AW 20A 3000mAh Flat-Top 18650 Bench Test Results...a good high-capacity 20A battery, could be an HG2

[Mooch]

Tested at 10A-25A constant current. This cell was purchased from RTDVapor and donated 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.


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 selected 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, this is a good 20A continuous discharge current (CDR) flat-top cell with high capacity. Its performance is close to the LG HG2 and their cases, top caps, and tooling marks are identical. I recommend not using it above 20A as it runs at a very high temperature at those rates.


Test Results



Comments

• At 10A it reached about 2750mAh. This is average performance for a 3000mAh-rated cell.
• At 15A the maximum temperature reached 71°C. This is too low for a cell operating at its CDR.
• At 20A the maximum temperature reached 82°-84°C. This is at the high end of temperatures for 20A to be the CDR but similar to the LG HG2 and Samsung 30Q.
• At 25A the temperature rose to my safety limit of 100°C just before the discharge was stopped. It then coasted up to 102°C. This is way too hot to set the CDR at 25A.
• Five additional cycles at 20A showed no signs of damage other than that which occurs when running a cell at its CDR. I am setting a CDR of 20A for this cell.
• The performance was a bit lower than the LG HG2, for both capacity and voltage under load, but the cell can, top, and tooling marks were identical. I think this could be an HG2. The performance differences could be due to normal battery to battery tolerances, but I don't know for sure.
• To see how other cells have tested and how hard you can safely push them, check out the links in my signature.

 

[Brkdnc]

Just want to say THANKS for all the great work you do for the community.

 

[Eric Auer]

Any point to buy this over the LG?

$12.99 vs. $7.99 seems a bit much (RTDVapor prices)

Eric

 

[Mooch]

Any point to buy this over the LG?

$12.99 vs. $7.99 seems a bit much (RTDVapor prices)

Eric

No practical reasons, in my opinion.

 

[Biz_Nessman]

Thanks for all your work mooch. Been looking for alternatives to the standard 18650 cells out there. (I like to tinker, and wouldn't mind building my own mod) Any opinions on any of the li-po cells used in applications such as R/C racing batteries. Most are too big to be practical, but some of the smaller sized cells are gaining capacity recently.... Thoughts?

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[Mooch]

The C-rating specs are often wildly exaggerated with LiPo'sbut the good ones are great. Due to their shape you can pack in more battery than with cylindrical 18650's, leading to longer run times. Their internal resistance can be a lot lower than 18650's too and that means lower temperatures...always a good thing.

They do react more violently if abused enough to reach the thermal runaway temperature but they will vent first unless really abused. They vent at a lower internal pressure than 18650's and often tell you there's a problem before doing that by noticably swelling first. Having said all that though, pouch LiPo cells aren't for the average user in my opinion unless sealed into the device. They damage very easily and charging should not be done with a $5 no-name ebay charger.

I see no problem with box modders using them as long as they know the risks and how to handle them. Pretty much how I feel about any chemistry. Wish I had a couple of specific packs I could recommend to you!

[edit] corrected large number of spelling errors...sheesh.

 

[Biz_Nessman]

I agree they are a lot more volatile than the li-ion cells we are currently using. I've seen some gnarly fires when i used to race. Especially when folks first started using them for r/c. The cost for a decent pack and charger may make it a little cost prohibitive for experiments. Maxamps.com has some interesting cells though, interesting enough to make me consider the possibilities.

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