Best products from r/18650masterrace

u/badon_ said:

> Is your camera located somewhere difficult to reach for AA battery changes?

u/EdinDevon said:

> No, they'll at worse need a step ladder. My problem is energy density and dislike of disposable batteries. Blink, apparently, explicitly ask for lithium primaries.

u/Ivebeenfurthereven said:

> That might be a temperature thing.
>
> Lithium primary cells are the only battery chemistry that performs reliably outdoors in winter, continuing to work well even when they get cold. If it gets anywhere near freezing point where your cameras will be mounted, then rechargeable 18650s are not recommended.

u/EdinDevon said:

> Yeah, I assumed the same thing.
>
> I'm in the south of the UK. Freezing temperatures are rare and become becoming rarer. We're in the urban heat Island and the camera would be in the house heat Island too. Hence me thinking 18650 would be ok.
>
> We also don't get really hot here. 26deg C is the summer high.

OK, this is an XY problem:

• XY problem - Wikipedia
  
  What you really need are rechargeable AA batteries that can work at temperatures not much below freezing. For that, you have lots of options, but the best is probably AA Eneloop NiMH batteries. I recommend you get these ones (make sure your battery specifications match the packaging in this photo):
  
  
• New battery day! 24 AA Eneloop NiMH batteries in 16 and 8 cell packs. : r/AAMasterRace
  
  Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
  
  
• AmazonSmile: Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Cell Battery Charger Pack with 4 AA eneloop 2100 Cycle Rechargeable Batteries: PANASONIC: Electronics
  
  You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.
  
  Another good option are Tenavolts rechargeable lithium AA batteries:
  
  
• Review & Teardown: Tenavolts AA Size 1.5V Li-ion battery : r/AAMasterRace
  
• AmazonSmile: TENAVOLTS Rechargeable AA Battery Charger with 4 Counts Lithium 2775 mWh AA Rechargeable Batteries: Home Audio & Theater
  
  Those will have the higher voltage the Blink expects. Your energy density requirement seems to be a wild goose chase, since it's eliminates all your options, even when most of those options would work well. You can have cutting edge technology, or you can have stuff that just works. The Blink camera is in the category of stuff that just works.
  
  If you ended up doing a massive 18650 project, you might be disappointed to find out they're no longer cutting edge technology. That goal post has moved to 21700 batteries:
  
  
• 18650 is on the way out, TENAVOLTS could make its mark on the world with a full power AA-to-18650 adapter : r/AAMasterRace
  
  You can change your battery type frequently to keep up, or you can stick with something reliable and proven. You can still have cutting edge performance, but it will be in things like longevity (Eneloop) or an all-around combination of reliability, capacity, and temperature extremes (Energizer Ultimate Lithium).
  
  In the end, the choice to use AA isn't all about capacity. Just like with cameras, it's not all about megapixels. Or with cars, it's not all about speed. Or with aircraft, it's not all about altitude. Etc. If you want to stay on the cutting edge, it's could be horrendously expensive, and it still won't get you to the grocery store any faster.
  
  AA Eneloop NiMH batteries have an excellent temperature range, almost as good as AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. If those will work in the Blink camera (I haven't tried it), that's what I would personally use. If it didn't work, I would try Tenavolts next. If that didn't work, and I was adamant about not using disposable batteries, then I would consider other alternatives, but not before trying the easy ones first.
  
  I personally would not choose 18650 for a low power application. 18650's excel at high power applications, while AA batteries excel at low power applications. The biggest advantage 18650 has over AA is literally being bigger. It's a bit less than 3 times the size of AA for a bit more than 3 times the energy of AA. So, if you need a lot of power in a small space, 18650 (or 21700 now) might be the better choice, but that's not the case here.

Wife bought this on amazon to keep our kid a little more comfortable in the stroller on hot days. I thought hey neat it can be used as a power bank. I was bringing it into the house one day and noticed the hatch on the bottom. I was surprised to see these batteries in there.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8JDNSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_sOnHvmxCbdEou

I’ve had good luck with this charger and have the lii-500 as well. It’s cheaper if you order from China though.

charger

The cells are going to be re-wraps of something random. See the Q/A section of https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/asin/B00ME3ZH7C/5

The original rating is 12000mah, which makes the original cell capacity 2000mah each. It's also listed as 3A mac discharge current. I see no way to tell if that limit is in the controller or the cells themselves.

Also, the cells appear to be in a weird 2p3s layout, but I can't tell by the pictures.

Note - these are likely connected by spot welded metal straps. Getting them separated can be a challenge, and getting new cells in place will require more spot welding or soldering, as I don't see any spring loaded contacts to allow easy replacement.

IMHO, use the power bank as-is. When it stops doing what you want it to do, toss it in a Home Depot or Lowes batery recycling box.

It's a bit special, but uses an 18650 and could be made to run on any 18650 pretty easily.

http://midlandusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ER310-Battery-Installation-Instructions.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Midland-Consumer-ER310-Emergency-Digital/dp/B015QIC1PW

This guy says he's 18650 but I haven't heard of the company before (they sell them at Sears though): http://kaitoradio.com/ka500lyellow.html

For a full-featured radio, the Tecsun shortwave runs on 1x18650, no NOAA specifically, but it'll do am/fm.

https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-PL880-Conversion-Shortwave-Reception/dp/B00GJ51NVA/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_469_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=A7EMVJ2CJB5E3FR452D0

Ahh ok I see where I'm getting confused now. So for my situation I will need a 29.4v 2A 7s Li Ion battery charger? Would this one here work?
Or does this not have the CC-CV you're talking about? Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Adapter-Electric-Batteries-5-5x2-5mm/dp/B07WSYSX6F/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=29.4v+charger&qid=1571167971&sprefix=29.4v&sr=8-16

So would a power source like this and a balancer like this work? I'd have to change the connectors to xt60 obviously.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H3PW2GH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xbEBCbR9QGJ1Q
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KS648LY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JgEBCbWPG2Y70

> What's a zenfare c4?

I presume he means a ZanFlare C4.

https://www.amazon.ca/Universal-Zanflare-C4-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B07428G1G2

Also.. this is like, the 3rd time he's tried to use these forums like a classifieds section. I dunno how I feel about that. Like, if you have a particular situation where you've gotta clear some out, maybe that's okay, but not just literally posting ads once a week.

Anker FTW

Small: Anker PowerCore 10000, One of The Smallest and Lightest 10000mAh External Batteries, Ultra-Compact Portable Charger, High-Speed Charging Technology Power Bank for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and More

Medium: Portable Charger Anker PowerCore 20100mAh - Ultra High Capacity Power Bank with 4.8A Output and PowerIQ Technology, External Battery Pack for iPhone, iPad & Samsung Galaxy & More (Black)

Large: Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD with 30W Power Delivery Charger, Portable Charger Bundle for MacBook Air / iPad Pro 2018, iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max / XS / X, S10, and USB C Laptops with Power Delivery

I have not but read the comments ppl have tested it to 20A. You'd need like 4pcs per battery from this 360 pack:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013ZWM1F6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tmEBDbXT875G8

Intended for servers but could easily be adjusted to hold your battery packs

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi9qIfC86DiAhWzjVsKHYFFAA4YABAEGgJ5bQ&ae=1&sig=AOD64_1JFJxKanUIHvOegwM_5kcknlrPFg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiDuPzB86DiAhVMgK0KHfDwCj4Qwg96BAgMEAc&adurl=https://www.amazon.com/AFSTAR-Safstar-Network-Enclosure-Tempered/dp/B01MS4NGU2/ref%3Dasc_df_B01MS4NGU2/%3Ftag%3Dhyprod-20%26linkCode%3Ddf0%26hvadid%3D309750549985%26hvpos%3D1o1%26hvnetw%3Dg%26hvrand%3D9786233588685147061%26hvpone%3D%26hvptwo%3D%26hvqmt%3D%26hvdev%3Dm%26hvdvcmdl%3D%26hvlocint%3D%26hvlocphy%3D9051997%26hvtargid%3Dpla-568612431505%26psc%3D1

Hm. How easy would it be to retrofit that for a stock 18650, or mod the 326263 so that the 18650 was removable, I wonder?

Here is the charger/tester I bought awhile back.

https://www.amazon.com/Opus-BT-Intelligent-Compatible-Batteries/dp/B01852TBOU

There might be better, I didn't do a ton of research before buying it, it's worked for me for over a year now without issues though.

There's sadly not many but it does seem like more models are appearing.


Here's one with adjustable voltage output from 3.7 to 12v


Here's another one is adjustable from 8-24v I think.


You can also buy something much larger like this and build your own and use anywhere from 3 to 90 18650s in it lol.

There's also these which sadly have non removable 18650s inside but someone could mod it to make them removable once they actually die ... or IMO just use it till the cells don't hold a charge and then replace them in a similar fashion by soldering (which we know isn't as fun as being able to change out 18650s but it's safer to have them married all the time.)

I bought this because it said it was powered by lithium batteries, and the shape makes me think maybe 18650s? All the other rechargeable ones said they were NiMH batteries and I didn't really want to mess with that since my usage pattern would probably degrade those cells pretty quickly.

I just ordered today, so I have no input on how well it works, but if it dies, I'll probably try to pull it apart and see if the batteries could be replaced with fresh ones...

https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C

edit : or this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8F5HYJ/ref=emc_b_5_t

this one is quite cool:
12v + 9v + USB outputs... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01337QXMA/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Tecsun PL880