Ken and Cloyce, Is it more safe to buy the lower mAh? I guess if they explode, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 3000 mAh or a 2500 mAh.
Where is the latest info on battery tests? I’d love to see it. Reguardless of price, i’d like to see which ones with a higher mAh are rated most safe. Otherwise, i’m just going to get the Samsung 25rR5’s5
I’ll get a bunch and save on shipping as usual. MyFreedomSmokes used to be my ‘go to’ place, but my old lady crabbiness has cut them out along with FT now. Cloyce, I have bought from MyVapeStore.com before. I’ll have a look and see if they’ve also got something else I need, i.e., Delrin drip tips that are small and/or short. I do NOt like tips that are large and do like bullet shaped ones or those with a small tip. I appreciate you guys help. Still have a son sending me explosion videos. All that vape put down stuff. Hope you all are well and happy. xo
Joy I have the 25r r5’s and they are good, also have lg hg2 3000 mah either battery is a good choice. I have bought the lg he4’s from Ebay for a friend and they are also good.
Just make sure you buy either Samsung, LG, or Sony.
Cant help with drip tips, I’ve been searching for some myself and haven’t found any I like.
Joy you can read and it should help you.
http://forum.e-liquid-recipes.com/c/hardware/batts-chargers
Joy have you tried the search function here on ELR? There is loads of good info at your finger tips.
Illumn is great when they run good sales, but on any ordinary day, I get mine here:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/r-lsales/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
Just bought 6 Samsung 25r w/ free cases for under 30.00 and FS
Should I replace the two 18650 25r samsung with the top worn down.?? I don’t want the nto short out in my hand.
Yea guess it’s time. Try not chewing on the next set.
Buy some wraps and rewrap them if they’re not real old
where can you get battery wraps at, or is just safer to replace them. they work good, only 9 months old, with med - light use.
I get mine from Kidney Puncher http://www.kidneypuncher.com/18650-battery-wraps-assorted-colors/ Nice and thick 
I need new batts pronto, but am torn between the Samsung 25R’s and LG HE4’s. From what I’ve noticed is the the LG’s have a MUCH longer lifespan, and the 25R’s are more highly rated and recommended.
I still have the HE4’s from two years ago and still running great, albeit at a reduced rate.
I’m thinking of getting my replacement batts from imrbatteries.com. Illumn.com prices are comparable, but the shipping is more expensive.
I like that imr includes a free battery case and free wraps when buying batteries in pairs.
Going to depend on what you need out of your batteries - specific batteries will perform better in specific circumstances.
I always recommend vtc5a or vtc5 if there is ever any chance of them going into a mech mod. There is zero wrong with 25R or HE4 all comes down to trusting the vendor (there are fake batteries) and both that you quoted are very reputable.
I’m using them in various regulated mods. My Samsungs died a lot sooner than the LG’s, so I’m swaying a bit more towards LG.
I’m using an EFest LUC 2 charger that charges batteries to a max 4.2 volts. Perhaps that killed the Samsungs, since their voltage rating is 3.6?
Nevermind on the voltage ratings. Both max out at 4.2. Guess I should’ve done more research huh? LOL
Both mentioned are excellent vendors and iirc both include a dual case but imr throws in some wraps. I order from both equally and just comes down to which has the cheapest price on that day. In the same situation used, i prefer a sony vtc5a over a samsung 25r
Have you ‘refreshed’ your batteries?
I haven’t used a LUC2 , does it have that mode?
The OPUS BT-C3100 does, and will refresh most Li-ion up to 99X.
I use the OPUS every day, since they came out.
I am still using most of my 18650’s from 3 and 4 years ago, and they
do get used regularly in rotation. Some in pairs, triples, and single.
Sony, Samsung, LG, Hohm Grown, etc.
At full charge, mine generally end up at 4.12v - 4.17v
Note on chargers:
If you think you will use the new fat batts (later on) [20650 20700 21700],
some chargers won’t allow them to ‘seat’ low enough to make contact to charge.
My favorite charger is the HOHM BASE by HOHM TECH, but the fat batts won’t fit.
The battery channel is too narrow and they won’t sit low enough. I still use it every
day for my 18650’s and other batts.
Edit: The fat batts do fit in the OPUS BT-C3100 nice and firmly.
They will fit in the Hohm Base, but they need to be set in
above the channel, but if they slip down they stop/won’t charge,
in other words, not firmly seated.