which 18650 is the most popular

raggie33

*the raggedier*
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button top or flat? im going to stock up for my future lights but im not sure what is the most used in lights
 

AB8XL

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It depends on the light. Does the light have a low voltage cutoff? if no, use protected, if yes use unprotected. Does the light support the extended length of protected?
 

Keitho

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I'd suggest starting with the light collection, and get 18650's to feed them. Protected/unprotected, button/flat, high-drain/high-capacity...your lights and usage will dictate cell needs. I try to just get the cells that I'll use, then use the heck out of them. Not that it matters to anyone else, but for me, that's a mix of flat-top unprotected cells for some of my lights, and a few protected button tops for a couple that demand them.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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I'm about 95% unprotected flat top, mostly high-drain cells. Almost all my lights can use flat-tops, and that's the way the original manufacturer makes them, so I use them that way.

I have some unprotected button-tops (the buttons are added afterwards by a 3rd party) for lights that require buttons.

And I have a few protected button-tops. I have no idea why. Protection doesn't really give you protection, IMO it's a false sense of safety.
 

markr6

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I'm about 95% unprotected flat top, mostly high-drain cells. Almost all my lights can use flat-tops, and that's the way the original manufacturer makes them, so I use them that way.

I have some unprotected button-tops (the buttons are added afterwards by a 3rd party) for lights that require buttons.

And I have a few protected button-tops. I have no idea why. Protection doesn't really give you protection, IMO it's a false sense of safety.

Exactly...you saved me all that typing :)
 

Bazar

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I'd recommend light first every time. Also all 18650s decay. They have a shelf life of 10 years or so, so stalking up on them is, unlikely to be useful. Many lights using 4x18650 are unpredictable. They often have tight small battery packs with many hardware limitations. The Acebeam X80 GT is only accepting of button tops, others only accept unprotected, still others only allow protected button tops and so on.

Also the new rapidly increasing use of 20700,21700, 26650, and 16340 lights is making 18650s less of a guarantee that you will use them in a light of your choice, unless you start reverse-buying them with a very foolish bias toward buying lights for the batteries you already own. I tried that, didn't work out.

You also have to charge them annually, but beware, if you store them fully charged they will have a smaller and smaller true capacity by at least 4% per year, that means a 3000mah cell with only have the ability to be charged to about 2880 mah if you stashed it with a full charge, and additionally will have less than 80% of that charge anyway.

So you know batteries aren't magic, that's why the old phone you have doesn't hold a charge anymore, they don't last forever.

I suggest buying cr123 batteries and having lights that run off them.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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I'd recommend light first every time. Also all 18650s decay. They have a shelf life of 10 years or so, so stalking up on them is, unlikely to be useful.

Unless you think that getting 18650's may be difficult in the future, whether because of availability or the increasing problem of having them shipped by mail. This is a big problem for people not living in the US.

I stocked up on a bunch of 18650's to make sure my current collection of (somewhat expensive) 18650 lights don't end up as garbage within a few years. I store them in the refrigerator, at a voltage of 3.70v - 3.75v. I know they'll degrade over time, but storing them like that should slow down the aging considerably.

As I buy new batteries in the future (if I can get them), I'll cycle out some of the ones in storage.

I realize it might be wasting money. But, I'd rather have $100 worth of batteries I might not need, than $1000 of lights that can't be powered.

Also the new rapidly increasing use of 20700,21700, 26650, and 16340 lights is making 18650s less of a guarantee that you will use them in a light of your choice, unless you start reverse-buying them with a very foolish bias toward buying lights for the batteries you already own. I tried that, didn't work out.

I suggest buying cr123 batteries and having lights that run off them.

Ummmm... didn't you just give contradictory advice?

Anyway, CR123's are a huge waste of money, unless you absolutely require their storage life or extreme cold performance.
 

markr6

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NCR18650B was the king for such a long time. But I'm glad I didn't stock up on them because they got thrown into the back seat when several new cells came out.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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NCR18650B was the king for such a long time. But I'm glad I didn't stock up on them because they got thrown into the back seat when several new cells came out.

I hear you. But getting a reliable source of genuine 18650 cells is difficult where I live. The last place seems to be from Illumn, and I have no idea if or when they will start strictly adhering to shipping rules and no longer be able to ship internationally. Right now, most places get around shipment rules by labeling the package something like "flashlight parts". Don't get me wrong: they do package extremely well and safe. But government agencies make rules for the lowest-common-denominator seller, probably shipping something fake and dangerously packaged.

It's likely that future flashlights I buy might be using 21700 cells or something like that, thus making my addiction to 18650's less necessary.

I still use Zebralights I bought over 5 years ago. I expect my 18650 Zebralights I bought last year will still be in use 5 years from now. I don't want lack of battery availability to be the thing that stops me from being able to use them. Right now, if I bought an 18650 from a seller that strictly obeys the letter and spirit of shipment regulations, I'd be paying well over $50. For that kind of price, I'm better off buying a bunch while I can still get them relatively cheaply, and sticking them in storage.
 

Bazar

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I hear you. But getting a reliable source of genuine 18650 cells is difficult where I live.

Where on earth do you live? In most places, buying 2 or three batteries should come at time within a month or 2, and even if you get the light you want within 2 weeks that's still plenty of time to buy after, not before. You don't need batteries to run flashlights, you need battery, 1, one batery and many lights come with one and it sounds like you already own at least 1. Stalking up on hundreds of 18650s is way, way more expensive than cr123, and you are just not likely to use that many. Unless you are talking 2 or 3 extra the price efficiency disappears real quick. And you will have the same problems I've had 1:lights of the future won't accept it, even notables like the X80GT of which no conpetative flashlights exist and doesn't accept my other batteries.

So no your comment on mine makes no sense, re word it please.
 

Kestrel

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Where on earth do you live? [...]
So no your comment on mine makes no sense, re word it please.
Actually, his comments appear to make more sense than yours IMHO;
  • He specifies his location as Canada (and so probably knows much more about his particular supplier / shipper challenges than you).
  • I don't know where you got the "'hundreds' of 18650's" quantity - an example to that degree seems unconvincing here, and a 'straw man' argument is seldom persuasive.
  • It's not very helpful to use 'you', 8 times in one paragraph - personalization to that extent does little to help the conversation.

He is under no compunction at all to reword his post - which as an unbiased reader, I do not find to be objectionable or confusing in the slightest.

Thank you & best regards,
 
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Kestrel

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[...] the new rapidly increasing use of 20700,21700, 26650, and 16340 lights is making 18650s less of a guarantee that you will use them in a light of your choice [...]
Actually, having the frame of reference that many of us /already/ own & use (18650) lights of our choice, I can guarantee that the introduction other cell sizes has no effect on whether our chosen lights will still continue to use 18650's or not.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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To be more specific in my earlier post:

Yes, I'm in Canada. Getting 18650 cells is hit & miss with shipping from China, and they can sometimes (perhaps often) be fakes. So, I have to either order from well-respected US on-line stores, or look at vape shops in Canada (which have very few options). Turns out ordering from the US is cheaper, especially if you're buying 4 or more cells. But there's only one on-line seller that I know and trust, and will ship to Canada at reasonable prices and without making you accept losses for international shipment. Shipping of lithium-ion batteries is getting more and more restrictive every year.

Anyway, that's why I stocked up on a bunch of 18650's last year. I have about 24 in storage. That sounds like a lot, but I have about that many presently loaded in lights. I like to have my favourite lights "grab and go". So, it's about 1 spare cell (or set of cells) for each light I regularly use. A bit of a waste, maybe, but worth future-proofing my current collection of 18650 lights.

CR123 batteries are a total rip-off where I live. I just checked the local price of them: $28.24 for a set of two. That's over $10 US, each! I can buy 18650's for less than that. Even if they weren't a rip-off (I could probably find them cheaper), I dislike the idea of using primary cells in flashlights, unless there's a necessity for it (extreme low-temperature use, or very long shelf-life).

Given that I use Eneloops for lights that sit for long periods of time, I don't really need the long shelf life of CR123's. And, I have used 18650's in temperatures below -20C, so they still work in the cold. It never gets down to -40, here.
 
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