These cells were purchased for the purposes of testing by me. To prevent any confusion with the eGo-type "batteries", I use the term "cell" here to refer to a single 18350, 18650, 26650, etc.
While the test results are hard data, the conclusions and recommendations I make based on these tests are only my personal opinion based on my criteria for setting a rating. Carefully research any cell you are considering using before purchasing.
Testing cells at their limits is dangerous and should never, ever, be attempted by anyone who has not thoroughly studied the dangers involved and how to minimize them.
If the cell has only one current rating number on it, or if it says "max discharging current" then I have to assume that the company is stating that the cell can be discharged at that current level in any way, including continuously.
Bottom Line
After reading my test report on the AOSO Red 42A 2600mAh cell, Aosibo asked me to not use my personal opinions but just post the test report numbers. At first I had what you might call a severe negative reaction to this request. But then I thought, why not? Let's see how it goes. Instead of saying something personal like "this is a preposterously overrated cell", I will say the following...
This is the most overrated 18650 I have ever tested, by a full 35A. That's not the rating, that's how much this 25A cell has been overrated! Aosibo rates it at 60A.
Its 2800mAh capacity is also overrated. I rate this cell at 2500mAh.
At 40A continuous it is about hot enough to boil water. At 50A continuous it runs dangerously hot. At its 60A rating it instantly plunged to 2.85V and quickly dropped from there. Its appearance is identical to the ICR Tesiyi 40A 2600mAh cell but it performs slightly better than the Tesiyi. This Aosibo cell is marked IMR though.
The 18650 ratings table has been updated to include this cell.
Continuous-Current Test Results
Pulsed-Current Test Results
Comments
List of Battery Tests | E-Cigarette Forum
18350/18500 Safety Grades and Pulse Performance Data | E-Cigarette Forum
18650 Battery Ratings -- Picking a Safe Battery to Vape With | E-Cigarette Forum
26650 Safety Grades and Pulse Performance Data | E-Cigarette Forum
While the test results are hard data, the conclusions and recommendations I make based on these tests are only my personal opinion based on my criteria for setting a rating. Carefully research any cell you are considering using before purchasing.
Testing cells at their limits is dangerous and should never, ever, be attempted by anyone who has not thoroughly studied the dangers involved and how to minimize them.
If the cell has only one current rating number on it, or if it says "max discharging current" then I have to assume that the company is stating that the cell can be discharged at that current level in any way, including continuously.
Bottom Line
After reading my test report on the AOSO Red 42A 2600mAh cell, Aosibo asked me to not use my personal opinions but just post the test report numbers. At first I had what you might call a severe negative reaction to this request. But then I thought, why not? Let's see how it goes. Instead of saying something personal like "this is a preposterously overrated cell", I will say the following...
This is the most overrated 18650 I have ever tested, by a full 35A. That's not the rating, that's how much this 25A cell has been overrated! Aosibo rates it at 60A.
Its 2800mAh capacity is also overrated. I rate this cell at 2500mAh.
At 40A continuous it is about hot enough to boil water. At 50A continuous it runs dangerously hot. At its 60A rating it instantly plunged to 2.85V and quickly dropped from there. Its appearance is identical to the ICR Tesiyi 40A 2600mAh cell but it performs slightly better than the Tesiyi. This Aosibo cell is marked IMR though.
The 18650 ratings table has been updated to include this cell.
Continuous-Current Test Results
Pulsed-Current Test Results
Comments
- At 10A continuous it reached about 2273mAh. This is terrible performance for a 2800mAh cell but average for a 2500mAh cell at 10A. I am rating this cell at 2500mAh.
- At 15A continuous the temperature rose to 61°C. This is way below the average temperature of a cell running at its continuous discharge rating (CDR).
- At 20A continuous the temperature rose to 69°C. This is several degrees below the average temperature of a cell running at its CDR.
- At 25A continuous the temperature rose to 78°C. This is the average temperature of a cell running at its CDR and is an indication that we are at the cell's true rating.
- At 30A continuous the temperature rose to 85°C. This is too high a temperature for a cell operating at its CDR.
- At 40A continuous the temperature rose to 98°C. This is a crazy high temperature, much too hot to use 40A as the CDR.
- At 50A continuous the temperature rose to 111°C. This is becoming dangerously hot. The voltage is sagging considerably.
- At 60A continuous the voltage instantly plummeted to 2.85V and dropped quickly from there. This is definitely not a 60A cell, not even close.
- I am setting a CDR of 25A for this cell. Operating at that level would bring the temperature near to the average for a cell operating at its CDR. While operating any cell near its rated maximum current level causes damage to the cell, I would expect decent cycle life from this cell at 25A continuous.
- I have included pulsed discharges but I haven't set pass/fail standards for pulse testing yet. The discharges were done at 5sec on/30sec off, down to 2.5V. One chart shows the entire discharge at each level. The other chart is zoomed in to show the first 5 minutes to make it easier to see the voltage sag at different current levels.
List of Battery Tests | E-Cigarette Forum
18350/18500 Safety Grades and Pulse Performance Data | E-Cigarette Forum
18650 Battery Ratings -- Picking a Safe Battery to Vape With | E-Cigarette Forum
26650 Safety Grades and Pulse Performance Data | E-Cigarette Forum
