are not genuine.

Two things about them:

1. The red band at the bottom of the battery is much thinner than any I have seen on any Ultrafire BCR18650 on eBay

2. The bottom plate of the battery is plain and silvery in colour, whereas everyone I see on eBay has a gold coloured base with Ultrafire written on it. (the picture in the advert showed YEZL batteries, but these were not supplied.)​

Appreciate your thoughts.

Do you think they are fakes? The lettering includes the typical Ultrafire typo - 'sheef-life'

Appreciate any comments

Regards

ksr

 

[Changchung]

First post - Ultrafire BRC18650 3000mAh - Are these fakes?

Hi, for my point of view all the XXXXfire are not genuine, that because we cant know for sure what is inside, if you can replace all the batteries with real name batteries like, panasonic, sanyo, lg or sony.


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...

 

[Darmvlinder]

Re: First post - Ultrafire BRC18650 3000mAh - Are these fakes?

I probably got robbed by DealExtreme. I bought a laser pointer, the SD-230 to be precise. Hardware-wise it's solid, sturdy and performs well. I use it for astronomy, which is my hobby. This is the URL to the laser I bought: http://dx.com/p/sd-230-aluminum-5mw-532nm-green-laser-pointer-black-1-x-18650-165185.

It came with the blue UltraFire battery you see in the pictures, and this cheap fake charger. The light always stays green, even when a battery is not/wrongly placed. As for the battery, the bottom cap is silver, no laser etchings, the top is surrounded with some sort of cardboard ring.

I've obviously been scammed battery-wise, as charging the battery for several hours does not do squat. The laser dies down just as fast. I'm a real noob when it comes down to batteries and testing them, so I would appreciate if anyone of you could help me in finding good quality 18650 batteries, which will last long enough and provide enough power so I can keep on using this laser. I'm not that rich as I'm still a student, lol. So if the shipping cost to Europe could be limited, I'd be very grateful.

-Thanks

 

[välineurheilija]

Re: First post - Ultrafire BRC18650 3000mAh - Are these fakes?

I probably got robbed by DealExtreme. I bought a laser pointer, the SD-230 to be precise. Hardware-wise it's solid, sturdy and performs well. I use it for astronomy, which is my hobby. This is the URL to the laser I bought: http://dx.com/p/sd-230-aluminum-5mw-532nm-green-laser-pointer-black-1-x-18650-165185.

It came with the blue UltraFire battery you see in the pictures, and this cheap fake charger. The light always stays green, even when a battery is not/wrongly placed. As for the battery, the bottom cap is silver, no laser etchings, the top is surrounded with some sort of cardboard ring.

I've obviously been scammed battery-wise, as charging the battery for several hours does not do squat. The laser dies down just as fast. I'm a real noob when it comes down to batteries and testing them, so I would appreciate if anyone of you could help me in finding good quality 18650 batteries, which will last long enough and provide enough power so I can keep on using this laser. I'm not that rich as I'm still a student, lol. So if the shipping cost to Europe could be limited, I'd be very grateful.

-Thanks

Where in Europe are you located if i may ask?

 

[A1rh3ad]

If you absolutely must buy cheap chinese batteries for some reason I'd recommend Tenergy.

 

[KILLER_K]

Thanks for the information posted all throughout this thread. I'm looking for some batteries and this will really come in handy on my hunt for some great batteries now.

 

[gedGU]

Did a quick check on the UltraFire 18650's 3000mAh batteries i bought off eBay from a local seller here in Australia.

Poor results, i also tested some 18650 2200mAh ones that i got with a torch i bought from a electronics company called Jaycar.

Results.

UltraFire 3000mAh
Test #1 - 812mAh's
Test #2 - 745mAh's

Jaycar 2200mAh
Test #1 - 2215mAh
Test #2 - 2217mAh

Tested on a battery tester with a discharge rate of 400mA. Each battery tested down to 2V.

Also weighed the batteries.
UltraFire 3000mAh - 33 grams

Jaycar 2200mAh - 47 grams

Cheers
Simon..

 

[Trevtrain]

Hi Simon :wave:

Probably a bit late now but DON'T discharge them down to 2V. Most low voltage protection circuits kick in at just under 3V for a very good reason.
Even the newer Panasonics are only rated for 2.5V maximum discharge.

You are seriously risking the health of both your batteries and yourself with this level of discharge.

From your number of posts and recent join date, I'm assuming you are new to this type of chemistry.
I suggest you do some reading on the subject of Li-Ion cells. There are any number of useful threads here at CPF. Keep in mind that the low voltage you have taken them to will be even more dangerous if you left them in that discharged state for any length of time.

I'm not sure of the quality of the Jaycar products, but if you are looking for a reputable Australian seller, contact Yass - (ebay seller Supersports600). He can steer you towards more suitable cells including the latest Panasonics. His mobile number is listed on his ebay page if you wan't to ask questions.

Cheers
Trev

Did a quick check on the UltraFire 18650's 3000mAh batteries i bought off eBay from a local seller here in Australia.

Poor results, i also tested some 18650 2200mAh ones that i got with a torch i bought from a electronics company called Jaycar.

Results.

UltraFire 3000mAh
Test #1 - 812mAh's
Test #2 - 745mAh's

Jaycar 2200mAh
Test #1 - 2215mAh
Test #2 - 2217mAh

Tested on a battery tester with a discharge rate of 400mA. Each battery tested down to 2V.

Also weighed the batteries.
UltraFire 3000mAh - 33 grams

Jaycar 2200mAh - 47 grams

Cheers
Simon..

 

[Wylie]

I just purchased some of the fakes off Ebay myself. I'm waiting for a reply from the seller. Glad I have other batteries on the way as back ups!
These things won't even run an e-cigarette for 3 hours let alone the expected 17 or so hours.
Mine have the fake logo and LC on the label not the AX.
Can supply a pic if anyone wants one.

 

[HotWire]

I've not had good luck with any of the ****Fire batteries. I prefer AW, Readilast, Panasonic, and Callie's Kustom 18650 batteries. They cost only a little more and will last a lot longer--so in the long run these brands provided me with good value (as well as a modicum of safety). Spend enough time on CPF and you'll notice that people who have peeled labels off find all kinds of odd batteries under the familiar label.

 

[KiwiMark]

I've not had good luck with any of the ****Fire batteries. I prefer AW, Readilast, Panasonic, and Callie's Kustom 18650 batteries. They cost only a little more and will last a lot longer--so in the long run these brands provided me with good value (as well as a modicum of safety). Spend enough time on CPF and you'll notice that people who have peeled labels off find all kinds of odd batteries under the familiar label.

Good batteries don't cost a little more - buying cheap batteries, realising that they are junk, then buying good batteries, that is what costs a little more.
My advice is to buy good quality that will last a few years, it is actually the cheaper way to go.

 

[rocketrancher]

Did a quick check on the UltraFire 18650's 3000mAh batteries i bought off eBay from a local seller here in Australia.

Poor results, i also tested some 18650 2200mAh ones that i got with a torch i bought from a electronics company called Jaycar.

Results.

UltraFire 3000mAh
Test #1 - 812mAh's
Test #2 - 745mAh's

Jaycar 2200mAh
Test #1 - 2215mAh
Test #2 - 2217mAh

Tested on a battery tester with a discharge rate of 400mA. Each battery tested down to 2V.

Also weighed the batteries.
UltraFire 3000mAh - 33 grams

Jaycar 2200mAh - 47 grams

Cheers
Simon..

Thank you for posting weights.

I came to this forum after pulling some hair out (I can't afford much of that) trying to figure out why a project isn't meeting performance......voltage falling out of the box far quicker than intended.

I'm feeling this warm glow, probably having just joined the fake-battery-of-the-month club.

When I received the UF's, I thought they seemed awful light, compared to some powertool 18650's.

I'll be getting the scale out soon.

 

[rocketrancher]

I'll be getting the scale out soon.

And the answer is:

I have a handful of 32.5 gram objects that I don't think are worth the effort to load-test, but estimate are maybe 20% of labeled capacity (These are red-labeled UF 3000's, just like pictured in getGU's post).

Newfound knowledge.
Thanks!

Now to order some real cells.

 

[gedGU]

Rocketrancher. it is a pitty that cells of this quality continue to get sold on ebay, i am sure that the supplier of these *****Fire batteries here in Australia did not even know he was selling such poor quality batteries. I advised him of the testing i had done and provided him with the results. He said he would have to do his own testing, did he do it? Probably not, and just kept on selling them as i am sure there was not enough people who complained. He even sold his torches based on run time using a 3000mAh batterie supplied by him, he said that the torched draied 500mA so using a 3000mAh ****Fire battery you will get 6Hrs run time.... HA HA HA more like 1Hr.

I am sure the eBay sellers of poor quality batteries are starting to hate me as i have now done tests on Aftermarket Camera batteries rated at 2100mAh and only test up to 750mAh and also some AA NI-MH 2500mAh that only test up to be 716mAh!!!

Cheers.

 

[gedGU]

Trevtrain.

Sorry about the late reply, the tester actually tested them down to 3V per cell and not 2V. My mistake.

Cheers.

 

[richardhill5]

I thought they were all fake.. don' t they come from here..

 

[Trevtrain]

Trevtrain.

Sorry about the late reply, the tester actually tested them down to 3V per cell and not 2V. My mistake.

Cheers.

Well that's good to hear. 2V is way too low but 3V shouldn't cause immediate problems.
Just don't leave them in a discharged state for long periods of time. Optimum charge for long-term storage is apparently about 40% and if possible, don't leave them in a hot car.

 

[Swemoph]

Hey,

Sorry if i'm resurrecting a dead thread, but I signed up just to ask about the ultrafire blue 18650 batteries that just came in my mail. They're rated at 3000 mAh, and 3.7v. I popped them to my multimeter, the one was outputting 4v and the other 3.91v. I'm charging them right now, but just wanting to check that everything is ok here, and i'm not going to get killed by these things. Also if anyone could enlighten me as to how to check mAh on the multimeter it'd be great

Thanks

 

[okeenu]

Hi! looks like no one else replied , so here goes...

unfortunately all .....Fire Batteries are all suspect as to quality and capacity. But used in a Single Cell application... and kept .. within voltage parameters ( 3.? to 4.20v) should be fine.. If you are using the two cells in series you should be sure to test the cells to make sure they seem to charge and discharge at the same rate.

Amperage is read in series with your circuit. so you need a load and battery to measure the flow in other words ...+ on cell to meter, meter to load, load (bulb) to neg. on cell..

many multi meters make you change the location of your red lead to a different "hole" before reading amps....

Charge All Li ion in a safe fire proof area away from kids and pets..

Have fun........

 

[torukmakto4]

Hey,
Also if anyone could enlighten me as to how to check mAh on the multimeter it'd be great
Thanks

You can't. Don't try.

Multimeters have one or more current ranges identified as A. These are for measuring current! On amperage range, the meter provides a low impedance (ideally zero ohms) current path to be inserted into a circuit. A proper use is i.e. to check current draw at the tailcap of a light.

This seems extremely obvious but I have seen it from people trying to "check mAh" so... If you connect across a cell on amperage range, YOU JUST nearly DEAD SHORTED THE CELL. That is called a flash amp measurement, and doing that to a Li-ion cell is extremely dangerous, harmful to the cell, and will likely blow up any DMM that doesn't have a fuse due to the extreme currents that will flow. It's an old school practice for checking remaining capacity on high-resistance primary batteries and even there it is improper and not recommended.

Capacity (Ah, mAh) has to be measured by a discharge test; by an electronic load, a battery analyzer, a hobby charger that can discharge, or a constant current load and a timer.