Battery Suggestions

[Zod]

Hey peeps. I was just hoping I could tap into the collective knowledge on quality batteries here.

I've long since gone through the whole trial and error phases to find my happy place as far as mods, voltage, juice flavors, strength, ratio etc. but the one thing I only have a limited knowledge on is what are the best quality batteries? I'm currently running regular protected ultrafires and trustfires and I'm ready to order $100 or so worth of spanking new ones as me and the S.O. only have one extra set each but don't want to go through the whole trial and error phases to find what's the best. This is where the ECF community rules. I can just leach the info from you guys! IMR or high drains worth it? Best brands? Price really isn't an issue when the cost from lowest quality to highest quality isn't that big and obviously high price doesn't always mean highest quality. Links and suggestions would rock too.

What I'm looking for specifically is 8 rcr123s (3.0-3.2v preferred for running reg resist cartos) and 4 18650s (for running LR hardware).

 

[belialNZ]

I have some AW's, IMR and Ultrafire in 17650 and 18650's, I have only just started using the 18650's, but with the 17650's I definitely found the AW's better, although I have nothing other than subjective evidence for that.

AW's have a higher discharge rate (2C) vs. Ultrafires (1.5C) however, they rate themselves as lower mAh. I have no idea what the Ultrafires true mAh is, but they don't seem to last much longer than the AW's, so I suspect they overstate it.

 

[cskent]

Try here Batteries + carriers & testers for batt's. They have about the best selection around. I've used the low drain Ultrafires and high drain types. The high drain wins hands down. I haven't tried IMR's but probably will just for comparison. If you want the best try the AW's, if you want inexpensive high drain 18650's try these AltSmoke.com | Personal Vaporizers | Electronic Cigarette | Ecigs | 18650 XSL 2600mAh Battery - Protected - Batteries - Accessories. I've got a set of 3 and they work surprisingly well for the price. I've been using them for about 2 months now and they're still going strong. How they perform in the long run I can't answer yet though.

 

[Zod]

Hey cskent, ironically that's the exact 18650s I'm currently running. You sure it's high drain as the site says nothing to the effect and neither does their or my battery? Think I'm going to order some 123 AWs and see what they do. Tried my first 7.4 2x 18350 setup tonight and all I can say is OMG I need high resist cartos or something. haha! I could literally hear the juice boiling. Voltmeter read it @ 8.19v Next time a clearomizer pisses me off I know how to kill it with extreme prejudice.

 

[cskent]

Yeah they're high drain, mine say so right on the batt. If you want to make sure just contact the guys at Altsmoke and ask. My high drain 18650's measure 4.18v fresh off the charger and stay above 3.7v for most of the day. I've tried 7.4v and 6v but keep going back to the 18650's on my SB using 1.7 ohm LR's.

 

[Zod]

That link has no 3.0 or 3.2 rcr123s except some no name cell. Does AW make a 3v rcr123a?

 

[Zod]

Think I'm going to try the LiFePO4 route with Combo Kit: 6 RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh LiFePO4 Rechargeable Batteries with a Smart Charger Tenergy 39003 Wish me luck!

 

[Para]

I have no idea what the Ultrafires true mAh is, but they don't seem to last much longer than the AW's, so I suspect they overstate it.

Suspect?....Count on it. lol

They pull a number out of a hat (or their ....) and claim that's the mah.

 

[jmanning]

AW makes LiFePO4 3v 16340 batteries alsoAW LiFePO4 3 Volt Lithium Rechargeable Battery. I personally on use AW batteries.

 

[WillyB]

Hey cskent, ironically that's the exact 18650s I'm currently running. You sure it's high drain as the site says nothing to the effect and neither does their or my battery?

If these are the ones.

They are just typical Li-Ions, and not especially good ones either. At about a 1.5A drain they tested out at about 2100mAh, typical of UltraFire's exaggerated ratings.

In that price range this is an overall superior cell.

All-Battery.com: Tenergy Li-Ion 18650 3.7V 2600mAh Button Top Rechargeable Battery w/ PCB

When we talk 'hi-drain' we are referring to IMR's, LiMN (LiMnNiCo) technology. In an 18650 about the highest mAh available is 1600mAh.

They will always say IMRXXXXX on them.

They tend to be a bit shorter and cheaper than their Li-Ion brandmates.

 

[Zod]

I almost bought the AW lifepo4s but while researching the tech which I'd pretty much ignored up until now I stumbled upon a direct comparison between the AWs and Tenergys with the Teners slightly edging them out while they both had a vastly smoother output than LiIos. I'm sure I'm going to add some AW 18650s to the 3.7 setups.

As always, you guys rock. I knew I could count on you to do half the work for me. teehee!