As always a very interesting and informative video Sorin. I don't even knew about this big disbalancing topic about old lithium cells. Thanks for this great content again👍
Good job Sorin! All details taken into consideration, well presented, all angles covered....professional! May I suggest presenting/testing/comparing small solar panels (5-10-15 Watt) and batteries (lead-acid vs. Li-ion for example) to see which ones will perform better, last longer, cost less. Small solar panels because they cost less but we can still get an idea for scale-up. Also get Arduino into your projects. Cheers and keep up the good work Maestro!
you should get a liitokala lii 600 charger then you will be able to monitor the ohm resistance of each cell the only true way check the condition of cells as measuring the resistance of a lithium cell is difficult
Milliohm measurements on slot chargers are very inaccurate. Most manufacturers use AC impedance instead of DC IR. DC IR can be calculated manually. I would skip the Li-600 or 500S. Garbage chargers with a flawed discharge circuit design
Sorin, it is great to hearing from you again. Thanks for this informative video. Do you have any idea for review or the upgrades/ modifications for the Opus charger?
I owned a few of these, used individually in serveral household things like my toothbrush. Honestly it feels like you got very lucky! The fake HG2's i got went bad after a year, dropping below 2 volts after normal use - not even forced discharging at high amperage. So it looks like a roulette and you got lucky. Maybe the liitokala sticker actually indicates genuine LG cells, mine did not come with that. Wouldn't recommend!
Hi. it will work, but it depends if the cells are new or used and if they have the same real capacity. if the cells are old, you should dismantle the battery packs, test all the cells and use only the good cells in a single and bigger battery pack.
what is the lowest voltage and highest temperature for any type of li-ion cells regardless of the brand or type that's safe and won't damage the cells?
During charging, the highest temperature depends on how fast you want to charge. The higher the charge rate, the higher the temperature you want due to lower internal resistance and to prevent lithium plating. The lower the charge rate, the lower temperature you can charge at. All in all, at low to moderate charge rates, you want to charge at 25-30C optimally speaking, and the slower the charge(down to 0.2C), the better the cycle life. If possible, never charge below 0-5 degrees C. During discharging, the optimal temperature would have to be between 25-35C to extract the most capacity while retaining good cycle life at most discharge rates. Lower temps will allow you not to draw as much capacity, while high temps will cause your cells to usually degrade more. As for charging voltage: never exceed the max charging voltage specified by the manufacturer. For NMC/NCA/LCO cells, that would be 4.2V unless otherwise specified. For LFP cells, that would be 3.65V. Now, charging at lower voltages can boost cycle life, but that's outside the scope of this discussion. For discharging voltage, for NMC/NCA/LCO cells, that would be around 2.5-2.8V. For better cycle life at an almost negligible capacity loss, 2.8V for high loads and 3.0V for low loads would be your best bet. For LFP cells, down to 2.5V is fine, and 2.0V for very high discharge rates.
Cell temp and voltage drop are definitely the best ways to identify fakes. It would have helped if you put a voltmeter directly on the battery so you don’t have the current interfering with the voltage reading. To see the capacity dip by 25% is usually the max you’ll see power cells dip when discharged at their highest rate so I’m going to say it’s a 3000mah 10A cell, possibly a 2900mah 8A cell. Real MJ1’s are $5 each at 3500mah and 10A. Samsung 40T’s are $4 right now. If you’re in the US, 18650BS, Li Ion Wholesale, IMR, and Bulk Battery will have deals that pretty much come verrrry close to matching the Aliexpress mystery cells. If you don’t live in the US and LK is consistently sending out a 2900/3000mah 8-10A cell at $2.47 then I’d probably use those for anything except a personal electric vehicle like a scooter or bike. Unknown cycle life, unknown if safeties like PTC are present, unknown if QC exists at the factory makes it a bit too sketchy to put in a large pack. My guess would be a 2A charge and 6A discharge would bring those cells to the EOL metric within 100-125 cycles. A more gentle 1A charge and 2A discharge with 5A bursts every 60 seconds for 3 seconds would likely yield a more typical 400 cycles
Wel I got 58 of them and they are brilliant 😂 compared to cheap laptop cells they not fake if they was fake you wouldn't Neva got them results even half
These Fakes can support 10A - Ok, maximum 15A - But they overheat and drop in voltage (You need to use them in parallel). People in comments saying they are not fakes - They are, they have different color wrap than original (Original is "Darker chocolate" color), also differrent top tabs. Original also have slightly higher mAh capacity and different metal body.
No way these cells will support 15A. The capacity dipping to 2200’ish is a 25% drop from their original capacity. That is typically what you would see when a cell is discharged at it’s rated max current. Everything past that is a very steep drop with temperatures rising to dangerous levels well before the discharge is complete
Good for you...I also had my luck with real fake HG2 batteries and they were only 1000mah and 35g. Aliexpress only gave me back 9 usd of 26. What a joke. You were very lucky with these fake ones.
Salut! Am facut un pack cu 3s 20A bms din 3 celule LG dintrun laptop vechi. Ca incarcator un smps 12.7v 3-4A. Ce curent trebuie folosit maxim pentru 3s 1P? Se cam incalzesc bateriile si trag 35w de la priza
Salut. Celulele de laptop nu sunt pentru curent mare de incarcare/descarcare, de asta se incalzesc. Trebuie sa cauti specificatiile modelului de celula, sa vezi ce rata de incarcare/descarcare e recomandata. sa zicem maxim 1C si recomandat 0.5C. Apoi trebuie sa testezi celulele, sa vezi ce capacitate reala mai au, sa zicem 2000mAh. In cazul acesta curentul de incarcare recomandat este de 2000mAh * 0.5C = 1000mA. Daca incarci/descarci celulele cu mai mult de 1A, se vor incinge.
@@Sorin_DIY mulțumesc mult pentru detalii ai timpul tău! O ultima întrebare: BMS 3S 20A si 3S 40A , au protecție la supraincarcare- descarcare- scurt circuit accidental etc ?
I know this is an old video so I apologize, but I cant find any Liitokala brand HG2 on aliexpress that doesn't come bundled with a charger which start at around $30 for a charger and 4 cells (at the time of this post) That price is close to high end 18650 or even 21700 cells with much faster shipping times. I love your videos, but sadly long gone are the days of getting cheap 18650s on aliexpress...there are tons of cheap ones on there including ones with HG2 wraps, but out of the 20+ I have bought all measured between 1200 - 1800mah...most were in the 1200s
@@Sorin_DIY Thanks for the reply I don't know if the link isn't working for me because of my location (USA), but when I click on your link it says "sorry, the page you requested can not be found:("
Salut,din păcate este destul de dificil de găsit ceva cât de cât de calitate.Am cumpărat în ultimii 2-3 ani câteva zeci de HG2 de la diferiți vânzători de pe Aliexpress.Capacitățile celulelor variau între 2700 și 3100 mAh.Dar cel mai curios lucru se întâmplă cu ultimul lot de 20 de bucăți cumpărat astă vară.Le încarc "full", le las la păstrare și după o lună,două au tensiunea 3,2 volți.Nici nu știu ce să mai cred!Mai acum 5 ani,când m-am apucat de modificat acumulatori de bormașini,cumpăram celule "Samsung 30Q" de la un magazin de țigări electronice.Problema e că au niște prețuri cam pipărate.
30Q’s are notoriously problematic cells that have a problem with self discharge. The only way to determine if your cells are real or fake is to discharge at their max current while recording the temperature. Then overlay your graphs with discharge graphs from the manufacturer. They should be very similar and ending temperature will be within 1 or 2 degrees Celsius. Anything outside of that or a discharge graph that looks like two different lines at any point in the curve, you got fake cells. Or severely degraded cells.
Bro! Can u make a AC by using Peltier module and radiator?🥺. I had commented you this request 7 mounts ago. But u didn’t done anything like that. I likes u, because u make such a detailed video. I hope this time u will listen to me. 🥺🥺🥺. Plz
it depends what types of cells you need. if you want the same type of cells I use in my videos, you can use the purchase links in the video description. I test all the components and I share the links only if they are good.
Salut Sorin ! Ma bucur ca am gasit acest video al tau si cu ocazia aceasta am comandat acest model de baterii , tot de pe acelasi site sa inlocuiesc bateriile dintr-un aspirator vertical Bosh BCH3k255/03 25.2V achizitionat acum mai bine de 2 ani , am cautat baterie originala dar nu am gasit si cred ca are 7 buc in serie 18650 . In momentul de fata aspiratorul moare si se aprinde becul rosu in aproximativ 5 min . Crezi ca vor fi ok aceste baterii pentru a il face din nou utilizabil mai mult timp aspiratorul ? Ms
@@Sorin_DIY pardon cred ca 6 celule in serie sunt pentru a obține acel voltaj de 25.2 . Aspiratorul nu ar avea ce alta problema sa aibe , sotia il foloseste in fiecare zi de la achizitie , este forjat de cand a fost cumparat , are mai mult de 2 ani. Comanda pentru baterii am plasat-o si pe la anul in ianuarie/februarie cica vin bateriile . Sti ceva daca ar trebui sa am o grija la bms atunci cand inlocuiesc celulele la aspirator ? la fel cum se intampla la bateriile de la leptopuri ? Am comandat 20 as dori sa inlocuiesc si bateriile dintr-un acer predator 17 (are 8buc) pe viitor , dar acolo imi este cam frica caci se blochează bms-ul si nu mai da output dupa ce se pun celulele noi , sunt ceva metode pe youtube de activare dar nu am gasit anume pentru Acer . Daca ai vre-un sfat care m-ar putea ajuta as aprecia ! Mulțumesc anticipat
Depinde de fiecare dispozitiv cum a fost conceput. eu am schimbat celule la laptopuri mai vechi si la alte dispozitive si au functionat. la aspirator ar trebui sa le poti schimba usor. pentru laptop... nu stiu ce sa zic. daca deja ai schimbat celulele, poti sa incerci, nu ai nimic de pierdut :)
The physical design. An LG HG2 will be built differently than an almost equivalent high discharge rate 18650 built by another company(EVE, Bak, Lishen, Samsung, Molicel, etc.).
Some are good cells, other are bad cells, you need to buy cells/components that were tested. If you want to make the same projects, you can buy the components from the description of my videos, I test all the components, as you can see in my videos.
@@Sorin_DIY How is it possible to tell they will be the same batch before buying them? Which is the genuine liitokala store? I can find at least 6 using that name in their store name, I guess that there are even fakes of the fake HG2 cells. I guess you have to test AFTER you buy and ask for a refund if they are not good.
You have a mistake, my friend. These batteries are original but 10 years( at least) old, not 1 year old. I bought the same cells from same seller. Date code under the stickers. Check out. Mines are 8 years old. Results are bad, because of that.
For future videos please don't add distinctive music background noises. We want to hear what YOU have to say and that noise pollution in the background is unhelpful, and totally annoying.
While some people is worried about fake or original i get mines from old laptop batteries😂. I am happy to see your new video friend .
Sorin, you continue to make great videos which are easily understandable and use great ideas.
Please continue.
I use the same cells in my ebike and a lot of havy use machines, these cells are very good.
as always,verry nice sorin,please next,any project using super capacitor
As always a very interesting and informative video Sorin. I don't even knew about this big disbalancing topic about old lithium cells. Thanks for this great content again👍
Good job Sorin! All details taken into consideration, well presented, all angles covered....professional!
May I suggest presenting/testing/comparing small solar panels (5-10-15 Watt) and batteries (lead-acid vs. Li-ion for example) to see which ones will perform better, last longer, cost less. Small solar panels because they cost less but we can still get an idea for scale-up. Also get Arduino into your projects. Cheers and keep up the good work Maestro!
I use the same, and I am happy
you should get a liitokala lii 600 charger then you will be able to monitor the ohm resistance of each cell the only true way check the condition of cells as measuring the resistance of a lithium cell is difficult
Milliohm measurements on slot chargers are very inaccurate. Most manufacturers use AC impedance instead of DC IR. DC IR can be calculated manually.
I would skip the Li-600 or 500S. Garbage chargers with a flawed discharge circuit design
Nice video, Sorin!
Sorin, it is great to hearing from you again. Thanks for this informative video. Do you have any idea for review or the upgrades/ modifications for the Opus charger?
Hi. I haven't made any upgrades yet to my opus charger. I just repaired the internal fan and so far it's still working.
Great video as always
I owned a few of these, used individually in serveral household things like my toothbrush. Honestly it feels like you got very lucky! The fake HG2's i got went bad after a year, dropping below 2 volts after normal use - not even forced discharging at high amperage. So it looks like a roulette and you got lucky. Maybe the liitokala sticker actually indicates genuine LG cells, mine did not come with that. Wouldn't recommend!
I use old laptop and power tool batteries in my packs. I have packs from 6 to 21 cells using the charge cases from Aliexpress
I have 2 48v 10ah battery packs using these batteries, will they last well wired in parallel?
Hi. it will work, but it depends if the cells are new or used and if they have the same real capacity. if the cells are old, you should dismantle the battery packs, test all the cells and use only the good cells in a single and bigger battery pack.
what is the lowest voltage and highest temperature for any type of li-ion cells regardless of the brand or type that's safe and won't damage the cells?
During charging, the highest temperature depends on how fast you want to charge. The higher the charge rate, the higher the temperature you want due to lower internal resistance and to prevent lithium plating. The lower the charge rate, the lower temperature you can charge at. All in all, at low to moderate charge rates, you want to charge at 25-30C optimally speaking, and the slower the charge(down to 0.2C), the better the cycle life. If possible, never charge below 0-5 degrees C.
During discharging, the optimal temperature would have to be between 25-35C to extract the most capacity while retaining good cycle life at most discharge rates.
Lower temps will allow you not to draw as much capacity, while high temps will cause your cells to usually degrade more.
As for charging voltage: never exceed the max charging voltage specified by the manufacturer. For NMC/NCA/LCO cells, that would be 4.2V unless otherwise specified. For LFP cells, that would be 3.65V. Now, charging at lower voltages can boost cycle life, but that's outside the scope of this discussion.
For discharging voltage, for NMC/NCA/LCO cells, that would be around 2.5-2.8V. For better cycle life at an almost negligible capacity loss, 2.8V for high loads and 3.0V for low loads would be your best bet. For LFP cells, down to 2.5V is fine, and 2.0V for very high discharge rates.
i have a some 3s5p stored in storage mode in 2019 at 11.8v n they still read 11.3 now.
These are not fake battery, it is just Liitokala reselling the HG2 battery with their own sticker on it.
not bad for "FAKE" battery
Sorin same battery i used for vaping serial 2 battery is give 25A every puff. over 2 years.
Cell temp and voltage drop are definitely the best ways to identify fakes. It would have helped if you put a voltmeter directly on the battery so you don’t have the current interfering with the voltage reading.
To see the capacity dip by 25% is usually the max you’ll see power cells dip when discharged at their highest rate so I’m going to say it’s a 3000mah 10A cell, possibly a 2900mah 8A cell.
Real MJ1’s are $5 each at 3500mah and 10A. Samsung 40T’s are $4 right now. If you’re in the US, 18650BS, Li Ion Wholesale, IMR, and Bulk Battery will have deals that pretty much come verrrry close to matching the Aliexpress mystery cells. If you don’t live in the US and LK is consistently sending out a 2900/3000mah 8-10A cell at $2.47 then I’d probably use those for anything except a personal electric vehicle like a scooter or bike. Unknown cycle life, unknown if safeties like PTC are present, unknown if QC exists at the factory makes it a bit too sketchy to put in a large pack. My guess would be a 2A charge and 6A discharge would bring those cells to the EOL metric within 100-125 cycles. A more gentle 1A charge and 2A discharge with 5A bursts every 60 seconds for 3 seconds would likely yield a more typical 400 cycles
Wel I got 58 of them and they are brilliant 😂 compared to cheap laptop cells they not fake if they was fake you wouldn't Neva got them results even half
These Fakes can support 10A - Ok, maximum 15A - But they overheat and drop in voltage (You need to use them in parallel). People in comments saying they are not fakes - They are, they have different color wrap than original (Original is "Darker chocolate" color), also differrent top tabs. Original also have slightly higher mAh capacity and different metal body.
No way these cells will support 15A. The capacity dipping to 2200’ish is a 25% drop from their original capacity. That is typically what you would see when a cell is discharged at it’s rated max current. Everything past that is a very steep drop with temperatures rising to dangerous levels well before the discharge is complete
Good for you...I also had my luck with real fake HG2 batteries and they were only 1000mah and 35g. Aliexpress only gave me back 9 usd of 26. What a joke. You were very lucky with these fake ones.
Salut! Am facut un pack cu 3s 20A bms din 3 celule LG dintrun laptop vechi. Ca incarcator un smps 12.7v 3-4A. Ce curent trebuie folosit maxim pentru 3s 1P? Se cam incalzesc bateriile si trag 35w de la priza
Salut. Celulele de laptop nu sunt pentru curent mare de incarcare/descarcare, de asta se incalzesc.
Trebuie sa cauti specificatiile modelului de celula, sa vezi ce rata de incarcare/descarcare e recomandata. sa zicem maxim 1C si recomandat 0.5C.
Apoi trebuie sa testezi celulele, sa vezi ce capacitate reala mai au, sa zicem 2000mAh.
In cazul acesta curentul de incarcare recomandat este de 2000mAh * 0.5C = 1000mA. Daca incarci/descarci celulele cu mai mult de 1A, se vor incinge.
@@Sorin_DIY mulțumesc mult pentru detalii ai timpul tău!
O ultima întrebare:
BMS 3S 20A si 3S 40A , au protecție la supraincarcare- descarcare- scurt circuit accidental etc ?
Iti multumesc din suflet pentru ce faci! De abia astept urmatorul tau clip! Ai vreo idee despre ce va fi? :D
Salut. Am vreo 10 idei pentru urmatoarele clipuri in viitorul apropiat, dar inca nu m-am hotarat care va fi urmatorul.
That's some pretty good specs for fake batteries.
Can you make a cc cv charge 🤔
Hello Sorin!Do you still have the Seat Leon?I just found that channel and it helped me a lot!
Hi. I don't have the Seat anymore.
I know this is an old video so I apologize, but I cant find any Liitokala brand HG2 on aliexpress that doesn't come bundled with a charger which start at around $30 for a charger and 4 cells (at the time of this post)
That price is close to high end 18650 or even 21700 cells with much faster shipping times.
I love your videos, but sadly long gone are the days of getting cheap 18650s on aliexpress...there are tons of cheap ones on there including ones with HG2 wraps, but out of the 20+ I have bought all measured between 1200 - 1800mah...most were in the 1200s
Hi. I bought my cells prom this link: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ArzHnn
@@Sorin_DIY
Thanks for the reply
I don't know if the link isn't working for me because of my location (USA), but when I click on your link it says "sorry, the page you requested can not be found:("
Salut,din păcate este destul de dificil de găsit ceva cât de cât de calitate.Am cumpărat în ultimii 2-3 ani câteva zeci de HG2 de la diferiți vânzători de pe Aliexpress.Capacitățile celulelor variau între 2700 și 3100 mAh.Dar cel mai curios lucru se întâmplă cu ultimul lot de 20 de bucăți cumpărat astă vară.Le încarc "full", le las la păstrare și după o lună,două au tensiunea 3,2 volți.Nici nu știu ce să mai cred!Mai acum 5 ani,când m-am apucat de modificat acumulatori de bormașini,cumpăram celule "Samsung 30Q" de la un magazin de țigări electronice.Problema e că au niște prețuri cam pipărate.
30Q’s are notoriously problematic cells that have a problem with self discharge.
The only way to determine if your cells are real or fake is to discharge at their max current while recording the temperature. Then overlay your graphs with discharge graphs from the manufacturer. They should be very similar and ending temperature will be within 1 or 2 degrees Celsius. Anything outside of that or a discharge graph that looks like two different lines at any point in the curve, you got fake cells. Or severely degraded cells.
Bro! Can u make a AC by using Peltier module and radiator?🥺.
I had commented you this request 7 mounts ago. But u didn’t done anything like that.
I likes u, because u make such a detailed video. I hope this time u will listen to me. 🥺🥺🥺. Plz
Hi. I will try to make one in the summer, but it will be a long project.
Thanks for the reply. I will wait for that video 🙂
Where can I find real good quality cells on the internet?
it depends what types of cells you need. if you want the same type of cells I use in my videos, you can use the purchase links in the video description. I test all the components and I share the links only if they are good.
Salut Sorin ! Ma bucur ca am gasit acest video al tau si cu ocazia aceasta am comandat acest model de baterii , tot de pe acelasi site sa inlocuiesc bateriile dintr-un aspirator vertical Bosh BCH3k255/03 25.2V achizitionat acum mai bine de 2 ani , am cautat baterie originala dar nu am gasit si cred ca are 7 buc in serie 18650 . In momentul de fata aspiratorul moare si se aprinde becul rosu in aproximativ 5 min . Crezi ca vor fi ok aceste baterii pentru a il face din nou utilizabil mai mult timp aspiratorul ? Ms
Salut. celulele acestea sunt destul de bune si ar trebui sa faca fata. Ai verificat bateria veche? sa nu aiba aspiratorul si alta problema.
@@Sorin_DIY pardon cred ca 6 celule in serie sunt pentru a obține acel voltaj de 25.2 . Aspiratorul nu ar avea ce alta problema sa aibe , sotia il foloseste in fiecare zi de la achizitie , este forjat de cand a fost cumparat , are mai mult de 2 ani. Comanda pentru baterii am plasat-o si pe la anul in ianuarie/februarie cica vin bateriile . Sti ceva daca ar trebui sa am o grija la bms atunci cand inlocuiesc celulele la aspirator ? la fel cum se intampla la bateriile de la leptopuri ? Am comandat 20 as dori sa inlocuiesc si bateriile dintr-un acer predator 17 (are 8buc) pe viitor , dar acolo imi este cam frica caci se blochează bms-ul si nu mai da output dupa ce se pun celulele noi , sunt ceva metode pe youtube de activare dar nu am gasit anume pentru Acer . Daca ai vre-un sfat care m-ar putea ajuta as aprecia ! Mulțumesc anticipat
Depinde de fiecare dispozitiv cum a fost conceput. eu am schimbat celule la laptopuri mai vechi si la alte dispozitive si au functionat. la aspirator ar trebui sa le poti schimba usor. pentru laptop... nu stiu ce sa zic. daca deja ai schimbat celulele, poti sa incerci, nu ai nimic de pierdut :)
@@Sorin_DIY nu le-am schimbat inca , doar ce am dat comanda de baterii , imi vin peste 2 luni , cam atat cred ca dureaza shippingul ..
pardon, am vrut sa zic "daca deja le-ai comandat, nu ai nimic de pierdut"... deh, graba :) ...
How did people know they are "fake"?
yeah i thinks sorin got a good cell, i have simmiliar cell and its only read 2200mah, mine was the real fake LG hG2
The physical design.
An LG HG2 will be built differently than an almost equivalent high discharge rate 18650 built by another company(EVE, Bak, Lishen, Samsung, Molicel, etc.).
Some are good cells, other are bad cells, you need to buy cells/components that were tested. If you want to make the same projects, you can buy the components from the description of my videos, I test all the components, as you can see in my videos.
@@Sorin_DIY How is it possible to tell they will be the same batch before buying them? Which is the genuine liitokala store? I can find at least 6 using that name in their store name, I guess that there are even fakes of the fake HG2 cells. I guess you have to test AFTER you buy and ask for a refund if they are not good.
@@neutronpcxt372 can you be specific? Built differently how? How could anyone tell from a video? How can I tell when I am searching on aliexpress?
좋았어
câte pisici ai ?
Eu am o pisica, dar ocazional mai am grija de inca 1-2 pisici.
@@Sorin_DIY One cat is too many, and a million is not enough.
nkon have real batteries? i see very good products
I haven't tried them yet.
thats why i buy laptop battery and remove the batteries , the ones sold separately most of the time are fake.
Nice
You have a mistake, my friend. These batteries are original but 10 years( at least) old, not 1 year old. I bought the same cells from same seller. Date code under the stickers. Check out. Mines are 8 years old. Results are bad, because of that.
Man, it says on the label of that charger that is BAD 🤣🤣🤣
just be careful when chosing non ginuine cells if ti seem to good to be true than look for someting better they can expolde.
👍 👍
👍
I was not expecting you to heart my comment thanks
aliexpress sells real lg he2 i think
👍👍👍🏆🏆🏆
Cu siguranță meritau prețul ăla dar acum 10buc sunt peste 100lei,tot din linkul tău
these are original HG2 - but rebranded with liitokala...
Sorin, don't waste your time explaining trolls.
yes those cell have litokala sticker are real, mine was fake with no stricker
these cells are not fake bro these are very good cells
почему говор чуханский ;)
sounds like your recording this in a closet
For future videos please don't add distinctive music background noises. We want to hear what YOU have to say and that noise pollution in the background is unhelpful, and totally annoying.