What's the best 18650 for 10a vaping?

[Mikes1992]

I'm looking for an 18650 battery to provide the highest capacity at 30w with a regulated mod, from the research I've done upto now.
the VTC6 provides 7.7wh at 10a down to 3.2v but it's expensive.
The molicel P26A provides 7.8wh down to 3.2v, although I think I may be leaning more to the Samsung 30q as it's cheaper but provides 7.5wh (although I've read the 30q has better cycle life so may be better in the long run). Maybe I should just use a dirt cheap 25r as it still comes in at around 7wh. I was quite surprised that the VTC5a I already have comes in pretty low, 6.8wh at 10amps. I bought it thinking the high amperage rating would mean less energy loss to voltage sag xD.

I'm not sure if 0.3wh will really make a noticeable difference between a molicel p26a and a q30 either for the 20% increase in price for the molicel for an increase in usable capacity of 4%. I'm aware 30w is below 10a so the q30 may actually perform better then calculated.

 

[Doffy]

Hi Mike

Price should never factor into battery choices. Skimp on the rest, not batteries. If you are truly that hard done atm, pm your PayPal and I will send you $10 to cover the difference in price

This is Mooch's recommended for high capacity. He is a guru and widely trusted

Dan

 

[dripster]

The price gap between the 30Q and the P26A is like only 56 cents per cell, or only 55 cents per cell if you buy at least 3, from liionwholesale.com (which is where you'll get a free battery case with your purchase). The P26A runs at a cooler temperature, and, even though vaping it at 10A the 30Q barely even gets warm so this shouldn't matter much, the main difference is noticeable during the charging of these cells, i.e. the P26A can be charged significantly faster in comparison and still not sacrifice that much cycle life. As a result from this, depending on how fast you want to charge your batteries (and also depending on which charger you use, as different chargers generate different amounts of heat that will additionally heat up your batteries during battery charging...) you might or might not want to also consider this difference, as you need to stay in the same room (and awake) to be able to keep an eye on the charger until charging is finished, for your own safety so what that means is, faster charging can also be linked to safety, when the period of time you want to spend keeping an eye on the charger tends to be a bit of a limiting factor. From this particular point of view, the somewhat higher Wh rating at 10A is just a small bonus, but then, you also need to account for the fact you will be enjoying this bonus for a very, VERY long time so this also is why this particular price gap factually pales in comparison IMO, so... not worth skimping in this instance.

 

[Mikes1992]

The price gap between the 30Q and the P26A is like only 56 cents per cell, or only 55 cents per cell if you buy at least 3, from liionwholesale.com (which is where you'll get a free battery case with your purchase). The P26A runs at a cooler temperature, and, even though vaping it at 10A the 30Q barely even gets warm so this shouldn't matter much, the main difference is noticeable during the charging of these cells, i.e. the P26A can be charged significantly faster in comparison and still not sacrifice that much cycle life. As a result from this, depending on how fast you want to charge your batteries (and also depending on which charger you use, as different chargers generate different amounts of heat that will additionally heat up your batteries during battery charging...) you might or might not want to also consider this difference, as you need to stay in the same room (and awake) to be able to keep an eye on the charger until charging is finished, for your own safety so what that means is, faster charging can also be linked to safety, when the period of time you want to spend keeping an eye on the charger tends to be a bit of a limiting factor. From this particular point of view, the somewhat higher Wh rating at 10A is just a small bonus, but then, you also need to account for the fact you will be enjoying this bonus for a very, VERY long time so this also is why this particular price gap factually pales in comparison IMO, so... not worth skimping in this instance.

It's maybe because I live in the UK, from my supplier the P26A is £5.99, the 30Q is £4.50, the VTC6 is £6.99 and the 25r is £3.50.

 

[dripster]

It's maybe because I live in the UK, from my supplier the P26A is £5.99, the 30Q is £4.50, the VTC6 is £6.99 and the 25r is £3.50.

Just go to Steve.
Molicel P26A 18650/2600mAh/25A – SR Vapes

 

[DaveP]

I've been using and rotating the same matched sets of 18650's for 2 or 3 years with no immediate end in sight. MTL vaping is a conservative way to get longer cell life. Sony VTC6, LG HG2, and Samsung 30Q are my favorites, but I plan to try the Molicel.

 

[sonicbomb]

Samsung 30Q is the way to go

 

[susieqz]

i see there is a bigger price difference in the uk, but
the price still is low when you may get 5 years from a battery.
spread over 5 years the price differences are negligable.
for me, the 30q outperforms the vt6.
that's at 30 watt or lower.

 

[Mikes1992]

Just go to Steve.
Molicel P26A 18650/2600mAh/25A – SR Vapes

I've just ordered two p26a's and an Aegis solo xD. I wanted to order the Aegis but the seller on eBay I used for my partners went on holiday till the 30th of April due to the current circumstances. I secretly tried my partners Aegis solo to see if the Aspire Odan would fit and it did. My single battery mod is crap anyway (Vaptio S75), it's full of software bugs and isn't very accurate (like the voltage chasing the resistance as the coil heats up).

 

[DaveP]

Samsung 30Q is the way to go

Most of my cells are Sony VTC6, VCT4, and Samsung 30Q. I'm trying out some Molicels for comparison. I've vaped at about 10W to 13W for 10 years now.

 

[sonicbomb]

It all depends on the application. Im at about 30 watts a cell which Im pretty sure is the 30Qs sweet spot

 

[Mikes1992]

I would have probably bought both the 30Q and the P26A if sr-vapes had stocked both. I'm going to miss the chance to test the 30Q but I'm sure I'm set for at least a year with what I have.

I'm tempted to give my partner one of the molicels to use in rotation with the 25r included with the Aegis and just put my molicel in rotation with my current VTC5 but I'm not sure if she'd store it correctly since she's only ever owned integrated battery mods. Maybe I'll have to give a crash course xD.

I got her an Aegis solo because her Zelos battery is going bad and personally I've never really seen the logic of having to keep throwing away a £30-40 mod just because of a battery that would cost £4-6 to replace.

 

[dripster]

but I'm sure I'm set for at least a year with what I have.

They can last up to several more years depending how you use them.

 

[Raven Jones]

They can last up to several more years depending how you use them.

Several is a big stretch. Lasted an year for me I guess

 

[dripster]

Several is a big stretch. Lasted an year for me I guess

There are some vapers who have used the same set of batteries for 4 whole years and still were able to confirm the measured capacity had gone down by not more than 20% after. (A significant loss in measured capacity is one of primary/representative indicators that can be used to try and quantify battery aging.) A few months longer than one year appears to be about average ("about average", i.e., fairly close to what seems to be the average for most people who vape on a daily basis). For more info on the related subject of when should we replace our batteries, navigate to 12:52 in this recorded live stream:


(After 21:18 you can fast forward to 23:22 if you want to skip that part.)

 

[Mikes1992]

To be honest I can't imagine batteries used for vaping is really the ideal usage scenario for prolonging battery life. It's not like you get much choice about cycling techniques other then turning down your wattage and charging your batteries at a lower amperage. For my mobile I bought one with a 3750mah battery and I tend to use center point cycling using a charge alarm, like on a work day I charge to 60% and usually finish the day with 40%, on a day off I charge to 70% and finish with 30% (my phone's battery capacity has dropped by 2.8% for this first year). I tried this with my ecig batteries and just found that my usage is very unpredictable so some days I'd run out of battery, also at high amps I find the top ends holds up allot better then the bottom end of the charge cycle so I just gave up and just charge to 4.18-4.2v for the battery I'm currently using (I do store my spares at around 50%/3.7v and only charge them when I rotate my set at ~3,000 puffs). it's not like batteries are that expensive anyway, I probably spend 10x as much on replacement coils.

 

[susieqz]

there is a study that says if you charge to 4.1 you triple battery life.
at 4.15 you double it.

good to know if batteries get hard to find.
i do it for fun.

 

[dripster]

To be honest I can't imagine batteries used for vaping is really the ideal usage scenario for prolonging battery life. It's not like you get much choice about cycling techniques other then turning down your wattage and charging your batteries at a lower amperage. For my mobile I bought one with a 3750mah battery and I tend to use center point cycling using a charge alarm, like on a work day I charge to 60% and usually finish the day with 40%, on a day off I charge to 70% and finish with 30% (my phone's battery capacity has dropped by 2.8% for this first year). I tried this with my ecig batteries and just found that my usage is very unpredictable so some days I'd run out of battery, also at high amps I find the top ends holds up allot better then the bottom end of the charge cycle so I just gave up and just charge to 4.18-4.2v for the battery I'm currently using (I do store my spares at around 50%/3.7v and only charge them when I rotate my set at ~3,000 puffs). it's not like batteries are that expensive anyway, I probably spend 10x as much on replacement coils.

Turning down your wattage won't make much of a difference like I pointed out previously, seeing as you already are at less than half of the CDR anyway (vaping at only 10A on a 25A battery). The dominant factor will be how warm they get while charging, like I also pointed out previously so, if we can assume you already have this one taken care of, then next in line will be the voltage that you charge them to, BUT... a decent charger that neither generates much heat in itself nor lacks the option for you to select a relatively slow charging rate will NOT give you the option to set the voltage cut-off to something like 4.1 or 4.15, with the exception of an expensive charger like the SkyRC MC3000, which, even though it is a very good charger─I use mine to charge LiFePO4 batteries to 3.6 among a couple other things─is going to take probably at least a whole decade of charging them to only 4.1 just to be able to get back the added expense from choosing this charger over another, three times more affordable, yet fairly decent also, charger. Getting this charger for the sole purpose of extending the cycle life resulting from being able to set the cut-off to anything you might prefer equates to wishful thinking at its finest, if the long-term difference in cost is the one and only deciding factor, really.

 

[susieqz]

the skyrc mc3000 will do everything but walk the dog.
plus, i suspect it will last 3 times as long as a cheap charger.
i consider the mc3000 to be a smart investment..

 

[dripster]

To the average vaper, the benefit of all the extra features tends to be very limited at best.
Plus, I suspect putting 3 identical Nitecore UMS4 chargers in rotation gives a much more than reasonable chance of at least one of them lasting longer compared to using just a single SkyRC MC3000.
I consider the MC3000 to be a smart investment only to those who really need/want at least some of the extra features, which is still something that most vapers simply don't.