These tests below only note my personal opinion for the ESTIMATED ratings for the batteries I tested at the time I tested them. Any battery that is not a genuine Samsung, Sony, Murata, LG, Panasonic, Molicel, EVE, Ampace, Sinowatt, Lishen, BAK, or Sanyo can change at any time! This can be one of the hazards of using “rewrapped” or batteries from other manufacturers so carefully research any battery you are considering using before purchasing.
Misusing or mishandling lithium-ion batteries can pose a SERIOUS RISK of property damage, personal injury, or even death. Never use them outside of a fully protected battery pack and you use them at your own risk. Never exceed the battery’s true continuous discharge rating (CDR), never let it get colder than 0°C or hotter than 60°C to help lower the risks and extend cell life, and keep the plastic wrap and top insulating ring in perfect condition. Never use a battery that is physically damaged in any way.
Testing batteries at their limits is dangerous and should never be attempted by anyone who has not thoroughly studied the dangers involved, understands the risks, has the proper equipment, and takes all appropriate safety precautions.
If the battery has only one current rating number, or if it only says "max", then I have to assume the battery is rated at that current level for any type of discharge, including continuous.



Test Results
This is one of the best performing 18650 “energy” cells but there’s been a wrap color change, from grey to blue, and a slight performance drop from the 2022-dated cells I tested last year. These 2024 cells were the same at 5A but had about a 4% shorter run time at 10A compared to the 2022 cells. This won’t be noticeable in actual use in my opinion.
The 10.2A rating seems reasonable but the datasheet notes that running it continuously at that level will shorten the life of the cell. I recommend staying under 8A for better life.
Like all of the ultra high capacity cells I recommend staying under 5A to get the best performance (less voltage sag) and longest life.
Some other thoughts and comments…
- These blue cells also have the CCC-required*** printing on the wrap; “CCC” (or their logo), capacity, polarity symbols, manufacturer name and model number.
- These cells had about a 6% higher DC IR than the 2022 grey-wrapped cells and that resulted in a bit of extra voltage sag and that probably resulted in the slightly shorter (probably unnoticeable) run time.
- This is not a “bad batch”. That doesn’t exist as it would be corporate suicide. The huge commercial/industrial customers, who buy millions of cells a year, would be screaming if the cells marked as higher grades suddenly dropped in performance.
- The blue wrap might indicate a variation of the 35V for a particular customer, increasing cycle life for example, that resulted in a touch of run time loss that the customer wasn’t concerned about. Or the cells I tested were a slightly lower grade.
- The two cells delivered 3471mAh and 3476mAh, fantastic consistency but a bit below the nominal 3500mAh rating. Since I cannot have the lowest capacity cells in the batch I am rating them at 3400mAh. The capacity rating means nothing above an amp or two though.
- The DC IR for the two cells was 32.1mOhms and 32.2mOhms, also fantastic consistency.
- Standard charge rate is 680mA and the max charge rate is 3.4A but the datasheet says the max will shorten cycle life. I recommend not going over 2A and staying at 1A for good cycle life.
***China Compulsory Certification, additional testing now arequired for all cells made or sold in China.
Continuous Current Discharge Graphs
Ratings and Performance Specs Graphic
18650 Ratings & Performance Table:
21700 Ratings & Performance Table:
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