batteries and charger

[phocust]

I'm relatively new to vaping and am wondering what the best brand of batteries and chargers are. I currently have efest imr 35A 2800 mah 3.7V batteries and a nitecore um20 charger.

 

[InTheShade]

What device are you going to be using the batteries in? Samsung 25R are good enough 20 amp batteries, Sony VTC4 are good 30 amp batteries. All can be bought quite inexpensively at http://www.illumn.com/

That charger is adequate I'd say. Nitecore make decent enough chargers. if you are looking for a replacement for it, you can get the Nitecore i2 / i4 for between $10-18 or D2 / D4 for around $15-25. Many people do like the Xtar chargers too - http://www.rtdvapor.com/battery-chargers/ has a good selection.

 

[NealBJr]

Nitecore is a good brand to get. Also the Efest LUC chargers are good. There are a few more, but I can't think of any.. I use a Nitecore I4, but the improved D4 is out there.

As far as batteries, there are quite a few good ones out there. Sony VTC4's are good, but highly counterfeited. Samsung 25R's are also well rated. LG HE4 batteries are good as well.

It all depends on what you're looking for, but those batteries should be good and fairly safe if used properly.

 

[Wolfenstark]

I mention the Samsung 25R 18650 because they are all I use and I know they are good.
Many people mention the Sony vtc 4 as being good.

For chargers its mostly nitecore chargers which I have and have had no issues with. Other one is xtar which many people use.

Someone with the batteries you use may speak up, I have read good and bad comments about them.

 

[NealBJr]

Xtar..that's the one I was trying to think of...

Oh, and WELCOME TO THE FORUMS....

looks like you tried to sneak by without saying "Hi, I'm new"...

 

[InTheShade]

I mention the Samsung 25R 18650 because they are all I use and I know they are good.

Me too. I replaced almost all of my batteries with the blue Samsung 25R's. As I cycle through them I am now buying the green 25R's that supposedly have a better performance lifecycle than the blue ones.

The website I linked above has them for just $5 each. You won't find a better price than that, and the batteries offer a great balance of value and performance.


As for the batteries the OP has - I steer clear of efests. They are a company that consistantly overstate their battery performances. Any company that puts profit over safety does not get my money. Those 35amp batteries the OP mentioned are thought to be around 10amp continuous (depending on the manufacturer of the battery cell underneath the rewrap)

While rewraps are not always bad (AW batteries are rewraps and they are some of the most consistantly good quality cells around) the way efest conduct themselves means I have no confidence that their batteries are suitable for any vaping application. Of course this is my opinion and yours may well be different.

Maybe, just maybe put them in your flashlight...

 

[IMFire3605]

I'm relatively new to vaping and am wondering what the best brand of batteries and chargers are. I currently have efest imr 35A 2800 mah 3.7V batteries and a nitecore um20 charger.

Alright, as has been stated, Nitecore chargers are fine for our purposes, so the charger is not an issue. I will arise the issue I do have, and that is the batteries you have listed, this is a caution, and you will want to upgrade from those efest as soon as possible due to safety. Efest buys B, C, and D bin cells, not A grade cells from those that actually manufacture them, namely Sony, LG, and Samsung, so you do not know if you have a Samsung 25R 20amp CDR INR cell under that pretty purple, misleading wrapper or a Panasonic 6amp CDR ICR cell. The wrapper may say it is a 35amp cell but that is the Pulse Burst Rating of an A grade 20amp CDR (continuous discharge rate), and CDR is what a battery can safely hold and sustain as its maximum current, a PBR is a short burst that can only be held for a few milliseconds to a couple seconds only, so buy your batteries and use them in the CDR specification only. So run those purple Efests, any IMRen, or MXJO battery at a maximum output of 20amps output, on a mechanical mod that means a resistance of about 0.35 to 0.5 minimum resistance, on a regulated mod take you max wattage and divide that number by 3.2 or 3, the lowest voltage a battery could be fired by a regulated mod where you amp load will be the highest, ie 60 watts max output/3volts = 20amps (using 3volts as the divisor gives you some extra headroom for safety though most mods won't fire if the battery is lower than 3.2 to 3.4volts, with a mechanical use the formula of Voltage x Voltage/Resistance=Amps, fresh charge of a battery is 4.2volts and this when they are most dangerous in a mech, so you would do 4.2x4.2/your resistance=your maximum amps).

Batteries to look at purchasing in the future, I'll give their listing in CDR to allow you decide which is best for your highest usage.

*Note* There is no battery out at the moment that is a true 35-40amp CDR, battery technology has not achieved this level of output no matter what Efest, MXJO, and IMRen like to put on their wrappers, Samsung, LG, Sanyo, Panasonic, and Sony have not produced any such batteries, ever...

15 to 20amp CDR (50watts or so max output)
LG HG2 (3000mah and 15 to 20amps CDR)
Samsung 30Q (Similar to the HG2)

20amps (75watts to 100watts dual battery, 65watts single battery mods)
Samsung 25R (older blue or newer green, 2500mah 20amp CDR)
LG HE2/HE4 (Similar to the 25R)
Sony VTC5 (2500mah 20amp CDR like the 25R)

Can sustain 30amps (100watts to about 120watts, especially in a dual battery mod)
Sony VTC4 (2100mah 25 to 30amp CDR)

True 30amp CDR (100watts to 200watts, especially in a dual battery mod like a Sigelei 150watt or Snow Wolf 200watt)
Sony VTC3 (1600mah 30amps)
LG HB6 (1500mah 30amps)

If you live in the US, buy from Authorized and reliable vendors, 5 great vendors below...

Liion Wholesale
IMRBatteries
Illumination Supply
RTDVapor
Orbtronics

*Note 2* Do not trust batteries from Efest, MXJO, IMRen

Visit and study the blogs for @Baditude and @Mooch, both have very excellent information to get you started with what is what, and how to be more safe out there.

 

[Pearl B]

Here's a vid that got me started on understanding what battery to get and why.

Vaping Batteries Explained


This guy has lots of info related vids on batteries and battery safety.

 

[phocust]

Thank you all. I believe I will be switching to the SonyVTC3. Again, thanks for all of the help.

 

[Two_Bears]

What device are you going to be using the batteries in? Samsung 25R are good enough 20 amp batteries, Sony VTC4 are good 30 amp batteries. All can be bought quite inexpensively at http://www.illumn.com/

That charger is adequate I'd say. Nitecore make decent enough chargers. if you are looking for a replacement for it, you can get the Nitecore i2 / i4 for between $10-18 or D2 / D4 for around $15-25. Many people do like the Xtar chargers too - http://www.rtdvapor.com/battery-chargers/ has a good selection.

Agreed. I like Samsung 25Rs.