Single frames for assembling 18650, 18500, and 18350 battery packs

Not long ago, I posted a review of triple frames for assembling battery packs, and now I’ve finally received the single frames. There’s not much new to say, so this review will be minimalist.

First, I should mention that the package took a loooong time to arrive. I won’t include the tracking number; I’ll just say it somehow managed to make two trips around China, ending up back in the city it was sent from. But after two months, I finally picked it up at the post office, so now I can put together a little review :)

The packaging was a huge oversized bag inside a plastic mailing bag.


As expected, everything inside was dumped into one big pile. But nothing was damaged in transit, and all the frames are intact.


But there’s a problem with the quantity. The seller’s page says the lot contains 100 pieces, but I actually received 95. I suspect this wasn’t intentional and that the mistake happened while counting them in batches of five. Still, it’s annoying, even if it’s a minor issue.


The frames vary in molding quality. Most are matte, but some are glossy and look neater. They were probably made using different molds.



The design is exactly the same as the previous, triple frames. They use the same interlocking mechanism.


The dimensions are provided for reference only. After assembly, each battery will occupy a 20 × 20 mm area rather than 18 × 18 mm. In other words, there will be about 1 mm between the batteries. This gap keeps them from rubbing against each other and makes the assembly more reliable.
The assembly will also be about 1 mm longer in each direction.


These frames are designed for assembling battery packs from 18650, 1850, 18350, and similar-size cells. Essentially, the diameter is what matters.
For testing, I tried assembling a holder from eight Samsung cells featured in the previous review. The test showed that these frames fit together noticeably more tightly. The cells also fit more snugly. When I later tried to take the assembly apart, I ran into some difficulties: it really was noticeably harder to disassemble than the version using triple frames.


In my opinion, these deserve a solid four-plus out of five. The construction is very sturdy and reliable. I took off half a point because of the old mold and the five missing pieces. Otherwise, I have no complaints. Recommended.

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