Reclaimed cells. Great deal or bad choice ?

Sparfuchs

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Hello EV friends,
nkon.nl seems to be the biggest and i guess best shop for all kinds of cells in Europe.
They also offer much cheaper (in my case 23% cheaper) "reclaimed" cells and describe them like that:

"These batteries come from battery packs in which welding errors have been found. The batteries have been removed and the + and - sides have been sanded. The batteries have never been charged or discharged.
The cells we offer have:
- Minimal damage to cell
- Never charged during production (from the box) (each cell is tested)
- Resistance is according to datasheet, never worse (every cell is tested)"

So as the price for example of the "samsung 21700 40T clear wrap" of 3,65 € instead of 4,75 € is really attractive and cheap way to get a high power battery pack, i wanted to know you opinions or experiences about these reclaimed cells ?

Do you think the fact that the cell will be heated twice by spotwelding it will influence the life cycles or the performance ?
Or can you think of any other disadvantages i should think of ?
Or is it really just a optical difference ?

And does anyone know why they produce clear wrap cells and why they are cheaper than the colored ones ?

here are the links of the compared cells:
https://eu.nkon.nl/rechargeable/li-ion/21700-20700-size/samsung-inr21700-40t-4000mah-35a-clear-wrap-reclaimed.html
https://eu.nkon.nl/rechargeable/li-ion/21700-20700-size/samsung-inr21700-40t-4000mah-35a-clear-wrap.html

Thanks a lot for your help!

Best regards Sparfuchs
 
I would only take the chance at a much bigger price difference.

Save a bit longer go with new IMO
 
I have used Nkon for some years now and had both reclaimed and new cells. (New, when the reclaimed were out of stock).
I have not done any scientific tests, only built and used packs in my bikes and can say, I have never seen a difference. (I have done some random capacity tests from each batch on a Opus charger and have almost the same results on new and reclaimed).
The packs charge up as normal and run as normal, with no noticeable loss of capacity or power.
I also use Nkon for my nickel strip as I have always found it to be genuine.
The cells I have used a lot are Sony / Murata US18650VTC5 2600mAh - 30A - Reclaimed (Bike builds and ecigs)
If you are buying a lot, then the savings can be quite good.
Just my opinion.
 
goatman said:
they probably re-wrapped the cells after disassembling the packs and sanding. here in Canada 40T's cost $10.
Thanks a lot for your reply goatman,
you are probably right that they are re-wrapped. But why do they use a clear wrap and why are also the new ones with clear wrap cheaper than the coloured ones ?
 
If "bigger" vehicle manufacturers uses small cylinder format, then they use in most cases bare cells without wrap. So the new bare cells comes usually from canceled automotive projects. Nkon and others re-wrap them for convenience for end users as bare cells are not practical for single cell applications like flashlights or DYI projects like ebikes battery.
 
Sparfuchs said:
goatman said:
they probably re-wrapped the cells after disassembling the packs and sanding. here in Canada 40T's cost $10.
Thanks a lot for your reply goatman,
you are probably right that they are re-wrapped. But why do they use a clear wrap and why are also the new ones with clear wrap cheaper than the coloured ones ?

Probably so they don't get confused. If they wrapped them the same an employee could easily confuse them with new cells. I rewrap my salvaged cells with different colors.
 
I guess i need the assessment of the battery experts here again:

I bought the second time reclaimed cells of this company and there are always about 25 percent of them with this little "bumps" on the flat/negative side from pulling of the nickle strips. I'm not sure if you can see it on the picture below, but it looks a bit like a "mosquito bite" and you can actually see and feel it. But of course I don't care about the optic. I'm a bit concerned because I looked at the construction and the center pin seem to be connected to the flat (negative) end exactly at the point where it's pulled out a bit. And i also read in a article of spinning magnets that you should avoid soldering or welding on the center of the negative side because its quite "sensitive". So do you think these cells with bumps might be now or in the future a disadvantage ?

Thanks for your help.

The seller describes the cells on the website with:

These batteries come from battery packs in which welding errors have been found. The batteries have never been charged or discharged.

The cells we offer have:
- Minimal damage to cell
- Never charged during production (from the box) (each cell is tested)
- Resistance is according to datasheet, never worse (every cell is tested)

1659124303265.jpg
 
Im grinding the "mosquite bites" with a dremel until they're flat with the end cap and then Weld it.
So far I have used plenty of these the capacity and the performance is fine.
 
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