Difference btw AW RED IMR's and AW blacl?

[JWebb]

Can anyone direct me to a sysopsis of the difference between the AW red IMR battery like the 14500 at 600 mah or the red 16340 and the AW black 14500 750 mah or AW black 16340 at 750mah beside the amperage. On the Reo mini, Rob suggests the AW red IMR 14500 because the switch was designed for it but not the AW black 14500? The same with others, whether it is the 18650 red or black on the Provari or 16340 on the Ali'i...what essentially is the difference in chemistries and protection and safety between the IMRs and the black besides the amperage? Thanks for your help

 

[RedAlert]

The red IMR batteries are considered "high drain", which means they can output more amperage which in turn means that LR attys will not stress them at all because the battery is designed to be used in that manner. The black batterys are just regular Li-Ion type, which work ok for regular resistance (2.5 ohm+) attys. The general consensus is, if you're using a smaller battery (14500, 16340) you should be using the IMR batteries. If your using the 18650s, there is little to no gain in using the IMRs, because the larger cells are rated to discharge enough amps to properly run an lr atty. Some claim that the 18650 IMR produce a little more "oomph" than the Li-Ions, but I cannot tell the difference between the two.
The other difference is in how the battery is protected. IMRs, by design have no protection circuit. Their chemical properties prevent them from blowing up if something were to short them out. They would get really hot, most like damage the mod, but will not explode. Li-Ions(that are protected) have a small circuit board on them that, in the event of a short or over discharge/recharge, will "disconnect" the battery internally stopping the flow of power.