# Bad news on LG HG2s



## Lingogrey

I don't know if this has been posted or is common knowledge yet, but I just saw this now. Worrying:

Edit - I've never managed to post a direct link to Facebook here and it also didn't work now, so for the original source from Mooch's Facebook page:
https:// w w w dot facebook dot com/1636157550007158/photos/a.1648700412086205.1073741828.1636157550007158/1717097218579857/?type=3

Counterfeit/Low Grade LG HG2 Test Results

You might have heard that there have been an unknown number of counterfeit or low grade LG HG2 batteries sold recently by multiple vendors. Below are the results of the testing of the HG2's that IMR Batteries was kind enough to send me along with two other donated batteries and some of my own.

IMR Batteries sent six from the batch they received that is performing very poorly (hereafter called the "bad" batteries) and two each from previous batches of good HG2's they sold. I also received two of the bad IMR Batteries HG2's from Zac Field of ECR. Thank you Zac for donating them for testing! I also tested two of my own HG2's that I knew were "good" batteries, i.e., genuine HG2's.

Test results: 

-- Bottom Line --

The bad HG2's are identical in appearance to genuine HG2's but they have a different white top ring insulator. It's shiny/smooth on the bad batteries I tested but matte/textured on the good ones. There are tiny differences in wrap color and printing from the good HG2's but you'd never notice without a side by side comparison. The bad ones perform as really crappy 10A batteries and shouldn't be used above about 30W each. I recommend not using them at all though. Multiple vendors are selling these batteries. If you have poor performing HG2's and their insulators are shiny/smooth then contact the vendor you bought them from. For now, I recommend buying Samsung 30Q batteries until vendors can clear out their stock of bad HG2's and restock with good ones. My thanks to Battery Bro for their HG2 blog entry that helped bring all this stuff out into the open!

-- Test Comments --

- The HG2's from the two older batches that IMR Batteries sold all tested out as genuine HG2's.

- The bad batteries look identical to good HG2's but performed worse than any low grade battery I have seen. LG MH1's and HE2/4's also look identical to these bad batteries. But the discharge curves of those don't match the bad batteries either. I do not know if these bad batteries are a rewrap of another battery or if they are low grade HG2's.

- The bad batteries test out to about 2800mAh at a 0.5A discharge. This is too high for them to be HE2's or HE4's. They could be lower grade HG2's or a higher capacity battery like the MH1 though. But, as mentioned above, the shape of the discharge curves was wrong for the MH1.

- I have never seen a LG battery (or Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo) ever have a self-adhesive top insulating ring like these bad batteries have. The high-volume automated assembly lines of the big manufacturers don't need the adhesive to hold the rings in place until the wrap can be shrunk tight onto the battery. Self-adhesive insulators are often used in smaller, manual or semi-automated, assembly lines where there's a chance that the ring might blow or fall off during handling. But if these bad batteries are a rewrap, what are they a rewrap of?

- It's possible that these are Chinese manufactured batteries created to look like the HG2's. But everything looks identical to real HG2's, including the tooling marks. It seems unlikely that this would be the case. Perhaps a factory that was licensed to produce HG2's under contract decided to whip out a batch of fakes using whatever internals they had laying around? This is all conjecture though.

- The internal resistance of the good batteries ranged from 22mOhm-24mOhm (0.022-0.024 ohms). The bad batteries had internal resistances of 39mOhm-41mOhm, a significant increase. This high internal resistance causes huge voltage sag which leads to very early weak/low battery messages from the mod. This is one of the best ways to determine if you have one of these bad batteries.

- The bad ones from IMR Batteries all had silver stickers approximately 1/2" wide on the outside. I do not know if all of the bad batteries sold by IMR or other vendors have wide silver stickers too.

- I do not know if there are any bad HG2's that have different wrappers or stickers than the ones I tested.

- I do not know if all the HG2's with 1/2" silver stickers are bad batteries.

- During testing, the bad HG2's never reached temperatures that could cause them to vent. Their voltages dropped so low, so fast, at high discharge current levels that they never had time to get hot.

- While these bad batteries never reached dangerous temperatures when overstressed I do NOT recommend continuing to use them at any power level. My tests only reflect the performance of the batteries I have. There might be bad HG2's out there that do get too hot.

- IMR Batteries has posted a blog entry that describes what happened and how you can arrange to get your bad batteries replaced (if you purchased them from IMR). The link is https://www.imrbatteries.com/…/lg-hg2-with-gloss-finish-in…/

- XTAR Direct and VapeNW have also been reported to have sold bad HG2's. Please contact them for more information.

- I have more bad batteries coming in from at least one more vendor and will post my test results as soon as I have them.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 3 | Informative 13


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## Andre

Great info, thanks @Lingogrey. 

Have just checked my turds. They all look ok, bar the last 2 ones I have bought from @Sir Vape, which look like they have the shiny/smooth top ring insulator. Very difficult to see if you do not have an original and a fake side by side. 

Awaiting instructions from @Sir Vape before I take off the wraps to see if they have self-adhesive top insulating rings.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Christos

Andre said:


> Great info, thanks @Lingogrey.
> 
> Have just checked my turds. They all look ok, bar the last 2 ones I have bought from @Sir Vape, which look like they have the shiny/smooth top ring insulator. Very difficult to see if you do not have an original and a fake side by side.
> 
> Awaiting instructions from @Sir Vape before I take off the wraps to see if they have self-adhesive top insulating rings.


How long ago did you buy them?


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## Andre

Christos said:


> How long ago did you buy them?


9 March 2016. Have only used them once, fortunately.


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## Christos

Andre said:


> 9 March 2016. Have only used them once, fortunately.


Bought mine in December 2015. Matt insulator. 
This makes me so angry. Poor vapers are going to get their face blown off for a cheap buck.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Nailedit77

I got 2 turds, best way to check and see if mine are bad?


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## Cespian

Christos said:


> Bought mine in December 2015. Matt insulator.
> This makes me so angry. Poor vapers are going to get their face blown off for a cheap buck.



Sad part is that they are probably sold at the same price as the "authentics"

Reactions: Agree 5


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## Jono90

my supplier also had a huge batch of fakes. he basically had to toss thousands of cells. he told me it was the vtcs all over again
thats why I only use him as i know every cell gets checked out.
after all no point vaping to save your lungs if you just ganna blow your head off.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Nailedit77

Just found this online - hope it helps

https://batterybro.com/blogs/18650-...an-you-identify-the-fake-lg-hg2-18650-battery

Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 1 | Thanks 1


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## WARMACHINE

I have checked my turds from Sir Vape, and they seem to have the matt white insulator ring, can't really see it in he pic, but the Pinkie has a shiny ring.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Andre

Here is one of mine. Purported fake on the left.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## theyettie

I was oblivious to this fact. Shot @Lingogrey for this thread. I have 6 turds, luckily all 6 checked out (thanks @Sickboy77 for that link, nice definitive signs to check authenticity).

So it would be interesting to see how many people come out with fakes in SA, I bought them in pairs (3 different purchases months apart from 2 different vendors). So my theory about why I have no fakes is that our local vendors make sure they purchase from reputable sources and check authenticity themselves. 

I hope I'm right.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Q-Ball

theyettie said:


> I was oblivious to this fact. Shot @Lingogrey for this thread. I have 6 turds, luckily all 6 checked out (thanks @Sickboy77 for that link, nice definitive signs to check authenticity).
> 
> So it would be interesting to see how many people come out with fakes in SA, I bought them in pairs (3 different purchases months apart from 2 different vendors). So my theory about why I have no fakes is that our local vendors make sure they purchase from reputable sources and check authenticity themselves.
> 
> I hope I'm right.




I bought 3 from 1 vendor for my Rolo and 1 out of the 3 is fake. I bought another 2 from a different vendor and those are fake too, just my luck I guess.


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## theyettie

Q-Ball said:


> I bought 3 from 1 vendor for my Rolo and 1 out of the 3 is fake. I bought another 2 from a different vendor and those are fake too, just my luck I guess.



Nice of you to not "name and shame" the vendors. I'm sorry for you bro,at 200 bucks a pop that's not cool. After those purchases I started buying Sony VTC's instead, so being paranoid (even though mine are authentic) I will probably take them out of my rotation. 

Hope that is the beginning and end bad luck for you, especially when vaping. As I guess you are rather attached to your cheeks and jawbone...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spydro

I learned early on to only buy my batts from one of two US vendors that have the inside track and have reliably only offered the specific authentic batts I wanted. All 8 of my LG HG2 batts came from them to use in my 4 2015 Woodvil's. They've seen a lot of use, a lot, and still don't miss a beat. Other than these LG HG2's almost all of my 18XXX and 14XXX batts are authentic AW IMR, 70+ of them. However with 4 in hand and what will be 6 new reg mods (3 that use 2 batts) I do need to buy a bunch more (even though I am not running those Woodvil's much now days). 

The vendor I trust the most has LG HG2's in stock for a great price, but he also has what I am sure are authentic AW IMR 3000 mAh flat tops as well at almost double the price. So I will call him to get his take on the fake LG HG2's before I decide which ones I'll buy. Will be a big difference in cost when considering 10-20 more of them.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Rob Fisher

Spydro said:


> I learned early on to only buy my batts from one of two US vendors that have the inside track and have reliably only offered the specific authentic batts I wanted. All 8 of my LG HG2 batts came from them to use in my 4 2015 Woodvil's. They've seen a lot of use, a lot, and still don't miss a beat. Other than these LG HG2's almost all of my 18XXX and 14XXX batts are authentic AW IMR, 70+ of them. However with 4 in hand and what will be 6 new reg mods (3 that use 2 batts) I do need to buy a bunch more (even though I am not running those Woodvil's much now days).
> 
> The vendor I trust the most has LG HG2's in stock for a great price, but he also has what I am sure are authentic AW IMR 3000 mAh flat tops as well at almost double the price. So I will call him to get his take on the fake LG HG2's before I decide which ones I'll buy. Will be a big difference in cost when considering 10-20 more of them.



Is it RTD @Spydro?

Reactions: Winner 1


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## KimVapeDashian

Hey All,

I have briefly scanned this thread, and done some research online into the matter.

My only question is - where do LG batteries come from.

Do they come from USA or do they come from CHINA

If they come from CHINA, who is to say the US suppliers haven't got bad batteries?


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## KarlDP

This is a bit worrying thou. Not as if these batteries were cheap.


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## KarlDP

And if one does find fakes. How will our local vendors assist us?

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Spydro

Rob Fisher said:


> Is it RTD @Spydro?



You nailed it bro. Most trustworthy bar none IMO.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spydro

KimVapeDashian said:


> If they come from CHINA, who is to say the US suppliers haven't got bad batteries?



Like all things in life, for the best of everything it's who you know in high places AND have a long standing relationship with (IMO from a lot of those kind of personal relationships during my life).

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chezzig

So are the silver insulators okay but not the white.. I got all mine from the same vendor, I have attached Pics blow, they are all white  what would be the recourse on this?


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## Stosta

Chezzig said:


> So are the silver insulators okay but not the white.. I got all mine from the same vendor, I have attached Pics blow, they are all white  what would be the recourse on this?
> 
> View attachment 54461
> View attachment 54463


No, shiny white is bad, but a matt white is okay!


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## Chezzig

Stosta said:


> No, shiny white is bad, but a matt white is okay!


 Thank-you @Stosta Mine are all Shiny except for 1 All bought from the same vendor @#$%^&........&##%$


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## Jan

What is the general consensus are these batteries just inferior in performance or are they unsafe?

Reactions: Like 2


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## Chezzig

Andre said:


> Great info, thanks @Lingogrey.
> 
> Have just checked my turds. They all look ok, bar the last 2 ones I have bought from @Sir Vape, which look like they have the shiny/smooth top ring insulator. Very difficult to see if you do not have an original and a fake side by side.
> 
> Awaiting instructions from @Sir Vape before I take off the wraps to see if they have self-adhesive top insulating rings.


 Have you heard anything back @Andre?


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## Christos

Jan said:


> What is the general consensus are these batteries just inferior in performance or are they unsafe?


For a battery bought because it's rated at 20A and performs sub 10A I would consider that unsafe.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Thanks 1


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## Stosta

Chezzig said:


> Thank-you @Stosta Mine are all Shiny except for 1 All bought from the same vendor @#$%^&........&##%$


 Sorry to hear that. I'm not sure if it is definitive proof, or just a general guideline at this point.


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## Lingogrey

Chezzig said:


> So are the silver insulators okay but not the white.. I got all mine from the same vendor, I have attached Pics blow, they are all white  what would be the recourse on this?
> 
> View attachment 54461
> View attachment 54463


@Chezzig - The "silver labels" that Mooch refers to are the stickers on the batteries, not the insulators on the positive pole. He demonstrates in the pic that the third battery from the left has a silver label but for the life of me I can't really see much of a color difference from the others there. He also makes it clear that he has no way of knowing if the silver stickers are on all the fake / lower grade batteries.

I am really sorry that three of yours might be the bad ones (shiny white insulators)  As a matter of interest, I see that the one on the right has a different (font and format) sticker label from the other three. Is that by any chance the non-shiny insulator one?


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## M5000

I got mine from a very reputable vendor who would not sell counterfeit goods, so if mine are fake it would be unintentiontal, but I have a few of these batteries that are absolutely horrible. I read such great reviews and cannot understand how people seem to like it, but reading this I am quite sure that mine are not the real ones.

Suggestion: when it comes to batteries, it may be a good idea for vendors to have a standardised page showing original vs fake batteries and what to look out for. Something like every shop had when the Mandela notes were released.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Andre

Chezzig said:


> Have you heard anything back @Andre?


Yes, @Sir Vape is sending a courier to pick up my LG batteries and have them checked out! Great service indeed.

Reactions: Like 6 | Winner 1


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## Lingogrey

Jan said:


> What is the general consensus are these batteries just inferior in performance or are they unsafe?


I agree with @Christos - According to Mooch: "The bad ones perform as really crappy 10A batteries and shouldn't be used above about 30W each. I recommend not using them at all though"

Some people actually use these in series mech mods such as the Noisy Cricket calculating safe builds for dual 20 amp batteries (hopefully with a healthy safety margin). In such instances (and if they are not aware that they have the 'bad' batteries), this might be a disaster waiting to happing with "crappy 10 Amp batteries", especially for those who build right on the edge of what would be considered safe, without a significant safety margin.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chezzig

Lingogrey said:


> @Chezzig - The "silver labels" that Mooch refers to are the stickers on the batteries, not the insulators on the positive pole. He demonstrates in the pic that the third battery from the left has a silver label but for the life of me I can't really see much of a color difference from the others there. He also makes it clear that he has no way of knowing if the silver stickers are on all the fake / lower grade batteries.
> 
> I am really sorry that three of yours might be the bad ones (shiny white insulators)  As a matter of interest, I see that the one on the right has a different (font and format) sticker label from the other three. Is that by any chance the non-shiny insulator one?


 HI @Lingogrey ,

The one on the right with the different font is in fact the 'Good battery" with the non shiny white insulator.
Going to go back to the vendor I purchased from and see what thy say .

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## KB_314

Andre said:


> Yes, @Sir Vape is sending a courier to pick up my LG batteries and have them checked out! Great service indeed.


No doubt you (and the good sirs) will keep us posted. 
Personally, I've had 5 of these LG2's and I'm now pretty sure, after reading this thread, that the 3 newest ones are the bad ones. (Bought from different vendors)
Wrote a whole spiel about my experience but decided to delete - will wait to hear the results after some testing.

Reactions: Like 2


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## ShaneW

WARNING !!! Fake LG HG2 brown batteries are doing their rounds in SA.

I received a batch of fake LG HG2 and it's very important that you check yours and make sure they are genuine. The fakes perform like a bad 10A battery and I've had a customer that was running them at about 16A in a noisy cricket and the battery wrap started melting !!!

The best way to tell for sure seems to be to check the white insulator around the positive pin and make sure that it's not glossy... It should be matt and have a slight texture. Run a pin over the insulator and feel for the texture, if it's glossy it's probably a fake.

I've taken some side by side pics of the 2 for you to compare with yours.

If you are uncertain or definitely have a fake, I would suggest contacting your vendor and don't use them until you are certain.
Running them beyond their safe limit is dangerous!!! Be safe guys

My supplier has great ethics and has chosen to recall all of the fakes and replace with genuines and will also pay for shipping to and from the customer, I just hope that all suppliers follow the same process.

Here is a very detailed article:

https://batterybro.com/blogs/18650-...an-you-identify-the-fake-lg-hg2-18650-battery








My weigh in:

Fake:



Authentic:

Reactions: Like 2 | Thanks 5 | Informative 6


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## brotiform

Good post

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## ShaneW

What does confuse matters somewhat is..

I had a customer in here today with a battery with a silver sticker and a glossy insulator but everything else seemed to point to an authentic. It's performing as an authentic and weighs the same as an authentic. 

The prudent question, if you have one with a silver sticker, I reckon is .. Is it performing as it should?

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Andre

Glad your supplier is supportive and you are assisting your customers. Way to go.

Some more info here: http://www.ecigssa.co.za/bad-news-on-lg-hg2s.t22653/#post-364452

Reactions: Agree 1


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## MoneymanVape

Got these turds about 3months ago as part of a bundle deal from a vendor. Are thay fake?


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## Christos

MoneymanVape said:


> Got these turds about 3months ago as part of a bundle deal from a vendor. Are thay fake?


What does the insulator look like?


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## Andre

MoneymanVape said:


> Got these turds about 3months ago as part of a bundle deal from a vendor. Are thay fake?


Impossible to tell from your pictures.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spydro

Andre said:


> Glad your supplier is supportive and you are assisting your customers. Way to go.
> 
> Some more info here: http://www.ecigssa.co.za/bad-news-on-lg-hg2s.t22653/#post-364452



And therein lies the key... know your supplier so well that you know you can trust them without question. Luckily I have 2 suppliers that make sure they ONLY sell authentic batts ALWAYS. So I am very confident that all my LG HG2's are just that because they are were who they all came from long ago. And these batts always have/still are serving me very well.

I currently have a bunch of Samsung 25R's inbound from one of them for the Noisy Cricket's that will be here in a couple of days. My first buy of any Samsung branded batt. But since they both "made sure", I am comfortable in trying these out for what will be an acid test in these dual series mech's with some of the builds I will run on them.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Winner 1


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## Christos

Spydro said:


> And therein lies the key... know your supplier so well that you know you can trust them without question. Luckily I have 2 suppliers that make sure they ONLY sell authentic batts ALWAYS. So I am very confident that all my LG HG2's are just that because they are were who they all came from long ago. And these batts always have/still are serving me very well.
> 
> I currently have a bunch of Samsung 25R's inbound from one of them for the Noisy Cricket's that will be here in a couple of days. My first buy of any Samsung branded batt. But since they both "made sure", I am comfortable in trying these out for what will be an acid test in these dual series mech's with some of the builds I will run on them.


I bought 2 of the LG HG 2's for the cricket. 
Needle to say I trust the supplier and his intentions are always ethical.

I also don't mind getting fakes if the supplier owns up and 'recalls' batteries on the premis that customer safety is top priority.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Spydro

Christos said:


> I bought 2 of the LG HG 2's for the cricket.
> Needle to say I trust the supplier and his intentions are always ethical.
> 
> I also don't mind getting fakes if the supplier owns up and 'recalls' batteries on the premis that customer safety is top priority.



My LG HG2's have proven to be very reliable batts. Originally bought to run all my 2015 Reo Woodvil's, but are what I have been running all my TC mods with instead since I seldom use the Woodies anymore. Almost bought a bunch more of the LG's or the new AW IMR 3000mAh 20A FT's, but decided to try out the 25R's instead. 

I would mind getting fakes, so make sure that I won't when I buy.


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## Silver

Hi @ShaneW 
Would you mind if I merge this thread with the other similar one that Andre posted above?
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/bad-news-on-lg-hg2s.t22653/#post-364452

Just to keep all the info on this issue together...


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## Christos

Spydro said:


> My LG HG2's have proven to be very reliable batts. Originally bought to run all my 2015 Reo Woodvil's, but are what I have been running all my TC mods with instead since I seldom use the Woodies anymore. Almost bought a bunch more of the LG's or the new AW IMR 3000mAh 20A FT's, but decided to try out the 25R's instead.
> 
> I would mind getting fakes, so make sure that I won't when I buy.


I tend to run my batteries in like you would any new lipo I.E. 
Perhaps 10 flights with minimal stunts increasing power gradually with each flight and recording the mah after each charge. 
After 10 or so flights with charge you start going "full throttle".
I tend to do the same wit 18650s although I can't measure the mah as I don't have the equipment. 
If I did get a fake I would most certainly pick it up.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Spydro

Christos said:


> I tend to run my batteries in like you would any new lipo I.E.
> Perhaps 10 flights with minimal stunts increasing power gradually with each flight and recording the mah after each charge.
> After 10 or so flights with charge you start going "full throttle".
> I tend to do the same wit 18650s although I can't measure the mah as I don't have the equipment.
> If I did get a fake I would most certainly pick it up.



There are lots of battery safety standards, most that I fully agree with, some that I don't. Just more of the personal choices everyone that vapes makes or should about all aspects of vaping. I made mine as being informed choices, I follow them and I am comfortable with them.


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## JakesSA

Stop the bus right here please.

Lots of the fake vs real info at the top is incorrect or highly subjective. Please take the time to read the full article quoted at battery bros. Sorry to have to say it but removing the wrapper is required to make a proper judgement based on appearance.

@ShaneW, please remove the image comparing the the white stickers on the outside of the battery. These are applied after the fact by the wholesalers as per IATA airfreight regulations and can take any format. It is also not mentioned anywhere by battery bros comparison.

Be careful of trusting the kitchen scale for measurements. The MSDS from LG which I compare our batteries against, shows the following:
Max 48 grams 44-45 grams actual. If you are within a gram of that you are likely already stretching the limits of kitchen scale accuracy.

The darker inner ring on the positive side is the easiest way to detect the real version together with the markings mentioned in the article, both of these require removing the insulator. Rubbing your nail against the white insulator will show if its smooth or not.

I would like to see all vendors affected by this please post the name of their wholesalers in China so that these criminals can be avoided. There is no middle layer between the manufacturer and the wholesalers so if the battery is fake the wholesaler is most likely responsible.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Baker

There is a comment on the battery bro article noting that the 0's on the fake cell is different. It's clear to me too. Do u think this could be a definitive sign of a fake? If so, it could be the easiest way to tell.


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## ShaneW

Silver said:


> Hi @ShaneW
> Would you mind if I merge this thread with the other similar one that Andre posted above?
> http://www.ecigssa.co.za/bad-news-on-lg-hg2s.t22653/#post-364452
> 
> Just to keep all the info on this issue together...



No problem @Silver ...



JakesSA said:


> Stop the bus right here please.
> 
> Lots of the fake vs real info at the top is incorrect or highly subjective. Please take the time to read the full article quoted at battery bros. Sorry to have to say it but removing the wrapper is required to make a proper judgement based on appearance.
> 
> @ShaneW, please remove the image comparing the the white stickers on the outside of the battery. These are applied after the fact by the wholesalers as per IATA airfreight regulations and can take any format. It is also not mentioned anywhere by battery bros comparison.
> 
> Be careful of trusting the kitchen scale for measurements. The MSDS from LG which I compare our batteries against, shows the following:
> Max 48 grams 44-45 grams actual. If you are within a gram of that you are likely already stretching the limits of kitchen scale accuracy.
> 
> The darker inner ring on the positive side is the easiest way to detect the real version together with the markings mentioned in the article, both of these require removing the insulator. Rubbing your nail against the white insulator will show if its smooth or not.
> 
> I would like to see all vendors affected by this please post the name of their wholesalers in China so that these criminals can be avoided. There is no middle layer between the manufacturer and the wholesalers so if the battery is fake the wholesaler is most likely responsible.
> 
> View attachment 55062



@JakesSA The comparison was intended for the packaging as a whole, notice the difference in the boxes, even the phone numbers are different. All of the ones I have follow suit with the font of the sticker however the sticker was never intended to be the decider at all.
The intention with the scale is only to highlight the obvious weight difference between them but I do agree, I would not trust the accuracy

There are many variables in this unfortunately...

This is what happened to one of my customers using the fakes in his cricket for a day:


The wrap has clearly gotten hot and melted, I shudder to think what could have happened...

Reactions: Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## JakesSA

Don't get me wrong @ShaneW the battery clearly is fake and I [LOUDLY] applaud all your efforts to make this transparent, the problem is the photo of that sticker may be somewhat misleading for other people who had sourced their batteries from elsewhere. This thread is now in the general section and it may not be apparent to some that it applies to your shipment specifically.


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## ShaneW

JakesSA said:


> Don't get me wrong @ShaneW the battery clearly is fake and I [LOUDLY] applaud all your efforts to make this transparent, the problem is the photo of that sticker may be somewhat misleading for other people who had sourced their batteries from elsewhere. This thread is now in the general section and it may not be apparent to some that it applies to your shipment specifically.



Cool, point taken and OP edited


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## Silver

Have moved several of the above posts (from @ShaneW 's post onwards) to this existing thread
Will be helpful to monitor this issue all in one place -

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## jlw777

I will be bringing in sizable amounts of VTC5 and 25R's straight from factory. But I have to sea freight them. Will be for vendors only.

Sticker on the battery is required for air shipment, no stick for sea freights. Hope this device would verify the authenticity of the batteries to put all vendors at ease.


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## KB_314

JakesSA said:


> Stop the bus right here please.
> 
> Lots of the fake vs real info at the top is incorrect or highly subjective. Please take the time to read the full article quoted at battery bros. Sorry to have to say it but removing the wrapper is required to make a proper judgement based on appearance.
> 
> @ShaneW, please remove the image comparing the the white stickers on the outside of the battery. These are applied after the fact by the wholesalers as per IATA airfreight regulations and can take any format. It is also not mentioned anywhere by battery bros comparison.
> 
> Be careful of trusting the kitchen scale for measurements. The MSDS from LG which I compare our batteries against, shows the following:
> Max 48 grams 44-45 grams actual. If you are within a gram of that you are likely already stretching the limits of kitchen scale accuracy.
> 
> The darker inner ring on the positive side is the easiest way to detect the real version together with the markings mentioned in the article, both of these require removing the insulator. Rubbing your nail against the white insulator will show if its smooth or not.
> 
> I would like to see all vendors affected by this please post the name of their wholesalers in China so that these criminals can be avoided. There is no middle layer between the manufacturer and the wholesalers so if the battery is fake the wholesaler is most likely responsible.
> 
> View attachment 55062


I hear you. The article was very detailed and everyone should read it properly. (Even still though, the differences seem like things that can be addressed by counterfeiters relatively easily). Unfortunately for me, it just reaffirms my suspicions. I recently re-wrapped some HG2's with wraps that are slightly translucent. In this pic, (2 batteries from 2 different vendors) the newer one is on the left and is one that I was underwhelmed by.


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## Feliks Karp

Jan said:


> What is the general consensus are these batteries just inferior in performance or are they unsafe?



Isn't that the same thing when you expect a particular CDR and get much less?


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## JakesSA

jlw777 said:


> I will be bringing in sizable amounts of VTC5 and 25R's straight from factory. But I have to sea freight them. Will be for vendors only.
> 
> Sticker on the battery is required for air shipment, no stick for sea freights. Hope this device would verify the authenticity of the batteries to put all vendors at ease.



VTC5s? I'd tread lightly if I was you ..

Reactions: Agree 2


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## jlw777

JakesSA said:


> VTC5s? I'd tread lightly if I was you ..


I've being importing solar power generating equipments and deep cycle batteries (100 ah up to 250ah) and I go direct to the factory and not through any resellers or distributors. 

I know it will be original, I just need this machine to prove to my customers


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## JakesSA

No offense but VTC5s are very controversial batteries. There are letters with Sony letterheads floating around on Reddit stating that they no longer manufacture these batteries.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## JakesSA

PS: Do you bring in solar panels?


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## jlw777

JakesSA said:


> PS: Do you bring in solar panels?


Thanks for the VTC heads up. I will confirm with the factory. They were telling me that panasonic has the best battery tech, is that true?

I got 250w panels that puts out healthy amount of volts and amps. If you interested let me know


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## JakesSA

Panasonic has no high current draw batteries that I am aware of. However I understand Tesla uses 18650 Panasonic cells which may not have been considered for the vaping market yet.

Good news on the panels, I am looking at putting up a 2KW grid tied set with load limiting inverter. Will send you a pm.


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## Christos

JakesSA said:


> Panasonic has no high current draw batteries that I am aware of. However I udnerstand Tesla uses 18650 Panasonic cells which may not have been considered for the vaping market yet.
> 
> Good news on the panels, I am looking at putting up a 2KW grid tied set with load limiting inverter. Will send you a pm.


I'm also interested in a grid tied system. 
Would love to see the pricing though.


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## Baker

@JakesSA , what about those 0's?


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## Migs

I hate how china wants to clone everything, they don't even think about the complication a fake battery can have on a series mech mod...


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## RichJB

jlw777 said:


> I got 250w panels that puts out healthy amount of volts and amps.



Do they come with a 510 connector?

Reactions: Funny 1


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## JakesSA

Baker said:


> @JakesSA , what about those 0's?



Sorry which 0s?


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## Baker

JakesSA said:


> Sorry which 0s?



You must've missed my post a little higher up...



Baker said:


> There is a comment on the battery bro article noting that the 0's on the fake cell is different. It's clear to me too. Do u think this could be a definitive sign of a fake? If so, it could be the easiest way to tell.



Different compared to the authentic batteries that is.


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## SpiralSequence

I have had issues now with my HG2 battery. I am using a ipvd 2 and at about 40% the mod kicks out check battery. My Samsung 25r don't have these issues.

I am curiously considering returning this battery as this is not performing up to standard. When I put in to charge it says it's pretty flat. But still OK in the mod. 

Couple of pictures of my LG battery.


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## BuzzGlo

Hi guys got these from a forum member who got them from a forum member who got them from sir vape apparently. Cant be sure. I did some whatapping after I found out about LG issue. 

Can anyone advise me if I have anything to worry about. I cant tell at all.




p.s: I know I need new battery wraps.


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## zadiac

Take a closer pic of the positive insulators. Can't see with this pic.


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## BuzzGlo

better?


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## JakesSA

Scratch your nail across the white insulator lightly, are they smooth or does it have a slight texture to it?


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## BuzzGlo

JakesSA said:


> Scratch your nail across the white insulator lightly, are they smooth or does it have a slight texture to it?



They are coarse, textured... That means they legit, right?


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## JakesSA

It's likely, considering the evidence at hand.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Baker

JakesSA said:


> It's likely, considering the evidence at hand.



@JakesSA you haven't said anything about the 0's? The numbers printed on the wrap. From the pics in the article it seems very clear so this could be an easy way for people to know?


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## Andre

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention @Lingogrey.

Potential disaster averted with the help of and super service from @Sir Vape et al.

My replacement LGs

Reactions: Winner 1 | Thanks 2


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## Slick

Heys guys,need some help please,just bought these batteries today but im not sure if they look the same as my previous lg batteries so just want to make sure,was it suppose to have warnings signs on them? How can I confirm if they authentic or not? Tagging @Rob Fisher and @Silver as im sure you know who the battery experts are


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## Rob Fisher

@Slick the bottom one looks real suspect because I have never seen an LG with that text on it... but I'm no battery expert so let's see what the real battery experts say?

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Slick

Rob Fisher said:


> @Slick the bottom one looks real suspect because I have never seen an LG with that text on it... but I'm no battery expert so let's see what the real battery experts say?


All 3 pics are the new batteries,I have never seen the writing before thats why Im not sure,it was bought from a supporting vendor on the forum


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## Nailedit77

I have read online somewhere that LG will be adding this writing on their batteries, also no expert on this...

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Slick

Ok the vendor just confirmed that they get it from the factory like that and thats how it will come in the future,he personally uses them and they are 100% authentic! Thanks for the help guys

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## RichJB

The tops look legit, those are the standard four-leg positive connectors that LG use. It's impossible to say from pics but I would guess that they are legit. I can't think of any reason why a battery counterfeiter would print warning text on a battery. Ime they generally operate as cheaply as possible. Adding extra print text is a cost/hassle they wouldn't bother with as it serves no purpose for them. Most batts are sold without that warning so the counterfeiters would try to make their counterfeit batts look as close as possible to the genuine article. They wouldn't do something - like printing warning text that doesn't appear on standard LG batts - that would draw attention to it being a fake.

Another way to check is to look at the white insulator ring around the positive pin. LG uses textured rather than glossy material for this ring. So if there is a high-gloss finish on the white rings in your batts, chances are they might be fake. You can also compare the quality of the printing and the exact colour of the brown cover to other LGs that you may have. Fakes will often have lower-quality printing with fewer dots per inch, and they may use wraps that are a somewhat different shade of brown.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 2


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## Slick

The white insulator ring is not glossy @RichJB so im happy


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## incredible_hullk

Slick said:


> The white insulator ring is not glossy @RichJB so im happy


thx @Slick got same ones yesterday and was worried


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## Petrus

The brown's is my nr.1 in mech's. Thanks for the info.


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## Slick

incredible_hullk said:


> thx @Slick got same ones yesterday and was worried


How did u manage to wait from yesterday? I cudnt wait 5mins to find out


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## incredible_hullk

Slick said:


> How did u manage to wait from yesterday? I cudnt wait 5mins to find out


wanted to google research first tonight b4 i ask..didnt have much time today


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## daniel craig

Rob Fisher said:


> @Slick the bottom one looks real suspect because I have never seen an LG with that text on it... but I'm no battery expert so let's see what the real battery experts say?


It is legit. LG is now putting that text on their batteries. I've seen the official document for it online. They doing this just to protect themselves in cases of misuse in mods and mechs. Other companies are also planning on doing this to.

Reactions: Thanks 3


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## Raindance

#@?!:!#@!!! What kind of world do we live in where even after stepping on a turd, you are not sure if you actually did. Geeez, if it walks like a duck, it talks like a duck,...... Its probably a chicken!


Three fakes. Smurfs in deep cover?


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## daniel craig

Raindance said:


> #@?!:!#@!!! What kind of world do we live in where even after stepping on a turd, you are not sure if you actually did. Geeez, if it walks like a duck, it talks like a duck,...... Its probably a chicken!
> View attachment 80658
> 
> Three fakes. Smurfs in deep cover?


Where did you get it from?


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## Raindance

daniel craig said:


> Where did you get it from?


If i mentioned their name i might be sleeping with the fishes tonight, if you get what i mean... Cementa boots n all...


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## RichJB

How did you find out they're fakes, @Raindance?


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## daniel craig

Raindance said:


> If i mentioned their name i might be sleeping with the fishes tonight, if you get what i mean... Cementa boots n all...


Contact the vendor and let them know. I had a fake HG2 a while back and you can tell it's fake without even looking at it. If it's fully charged you have it in a single cell mod (I used a pico) and up the wattage to 60 or so it'll say weak battery but if it's authentic it'll fire will full power.


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## Raindance

RichJB said:


> How did you find out they're fakes, @Raindance?


First cluewas the cuboid reporting weak batteries at 50% charge. Shiny white top insulators kind of confirmed it. @#?!@ mobsters....


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## RichJB

Damn, that sucks. Apparently the counterfeiters are also mixing batches, putting ten counterfeits and ten legit ones together to make it less likely that the counterfeits will be spotted. So a customer reports one from a batch to a vendor who checks another from the same batch and, if the one he checks is legit, he thinks the customer is making up stories. Criminal mentality...

Reactions: Informative 1


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## incredible_hullk

Raindance said:


> First cluewas the cuboid reporting weak batteries at 50% charge. Shiny white top insulators kind of confirmed it. @#?!@ mobsters....


that sucks @Raindance out of interest whats the weight on those cells?


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## Raindance

incredible_hullk said:


> that sucks @Raindance out of interest whats the weight on those cells?





44.93g each on average. Why?


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## incredible_hullk

Raindance said:


> View attachment 80659
> 
> 44.93g each on average. Why?


@Raindance mine is around the same weight and it is more or less what authentic must be...now im worried


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## Raindance

incredible_hullk said:


> @Raindance mine is around the same weight and it is more or less what authentic must be...now im worried


If on a regulated mod you dont get weak battery messages on a rather healthy charge, you should be ok. Stay away from using them in a mech if any doubt. All the more reason to invest in one of those fancy chargers mentioned in another current thread. Think they may be more than worth the little extra cost.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## JakesSA

Rub your finger nail against the white bit in case gloss vs textured is a bit too subjective as a visual test .. in my personal opinion, rather get 30Qs .. and Mooch agrees ..

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Smokyg

Hi Guys, I just received vape mail with 4 LG HG2 batteries, however when comparing them to my 2 known authentic LG's I immediately noticed a difference. Authentic batteries are the 2 on the right.. Who can confirm the authenticity of these batteries and perhaps do some proper testing on them?


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## Feliks Karp

Smokyg said:


> Hi Guys, I just received vape mail with 4 LG HG2 batteries, however when comparing them to my 2 known authentic LG's I immediately noticed a difference. Authentic batteries are the 2 on the right.. Who can confirm the authenticity of these batteries and perhaps do some proper testing on them?
> 
> View attachment 91990
> View attachment 91990
> View attachment 91991
> View attachment 91992



Those insulators look glossy which AFAIK is the first immediate red flag.


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## Smokyg

Feliks Karp said:


> Those insulators look glossy which AFAIK is the first immediate red flag.


That was my trigger as well, even the positive pin is larger than my authenics


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## Feliks Karp

Smokyg said:


> That was my trigger as well, even the positive pin is larger than my authenics



The colour of the wraps also seem off compared to your originals if you look carefully they have a pink/purple tone. This is described here : https://batterybro.com/blogs/18650-...an-you-identify-the-fake-lg-hg2-18650-battery


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## zadiac

aaaand.........they're fake. Sorry.


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## Smokyg

zadiac said:


> aaaand.........they're fake. Sorry.


Knew it! They will be heading back to the shop faster than I can say blow your face off...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Christos

Smokyg said:


> Hi Guys, I just received vape mail with 4 LG HG2 batteries, however when comparing them to my 2 known authentic LG's I immediately noticed a difference. Authentic batteries are the 2 on the right.. Who can confirm the authenticity of these batteries and perhaps do some proper testing on them?
> 
> View attachment 91990
> View attachment 91990
> View attachment 91991
> View attachment 91992


Which vendor? I bought 10 new LG's a few weeks back and they were all original. I'm interested who the vendor is, to avoid these bad bats getting into circulation.


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## Smokyg

Christos said:


> Which vendor? I bought 10 new LG's a few weeks back and they were all original. I'm interested who the vendor is, to avoid these bad bats getting into circulation.


A new startup shop in Potch.. I have already made the owner aware of the issue.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Christos

Smokyg said:


> A new startup shop in Potch.. I have already made the owner aware of the issue.


Great stuff. I think the issue is usually that good bats are mixed in the batch so vendors themselves are not always aware of the bats. Can't expect them to manually inspect each and every battery.


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## Smokyg

Christos said:


> Great stuff. I think the issue is usually that good bats are mixed in the batch so vendors themselves are not always aware of the bats. Can't expect them to manually inspect each and every battery.


I do agree 100%, thus i will not publicly name the vendor and i have made him aware of the issue. Sad to say that i will not be buying from there again.

Reactions: Winner 1


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## Christos

Smokyg said:


> I do agree 100%, thus i will not publicly name the vendor and i have made him aware of the issue. Sad to say that i will not be buying from there again.


Thanks for not naming them. 
The best approach is to contact directly and hopefully they will cease to sell the bats until they can confirm - which you did.
Now to see if the vendors acts ethically... 
Most vendors here on the forum do.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## zadiac

Christos said:


> Great stuff. I think the issue is usually that good bats are mixed in the batch so vendors themselves are not always aware of the bats. Can't expect them to manually inspect each and every battery.



Actually, I do expect them to inspect every single battery as the consequences can be dire.

Reactions: Agree 9


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## boxerulez

zadiac said:


> Actually, I do expect them to inspect every single battery as the consequences can be dire.



Agreed.

QC is paramount , and even if they order 200 at a time, it is not too much to ask to visually compare them.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Christos

zadiac said:


> Actually, I do expect them to inspect every single battery as the consequences can be dire.


Fair enough. Batteries can be inspected on sale etc.
I would inspect every single battery if I was a vendor but I recently got the chance to see what happens behind the scenes of a vape store and seeing the amount of boxes etc that need to opened, packed , loaded etc does make it quite the task to inspect a batch of batteries as they come in. 

Inspection at some point is worthwhile and as you say a must.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## playa4life

Sooooo... are these fake HG2's still in circulation? Considering this thread is about a year old.


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## zadiac

playa4life said:


> Sooooo... are these fake HG2's still in circulation? Considering this thread is about a year old.



I think the fact that he just bought these from a vendor answers your question.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Winner 1


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## RichJB

playa4life said:


> Sooooo... are these fake HG2's still in circulation? Considering this thread is about a year old.



It wasn't just one batch, it's an ongoing (some would say worsening) problem. At one point, a lot of people were avoiding the LG chocs and buying Samsung pinkies instead as those hadn't been counterfeited yet. Although I suspect the pinkies have also fallen victim to the counterfeiters by now. Caveat emptor and all that.


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## Smokyg

It's actually quite dof how the Chinese would fake a product that they already make... I mean just steal some originals and resell it, instead of rewrapped lower capacity and amp limits that could potentially harm other people, have they no consideration for human life? Likewise with vendors not verifying the authenticity of the batteries they sell. If I didn't know better and just accepted these batteries as authentic and they blew my face off, the vendor would have heard of my lawyers...


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## Feliks Karp

Smokyg said:


> It's actually quite dof how the Chinese would fake a product that they already make... I mean just steal some originals and resell it, instead of rewrapped lower capacity and amp limits that could potentially harm other people, have they no consideration for human life? Likewise with vendors not verifying the authenticity of the batteries they sell. If I didn't know better and just accepted these batteries as authentic and they blew my face off, the vendor would have heard of my lawyers...



Chinese make knock-off eggs, yes those things that come out of a chicken quite easily and inexpensive. They make them with glue, resin and some cement like shit. people who counterfeit don't give a **** about whether you die or not, they want to make $1 off of a dime.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Cespian

Smokyg said:


> It's actually quite dof how the Chinese would fake a product that they already make... I mean just steal some originals and resell it, instead of rewrapped lower capacity and amp limits that could potentially harm other people, have they no consideration for human life? Likewise with vendors not verifying the authenticity of the batteries they sell. If I didn't know better and just accepted these batteries as authentic and they blew my face off, the vendor would have heard of my lawyers...



Both LG and Samsung are Korean brands. The thing with these counterfeits are that they are manufactured for much cheaper, and sold for around the same price as the authentics - maximum profits!


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## Feliks Karp

Cespian said:


> Both LG and Samsung are Korean brands. The thing with these counterfeits are that they are manufactured for much cheaper.



Extremely cheaper since most are just old surplus of other brands or outdated models, the production cost is basically whipping some slave to take off the wrap and rewrap.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## Anneries

Question, not sure if it was discussed, but these clones/counterfeits. Are they actually cells produced for the pure fact of being sold off as the orginals. Or are they cheap batteries bought for cents, and rewrapped for another couple of cents, and then sold for little bit more than a couple of rands?

No matter which it is, it is a PITA.

EDIT: @Feliks Karp answered while I was busy typing it seems


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## Gizmo

LG is not Chinese its Korean. The chinese will clone anything regardless if it comes from china or elsewhere. They care if it is "Hot Selling"

Reactions: Agree 1


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## RichJB

We're talking about people who put melamine into powdered milk products to fool regulatory testing into concluding that the milk meets minimum protein levels when it has been heavily diluted. Let's just say that business ethics and customer well-being aren't top of their priorities.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Cespian

Anneries said:


> Question, not sure if it was discussed, but these clones/counterfeits. Are they actually cells produced for the pure fact of being sold off as the orginals. Or are they cheap batteries bought for cents, and rewrapped for another couple of cents, and then sold for little bit more than a couple of rands?
> 
> No matter which it is, it is a PITA.
> 
> EDIT: @Feliks Karp answered while I was busy typing it seems



My guess is that they are mass produced and wrapped differently. So the same batteries used in laptop battery packs, battery banks, torches and sold loose (and bought for vaping purposes) - same battery, different wrap


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## playa4life

I saw one of the write ups even had them re-wrapping an HE2 and passing it off as an HG2!


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## zadiac

playa4life said:


> I saw one of the write ups even had them re-wrapping an HE2 and passing it off as an HG2!



That is actually not so bad, as the amp rating is almost the same, but the mAh differs about 500mAh, so not so dangerous, but still ethically wrong.


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## JakesSA

Ironically its the mythical reputation and popularity of these batteries that created the counterfeit market for them, same happened to Sony. The hype demand raised prices to the point where there is now a nice niche profit margin for counterfeiters to operate in. I think today there are actually more fake Sony batteries in circulation than original Sony 18650s and it looks like the HG2 is catching up fast on that score ..


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## playa4life

zadiac said:


> That is actually not so bad, as the amp rating is almost the same, but the mAh differs about 500mAh, so not so dangerous, but still ethically wrong.


Imagine they used fake HE2 cells to make the fake HG2 cells!

Reactions: Funny 2


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## KB_314

playa4life said:


> Imagine they used fake HE2 cells to make the fake HG2 cells!


I believe that actually did happen. Started producing fake HE4's (and possibly HE2's?) for use in fake HG2's. There was some info going around when that issue became known on the forum.


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## playa4life

KB_314 said:


> I believe that actually did happen. Started producing fake HE4's (and possibly HE2's?) for use in fake HG2's. There was some info going around when that issue became known on the forum.


Tjerrrr!


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