Saber Forum

I've been having some problems with one of my Trustfire batteries I got with one of my staves. The last few times I've tried charging the batteries (all Trustfires), I noticed one of them always showed a green light on the charger, as if it was already fully charged. I didn't think much of it until it happened three times in a row. I also noticed that the blade kept getting duller. I know it's not either of the chargers because I put the same battery in all four charging slots and each one showed it as being charged, whereas with other batteries it would charge them. I've only had the batteries since March, so I wouldn't think they'd be dying on me yet. Does anyone know if there is a solution to this or do I have to get another battery?

(This is copy pasted from the most recent newsletter) If you own an Ultrasaber that uses Li-Ion batteries then you have probably wondered what the best way is to take care of the batteries is to prolong them.  One gigantic piece of misinformation is that you shouldn't keep the batteries on the charger (or if you have a recharge port, you shouldn't keep your saber plugged in).  When that is exactly where you should keep them.  Our charger begin to "trickle charge" once the batteries are fully charged.  Which means that it will keep the batteries topped off but will not overcharge or damage the batteries.    The best way to risk damaging your Li-Ion batteries is to leave them in your saber for an extended period without using the saber or charging the batteries.  Over a very long period of time your saber will eventually fully drain the batteries and if your batteries stay idle for an extended period after being completely depleted they will eventually forget how to charge and become "fully dead" battery cells and won't recharge again.  So if your saber is going to be sitting idle for an extended period of time, please remove the batteries and store them in the charger or if you have a recharge port just keep your saber plugged in until the next time you plan to use it.  This will help to preserve your Li-Ion batteries.


It is possible to Revive a battery that no longer takes a charge:

What works often:
Shock the battery with a higher voltage. This means, connect the contacts with a higher voltage but for only a few seconds (important).

The charging voltage should be 30 to 50% higher than the cell´s voltage (i.e. a 9V battery for our 3.7V batteries).
Plus [positive] on plus [positive], minus [negative] on minus [negative] (otherwise you will short circuit the battery and kill it!!!).

Important!!!:
Only a few seconds (not more than ten seconds).

If it gets hot disconnect immediately.  Don´t be worried, there´s plenty of time between the point of noticing the heat and the dangerous threshold of exploding the cell. Those dramatic video clips where cells are exploding were made by using the excessive voltage of 12V or more.

If you have one, measure the voltage with a multimeter. You should reach at least 2.5V.

If not, connect the contacts again for a few second (and stop when the cell gets hot). You can repeat this procedure several times. Just watch for the temperature (give the cell time to chill).

If the voltage does not increase after several times, though you charged until the cell got hot, then the cell is defiantly permanently dead.  For example: the cell´s voltage is still 0.00 or 0.10V.

You can use a 9V cell (easy to get, easy to connect), just don´t forget to monitor the heat.

Now, the current voltage of the cell is high enough to get charged commonly (some chargers accept 2.2V as a starting voltage). You should charge it immediately with a common Li-Ion-charger, because the batteries voltage drops pretty fast again.

Don´t try to drain energy out of the battery (i.e. don´t use it yet) until you´ve completely charged the battery in a common charger. If you have a charger with a reliable standby-circuit [trickle charge like our chargers] (i.e. a circuit, that keeps the cell permanently on 4.20V), keep it in the charging cradle for 24 more hours.

This has worked for me on many occasions.  Otherwise, just get a new battery, they aren't that expensive and typically last so long as they are care for properly.

This could be stickied, IMO... thanks, Deep!

Hi i have read the "how to prolong YOUR li-on" and I regularly leave the batteries in the charger, however, now my LED turns on But last for about 5 seconds before the LED turns off. I have sound on mine and that still is as loud as before. any ideas?

See I am in the same boat as everyone else.  My saber will make sound but will not light up.  I just got these batteries from the first summer raffle and even after I used up the life on the batteries I quickly put them on the charger.  Right away the one battery would charge and the other one would not it just stayed green.  This has happened three different times now.  I put the battery on a tester to see if it was even just low and it would not read on the tester basically saying it was holding no charge at all.

I've had a Trustfire battery die on me, and I don't have the equipment to shock it, as Deep's suggested.

I've just received my replacement batteries that I found online, so I now have one spare in case it happens again. Hopefully it's just one bad battery, but if not then I'll be making the seller happy, I guess.

looking good I shocked it and the red light is on. only thing is the multimeter now read 0.7 is that normal?

I too am having battery issues, is it common that the saber would just switch off after a few seconds. If I take out and put back in the batteries it will come on again for a few seconds. My charger is currently broken and I am awaiting another in the post. However I wanted to know if this is a symptom of low batteries - I would have expected dimmer LED or something.

This is the 2nd set of batteries to do this. I hoping a recharge will fix!!

Merweb

So can I order just the batteries from U.S.? or,,,,,? what?

Yes, they sell individual Trustfire batteries in the Accessories section I believe it is.

ya ive had this problem too... at one point i had double the amount of batteries that i required so that i would never be without a charged battery.... over the last year, HALF my batteries have failed and i am back to the original amount of 2 batteries per saber.... i try to keep them in the charger whenever possible, if they do stay in my saber its never for longer then a few days to a week at most.... any ways, the batteries suck lol . im going to order some extra on my next saber purchase, i think thats all you can really do

some of the batteries would just stop working like you described in the first post... some batteries would hold a partial charge, like some other people are describing, so that when i put them in the saber the LED light would get dim and go out before the sound.

After one year of abuse, my first battery has lost its ability to charge. So, I now have 9 batteries total for the 5 sabers in the house, and it's not a concern as I always ordered an extra pair with each saber.

ya, its not too big of a deal, just a slight added cost to figure into the overall price of a happy sabering experience ;) .

the fact that you have only lost 1 batt in a whole year is pretty good i think... Ive had 4 die on me in the same time frame. i exaggerated slightly in my first post... i have had up to 10 batts and one point and i currently have 6 that still work.

Booo. Sorry to hear, Haldir. It is important to note that Trustfire does make a quality product, though they are not perfect. I've always been happy using them.

At least you're still powered too! :)

so what yall are saying is it is possible after a while one battery just dumps on ya.

I was using my intiate today in BR and noticed it dimmed after only 10 minutes of use. This is my dark intiate i got in april. I bought a regular initiate in GB in august. So i fully charged them both on opposite chargers. I have recharge ports for both with the faster chargers. Once charged i let them both run FOC for 5 minutes. then left them on. sure enough my April BR one dimmed after 10 minutes and my GB dimmed after 25.

I think ill just hit radioshack friday for a new set of batteries as long as they have same voltage. If im lucky maybe i can find some with high than 900mah  for more capacity.

Funny thing is i recharged them using opposite chargers and  the problem one took longer to charge. Iv done what Emory says about leaving them connected since ive had them. Has anyone bought any aftermarket Li-poly batts for their US?

Hey all! First time poster, so be gentle if I am displaying ignorance haha.

Just out of curiosity, has anybody on this forum had any batteries explode or catch fire on them? I've read some pretty dubious things online about Trustfire and Ultrafire batteries, including exploding in the charger. I've also seen in other places that some TrustFires which advertise protective circuitry don't in fact have any to speak of. This naturally has me a bit worried about my lovely new Monarch. Are there any alternative brands folks might recommend that I could pick up as a precaution? Or am I just being over-cautious? This is my first experience with LiIon batteries (outside of laptops and cellphones), and I want to make sure they're safe.

Thanks everybody.  :)

all i can say is theres a risk for everything. you can only be so coutious. As long as you are using common sense and not storing/ charging in a overheating area or where theres moisture and water then its fine.

Thanks for the reply.  As I understand it, the batteries should be separate from the saber while not in use, yes?
I also read not to charge them without supervising them. What storage methods might people recommend?

Mine live in the charger. I haven't had any problems with heat or anything else.

And you just use the default LiIons that it came with, yeah? That makes me feel much better. Thanks!

Correct li-ions and charger both came with the 'saber.

I would always stick to the TrustFires from Ultrasabers to be sure you have right ones for your saber. Also, you're right about separating the batteries from the saber if you don't use it. Just be sure to store the Li-Ions in the Universal Charger or - if you have a Recharge Port on your saber - plug the Charger into the Port while the batteries are inserted in the saber.

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem, or knows of it, but I was keeping my batteries on the charger for my Phantasm, one day I went to take them off and it appeared acid had leaked out of one of the sets of batteries (kinda looked like it had rusted) only know it was acid because my buddy pointed out to me that the charger was partly melted. Threw them out immediately. But know after putting the other set in my saber to use, it looks like one (of know the remaining two) appears to have a couple small rusty color spots on one end (possibly acid) and some on the connecting end inside the saber itself. I keep it all away from moister so I'm just confused about what might be going on. Anyone have any ideas or know of any help? I'm afraid to charge my (currently) last set of batteries.

Sounds like the battery was put in the wrong way in the charger. That's the only thing that I can think of if the charger was burnt as well. Of course, it's rare, but it could be a factory defect as well. I'd email Ultrasabers about this and see what they say.

How can I get more batteries? Do I have to order them, or is there a store where I can get more?

Where can I get spare batteries for my Raven light saber with sound?

Here from Ultrasabers or at any store that sells PCB protected 3.7V 14500 TrustFire batteries :)

Note:  Trustfire is not the only company that makes 14500 L-Ion batteries and they are all made in China, probably in the same factory, haha.  That does NOT mean that all batteries are the same however.  I spent a lot of time looking at these things on, well, "the world's 2 largest online" internet sites for selling things and there are a zillion of them for sale at different prices.  Ultrasabers' price on them is competitive with, if not better than the price that you'll find from those other, "big guys" and they aren't shipping them to you on a slow boat from China (but rather, on a very fast truck, from Texas!). 

Also, I've looked at a zillion listings for these things and most of them are written by a Chinese guy with poor English skills so they say something useful in the description like, "Only it is the best power for you and your device!  Green is the energy to be recharged by you 1000 times and saving Earth!  Maximum power is best for you and battery will bring it!"  Yeah, thx guy.  Not helpful.  So, the reason that I bring it up is to say that if you aren't buying batteries that clearly state that they are "protected", have "protective circuits or circuitboards", or have "PCB", youre taking a risk that they are the cheaper and possibly less safe to use, "unprotected" batteries.

I've only read one online complaint where a person described having a battery which was not protected "blow up" or catch on fire after having been overcharged and the credibility of the reporter was...questionable, however US recommends using the protected batteries and spending an extra couple of bucks to insure that your expensive saber runs properly is likely a good investment.

Of course there are other companies, too :) I just mentioned those because they're the ones US sells...and they're known to work with their sabers :D

Is there a store I can find them at or can I only order them online?

Im sure there are, but US doesn't like for people to discuss it's competition on the forums.  Just look around.  Or order online and eat nachos while you wait.

What do you use to shock it? I've attempted it with copper wires, as well as cutting out a 9v snap connector from a smoke alarm, and alligator clips but I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.

Only a few times have I manged to actually get it to heat a little and even get it to charge for a short period of time before dying outright again, what do people normally use to shock a AA size battery with a 9v?

Be careful with 3rd party vendors
Alot of Chinese batteries are fake (writing higher mAh than what battery actually is)
This plagues cell phone markets as well

yeah, i bought some knock off batteries accidentally. they work alright, just not for very long. its not worth the chance. trustfire works. i'm sticking with them.

This thread has been a good read... Very informative!

A few things I would like to cover for all of you... I've done some extensive testing of numerous batteries available from Ultra Sabers and others. I researched the manufacture of these Li-Ion batteries and discovered there really are only two Chinese companies that make them. They are actually branded by the selling companies.

I'm finding a failure rate of about 5% straight out of the package, and in most cases, it's due to a bad PCB (Protected Circuit Board). I've had the best luck with TrueFire 900mAh 3.7v and UltraFire 1200 & 1500 mAh 3.7v batteries.

In my experience, buy and use your sets in PAIRS! Literally MARRY them! If one goes bad, if shocking doesn't revive it, replace them as a pair and get rid of both. I've discovered on more than one occasion that when you replace just one, it eventually takes out its new partner or "dies" on its own shortly after and continues on this cycle repeatedly. BUY AND USE YOUR BATTERIES IN PAIRS ONLY!

I posted on another thread about voltages and amp hour ratings... Put simply, voltage will determine brightness and proper function of of your product, lower is much safer than higher, BUT try to stick to the recommended 3.7v.

The supplied TrustFire batteries are 900 mAh rated and last me slightly more than three hours straight run time in my Dark Arbiter (Blazing Red with v3 obsidian sound).

The higher the mAh rating, the LONGER your charge will last. I mentioned three hours on the provided TrustFire batteries. I'm getting FOUR and a half plus on my UltraFire 1200 mAh ones and just short of SIX hours on my 1500 mAh ones!

I have a BS in Physics and use only the best test equipment to go with my understanding of the electrical workings of these simple devices. Have fun!

MM.  Thanks for this battery info.  Appreciation point earned.  :)

Millenia Man, being a member of the scientific community, I appreciate your thoughtful and tested review!  Getcha' point for technical prowess!

Yesterday I finally got my Flamberge v2 (Blazing Red in all three blades and Obsidian Sound) and a friend's Manticore (no sound, Guardian Blue, but with Li-Ion setup) that I had ordered from the May the Fourth sale.  Naturally we took them out to the park to have some fun with them.  As things were winding down we noticed some issues with both sabers and came to the conclusion it was (hopefully) an issue with the batteries.  I found it odd that both sabers used two Trustfires instead of the one that my Bellicose RGB with Obsidian sound from a few years back used (with a dummy cell).  The Flamberge made sense since it was running three LEDs plus the sound, but the Manticore was just the one LED.

First it started in my friend's Manticore.  As he was spinning it the blade suddenly cut off and wouldn't come back on until I popped one of the batteries out and back in, at which point it lit up like normal, but even without moving the saber or battery at all it would cut off again after a short time (less than a minute, maybe 30 seconds at most).  My Flamberge had been working fine all day.  I had absolutely been messing with it for much longer than he had.  I decided to try swapping the batteries from the Manticore into my Flamberge and sure enough after a short time the Flamberge just cut off.  No deactivation sound or anything.  I swapped the batteries back and then within 10 minutes of messing with my Flamberge it started having the same issue (despite using the same batteries it came with).  I figured maybe it was just that the batteries needed to be recharged.  I plugged the batteries into the charger over night but this morning after turning the saber on and letting it sit on my bed, again within a minute or so it just cuts off.  Removing one or more battery and popping it back in allows it to turn on again for less than a minute.

I've never had this issue with my Bellicose or its Trustfire+dummy cell setup despite knowing I haven't properly taken care of the Trustfire (leaving it in the saber for months on end).  Were these batteries just faulty straight out of the box?  Is this something that can be easily fixed?  Or am I going to have to send both sabers back to US for repair?

I would send your post to US for diagnosis.  From your description, it sounds like both you and your friend may have gotten bad batteries.  There is a post by Deep, I believe under "Technical questions", on how to short the batteries out using a 9V battery.  Once that has been done, recharge and test in your saber.  DO NOT perform this function until you read and fully understand the process, else you will screw them up even worse than what they are now.  Good luck and...MTFBWY!

I've emailed US, awaiting a response.  Figured it wouldn't hurt to post here, too, to see if someone here had answers that could help.

I'm hoping it's just faulty batteries.  That would at least be simple enough to fix.

Yeah, it sounds like a bad battery. I'd try the 9V shock procedure and look if this revives it. If not, you have to replace it or you may purchase the VP1 charger which is capable of reviving dead batteries without the risky shock procedure...

Just out of curiosity: Which version of the Obsidian sound board does your RGB Bellicose have? It's quite unlikely that an Obsidian sound board and the LED both work with a single 3.7V cell...at least that's true for the v3 and v4 sound boards. I don't know the specs for the older Obsidian v2, though...

I don't know how to tell which version board it has.  I got it in December 2011.  It runs off the one battery, though.  It came with one battery and one dummy cell in the saber and another battery separately (though I'm not sure where I've put the extra battery... I know it's in my room *somewhere*.)

Your board must be a v2 or v1 then. I think I've read that the v3 came out in February 2013 and the Obsidian intro vid on Youtube is from June 2011, so I'm quite sure it must be one of the previous versions.

Battery Test & Results:

Last week I replaced the Li-ions in all of my sabers as they were over 2 years old.  I bought (40) UltraFire 1200 Mah Li-ions from ebay for $39.96 delivered.  Seemed like a good deal.  All of the batteries worked.  Today I did a runtime test.  All 20 sabers had just been charged.  All have Obsidian & all were fitted with fresh UltraFire 1200s except my new Emerald Menace CE which came with a pair of TrustFire 900s.  

** Ignited all sabers @ 4 pm this afternoon and let them sit static idling during test.

** By 4:20 most of the sabers were showing various degrees of dimming.  Violet & Yellow blades were red.

** By 4:25 the Hot Pink was red.  Several saber blades had turned off but AV was illuminated & sound was still on.

** By 4:30 ALL of the UltraFire sabers had no blade illumination.

** NONE of these sabers turned off automatically because, despite the wrapper claiming these cells contain Protected-Mode PCBs, they obviously don't!

**  At 4:50 the Menace CE, with its TrustFire 900s, shut down automatically due to low power.  The blade remained fully lit until the shutdown (set for Guardian Blue).

Right off the bat you can see the 900 Mah TrustFires lasted more than twice as long as the 1200 Mah UltraFires.

I charged all cells in a pair of external xStar XC4 Digital chargers.  These chargers are nice because they show how many Mah each battery takes during the charge cycle.

**The UltraFire 1200s ranged from 360-450 Mah....about 1/3rd of their stated capacity!

**The two TrustFire 900s took 795 Mah & 805 Mah respectively.  The 900s accepted TWICE the power of the 1200s!

WOW!  Brother, you certainly are a seeker of the truth!  Well done!  I have read about higher mA batteries being falsely advertised.  You just took it to the next level!  I tend to follow folks advice on these type of issues YET, you have verified it!  I wish I could give you 1000 points of your choice!  For now, enjoy a well deserved point!  Thank You! :)

Yup, I always knew that a lot of batteries that can be found cheaper are falsely advertised. It's nice to have actual proof of that rather than hear-say

Ultrafire batteries are pretty well know these days for having waaaaaay lower capacity than stated. Trustfire is pretty decent for 14500, but if you want to get real good capacity and discharge rates, go Nitecore.

GPL 14500 Li-ion "2300 Mah" Test:

Received 8 complimentary evaluation samples of a vender's "best" 14500 Li-ion cells.  Cells branded "GPL."  No mention of a protection circuit on the labeling. The strange part is the claimed capacity - 2300 Mah!  Uh huh...   ::)  Tested four of them last night.   Fully charged four cells in a Klarus CH4S Digital Charger.  The CH4S charges the cells individually @ .5 amp per cell.  All tests were run on my GB Raven with Obsidian 2.0 sitting statically.

Within 15 minutes the blade dimmed significantly.  At 20 mins the blade was flickering badly.  By 23 minutes the blade was out completely.  Recharged & repeated the test twice with 2 pairs of cells.  Both sets & runs had identical results.  Here is the laughable part.  Observe how much charge the "2300" Mah cells actually accepted during the recharge cycle (the smaller number below the cell voltage):

Summary: The GTL cells are junk.  Only one cells accepted even 300 Mah hours of charge!  2000 Mah BELOW the claimed capacity.  In reality these cells should be rated at 300-400 Mah and that's being generous.


(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AUuOINAiDjVVGcxRUuAwAU27n9hMiFPGNsCKeoKyD7nU=w358-h636-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pejiCV_W-h8EjthHHl7K3WYmQ7dM1E6dfKTcJdV_C0dI=w358-h636-no)

I would like to add, any 14500 cell that claims to have more than 900mah is lying, straight up. 2300mah is something you can only get out of an 18650.

NiteCores are nice.  I only see them in 650/750 capacity, and they are pricey.  Couldn't find anyplace selling them in bulk & they were around $6.50/cell.  Expensive if you need 40!  I just ordered 40 genuine TrustFire 900s with PCB for $64 delivered.

Capacity isn't really the biggest of issues, it's more about how well a battery can discharge power. Nitecore does it far better than Trustfire can, which allows for a more even discharge curve and potentially a brighter blade. Though I do agree if you need a lot Trustfire is a better option, but if you have a special one off build in the future, which I do, I'm gonna shell out for the Panasonic or Nitecore 18650.

Out of curiosity have you actually tried Nitecores in a saber?  Asking because in all the reviews I see a lot of complaints about them being longer than most 14500s and people having difficulty fitting them in many devices.  Was considering ordering a couple of pairs for testing.

Replacement Batteries - Buyer Beware!

As you have probably noticed I have been seeking replacement cells for my sabers.

As originally equipped, my sabers came with TrustFire 900s.  The cells contain protection PCBs that shut the cells down at overcurrent or low-voltage.  I get ~50 minutes of run time with these (Guardian blue, Obsidian, lighted AV - this is my test bench saber).  Red sabers should last longer as the LED requires less power.  Generally the blade remains near fully illuminated until shutdown, except for mixed colors like Hot Pink or Violet Amethyst where the blue LED shuts down first.   TrustFire 900s seem to realistically provide 750-800 mAh of capacity.

I have since tried UltraFire 1200s.  At .99/cell they are certainly cheap.  They do NOT contain protection PCBs (though the labeling claims they do) and realistically these should only be rated at 300-350 mAh.  They will run a saber for ~12-15 minutes at full brightness.  Thereafter the blade dims noticeably before flickering and extinguishing completely.  As there are no protection PCBs (or they are non-functional...haven't dissassembled a cell to check) the cells will continue to provide power until they get to absolute zero.  Not good for a Li-ion cell.  All 40 cells are functional.  Realistically the UltraFire 1200s should be rated at 350-400 mAh.

I tried a complimentary 8-pack of "GTL 2300s"   All worked but these are a total waste of time & should be rated at perhaps 300 mAh if feeling generous.  

Yesterday I received 40 gray-wrapper "Protected TrustFire 900s" from a vendor.  Price was excellent....$64 for 40 cells delivered.  Before I placed the order I wrote the vendor and specifically asked, "Are these genuine protected-mode TrustFire 900s?  I will return them if they are knockoffs."  I was assured they were genuine & he offers a 60-day return if not satisfied.   I opened the package to find the cells packed in boxes of 8 cells each with each cell individual boxed within. As soon as I opened the first one I knew they were counterfeit.  Labeling doesn't match a genuine TrustFire and no vents on the anodes.  

I decided to open 6 cells and performed 3 runtime tests on my test saber.  Before testing I charged the 6 cells in my Klarus CH4S digital charger.   I wasn't expecting much as 2 of the cells indicated FULL when connected to the charger and would accept no charge.  In the three tests performed I got 10-12 minutes of full brightness.  By 15 minutes the blade was considerably dimmed & flickering & by 18-20 minutes the blade was fully extinguished.   There is no protection PCB in these cells so they do not shut down.

Upon recharging, 2 of 6 cells failed to charge, showing only 1.38 & 2.21 volts respectively (the charger actually identifies the failed cells as Ni-MH cells due to the voltage).  That is a failure rate of 33%!   The remaining 4 cells accepted only 215-333 mA of charge.  More counterfeit junk that I will be returning.  I rate them at 300 mAh, but the 33% failure rate is abysmal & totally unacceptable. 

If you want a chuckle, when I wrote the guy requesting a return his initial reply was, "You can't judge a battery by how long it runs or how much charge it accepts."   ::)   I replied "Whatever!  Just tell me how to return them!"  


In summary, Buyer Beware when seeking replacement cells.  Amazon & ebay both are filled with "deals" offering counterfeit cells or batteries with grossly overstated & unrealistic claims of capacity.  If I didn't need 40 all at once I would have just ordered them here at US initially.  Looks like that's what I'll be doing afterall!  In the photos you can see the fake "TrustFire 900s" in banks 1 & 4 have failed.  A pair of genuine TrustFires were charged for comparison, though they weren't fully depleted before the charge cycle.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8sYCADSpojylSftT2lhxeMDBDHeqoe4NUZTFQMqOeCtKRLT0x49mLB3H1_bjf0HljAlSho96wVnvPz8l-x6gx3HPn0_6NqBclFv9rTRRxCEua_eqOQChqAuxOH9bBa5O0iq3lMktEOxqt5O1jNRn8DQqLORGa1_Q3cf7obZu328J3ZC_Rjr9rVx_b6KvbJ73uw-ZqUsGcIYDSkvHmC2iWp1i1K0Lr6SOeWRlaes7dOgrjFdhRz0kjg4EbMSG_hA9TtGmpfOed6duD4TMVVW-P4whiX4ssdzFG4q7hb76ubpyJLo7A1qJCydYyg3wYST1DLc8o5QJynK6ncFilXCttT1Jjq5vdJ4e36m9hN8Ful4M33RsPTpdsq7vaboBj3ksqwKsn_ywUhlfYiLdDwNO80QNSPK0bIMR88VyeChyjFb0x56Cak2EjNCcpvuIod1YZVC1N-3lwLIJZWnAn7cvIdezJ9fkEUd33oz443ku3FN_IU1ItBn-bAeIM5f1STkolq_onls=w358-h636-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gr8sIP6xeVhnlbKzckr2XwAh6pO9UAukEd9MSETIdtf9pdlPJdqnYc_Q2smpR658HJTEst-bDb9R3XzIGGpauB4Ydjw66kzyZwwmwqgeVZ9JANA3QwEzqI9AZC53sUd5QjHdmfNdW3Yjt98tibuCLT-aOHd8qwAWmFTnURaBnwcQr9MWRGi48esHGbhtMQACfoDj1gVYPhnlJOvZkrXcE2vqXNQ147aopR0q41uqT8FM0OqlIGwZrWbAQHssvWDscY4KC3K-eE81sbiE3G-sjmFslcoamNOe2tqxP4a9DRsQBZAAKHgfIN_CANrrr5OqdZdLRfEcsQnJ-1kp4viXz3TbZtIrdnEGAep_Dx1HTN31VU4vAMmkQw1KnXahoBKvAQJhcc--k0Zs6me36sJFPaaNacYeVBr2wnQ0BwPr59FlkjP6tWYrec-89rGOJ9yDCBbBy-qBY9AkNxWry0qacesUHat3nTWg9sM0Ble9gw18SBKJiBCNN6hdEXhJi4iRBXdULwM=w358-h636-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z14Xti7Klowh4n1vDDtR0I7tzbqqrxxPdMJ9Vbg3RfWZQwt3ICtCuukbwQtZn541cIYya2wzV2vmv9nItI7DrNOgQhPha5QZoAAwJ0ePzGlT4nO16lB6gnpnw6q7RqXrKBqpT5MzO1ZI_P6sdsUM5SMAV91Dj2jznZhgtottusAGFcm_KTl9raNPjYu08UjUzRImfuRnz4Xti01gmzjZ466sSogWBV-LHXkN_znL8nE92cmyEA9ZZa8D68QbIyZhXVFYNr_33WkppqTQ_rYNiph7kI91fJhRLm4wf9KN_PJfnmlJH5qXETJRiActnVphnR9rwIEPBlo4OuF5wVLapyvpU14DasHp-tB8xgDRXfF_wd5cl7Xr7ZnwQtwrH8RgkCHovMNCP_AlNGbP2DXlJkUqvGfJQ50bcgtC7D2li0NoM3Qibl_NqWb6p5fp3HWmP6VCujkqM8rbjpoCTJVitys49P9gztNmMUB4IiCGJfgnTvb4glPaOxhK4lEMwgYy-blP3yI=w358-h636-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LZCGOETJB7Yviqafhh0Rn1OJOZFrQK4vwDh5BRtsf0smE_E2ZqdXPn9brJ4pHJxnSp7CHYj3nBKDPZA083C1sxCS_TnIpTEVTygHQFMi50_kI7g2Ysm2Ol-irHAcu25lrNXJSUBq-5mwthxFK9TM79LAPYalyUVNt9WbhXND0ydAN6VNScfxX0dcSak1XRbBwrFIxP9IP3N4JG_V8A3kqvPZExEwLnFEVp-KWxBS5yKhYKgOzVU1gXIPvDVJ2GJZnSGdRKZhSo3PR53YvpsG6juYP3NniQB7XcNU0hS31QQt3XRIns3Ja8xSFxciy6QjkfRLW2r4LQLpmTB_nSOHWBt3eFsRi9HMJ8xYihLl6drdoSoPGYX7pIkagDwAZlULCLsOkC--z7D_AiNrw1ftYWKMsrbqHnnJgGZJCCFZ3u2DLJr1zhicDdz1T8SyCv1Tz4gTq0dZGmPsnDJoJRsH1TcTy8Tjr13DmkP8tPJyU3BSHFPBbgEyW-T55ZXxAreCCmZ-fzg=w358-h636-no)

I've never used the 14500 sized cells, but I have used the 18650s. It was for a sink tube stunt I made for a friend. I swear that battery just refused to drain for the longest time.

Friday I was surprised to receive an unexpected package from the ebay vendor who sold me the "genuine" TrustFire 900s that turned out to be cheap counterfeits.  Inside was a letter apologizing and 20 small boxes.  Inside each box was a pair of genuine (seriously) TrustFire 900 protected cells, shrink-wrapped together with a holographic seal of authenticity.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rK2DFTRCCGXwq91un3L35zUjfYtixAFmFLJHTFoRBxAc=w1120-h630-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3wxI4H1CrGpHlbJRQ3IIFTQeu05PHt6NeW54rzr4lD4B=w1120-h630-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UmvOREmSL8Ea2xTf3vhEOFFm_Tg5TQYYT3P_c5Zczpov=w358-h636-no)

WoW!  Well I know someone is going to be busy testing! ;)

I've asked before, and had created a thread for it, but never got anywhere.

Does anyone know an actual Brick and Mortar (physical location) store chain that sells the Li-Ion cells for our sabers?

I don't want to end up going through ebay and amazon vendors, for fear of counterfeits and damaging my saber, but I just want a couple of cells for one saber and paying the $20 in shipping hurts...

I do keep toying with adding other parts to try and justify it, but my wife tends to become Sith-like when I make the bill skyrocket and we have other bills to pay like the house, car, utilities, etc.

Radio Shack's back in business and stocking Lithium Ion rechargeables in different sizes. The person working the shop when I came in didn't really know anything about lithium ions (pointing me to those regular 1.5v "lithium" batteries), but then made mention of a section of batteries that were popular with Vapers, and surprise, a whole selection of 14500, 18650, and lots of other size rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The one by me only carries 14500s in a pack with a charger, but that set is also currently on clearance, so you might score yourself a nice deal.

Hit up the nearest Radio Shack, found some 14500, 750mAh, 3.7 v Li-Ions... like you said, came with a charger, but failed to pay attention to the fact that I need a micro-USB cable to hook up the charger.  So now I need to dig through my old phone chargers to see if I still have one that works, since switching to iPhones, we all have lightning chargers now.  Got two, two packs, with chargers, for $32.00, first one was $19.99, second, because of a clearance sale, was half off.

Once I get them charged, we'll see how they do.

Brand is DE?  (www.DEWORLD.com)

That info would be great to know.  I think that Radio Shack stores are slowing closing down in Canada as seem to be scarce.  The Source stores also sell LI-Ion batteries but did not have a TrustFire with me to compare.  Also the clerk did not seem to know much about them.   :)

Replaced my TrustFire chargers from US with an XTAR VP4 4-cell Li-Ion charger because the TFs made really high-pitched buzzing sounds for months now and it became annoying the last few days. Works like a charm, I can really recommend it!

Update: I noticed that one of my cells got unbearable hot, that didn't happen in my old chargers AFAIK. I've set the charging current to 0.25A (the lowest possible), and still get that problem. Also, the flashing battery symbol in the display doesn't stop even after about half an hour - and the battery voltage was around 4 V right after putting it into the charger, so it should not take that long :-\ Any suggestions? I almost think that the cell if defective...

UPDATE:

The DE (DEWORLD?) 14500 cells, DO NOT FIT.

They are too long for the battery holders inside your UltraSaber...  Live and learn I guess.  May see if I can make a minor modification or something, but they don't fit the factory holder.

Do not buy these from Radio Shack if you plan on using them in an UltraSaber.

Crud, I had nabbed a set without checking if they'd fit into a standard AA battery holder.

Unwrapped to investigate - the protection circuit makes 'em too big. Without it, it looks like they'd *just* fit.

On the one hand, unprotected cells should bump up the possible output on these cells, perhaps making for a brighter Tri-Cree blade. On the other, there's the possibility of discharging below the safe minimum voltage, damaging the cells. Ugh~

There is a chain of stores here in AZ and I think other states called Batteries Plus.  They stock all kinds of batteries and they carry the 14500.  That's were I always go to get rechargeable batteries because you can see what you are getting at the time of the sale.

 

I checked Batteries and Bulbs (chain store that just opened) as well as a nearby Batteries Plus, they have 14500's, but in their brands, however the Batteries and Bulbs variant was a 600mAh, and the Batteries Plus was a 450mAh, I didn't buy either one because I didn't want another repeat of the Radio Shack incident.

It all boils down to "If you want what's best for your saber, probably ought to buy them from the folks that built it."  I've just got to get the budget worked out to get saber parts, computer parts (I hate this POS laptop I'm using, but at least it works... somewhat,) keep the bills paid, and start paying for my health insurance that's supposed to go into effect in two weeks...

I have a question that pertains to batteries and recharge ports. When US does a recharge port is it the same setup as normal with the 2 Trustfire AA sized batteries just with the port added or do they use a different batter setup? I'm eventually going to add a port to my saber and I want to know if I'm going to need to change batteries. Thanks in advance. MTFBWYA

It's the same Li-Ion setup for Recharge Port and non-Recharge Port sabers, so it's not necessary to change the battery setup. Actually, the Recharge Port setup is meant to be used with the Li-Ion setup ONLY!

Thanks Racona Nova. That's a big help. Point to you.

Just as an announcement: My last set of working 14500s have expired, and no longer work. Yes, my unmodified Ultras are currently dark. The way I see it, I got three years' worth of constant charging, getting my butt schooled by Darth Nonymous in geared combat, and every video review I've ever done, and each cell is under $5 before shipping. That is unbeatable, man. Placing an order soon here for a restock, and then it's time to play again. :)

Thanks for the life span report eerockk.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Update: Finally got my battery issue resolved.  UltraSabers came to Planet Comicon and I was able to purchase new trustfires and a new charger from their booth... did this the first day of the con, so I had functioning sabers the next two days!

hey, iv been looking at batteries on amazon, what are the most powerful batteries i can buy with ought compromising the saber or my life. iv seen 14500 batteries that cap out at 3000 mah

Random chinese batteries with false ratings - don't waste your time or money. 14500 cells cap out around 800mAh, some brands give a more optimistic 900mAh label, but they still usually measure ~750-800. You're not getting more capacity without moving up to a larger cell.

so i have to get 14500 li-ion cells? i spent a bit of time watching youtube vids and seeing people test them and the highest iv seen that were legit were trustfire 1200 mah

Trustfire doesn't make a 1200mAh 14500. You might've caught a review for their 18350 cells, or a set of falsely rated Ultrafires.

There are dubious 1200mAh 14500s that, again, really only have 300-600mAh.

You are not going to find a genuine 14500 cell with higher capacity. Period.

Most of the quality ones run the 750-800mAh with varying accuracy. There are some using 850mA+ Sanyo cells, but they run a little large and won't fit inside the AA battery holder, like we previously found out with the DE brand.

ok, so buy batteries from ultrasabers or whats the other option here?

I started delving into this a bit after I went and bought a few Nitecore batteries from that rainforest shopping place... Anyway.

I found flashlight forums to be a pretty good knowledge base here (yes, flashlight enthusiasts, don't smile and point, waver of noisy lightstick :D) Anyway, of particular note was this:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonSmallcomparator.php

It's a comparator for batteries, with quite a few different 14500s represented, including the TrustFires available from UltraSabers.

From Schtuperman's Anecdote (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=14804.msg375959#msg375959), I surmise that the current draw of an Emerald/Obsidian saber to be in the neighborhood of .75-.85A (probably in the higher end of that range).

The Keeppower 14500 840mAh (described as "one of the best 14500 on the market." in the tester's conclusion)
It has a discharge graph that looks like this:
(http://lygte-info.dk/pic/Batteries2012Small/Keeppower%2014500%20840mAh%20(Black)%202015/Keeppower%2014500%20840mAh%20(Black)%202015-CapacityTime.png)
This battery would probably give 60-65min of runtime for an Emerald/Obsidian saber. On the down side, it is also 1.4mm longer than the Trustfires.

The Trustfire 14500 900mAh (flame) (the flame descriptor is because there's another Trustfire 14500 900mAh... with a blue wrapper (and is apparently junk)).
The (flame) battery is described as "good for a cheap battery, but the voltage under load is considerable lower than the best batteries.")
The discharge graph looks like this:
(http://lygte-info.dk/pic/Batteries2012Small/TrustFire%2014500%20900mAh%20(Flame)/TrustFire%2014500%20900mAh%20(Flame)-CapacityTime.png)
As I said, this battery gives about 50min of runtime for an Emerald/Obsidian saber.

The Xtar 14500 800mAh (Black) which is what the picture in the US Parts page is currently (described as "The battery has an acceptable performance, but it is possible to find better performing battery (That are slightly longer)."
It is .1mm longer than the Trustfire and has a discharge graph that looks like this:
(http://lygte-info.dk/pic/Batteries2012Small/Xtar%2014500%20800mAh%20(Black)/Xtar%2014500%20800mAh%20(Black)-CapacityTime.png)


My conclusion, unless you want to spend WAY more time than may be profitable trying to find THE perfect saber battery as a replacement for your Trustfire 14500s (adding in the probability that you'll have to modify or replace your battery sled... though I'm thinking about trying to find a HUGE rechargable Li-Ion battery for my stunts...) you might as well get the Trustfires (or Xtars) from US. Ten minutes of runtime for a six-to-nine-fold increase in price ($26 w/o shipping $36 w/... yes, for a single battery)  is NOT worth it IMO.

One of the main thing everyone should know and do with li-ion cells is that if you use more than one cell in a device ie.. 2 in a saber you need to keep that set paired up . Do not mix your battery sets if you have multiple battery sets. I learned this from using 18650s in my vape.

I would suggest anyone who is using li-on batteries look up Battery Mooch. Battery safety is super important.

Ok, question that apparently relates to this topic. I've had one of my US's connected to power via the recharge port for oh roughly 1.5-2 years no. It sits on my desk. This week it started to beep occasionally. I disconnected from the power and tried to power it but - nothing. It won't power on. However, the LED Switch is still lit up. Is this a sign that the batteries have finally been drained and forgotten how to recharge?

Oh, and these are the old Trustfire batteries. Are the new ones listed on the site the best option?

Have you tried removing the batteries and putting them back in?

Otherwise this seems to be a board failure. If the batteries were dead, you wouldn't even see the switch LED.

I have not had the chance to reset the batteries, but if it matters, the LED switch has faded to barely being visible since I posted this last night.

EDIT: SO ... I just pulled and reset the batteries and I got the boot message and it was able to power on but for all of about 5 sec before it shut off. Reconnected it to the power cable and it would power on again. Now its sitting and charging.

I still think this might indicate the batteries are near end of life?

Do you have another set of those Li-Ions that you can use? Just to test if it really is a battery issue...somehow looks like that according to your recent post.

Unfortunately no. I'll have to order a set. Can't hurt to have spares anyway. Thanks

Definitely. Sorry that I couldn't help you that much, but I hope that new batteries will solve that.

I used this trick today!  Worked!