Batteries: Brand name or higher mAh?

[DGr1zz13]

Going to buy some 18350 batteries for my mod. My question is and I'm sure this applies to all battery sizes...what is better for mod performance getting a quality brand name battery such as Efest at 800mAh or get a (lower?) quality name such as UltraFire or TangsFire that has 1200mAh or 1500mAh? Thanks in advance.

 

[Feraloxide]

Batteries are batteries imo, the higher mah are gonna last longer regardless.

 

[djsvapour]

I don't know. BUT, I'd love to know how certain brands (the ones with the less good reputation) manage to get superior mAh ratings.
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which then seem to get disproved by people who test them?

 

[KenD]

The most important thing is to have safe batteries. For vaping that means that they are safe chemistry (IMR or hybrid) and high drain. As far as I know there are no safe chemistry high drain 18350s with a higher mAh-rating than 800. Batteries with a higher stated capacity are most likely ICRs, which means that they are more likely to fail catastrophically I pushed too hard, and as they are low drain you are very likely to push them too hard. Also, when battery manufacturers claim ridiculously high capacities for their batteries (which 1200-1500 mAh for an 18350 is, no 18350s have that high of a capacity) they are almost certainly lying. You'll see many people here say "never use a battery with fire in its name", without really letting you know why. I'm in no way a battery expert, and I'm sure others who are will come along to better explain, but in my opinion one of the main reasons to heed that advice is that you can't really know what you're getting (and that goes for all "no name" batteries, and fakes of course). They might be safe, but you have no way to determine that. The difference in price is so small that it's just not worth taking the risk.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[Stosh]

It's easy for the ***fire battery manufacturers to get higher mah ratings....lie about them...
There is no oversight agency regulating what a manufacturer can claim, the sky is the limit....

A good quality IMR high drain from a reputable company, bought at a reputable vendor that isn't selling counterfeit junk is simply the safest, cheapest, and longest lasting batteries you can buy...

Try ...Genuine AW Batteries at RTD Vapor

 

[happydave]

when you see a MAH rating for the ***fire brand batteries they generally mean per set..
so if its a set of 2 ***fire brand batteries that lists (for example) 1000 MAH they mean 500 MAH per battery, not 1000 MAH each.

i like Efest batteries, never had a problem with mine. there are better brands on the market but for the money Efest is pretty good.

 

[TheBestest]

First rule on batteries, don't buy anything with the word "fire" in them. Efest, AW, Sony, Panasonic, XTAR, Orbtronic are all reputable.

 

[BackDoc]

Panasonic,Efest,AW,etc are almost dead on with their claims to MAH.........Trustfire, LastTangoFire, etc(and the chargers that came with them) are in my past experience claim approx double the actual rating......so you dont save money, you just increase your chances of blowing your face off and the family going up in flames........id spend the extra 5-10 bucks and have peace of mind, best to you DGR

 

[Choc_Addic]

Batteries are batteries imo, the higher mah are gonna last longer regardless.

Good luck with that! I'm glad that I live across the country from you!!

 

[Completely Average]

Batteries are batteries imo, the higher mah are gonna last longer regardless.

Do yourself a favor and never buy a mech mod. I would hate to see you blow your hand off because you didn't know the difference in batteries.



To the OP, here is what you really need to know.

Buy IMR High Drain or Hybrid IMR High Drain batteries ONLY. You'll see other battery types with higher mAh ratings, but they are NOT safe nor suitable to be used in ecigs. They are flashlight batteries, and should only be used in flashlights.

The brand names of the IMR batteries that you can trust are...

Orbtronic
Panasonic
Sony
AW
MNKE
Efest

Any IMR battery made by these manufacturers is good for ecig use. These are safe chemistry batteries, so you don't have to worry about explosions or fires if they vent.


Now comes the next 2 questions.... what type of mod are these going in, and what are you planning on using them with? (subohming or normal vaping)

If it's going in a normal VV/VW mod then a 10A battery will be fine. If you're going with a DNA20 mod then you'll want a 20A battery at least, and if you're going to use this in a mech mod or a DNA30 mod then you should definitely get a 30A battery.

 

[Murr22]

I'd think the mAh is the best to decide by if you need longer time

 

[KenD]

I'd think the mAh is the best to decide by if you need longer time

Safety first, and second you need to realize that the stated mAh is not necessarily the actual mAh (as no name batteries commonly have hugely overstated capacity ratings), and thirdly you need to consider what amount of the capacity is in the useful voltage range (as you never deplete the battery even to its lowest safe charge). This is particularly significant with mech mods, where you'll want a battery that has more of its capacity in the 3.8-4.2v range (for example, the 2000 mAh Samsung 20r has more of its capacity in the 4v range than many higher capacity batteries), but even with regulated mods you'll want a battery with more capacity in the over 3.3-3.4v range (the cut-off voltage of many apvs) than a battery with a higher overall capacity (where much of the capacity falls within the 2.5-3v range. So it's more complicated than simply more mAh.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[Baditude]

I'd think the mAh is the best to decide by if you need longer time

Yes, for flashlights. For advanced personal vaporizers (mods), NO! For mods, we need to be using safe-chemistry batteries. In some applications, the amp rating is more important than the mAh rating.

As stated previously by those who know their batteries, the batteries with the higher mAh ratings are protected ICR Li-Ion batteries. These are no longer recommended to be used in mods. Due to their voltatile chemistry, they can be dangerous should they become stressed or shorted in a mod, which can lead to venting extremely hot gas, flames, and possibly explode. These batteries often have inadequate amperage to power many of our high drain mods safely.



High-drain safe-chemistry batteries are relatively new on the market. These are called "IMR", Li-Mn or unprotected batteries. Their safer chemistry may still vent gas if shorted, but with a greatly reduced chance of flames or threat of explosion. These batteries excel in regulated variable voltage mods, mechanical mods using a Kick, or any mod using a rebuildable atomizer because of higher amperage capability.

Also stated, do not use any battery with "fire" in the name: Surefire, Trustfire, Ultrafire, or whatever. These are low quality batteries whose advertised battery specifications are wildly overstated. They might be safe to use in flashlights or other low drain appliances, but are not suited for mods.


For a large list of these safe-chemistry, high-drain IMR batteries use this link:

Battery Basics for Mods: IMR or Protected ICR?


More information on batteries & chargers here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/batteries-chargers/546143-batteries-chargers-multi-meters-forum.html

 

[zoiDman]

...what is better for mod performance getting a quality brand name battery such as Efest at 800mAh or get a (lower?) quality name such as UltraFire or TangsFire that has 1200mAh or 1500mAh? Thanks in advance.

I Hate to be this way.

But Anything that ends in "Fire" are some of the Worst, most Knocked Off Batteries on the Planet.

It would help if we knew what you set your Mod at Voltage-wise. And what you put on it Ohm-Wise.

 

[dice57]

think continuous amp rating not mah. The higher the amp rating the more useable power it has. A 10 amp battery won't power a mod as long as a 30 amp battery will no matter the mah, just not enough useable power available. Then add in the safer amp buffer and it's a no brainer.

There are just so many great batteries available for vape, there is no excuse to not get good ones.

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - Does AW make Flat Top 18350's?

4 PC 18350 IMR AW Flat Top 700mAh Battery High Drain Torch CREE VAP Cig x Mod | eBay

 

[Stosh]

AFAIK - They DO NOT make ANY flat top IMR's in 18350 size, ONLY nipple/button top. The ONLY flat tops AW make are the AW ICR protected line of batteries which are the black with chrome sticker.

Also the picture in the link doesn't have the new AW holographic sticker on it.

 

[StephenMulkey]

Interesting little thread here. Very Informative. I haven't had the pleasure of owning a mech mod, but I feel better equipped when that time comes after reading this.

 

[zoiDman]

AFAIK - They DO NOT make ANY flat top IMR's in 18350 size, ONLY nipple/button top. ...

Exactly!.

And that is why that even if Something has a Name Brand on it, like AW or eFest, that you have to be Careful that they are Not Knock-Offs.

That seller on e-Bay had a Pretty Bad Feedback Rating. e-Bay is full of Scams and Unknowing Sellers. He isn't the Only one selling AW Flat Top 18350's.

Moral of the Story. Buy Batteries from someone you can Trust a little. Like a Registered Supplier of the ECF.

 

[zoiDman]

AFAIK - They DO NOT make ANY flat top IMR's in 18350 size, ONLY nipple/button top. The ONLY flat tops AW make are the AW ICR protected line of batteries which are the black with chrome sticker.

Also the picture in the link doesn't have the new AW holographic sticker on it.

BTW - Do you remember when the Mini Lavatube first came out and Volcano e-Cigs was Embarrassed when they had Flat Top AW 18350's in their Starter Kits?

Sometimes the seller Think they are Selling Genuine batteries. But they can be Dupped just like the End User can.