Li-ion Lies
Online vendors are still making outrageous claims about their lithium-ion batteries. They are selling them with misleading descriptions on private sites, Amazon and eBay.
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by Dave Cross
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Batteries on sale on retail sites like Amazon and eBay are making outrageous claims.
On Amazon:
On eBay:
Claims made on the Amazon site are almost reasonable when compared with cells for sale on eBay where batteries are listed with an absolutely ridiculous 12000mAh rating.
“There is no 18650 with a capacity rating over 3600mAh” – Battery Mooch
Battery Mooch, an expert on all things Lithium-ion, says: “If you are considering purchasing a particular 18650 battery, just remember:
- There is no 18650 that can have a factory/manufacturer rating over 30A
- There is no 3000mAh 18650 that can have a rating over 20A
- There is no 3100mAh-3600mAh 18650 that can have a rating over 10A
- There is no 18650 with a capacity rating over 3600mAh”
Mooch offers these words of caution: “Misusing or mishandling lithium-ion batteries can pose a SERIOUS RISK of personal injury or property damage.”
He lists the following advice:
- Only buy batteries from a known, trusted vendor of genuine batteries
- Never use a battery, charger, or device that is not in perfect working order
- The plastic battery wrap and top insulating ring must always be kept in perfect condition to prevent short-circuiting of the battery which can result in the battery bursting
- Never exceed the battery's continuous discharge rating (CDR) or charge rating
Long-term battery supplier to the vaping community Torchy says: “Ultrafire batteries are crap. This 3000mAh 18650 was found to have an actual capacity of 530mAh when tested. No surprise there, but under the wrapper it wasn't an 18650, it was an 18500 with a spacer added. There was a nut glued in the base of the spacer to add weight.”
POTV approached eBay and Amazon for comments about the listings. Both have yet to respond.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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