Originally Posted by
dscheidt
Not likely ever. Li-Ion cells, like the18650, are not consumer cells. They have no real use by themselves
Really? So what about my several flashlights that take 18650 cells? They fit in like slightly oversized AA batteries, no big deal.
Originally Posted by
Ziemas
Hobby shops that cater to RC cars and such should have them too.
Have you ever seen one for sale there? I like R/C planes as much as I like bicycles, and I've never seen an 18650 cell for sale at the hobby shop.
In fact, they don't have loose LiPo cells for sale at all -- just complete LiPo packs. They do have a few loose NiCd cells, however -- but just a few meant for making your own pack.
I don't think 18650 cells will tolerate the high discharge rates (10C+, works out to 25+ amps) that R/Cers are looking for anyways, so they'd be a poor choice for making power packs. (They might be OK for RX or TX packs, however.)
A few years ago we were buying power tool packs to pull out the emoli cells. Their high discharge rate performance was inferior, but they were so cheap compared to the better cells that we did it anyways. And I'd expect these to be a lot better than 18650 cells just based on their shape -- short and fat tends to work better than longer and skinnier.