Either way, that documentation still lists the HE2 as a "20A continuous" cell but it does at very least show some promise to the 35A discharge, even if it is a pulse discharge.
I realize I did some heavy trimming... but here we find the actual heart of the matter.
We know what a continuous discharge rating is. We know what a rated capacity is. These are engineering givens... standard information and also standardized information. Instead of describing this in any detail, I will
just provide this link. I suggest any and all readers to read it at least twice and ponder the second and third paragraphs a bit to relate them to the much lower capacity batteries that we use... It does directly relate.
When a manufacturer gives a C rating for a cell, that is the highest amp draw they intend for it to be capable of and tested it to be capable of. Many individual samples may indeed be capable of higher amp discharge than intended. That is absolutely true. The cell design may or may not lend itself to higher discharge rates than intended... but what we know for sure is that the C rating given is what the manufacturer believes they can safely achieve and have tested their design and manufacturing examples to safely achieve.
So, we have known engineering standards, and we have some manufacturers discretion as to what they intend. We can actually test to find out if the manufacturer is honest with capacity ratings and if indeed a battery can actually discharge at a rate they say they intend it to be capable. -- We know exactly what a capacity rating is and we know exactly what a C rating is... What we *do not* know because it is not any sort of accepted engineering standard is what a "pulse rating" is. There is no such thing. It is a fairy tale.
In this particular case, we know for sure that the manufacturer of the cells gives them a C rating that indicates a 20 amp continuous discharge capability under "normal" conditions (77 degrees F ambient room temp, no active cooling applied to the sample). No matter if they included a graph that showed they tested at higher (and lower, by the way) discharge rates than they applied to the stated rating, they gave it a stated rating and we know it is capable of that. -- Exceeding the discharge rating does not make it a higher rating. This battery is indeed rated as a 20 amp batt. That is what it is even if you end up with a sample that can output 1 million amps... or for that matter if you end up with a defective sample that can only discharge at half an amp. Just because you get one that isn't capable doesn't change the manufacturer rating... just because you get one that seems to safely exceed the rating doesn't change the rating.
We know for sure LG says these cells are good to go up to 20 amp discharge. We know for sure they make no claims that any of these can safely discharge under any circumstances higher than 20 amps (thus the rating they gave it). We know for sure that no major manufacturer of any battery works with any industry or engineering standard that is called "pulse rating".
The other thing we know for sure is that safety is the #1 most important thing to consider. Exceeding any manufacturer's intended limits of any device is an obvious risk that no one should recommend - ever. --- Discussing going beyond those limits is fine. There's nothing wrong with taking on risk one is aware of and nothing wrong with talking about it. However, encouraging others to take such risk while hiding from them such risk exists is irresponsible. Just like stamping a 35 amp rating on a wrapper that contains an actually 20 amp rated battery. That is irresponsible and potentially dangerous. That is a deliberate disregard for another persons' health/well-being for nothing more than the few dollars they will pay for the device being lied about. Efest is absolutely doing exactly that... and, it seems just from what I read at the beginning of this thread, that kidneypuncher might be expressing some desire to become active accomplice to that behavior.
EDIT/ADD:
Here is an example that should make some sense... A friend of mine protects diplomats and dignitaries for a living. A couple of years ago, his level II body armor saved his life by stopping a .44 magnum. Level II body armor is only rated to .357 magnum. Level III A is rated to stop .44 magnum. The fact that his sample outperformed its rating does not change the rating to Level III A. No one thinking they were likely to face .44 magnum would want to just assume their Level II is going to do what his did because they knew of one that did it once.
