Scamazon got me for the first time.

[Raiden Gekkou]

Amazon.com: Panasonic NCR18650B Protected Rechargeable 3400mAh 3.7V 18650 Lithium Batteries: Everything Else

These batteries are advertised as Panasonic, but the ones that I received are solid black, generic-looking button top 18650s that are a little longer and wider than my Tenergy PCBs. I can't even close the cap on my WL Arctic with one in. But surprisingly, although my Tenergy batteries won't work in my Scorcher from Moe Ron, these batteries work fine. I'm still going to return them though, because I don't know the mAh on them, and would rather have batteries that I know are legit. I wish I had read the reviews to see that other people have been getting the same deal as well.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

I wouldn't use "Scamazon" as this was sent by a seller "Firstenergy", not by Amazon itself. Amazon has a great return policy, and you don't have to pay for return shipping as this was not as described.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

I work with a number of amazon resellers... amazon has very strict policies to handle this. Assuming there are other complaints about the wrong battery being shipped, you can expect the seller to be kicked out in short order.

 

[PersonGuyDude]

I got the same batteries for a particular laser. The shroud is too thick to fit in the intended laser, but I can use them in other ones.

I just assumed they are panasonic batts that a third party added the pcb and shroud onto. I really hope they are, because they are quite expensive.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Well, you can trust in hope, or get verifiable Panasonic batteries. At that price I'd just outright buy them from a more reputable source where the batteries at least look like they should.

 

[Raiden Gekkou]

Update. I decided to tear the black wrapping off one of the batteries, and it looks exactly like a pair of legitimate Panasonic 3400mah 18650s, but with an added PCB and metal strip along the side. If I were to try and remove these, would the batteries still function? Here's a picture with the still-wrapped battery on the left, the unwrapped one in the middle, and the legit one on the right.

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

Happy that they appear to indeed be what you thought they were.

It depends on if whatever you will use them in accepts flat-top cells.

If it accepts flat-top cells, you can remove the button top that is on top. If you can, do so without removing the protection circuit. If not, no biggie, just remember not to overdischarge it, and keep in mind then, that you only have one line of defense when charging, and that is your charger's ability to terminate properly.

If the device DOES NOT accept flat top cells, and the protected, button-topped cell is too long, you can remove the protection circuit, including that ribbon of metal along the side, and rewrap using shrinkwrap. I believe someone here actually has a thread regarding shrinkwrap from fasttech, and what lengths to cut it to to get a perfect fit.

 

[Raiden Gekkou]

The laser I bought these for takes flat and button tops. I'm just worried about removing the metal strip and stuff, because I just read the thread about how to do it and saw where Bionic-Badger burned his thumb doing it.

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

Ah, well, the thing to keep in mind is that the entire can of the cell is the - side, and the one piece of metal on top is the +. Never, never, never should these touch! At least, that should be your goal. Most cells can handle a dead short for a split second or so, but there is no telling what sort of damage (reduced capacity, internal short, other dangers) may have occurred. So, it is best to avoid dead shorts at all costs. There is so much available power, that a dead short will cause the offending short to glow red hot. This is how some people get burned.

Also, protection circuits can be very handy, esp. for cells that are of lower quality or ones that you'd be drawing lotsa power from. to some extent, Panasonic's NCR line has built-in protection, but I do believe that the 3400mAh model does away with things like the heat-resistant layer inside the cell and the built-in thermistor on top of the cell, to keep internal resistance to a minimum for this high performance cell. As such, I would advise to keep it protected if you can. If not, then again, treat this cell as described in the datasheet, at all times!

Ok, I think that's enough for disclaimers.

The button top is welded to the + terminal on the cell.
The ribbon wire is either welded to the button top, or also to the + terminal on the cell.
The PCB will also have a ribbon welded to the - side of the cell.


Here is how I'd go about it:

First, you can put tape on the front of the ribbon, just as an extra safe guard against shorts. These are fancy cells, you don't want any possible internal damage.
Next, you can remove the PCB from the bottom of the cell, snipping the ribbon that connects between the PCB and the bottom of the cell.
Finally, you can pull the PCB away from the cell, and then detach the + ribbon from the + of the cell. Button top may or may not come off with it.

While searching for a diagram to help explain the construction, came across HKJ's page here, awesome page, by the way!
http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/battery protection UK.html

You will most likely find something like this on the + end of the cell:
http://www.lygte-info.dk/pic/battery/DSC_6239.jpg

Of small importance, but worth mentioning, all cells will have that metal seam at the top, that's just where they seal the cell top to the can. The button top is usually a cheap looking piece of stamped metal.