18650 lithium ion batteries

Planiac01

Active member
Hey!! I was just at FF18, and I noticed a flyer who was using 18650 batteries to fly his planes. I have always been interested, but I cannot find a good place to go buy them. Where should I go? Thank you!!
 

Chuppster

Well-known member
I don't have a good suggestion on where to go, and I don't know how much you know about 18650's, but I'll try and help you anyway.

The reason 18650's aren't commonly used is their high internal resistance. They have great power density, but you can only draw so much power from most of them. For this reason, you'll want a low power motor or you will have to have a ton of these cells in parallel to no over-draw current. That being said, using 18650's is possible, and I encourage you to go for it!

Tom Stanton made a video:
 

Fluburtur

Cardboard Boy
I have a tiny 600mm flying with that uses a custom 2s li-ion pack ,those provide 40 minutes of flight time but you kinda need to study the plane so you can use li-ion and not have problems because they can't provide much amps.
 

Javiester

Elite member
I recommend buying them with electrically soldered terminals, it is not good to solder them with tin
LG HG2 cells
careful that there is a lot of fake

IMG_20180716_230719.jpg
 
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xunedeinx

Active member
Make sure you get ones with a decent comtinous amp rating. My sanyos are 12a continuous. 2s1p 7.4v pack 2150 mah. With my 2306 2200kv and 6045bn prop im at 14a 100% throttle 7-9amp where I cruise at.

You can double that amp draw capacity with a 2s2p for twice the weight. You can also split the cells/pack for weight distribution. I like my 2s1p packs and use them more than my 850mah 3s1p lipos
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
The 18650 batteries can be purchased from a vape shop, as they are commonly used for those people who want to use e-cigarettes. They can also be purchased through Amazon. They are also used in the new Fatshark battery packs for goggles, as well as being used in a few select STRIX planes (the Nano Goblin being the big one that I can think of, since I happen to have one).

I will warn you to be VERY, VERY careful when you purchase them. I bought a set from Amazon that claimed to be "Sanyo" and were certified. When I got them, the wrappers were torn and damaged, and I actually had one battery nearly start a fire when a wire touched the side of the battery and the center terminal, because of the poor insulation covering. I feel like they're a bigger hazard than my lipo batteries...
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
IMO the only ones worth buying are Panasonic and Samsung. Any of the Efest, trustfire etc brands are just bought from Panansonic or Samsung because they didn't meet specs. Canvape and Dashvapes have them in Canada, not sure about other places.
 

xunedeinx

Active member
I got my sanyos from a newer Dell XPS laptop battery from a recycle bin. Had one dead cell out of 8. Free and cheep. I run samsung 25r's in my Vape. 25a on those.
 

quorneng

Master member
I can only endorse what others have said about only buying quality 18650s.
There are lots of 18650 on ebay from chhina that appear very cheap with huge capacities (up to 5300 mAh! claimed!) but they have nothing like this in reality. The six I bought have an average capacity of about 800 mAh and even that is at a discharge rate of just 1/2 A.
As others have said they are' below spec' cells that have been re shrink wrapped with a completely fictitious capacity printed on.
Even the best 18650 cells are limited to about 2000 mAh and on the basis of capacity to cost are actually a bit more expensive than a LiPo.
This is my Depron light weight motor glider that uses six 18650 cells in a 2s 3p configuration.
GluedWing.jpg

It works well enough but if the cells really had their marked capacity it would be able to cruise, power on continuously, for over 5 hours. As it is it can just about manage 20 minutes!
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
I have yet to use them in a flight pack, simply because they take so long to charge, but I use them all the time to power my FPV goggles (the HK DIY ones), ground stations, flash lights, and even as a ground / build test pack. I use battery holders (in 1, 2, 3, 4 cell sizes) similar to these soldered up for series or parallel depending on what I'm using them for. I harvest my 18650 cells from old laptop batteries and was lucky the organization I work for was moving buildings and was getting rid of old hardware. I have a mix of Sanyo, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony batteries from a mix of Dell and Thinkpad laptops with one from an old Apple pack.

Here's an example of the cases I buy (not from this store, but they had a convenient hit from google):

ALLOYSEED ABS 18650 Battery Holder Box Hard Pin 18650 Holder Batteries Case 1X 2X 3X 18650 Rechargeable Batter... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hig...-18650-in-Parallel-3-7V-Pole/32814062027.html
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
Do your research and look on google for a guy called battery mooch. He does tests on all the batteries out there. Also might I suggest you simply buy a 18650 battery sled and solder on whatever connector you use and call it good. No soldering to the batteries and if you crash the batteries are held in place by the battery sled.
 

Javiester

Elite member
I only buy them on the website that I posted, verified with the imax B6 4.2V 3000mah
less capacity = less weight
fake = less weight
 

Fluburtur

Cardboard Boy
I got myself some sanyo red from banggood and they are legit, I wanted to buy myself some of the 3500mah rated at 10 amps so I could make a 6s pack for a flying wing. However im asking myself if I really need that much flight time.
 

Planiac01

Active member
I have yet to use them in a flight pack, simply because they take so long to charge, but I use them all the time to power my FPV goggles (the HK DIY ones), ground stations, flash lights, and even as a ground / build test pack. I use battery holders (in 1, 2, 3, 4 cell sizes) similar to these soldered up for series or parallel depending on what I'm using them for. I harvest my 18650 cells from old laptop batteries and was lucky the organization I work for was moving buildings and was getting rid of old hardware. I have a mix of Sanyo, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony batteries from a mix of Dell and Thinkpad laptops with one from an old Apple pack.

Here's an example of the cases I buy (not from this store, but they had a convenient hit from google):

ALLOYSEED ABS 18650 Battery Holder Box Hard Pin 18650 Holder Batteries Case 1X 2X 3X 18650 Rechargeable Batter... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hig...-18650-in-Parallel-3-7V-Pole/32814062027.html
Hmm...where do you get your laptop batteries or suggest getting them?
 

Javiester

Elite member
I have yet to use them in a flight pack, simply because they take so long to charge, but I use them all the time to power my FPV goggles (the HK DIY ones), ground stations, flash lights, and even as a ground / build test pack. I use battery holders (in 1, 2, 3, 4 cell sizes) similar to these soldered up for series or parallel depending on what I'm using them for. I harvest my 18650 cells from old laptop batteries and was lucky the organization I work for was moving buildings and was getting rid of old hardware. I have a mix of Sanyo, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony batteries from a mix of Dell and Thinkpad laptops with one from an old Apple pack.

Here's an example of the cases I buy (not from this store, but they had a convenient hit from google):

ALLOYSEED ABS 18650 Battery Holder Box Hard Pin 18650 Holder Batteries Case 1X 2X 3X 18650 Rechargeable Batter... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hig...-18650-in-Parallel-3-7V-Pole/32814062027.html

good idea to change them quickly by other charged
this seems lighter

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1pcs...id=ad14392c-3235-49ba-814b-3cd81df554e4&tpp=1