Tested at 10A-25A constant current. This cell was purchased by me and used only for testing. To prevent any confusion with the eGo-type "batteries", I use the term "cell" here to refer to a single 18650, 26650, etc.
These are safety-oriented tests, not for performance. Though you can get a lot of performance information from them they are primarily done to check the manufacturer's/rewrapper's ratings and to establish safe continuous discharge limits.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and recommendations I make based on these tests are only my personal opinion. Carefully research any battery you are considering using before purchasing.
Testing batteries 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. My safety precautions are the ones I have elected to take and you should not assume they will protect you if you attempt to do any testing. Do the research and create your own testing methods and safety precautions.
Bottom Line
In my opinion, when compared to its ratings, this is the worst battery I have ever tested. This is a 10A continuous discharge current (CDR) cell with extremely low capacity for its rating. I recommend not using it above 15A as it gets badly damaged at 20A. I have not included a pulsed discharge because its performance would have been terrible.
Continuous-Current Test Results
Comments
To see how other cells have tested and how hard you can safely push them, check out these links:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...des-picking-a-safe-battery-to-vape-with.7447/
These are safety-oriented tests, not for performance. Though you can get a lot of performance information from them they are primarily done to check the manufacturer's/rewrapper's ratings and to establish safe continuous discharge limits.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and recommendations I make based on these tests are only my personal opinion. Carefully research any battery you are considering using before purchasing.
Testing batteries 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. My safety precautions are the ones I have elected to take and you should not assume they will protect you if you attempt to do any testing. Do the research and create your own testing methods and safety precautions.
Bottom Line
In my opinion, when compared to its ratings, this is the worst battery I have ever tested. This is a 10A continuous discharge current (CDR) cell with extremely low capacity for its rating. I recommend not using it above 15A as it gets badly damaged at 20A. I have not included a pulsed discharge because its performance would have been terrible.
Continuous-Current Test Results
Comments
- I couldn't find definitive continuous/pulse ratings for this cell anywhere but the places that do list ratings most often show them as 30A continuous and 75A pulse. The cell wrap only says 75A though.
- At 10A the cell reached about 3350mAh. This is truly terrible performance for a 4500mAh-rated cell at 10A. I am giving this cell a capacity rating of 3600mAh...at best.
- At 15A the maximum temperature reached 71°C. This is only a few degrees below the average for a cell operating at its CDR.
- At 20A the maximum temperature reached 84°C. This is too high for a cell operating at its CDR. There are signs of additional voltage sag indicating that the cell is being discharged at beyond its rating.
- At 20A down to 3.2V its capacity, about 900mAh, is about 30% less than the 18650 Samsung 25R!
- At 25A the temperature rose to 98°C. This is near my safety limit of 100°C and clearly shows that this is not at 30A cell. This cell only reached about 200mAh (yes, 200mAh) at 25A down to 3.2V.
- A discharge at 30A was not done as it would have immediately plunged the voltage down to the 2.80V cutoff.
- Three additional cycles at 20A clearly showed signs of damage to the cell. I did not continue with the two additional cycles at the CDR, five total, that I usually do. The damage was already pretty severe. This isn't even a 20A cell and in my opinion some damage would still occur at 15A.
- I am setting a CDR of 10A for this cell. While operating any cell near its rated maximum current causes damage to the cell, I would hope for good cycle life from this cell at 10A. Its performance was so bad though I can't say for sure.
- My usual pulsed-current discharge at the rated current level was not done due to the very poor performance of this cell.
- The AWT 60A 3800mA 26650 tested about as badly, only performing decently up to 7A: http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/AWT IMR26650 3800mAh (Yellow) UK.html
- The top contact metal was the thinnest I've seen and bent inwards when the cell was mounted in my test rig with the 1/4" copper rod contact. I had to move it to the other rig with the 1/2" contact in order to spread out the pressure. This is the first cell I've ever had to do this with.
To see how other cells have tested and how hard you can safely push them, check out these links:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...des-picking-a-safe-battery-to-vape-with.7447/
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A 10amp cell being sold as a 75amp cell!!
