why the discrepancy in chinese batteries?

[back alley]

i keep reading about chinese after market batteries here on rff...

some say they see little or no difference in use from an oem battery and others say they have failed miserably.

what would explain this?

 

[iamzip]

Without having any direct experience, I have a theory. There are many different makers of chinese batteries. I am sure some of the OEM batteries are Chinese, and the same companies probably sell the batteries directly to the aftermarket. Some of the batteries are probably made by factories with, shall we say, less stringent quality control.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I bought quite a few "AA" chinese batteries. Some keep going, but some keep failing. No circuitry, so I guess it is the degree that the metal is processed. It's quality control.

I would like to hear from buyers with good experience, and the manufacturer or seller of the good ones. No one seems to get past "Chinese batteries bought on Ebay".

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

what would explain this?

Really...emm...inconsistent (trying to be nice) QC.

 

[back alley]

so it seems the answer to my question is obvious to all but myself...

 

[FrankS]

Quality control - or lack thereof. The attempt at making something as cheaply as possible. What else?

It's that obvious to me too.

Do you remember a (toxic) filler put in baby formula?
Using cheaper lead-based paint for baby toys?

 

[ampguy]

couple of data points

couple of data points

For the M8, I have a couple of cheap ones from ebay seller: loo100us - they seem to last about the same as the Leica battery, but there is something funny about them, fully charged, they don't always give 3 bars and the corresponding # of images on the lcd (but in actual usage do), while the Leica batteries always give both the proper LCD status, and actual shots after charging.

For the RD1, 1 Fuji lasts as long as the Epson, and a $7 one from Amazon also lasts the same, though over time, I wouldn't be surprised if the Amazon one started giving shorter run times.

For 2 Sony camcorders, and a JVC camcorder the lithium copies last noticeably shorter than the originals, but were much much cheaper, never measured the decrease. For Fuji and Panasonic P&S, the copies last around 80-90% of an original during the first 50 charges or so, then a bit less, though the originals start decreasing over time as well.

I bought quite a few "AA" chinese batteries. Some keep going, but some keep failing. No circuitry, so I guess it is the degree that the metal is processed. It's quality control.



I would like to hear from buyers with good experience, and the manufacturer or seller of the good ones. No one seems to get past "Chinese batteries bought on Ebay".

 

[kully]

I have some chinese batteries for the M8 too (same as ampguy, above).

I took one apart and was suprised to see that the soldering was done by hand, rather than machine. Looking at the way it was assembled inside, it seemed that most of it was 'hand-made'.

The batteries work fine for me (with the same caveat as ampyguy), but I can see how some might fail as humans can't do the same repetitive thing as accurately as machines.