14500 Batteries

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niczgreat

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actually, ive managed to kill 2 14500 trustfire flame batteries on separate occasions. i dont know if the battery was defective, or if somehting abotu the mod killed them, but ever since i got my miltimeter, ive been checking my batts like crazy. one day i noticed one batt that was at 3.2v dead, all of a sudden the next day, it was well below 2.5v and into the danger zone. so i chucked it. a get a new batt and shortly after, the same thing happend only slightly worse. this dead batt was reading 0.00v on the multimeter. i thought it would have exploded or gottne hot or something but nope.
anyway, im very interested to see if you have positive results with the AWs in the smoktek varicool. ive since moved to a single batt mod as my main PV, but im still very interested.
It's confirmed the Varicool works flawlessly with the AW IMR 14500 LIMN Battery.

I inserted the battery and because it's shorter, it fits perfectly in the unit. Better than the Trustfire.

I don't have time to run it through it's paces but at 5.0 and under it's performing on par with the Trustfire Flame 14500 Protected Battery.

Where it will get interesting is when I take the unit to it's maximum tolerances will the AW IMR increase the Voltage.
Also how will the battery life compare to the Trustfire. The Trustfire claims to be 900Mah the Aw is 600mah. But we all know that the Chinese Companies Love to put higher numbers on there products that real world results just don't support.

By the end of the weekend I'll have stress tested these batteries to the max.
 

xbassman

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Got a lot of the same stuff here......

I have the Xtar WP2 II charger.
purchased here: Xtar MP2 II ($17 comes with car adapter as well)

I have a 3.7V SmokBox, a pair of AW protected 14500's, and a pair of Trustfire flame 14500's.
(the flames are getting their first charge as we speak)

First off, let me say the Xtar charger rocks!
My Trustfire TR-001 has sat idle since I got the Xtar.
A few days ago, I accidentally used one of my 3100mAh AW 18650's until the protection cut it off.
I set the charger to 1A output. (the manual states this is only for 18650's)
The bat was fully charged in 1h 45m!

My AW 14500's usually are charged in less than an hour (using .5A setting).
I throw my bat in the charger as soon as I get home.
The bat I used today is sitting @ 3.96V.

I got the Trustfire flames dirt cheap straight from China, so if they suck I'm not out much.
I was really most interested in comparing them with my AW's.

That all said.... Next time, I am getting IMR's :blink:
 
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xbassman

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Oh, I forgot to mention.
The WP2 II charger doesn't need any spacers to charge 14500's.

and just pulled off the flames.....

Both bats read 3.88V from the mailbox.
The bat in the left bank charged in an hour and read 4.2V
The bat in the right bank took 1h 5m and read 4.19V.

Both bats were charged at the same time.
 

muzichead

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It's confirmed the Varicool works flawlessly with the AW IMR 14500 LIMN Battery.

I inserted the battery and because it's shorter, it fits perfectly in the unit. Better than the Trustfire.

I don't have time to run it through it's paces but at 5.0 and under it's performing on par with the Trustfire Flame 14500 Protected Battery.

Where it will get interesting is when I take the unit to it's maximum tolerances will the AW IMR increase the Voltage.
Also how will the battery life compare to the Trustfire. The Trustfire claims to be 900Mah the Aw is 600mah. But we all know that the Chinese Companies Love to put higher numbers on there products that real world results just don't support.

By the end of the weekend I'll have stress tested these batteries to the max.

Had no doubt it would work with them. I don't think you will have any problems with them not being powerful enough. I believe they are rated up to a 10amp load if memory serves correctly. There are a good amount of posts on the forum as to how they run circles around TF Flames and just TF's in general....
 

Kemosabe

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why do you think the AWs did not work in my varicool? the red light illuminated, but the atty did not fire. TF Flames worked, but the AWs did not. the AWs both measured 3.88v.

Had no doubt it would work with them. I don't think you will have any problems with them not being powerful enough. I believe they are rated up to a 10amp load if memory serves correctly. There are a good amount of posts on the forum as to how they run circles around TF Flames and just TF's in general....
 

niczgreat

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Kemosabe we have different units. Mine is a Smokbox Varicool VV yours is the 3.7v box.
Are your batteries button top? Mine are.

I just ran the Trustfire 14500 Flame and AW Imr 14500 through their paces and except for the Highest Voltage on a 1.5ohm Dual Coil Cartomizer the Trustfires equaled or were superior to the AW I have a detail comparison on my thread http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/apv-discussion/321528-smoktek-smokbox-varicool-custom-box-mod-made-u-s-review.html

My AW are button top and bought fromhttps://www.lighthound.com/. Possibly you have counterfeit AW Batteries. Or you just got the luck of the draw and received a bad one. Or we have different models and they just don't fit right, or work right on yours.
 
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Kemosabe

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sorry if i was misleading but ive got (well, i HAD the varicool). someone else in this thread has the 3.7v smokbox.
yes, the batts were button-top. both the Flames and the AWs.
im surprised to hear that the Flames worked just as well as the AWs! i was under the impression that the flames could only draw 1.35A, creating maximum wattage less than 6, even with a 3ohm cranked way up.
i guess its possible i got bad AW batts. who knows. the multimeter read each of their voltage at 3.88v. and the batts did fit. the light to the box lit up when i activated it, but the multiple juice delivery systems tried did not fire whatsoever.
 

niczgreat

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sorry if i was misleading but ive got (well, i HAD the varicool). someone else in this thread has the 3.7v smokbox.
yes, the batts were button-top. both the Flames and the AWs.
im surprised to hear that the Flames worked just as well as the AWs! i was under the impression that the flames could only draw 1.35A, creating maximum wattage less than 6, even with a 3ohm cranked way up.
i guess its possible i got bad AW batts. who knows. the multimeter read each of their voltage at 3.88v. and the batts did fit. the light to the box lit up when i activated it, but the multiple juice delivery systems tried did not fire whatsoever.

Hi Kemosabe, There is really only three choices.

Rob was nice enough to send me the datasheet on the converter. Turns out that the converter pulls between 1.24 and 2.23 Amps from the battery and converts it to 3.0 Amps. A normal protected battery is designed to pull a maximum of 2.5 Amps. Since the chip on the Varicool never pulls that much Amps from the battery. It's very safe to use a protected battery and you don't see a difference in performance.

The only difference I saw was minute. Running a dual coil 1.5 ohm at the full 6.6V , the Trustfire was around .2+-..1V higher. On the single coil 2.4 and 1.8Ohm my performance was identical up to 6.6V (6.3 under load) . Note I didn't take the 1.8 past 6.0 it was tasting burnt.
If you are vaping a dual coil 1.5ohm at or below 6.0 output (5.8v under load) the trustfire is the way to go. If you are vaping on single coil cartomizer the performance is identical except that the trustfire will last 40% longer.

1. Since you are using the Varicool VV, you don't need the IMR Batteries (Under Parmaters Above). If it's recent enough return them to the vendor as defective or counterfeit (Read Next thread) and stick with Trustfire

2. Buy a new set of IMR Batteries from Lighthound. Lighthound is a reliable source for AW IMR. I found them through the CandlePower forum (Flashlight Forums) all the veterans said the same thing. If you want to be sure you get authentic AW IMR buy through them. Believe you me the Flashlight guys are fanatics and really know their stuff about batteries.
If they work than return the other batteries to the vendor

3. If they don't work than return the Varicool as defective and get a replacement. Assuming you are in the 2 month period. But even if you are out of the two month period sometimes vendors will flex a little.
 
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niczgreat

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The 14500 AW IMR batts were the same size as the 14500 Trustfire flame batts. they were both 50mm. I think thats where the 500 comes from in the name. (50.0mm)
im not sure if they will work in the varicool however. i know that the flat-top IMRs will not. i asked the owner of smoktek to comment on the AW IMRs being used in a varicool, but i guess hes super busy because its been a long while and i havent heard anything. he is dealing with a move to a bigger location or something like that.

This statement stuck in my head. I should have noticed it sooner.

I believe your AW IMR Batteries are counterfeit. My AW IMR definitely is significantly shorter than the Trustfire. It fits in the box way easier. It's just about impossible that an AW IMR 600MAH will be the same size as a Trustfire Protected 900MAH

I believe that you've confirmed that you have the all red not fancy ones. But if yours are all red and fit this description Black Silver AW "IMR 14500 3.7V 600MAH ", Look at comparison picture.

Capture.jpg
 

Kemosabe

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wow. thats a lot shorter. mine werent that small. i did indeed return them. thanks for all the help, Tom. you really ARE great!
and i PIF'd my box with two sets of trustflames to my brother. im very glad to hear i didnt do him any injustice by giving him the trustfires. i was always happy with them, but someone had convinced me that AWs would perform better. im very glad to hear they dont offer much more than the flames in the power department. thanks for taking everything through the paces.
 
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niczgreat

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but someone had convinced me that AWs would perform better. im very glad to hear they dont offer much more than the flames in the power department. thanks for taking everything through the paces.

You are most welcome Kemosabe.

Your friends advise wasn't necessarily wrong, in a different mod the AW would provide much more in the power department. But in the Smoktek Smokbox Varicool 3amp version the Voltage converter doesn't allow the unit to draw more than 2.24 Amps. The cutoff on a protected battery is at 2.5 so it never stresses out the battery. With this unit the protected Trustfire with the larger MAH is the better choice. It works flawlessly and you get 40% more vape time.

But universally that wouldn't be correct. Most of the Mods out there are 1 battery systems that boost the wattage of a single battery. In many of those mods a protected battery wouldn't be advisable, depending on the Voltage that you vape at and the resistance of the Atomizer.

If you buy AW Batteries in the future, I recommend https://www.lighthound.com/ . As I mentioned previously the veterans on the Flashlight forums, CandlePower etc recommend them as a source for authentic AW Batteries.

On a different note.
I've had excellent results with Orbtronic Batteries.
 
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THE

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I'm sorry if I mislead anyone ... I've never heard of Super T having anything but real AW batteries ... The 14500s I get from super T are quite a bit shorter than trustfire flames ..... I haven't ever seen any that were as big as flame batteries!!

The xFires I don't think keep up with their rating. I'd be wary even if they're rated close to what you're asking of them.... I've always gotten longer uses between charges and longer life from AW despite the lower mah rating (but I think it may be because I use them stacked??)
 

niczgreat

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I'm sorry if I mislead anyone ... I've never heard of Super T having anything but real AW batteries ... The 14500s I get from super T are quite a bit shorter than trustfire flames ..... I haven't ever seen any that were as big as flame batteries!!

The xFires I don't think keep up with their rating. I'd be wary even if they're rated close to what you're asking of them.... I've always gotten longer uses between charges and longer life from AW despite the lower mah rating (but I think it may be because I use them stacked??)
I'm sorry if I mislead anyone ... I've never heard of Super T having anything but real AW batteries ... The 14500s I get from super T are quite a bit shorter than trustfire flames ..... I haven't ever seen any that were as big as flame batteries!!

The xFires I don't think keep up with their rating. I'd be wary even if they're rated close to what you're asking of them.... I've always gotten longer uses between charges and longer life from AW despite the lower mah rating (but I think it may be because I use them stacked??)

I can't recommend or not recommend Super T.

The problem is that their are a lot of counterfeit AW floating around. With a change of a label the MFG can get 40% more for the Battery. AW doesn't post a list of authorized dealers and distributors.

I know of at least one E-Cig Shop that has admitted that they unknowingly received a counterfeit shipment.

I recommend Lighthound because of their reputation on the CandlePower Forum (Flashlights).
 

Kemosabe

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Empire Mods lists themselves as an authorized AW dealer. i understand that this info is not coming directly from AW, but i was placing an order with them already and I saw the badge, so i rolled the dice. im willing to trust Empire. Lighthound happened to be OOS at the time, otherwise i would have just gone with them.
the only other place i have gotten AW from was Provape. and im willing to bet provape has authentic AW. the batts i got from them have been working out great so far. :crosses fingers:
 
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