TOPIC: ASP Battery Options?

I've spent some time searching the forums and was unable to find what I am looking for; which is a listing of what batteries can be used for the ASPs.

It didn't take long to realize that there are a lot of knock off/low quality batteries out there (ahem, China...), and I also noticed that battery sizes (despite each being 18650B/protected circuit/button top/etc) seem to vary.

Unfortunately I do not own a micrometer, so I can't take an exact measurement of the battery that comes with the ASP builds.

I did find a link to the Panasonic specs (and hopefully external links are allowed here...?), which states that the NCR18650B is 65.3mm in length.
http://www.batteryspace.com/prod-specs/NCR18650B.pdf

I ended up wasting my time going to a Batteries Plus to get the exact Panasonic model that I needed, only to have them hand me some no-name battery, assuring me that it was the right one. I immediately saw that they didn't know what they were talking about because they handed me a flat top battery.
(insert un-amused face here)

When I told them that the battery HAD to have a button on the top, they handed me another and also assured me that this was what I needed. I skeptically went home and compared it with the stock battery. Too short.

So I did some scouring around online and found that some of the best reviewed batteries of this size were from a vendor called "Orbtronic". I had thought that I found what I needed at the following link:
http://www.orbtronic.com/protected-3400mah-18650-li-ion-battery-panasonic-ncr18650B-orbtronic
But then saw that the sizing was different. Again. Only this time, this battery was even larger than what I supposedly needed.

(amused face becomes annoyed)

I do see that replacements can be bought through SaberForge directly, but I'm curious if there is a better performing option available.

My concern is mainly because my charging experience is abysmal, at best. For the record, I had to learn the hard way that leaving the battery in the saber would result in near immediate (/ less than 2 days) of complete and total discharge. How was I supposed to know that the soundboard has a continuous (and aggressive) draw?

Attempting to charge my battery using the charger provided takes, and I kid you not, no less than 32 hours. That simply CANNOT be normal...

0_o


Before this story gets any longer, I'm wondering if there is a listing available of exact battery replacements for what fits these ASP builds?
Make/model/size/etc

go to and vapor website and they will have what your looking for or try shopsaberparts.com

I too was looking for the same battery and found this off of eBay and Amazon:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162152938435

and

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NCR18650B-3400mAh-Protected-Batteries/dp/B00NUI47OY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470107772&sr=8-1&keywords=Protected+Panasonic+NCR18650B+3400mah

or try saberforge.com or shopsaberparts.com as first frost mentioned.

FYI: The first 2 digits is the diameter of the battery and the second 2 is the length, so an 18650 is 18mm x 65mm.

Thanks guys, but I understand that SaberForge obviously sells these batteries. What I was asking for was about other (reputable) brands of batteries that are direct replacements; particularly due to my experience with the batteries from SaberForge.


As for the naming convention, using the first and second set of digits; this also appears that it can be contradictory. As I talked about in my post, I had been under the impression that I was getting 65mm batteries. However, using the example noted from Orbtronic, the descriptions were "18650", yet the battery length was stated as 68.9. See where I'm going with this?

For the Ebay link, the fact that the pictures do not show the labels as "Made in Japan" (as opposed to China), nor is it specified anywhere in the description, is an immediate red flag to me.

RichellM - did you actually buy from either of those listings? And if so, can you share your experience? Do yours say "Made in Japan"? And/or, do they actually hold a charge? How long do they take to recharge? Etc

Thanks again.

MalsBrownCoat,
I have no experience with other brands of this type of battery, so, sorry, I can't help you there. I have not bought from the listing, yet, but plan to. I'll let you know my experience when I do order them. However, I did mistakenly buy from eBay some Panasonic 18650B "unprotected" batteries from another seller from Texas and it did say made in Japan. The same seller does sell the protected version but little more expensive. The unprotected batteries do work fine on the sabers. When I charge them, I use a multipurpose smart charger I use for my heli batteries. The SF ASP Charger works fine, too, but takes longer.

As far as your concerns about battery charge time, it's all about the charger. The charge time you experienced IS NORMAL when using the charger provided by SF. Lithium Ion batteries max safe charge current is equivalent to its capacity (i.e. for the panasonic 18650B, with 3400AH capacity, its at 3400mA). The SF ASP charger's output current is at 300mA, thus slow. Some battery manufacturers say you can charge at 2x to 4x above its capacity, but is not recommended because charging above its capacity shortens its life. Charging lower than its capacity is always safer but slower to get to a full charge.

As mentioned above, I have a smart multipurpose charger (used for my heli batteries) that can charge different types of batteries and where i can set the charge rate. I set it to 3400mA and it charges the battery between 0.5 hrs to 1.5 hrs. When my battery was drained as yours was, it took 2 hrs. When I use the provided SF ASP charger, it reaches full charge from 12 to 36 hrs based on how much it has been drained.

Hope this helps.

It absolutely does help, thank you RichellM!

For a charger, I use - Charger

As for battery I also use this site after ASP sold out. - Battery

Not sure if that helps but, it's all I have to offer.

If this is inappropriate, please remove it. As a complete newcomer to a lot of this, is there any reason these won't work? Are they the wrong size, or something?

https://www.amazon.com/Intsun%C2%AE-3400mah-Rechargeable-Flashlight-Headlamps/dp/B00N9SLJQO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1471233911&sr=8-4&keywords=18650+pcb+battery+3400mah

Batteries are currently sold out on shopsaberparts, so I'm looking at what other options I have for the time being.

RolandofGilead wrote:
Here's a good option I bought off of eBay. They are exactly the same batteries in the shopsaberparts.com (ASP) site:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Panasonic-NCR18650B-18650-3400mAh-3-7v-Protected-Button-Top-Batteries/291405926315

As mentioned above, I was planning on buying these and finally did. They are authentic and do say Made in Japan. I charged them up and they work great!

Thank you! I did order the Amazon batteries, if they don't work out I will return them and order those. Looks like batteries are back in stock on shopsaberparts, too!

well one thing you can do is bringing your saberforge battery with you to a shop that sells specific batteries show them the battery and tell them you want same size with 3400mA you can compare the battery with yours if you bring your battery too.

Just reporting back on the Amazon batteries. Again, if I'm stepping on Saberforge's toes, mods please remove this. They fit the battery holder and seem to power the LED just fine. I don't have the tools to measure output and whatnot, but the LEDs seem extremely bright.