High Drain vs Non-High Drain Batteries

[pAth77]

Pardon my ignorance on this matter because I can't remember much from my high school physics class. Based on a lot of my reading here on ECF, it seems like the common consensus is that people prefer high drain batteries because they are able to output a more consistent voltage than non-high drain batteries. It came up in a thread, and a poster replied as follows:

"Please correct me if I am mistaken but doesn't the use of high drain batteries keep the voltage consistent until they are drained then recharge and your good to go again.If I understand right the out put stays the same with no reduction in vape. AW is one brand but there are several others."

Another poster responded:

"Not exactly, high drain batteries have the ability to provide more amperage when in use which is needed in some situations to get proper power to the atomizer. They will still have the same characteristic as far as the voltage slope when used. In fact that slope can be higher with high drains because they do have the ability to provide more output when in use.What's needed to keep the voltage consistent across a battery's usable range in either a vv or fixed volt mod is a regulator designed in the mod"

I guess I am a little confused now. I went and looked up all the formulas that I could find that dealt with voltage, resistance, power and current, and I'm still getting a bit lost. Can someone help me understand this?

 

[WillyB]

What are the ohms of your atty/carto and what size cell are you using.

 

[pAth77]

My main setup uses an AW IMR 16340 and a 2.0Ω carto. I occasionally use 1.5Ω atties.

 

[WillyB]

Then your IMR is a good choice. If you moved up to an 18650 a standard Li-Ion works fine for 2Ω loads and should provide longer vape times. Just don't ever buy the UltraFire 18650 3000mAh cells.

This is the correct statement.

"Not exactly, high drain batteries have the ability to provide more amperage when in use which is needed in some situations to get proper power to the atomizer. They will still have the same characteristic as far as the voltage slope when used. In fact that slope can be higher with high drains because they do have the ability to provide more output when in use.What's needed to keep the voltage consistent across a battery's usable range in either a vv or fixed volt mod is a regulator designed in the mod"

 

[JWebb]

Does anyone know what other electronic devices the AW 18650 and IMR 123 or 16340 are used for? I was looking at Batteries Plus stores and I couldn't find them out of curiousity. I was thinking in an emergency if I needed a local store that sells these, where would I go?

 

[phoenixfire]

Some older (film) cameras use the 123 batteries,maby a camera shop, I think St.Louis area might have a couple left.
Please pm me when you get a chance.

 

[VaporMadness]

There are flashlights that use batteries like that. I'm not sure what brick-and-mortar retail outlets carry these kinds of batts. I've gotten all of mine online from vaping retailers.

In response to the OP... since you are using a smallish battery (16340) and LR attys... you definitely want the hi-drains.

The reason is that the IMR16340 is capable of pushing around 4 amps whereas the ICR16340 is barely capable of pushing 2 amps, and actually 2 amps is beyond the design specs of the ICR batt, the stated 'max drain rate' for the ICR is around 1.5 amps. When you screw a 2 ohm atty onto your 3.7v battery... that calls for 1.85 amps... a 1.5 ohm atty will take 2.5 amps. In this smallish battery size, the ICR chemistry just isn't able to release the stored electrical energy fast enough. Furthermore, the additional stress put on the battery when trying to get more amps out of it than it's capable of will degrade the batt and shorten its useful life. One way in which an ICR battery degrades is that its max drain rate decreases (exacerbating the problem).

When you move up in size, the equations change. An 18650 sized battery is many times larger than a 16340 in volume and in storage capacity and in max drain capability. ICR chemistry in that size is capable of pushing out enough amps to keep up with LR atty demands. An ICR18650 can drive 5 amps (more than enough) and an IMR18650 can put out 16 amps (an insane amount).

I only have 16430 MODs and I only use the AW 16340IMRs for 3.7v vaping. But if I had an 18650 MOD, i might go with the higher capacity ICR chemistry in that batt size. 14500s are very close in volume to 16340s... definitely want IMRs in that smallish size too.

Switched's FAQ has bunches of details on batteries...
Everything there is to know about AW batteries