Orbtronic IMR 26650 Tests Beyond 5900 mAh (Winter 2018)

KITROBASKIN

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Received an email from Sal (from Orbtronic) today. Rated at 5750 mAh, Orbtronic has used an XTAR Dragon charger to measure just past 5900 mAh. Unprotected and in button top as well as flat top, the price is nice. I will be ordering a pair today and report back.
 

KITROBASKIN

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Rated for 22A continuous and 30A for 5 seconds/30 seconds off, this cell has plenty of oomph for such a large capacity.

Sal also suggested I try their 47A 4350mAh 26650 IMR (36A continuous) but even with the PFlexPRO Nichia 219C Quad, not sure what more it will do. I'll be looking for some kind of iPad app to measure total lumens, probably ceiling bounce. Anyone have decent success with one?
 
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Received an email from Sal (from Orbtronic) today. Rated at 5750 mAh, Orbtronic has used an XTAR Dragon charger to measure just past 5900 mAh. Unprotected and in button top as well as flat top, the price is nice. I will be ordering a pair today and report back.

Impressive capacity. I hope HKJ or someone w/ similar type equipment tests it. My guess is they would get ~ 5600mAh to 5700mAh. Still impressive.
 

HKJ

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Impressive capacity. I hope HKJ or someone w/ similar type equipment tests it. My guess is they would get ~ 5600mAh to 5700mAh. Still impressive.

I do not believe I will test any Orbtronic cells due to shipping restrictions. I will not pay for a shipment and I doubt Orbtronice will.
Sorry, I would like to include more US brands in my test, but with the shipping restrictions it is rather expensive.
 

KITROBASKIN

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Impressive capacity. I hope HKJ or someone w/ similar type equipment tests it. My guess is they would get ~ 5600mAh to 5700mAh. Still impressive.

The web page for these high capacity 26650's shows an Xtar Dragon charger readout showing in excess of 5900mAh but they are rated to 5750mAh. This, I believe is common practice, given that some cells do not perform as well as others so the rating is a minimum when new. As HKJ has taught us, those numbers do not reflect what we users will get because we will not discharge the battery that much. Some of us usually do not go lower than 3.6 volts, which may be around 40% capacity?

I would be willing to send a sealed 30A 5750mAh and the used 47A 4350mAh flat top 26650 batteries to HKJ (to Copenhagen) if feasible; Maybe an intermediate shipping point? I am not willing to violate any countries' laws, however. Wouldn't really want to spend more than what the batteries cost, but really curious how these stack up. I do not trust even my amperage measurements with the non-professional tools and skills I possess.

Illumn is a very good choice for battery purchases and there are no doubt others, but I prefer Orbtronic for the confidence and additional service they provide.

I'm wondering if there still is that time of year (August?) when Orbtronic shuts down for a while.
 

KITROBASKIN

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Shipped an unopened 30A 5750mAh 26650 and a very slightly used 47A 4350mAh 26650 to Randy at PFlexPRO today. The post office does not allow priority shipping for Lithium-ion batteries. In a hard plastic case and air pocket packing material, it cost about $7.50 from New Mexico to Southeast USA. USPS predicts it will take about 6 days to get there.

Last Friday was a very interesting day, visiting PFlexPRO in person. I will begin a thread about that visit soon.
 
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KITROBASKIN

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Here's an output graph showing the first three minutes of these Orbtronic 26650's compared with an EVVA 5200mAh and for reference, an 18650 Samsung 30Q. Most interestingly, this runtime test was performed today on PFlexPRO's (roughly $4000) integrating sphere using a Convoy L2 host that Randy just configured earlier this week. With substantial design work and modification/machining, he installed triple emitters (XPL HI V3-3A; This a favorite of his and mine, giving daylight to night without coldness or synthetic incandescent yellow). It has a measured throw of more than 600 meters. This flashlight may be a limited item and won't be cheap because of the work involved. But I can tell you, and others will agree, PFlexPro products are finished tools optimized for the job by a meticulous person who loves portable illumination. It is exciting, and using triple or quad emitters with a 26650 is a clear step up from 18650's for significantly sustained, moderately high output. Some of us do not need or want to carry a multiple battery flashlight for our tasks. For our night-time walks where more light is desired, a single 26650 flashlight works.

Randy plans on conducting the runtime test soon. So thankful he is willing to take this on, and really looking forward to it.


26650 battery test.jpg
 
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KITROBASKIN

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Here it is:

26650 battery capacity test.jpg

The 26650 Orbtronic 5750mAh clearly performs with about 50 minutes of useful, continuous bright light. Compare that with less than half that on the 18650 Samsung 30Q. Seems the high Amp Orbtronic 4350 would be better utilized with a device requiring more power. The EVVA 26650 looks fine, but probably did not give the stated capacity. I did not confirm how used that cell was, either. The Orbtronic capacity rating looks to be a bit conservative. This test was done by Randy at PFlexpro with a recent-design XPL HI (~5000K) triple reflector Convoy L2 host, utilizing the PFlexPRO Advance Program driver (417F?) on step 23. This is not direct drive like the previous 3 minute graph. It is called half direct drive and runs 1/2 the amperage. In practical usage, it is the same as direct drive after a minute or so of runtime, given that direct drive output quickly sags with continued use and as the battery depletes.

Many Thanks again to PFlexPRO for taking the time running these tests. When asked about his Triple L2, Randy was kind enough to explain some of the brand new work he has been accomplishing not only with the L2, but also a triple TIR Convoy C8. By optimizing the electrical path and laborious heatsinking coupled with the larger head, he is getting some sustained power, increased lumens, and great throw from multiple emitter flashlights without resorting to multiple cells and even heavier weight. I suspect the L2 will be solid, but less than the multiple 18650 lights out there. Considering most users are not on search-and-rescue missions lasting for hours, these offer great application for many uses (including SAR!). Exciting.
 
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KITROBASKIN

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A picture of the PFlexPRO L2 host, Triple XPL HI that takes the 26650 battery:

L2TriplePFlexPRO.jpg

And here a picture of the family of multi emitter flashlights Randy offers, with a better view of the working end:

MultiEmitterFamilyPFlexPRO.jpg

It is hard to get excited about the new battery sizes larger than the 18650's because of the availability and power of the 26650 size. People just need to have more 26650 flashlights to choose from.
 

StandardBattery

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These are likely the same Cell that is in The KeepPower 6000mAh batteries and I think ShockLi is the other one that is using this new cell. This is an impressive new cell. I've got a couple of the KeepPower protected and unprotected ones, but have not put them to the test yet. I don't think HKJ has reviewed the KeepPower cells just yet, but maybe he has.
 

LED Monkey

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I would be interested in how your trip to PflexPro went. The triple L2 sounds awesome, lots of lumens, very good throw without the pencil beam effect of a small single die emitter with a large reflector such as the L2. I have one of his L2P Solarforce hosts with a XPL-Hi nw (AP version) , I think it's around 5200k color temp. Maybe you could start a new thread about your visit there. And please give us an update on how those cells are doing, but I guess Randy has them now.
 

KITROBASKIN

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Good to hear of your experience with your L2P PFlexPRO. It is OK for us to stray from the thread's primary intent, in that only so much can be said about batteries, right? I sent a link for this thread to Sal at Orbtronic; good guy. Only if a moderator steps in to make us stop straying...

Randy offered to ship the 26650's back but I have a high capacity Orbtronic 26650 and use it on one of his Quad XPL Hi dropins with the Crescendo user interface. All of my Orbtronic purchased batteries continue to do well. Some are a few years old. I take care of them without getting obsessed. The most used are the 18650 Sony VTC and VC variants along with the 5750 mAh.

The L2 PFlexPRO Triple is time consuming to make, so thinking it would be more like a special order. Turns out Randy is up-to-speed but quite slammed with a very large order (recently increased) for an agency that does not allow any discussion so as not to imply any endorsement of a product. That is in addition to his usual production. I have been holding back on discussing the visit because he is so busy and would rather not encourage others to make lengthy inquiries, as he is a one-man operation.

Looking forward to starting a thread about the visit, though. It was not only fascinating discussing his work, but also his equipment. His machines for potting the flashlights are just one aspect that we have no idea how expensive and involved they are (hint: one machine involves creating a vacuum so as to have no bubbles in the cured potting material)
 

LED Monkey

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The L2 triple XPL-Hi would be a light I would definitely consider buying from Randy, lots of lumens without the pencil beam effect from a small single die emitter with a larger reflector such as the L2 has, and the fact it runs on one cell is a plus.(still great throw). I think imho Pflexpro lights are some of the best lights you can buy with durability and performance and still quite reasonably priced for what you get. I see Keeppower has a protected 26650 6000mah cell which I'll assume is the same bare cell you sent to Randy, it's rated amperage it can deliver is lower but that's probably due to the protection circuit.

A little redundant with my previous post but that's what I get with doing other things and going back and forth to the computer lol!:)
 
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LessDark

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Just be aware of the thickness of the protected keeppower 6000mah, it doesn't fit in the convoys. It's a shame since those batteries are awesome.
 

StandardBattery

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Just be aware of the thickness of the protected keeppower 6000mah, it doesn't fit in the convoys. It's a shame since those batteries are awesome.
Yes, thanks!

I had not heard that mentioned before I bought mine, but I'm using one now in a DQG 26650 light and it just fits in the tube. Reminds me of some of the early 18650 cells I put into my zebra lights that had no room to spare after I removed the sticker on the battery. This one is not tight, but no room to spare. I did not try it yet in my convoy L6, but I will do shortly since you mentioned it. I have only 4 of these cells right now I believe, 2 protected and 2 unprotected. I don't need 26650 much so I'm not likely to get any more too quickly unless I see them on sale or something.

I'm looking for more applications for them though, and was thinking of putting one into a powebank. Now I'm a bit worried they will not fit as the tolerances are tight. I'll have to check these in different lights and the power bank this weekend.
 

id30209

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HKJ, conntact Arjon @www.nkon.nl
He has Keeppower 6000mah and since specs are the same in Orbtronic and Keeppower it should be the same cell.
 
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