Batteries

[Format]

For a long time now the batteries that Rob suggests for the Reo Grand AW IMR 18650 1600mAh is no longer on sale here in the UK, the only battery you can get is the 2000mAh which would be no good for sub ohms after what I have read from this forum if I am correct.

So have been looking around and found these :

2x Efest 30A purple IMR 18650 2100mAh button top 3.7v Li-Ion+protective case | eBay

Would these be ok?

 

[unsure]

You can't get the new AW IMR 2200mah in the UK either?

 

[caup]

Opposite to AW1600, AW2200 are available here in Germany, albeit with a heavy price tag (>€15).
If you can't buy in UK and don't want to order abroad, a good alternative are Samsung 25R with 20A output.
I use 4 of those exclusively for 6 month now, and they get me easily thru the day (with .8ohm dual coil builds).
No failure yet, very good quality for the price (€7).
Sony Konion seem another good source, that I haven't tried yet.
Here is a comparison Chart of AW2200, ´VTC5 and 25R.

AkkuDB

 

[Format]

You can't get the new AW IMR 2200mah in the UK either?

Yes I can but they are only 20A compared to 30A of the 1600's.

 

[Mrs C]

The 1600 are 24A not 30A.

 

[Tony Spectacular]

FWIW, I've found the Samsung 25r to be a much better battery than anything Efest puts out. I do have a purple battery or two in my rotation, but they're about to be relegated to flashlight use. I prefer VTC5>VTC4>25r>HE2>AW>Efest.

 

[Filthy-Beast]

Do not go by pulse rating, only go by continuous amp load rating, Most of the high amp loads have been shown to really be 20a continuous load batteries with a marketing game being played.

The 2200 AW are a great batteries, I also run Sony vtc4, vtc5 and LG HE2 batteries. When not using a button top care has be taken to reduce arcing and make sure you're not button mashing as this leads to cracked firing pins.

 

[Format]

OK thanks all, will go with the 2200AW's if that's the one Rob recommend's

 

[Dima1973]

I use 2200aw batteries without any problems. My build is 0.5 and they last about 4.5 to 5 mls before i need to swap them.

 

[Doffy]

When not using a button top care has be taken to reduce arcing and make sure you're not button mashing as this leads to cracked firing pins.

he speaks the truth, i just rebuilt one. then converted all my stocks to AW

now i have to buy a new reo to justify the $25 shipping on a rebuild kit for backup

 

[ancient puffer]

If you just buy another REO, you won't need a rebuild kit

 

[Format]

Mr Postman just popped 4 brand new AW 18650 2200 mAh 's through my door today

Let's hope they are as good as you say they are compared to the 1600 mAh's.

Just waiting now for the nod from the Reo God for payment and to know 'how many sleeps' until they arrive

 

[EagleTa2]

Lets talk about battery Age a little bit. I read (on here somewhere) that batteries should be laid to rest after 6 months or so.. before I continue, Let me run through my inventory a bit.

I have 6 AW 1600s, 1 LG, 1 Samsung 25R, 2 VTC3, 1 VTC4, and 2 Subohm 35a.

The VTC3s and 2 of the AW 1600 have just crossed the year old threshold and are soon going to be regulated to flashlight use. I am running .4 ohm duals on an Odin/Grand with upgraded contacts.

Nothing is wrong with the batteries, they still charge to full capacity and discharge at the same rate as they always have. I typically swap out batteries between 3.5 and 3.7v, although occasionally when not paying attention I will drain one to less than 3.0 but never less than the min threshold of 2.5v.

So, what is your opinion? Run them until they show signs of weakness or swap them out after a calendar year?

thanks
Geo

 

[ancient puffer]

I'm no expert at all, but will share my experience in hopes it's of use to you or someone else.

I have AW 1600's, AW 2000's, AW 2200's and Sony VTC5's. I rotate them all religiously, have rarely, if ever, vaped them below 3.5, usually changing at around 3.9. Some of them are from 2011.

I check them each time they come off the charger. The AW 1600's and 2000's are the oldest, and I've relegated them to flashlight use just because I don't need 23 batteries in rotation.

Just this week, I finally decided one of them was ready for recycle, since it only charged to 4.15v. ALL the rest, charge to 4.19-4.20 volts and so, I'm continuing to use them.

I've noticed no dropoff in how long they remain at a vapable level (time from initial use, to swapping out at around 3.9ish volts).

Bear in mind, the oldest (the AW 1600's) were used in the REOs in a regular rotation of 15 batteries, so I would assume with fewer in rotation, their life expectancy would be less. My vaping "sets" are now 4 AW 2200's (for me), and 4 Sony VTC5's (for the wife). Even so, I'd expect to get at least 2 years out of them. Just my experience with them.

Oh, and I charge them only on a Pila charger, which may, or may not have any effect on their life. HTH

 

[Filthy-Beast]

I've decided to start testing voltage drop when new and tracking that. As they age the internal resistance will climb, leading to a higher voltage drop under load robbing you of voltage at the atty.

I think this is part of the seat of pants observations when some has older batteries and buys new ones of different type and then they say the new ones hit harder.

 

[supertrunker]

FB's method is one way to monitor batteries for sure, but it requires diligence.

I just use a meter that measures battery internal resistance, but like all meters, some of them are not cheap. Then i compare the known specs for a new battery to my beaten up ones.
If my VTC4 new has a 19mΩ IR, and today it has twice that, then it gets chunked in the recycle bin.

Throwing your batteries out every 6 months/2 years seems wasteful to me, because it really depends on the thrashing they have had during their lives. Mine get pasted at low sub-Ohm levels, so i can never expect the same longevity as someone that vapes at 1.2Ω

T

 

[EagleTa2]

That's a very valid point... thanks guys. I have used the 6 AW1600s the most, but always within rotation.

Now that I think about it, there is no reason I couldn't use my quality MM to measure the internal resistance of them. Long story short, I believe I will use them until I notice them degrading... not charging fully or sagging quickly. I am only vaping at .4 so I am at less than half the amperage load of the cells (10.5A vs 24 rated).

at this level, I do not have much fear.

Thanks for your help!
Geo

 

[Filthy-Beast]

You need to test under load. easiest way for us is probably testing the full charged voltage and the voltage at battery posts while firing an atty. Using the ohms law calculator you can then figure-out internal resistance. Always test with the same ohm coil since as the load increase internal resistance increases also. there are plans on the internet of how to build a tester using a resistor and your meter.

 

[Eatenback2life]

How does one test a battery's internal resistance? I have a multimeter at the ready to give it a whirl.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Filthy-Beast]

I just test for voltage drop, with that you can use Ohms law to calculate it. I found plenty of references with google that explain the calculations belter than I can.

to test voltage drop:

fully charge the battery and measure it's resting voltage out of the mod. Say 4.2 volts

Then measure the voltage of the battery under load. Put it in the mod, fire a coil on a atty while measuring at the batteries contacts. Like this

The difference between the two is the battery's voltage drop. say you measure 4.1 the batteries voltage drop is .10 volts.

If you want to know you mods voltage drop measure the voltage at the atty posts while firing, lets say that's 3.85, minus that for the charged battery's voltage and the entire drop including the battery is .35 volts now minus the drop caused by the battery and the mod has a drop of .25 volts.

It's important to always test with the same ohm coil since as resitance increases, the amp draw increases and as you increase the amp load the voltage drop will increase.