What specs do you look for in a mech mod battery?

[Nuclear Cowboy]

OK, I know about enough to be dangerous and need a little help here. I run a bunch of VV/WW mods and they all now use Panasonic 3400mAh NCR18650B's. These babies are the stuff in my mods but I hear they aren't to be used in Mech Mods. So what what specs do I look for in mech batteries? I've heard IMR and current/amps, but how much current and I assume we are talking MAX DISCHARGE CURRENT and not CONTINUES DISCHARGE CURRENT, correct? What amp rating am I looking for? Does mAh come into play here? What else should I know when picking mech mod batteries?

Thanks!

 

[Baditude]

Battery chemistry, mAh rating, amp rating (continuous discharge rate). I place a LOT of importance on the battery manufacturer's name and model number.

There's not much difference in the requirements of either mechanical or regulated VV/VW mods. Both categories of mods should be using safe-chemistry, high-drain IMR batteries. A large list of brand/model IMR/hybrid batteries that fit this classification is in the list in the first link below:

When choosing a battery, I use the following criteria in this order of importance:

1. The chemistry of the battery. IMR, hybrid, or ICR Li-ion?

Always choose an IMR (Li-Mn) (or IMR/hybrid) battery over a Li-Ion ICR battery. IMR's will be high-drain and safer-chemistry batteries. Li-Ion ICR batteries are low-drain and not safe-chemistry.

Battery Basics for Mods: IMR or ICR?

Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries



2. At this point, the application in which you will be using the battery figures into the decision: (amps vs mah)

• If using factory-made coils (1.5 - 3.0 ohm clearomizers, cartomizers), the battery capacity (mAh) takes priority for longer battery duration between charges.
  
  
• The best high-drain, high-mah batteries available on the market currently are the Panasonic and Orbtronic NCR18650PD 2900mah 10 amp and NCR18650PF 2900mah 10 amp. Soon to hit the market will be the Panasonic NCR18650BD 3200mah 10 amp battery.
  
  
• If building sub-ohm coils in an RBA, higher battery amperage in continuous discharge rate becomes priority. You should be using a 30 amp high-drain battery in this application. Sony and Efest offer 30 amp batteries.
  
  Sub-Ohm Battery Chart

3. Reputation of the battery manufacturer . In the recent past, the highest quality batteries came from well-recognized name-brands such as AW, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, and Sanyo. Other companies have allegedly exaggerated their listed battery specifications in order to appear competitive with the bigger name companies.

Edit to add: The recommendation for a 30 amp battery, although a valid one, isn't entirely correct. There are a few high quality 16 - 22 amp batteries which can be used in the upper sub-ohm range, too. Just be certain to use the Ohm's Law Calculator after measuring the resistance of your coil to be certain it will not pull more amps (current) than the battery's listed continuous discharge rate.

 

[Nuclear Cowboy]

Thank you! Maybe oneday I'll be able to return the favor.

 

[The Ministry]

It's a minefield ain't it!

Your battery choice is going to depend a lot on your amp draw, so the resistance on the coils you throw on top of the Mod. I've just ordered some Sony VTC5's to give me as much "headroom" as I feel safe with. I don't sub ohm, but I want some headroom on the amp draw from the battery. A 10amp limit should do me, but why not have 30 available etc.

Hope you choose something that is outstanding for your needs, and vape on (and safe!)

 

[Nuclear Cowboy]

That's funny. After reading the links that Baditude provided I ended up ordering Sony VTC5's too.

The picture of the toastey wall in his blog convienced me to go big. I probably won't need the extra Amps either but will be running my Kayfun down to about 0.7 ohm's on a Mech. I plan on keeping a sharp eye on the power levels too.

Safety is huge concern, then taste, then clouds.