What cell is this...?

I thought I had 12 Li-Ion 18650 cells...boy was I disappointed.

I had pulled them from a medical grade battery pack at work that someone had binned. I hadn't explicitly compared or measured each cell, I had only ASSumed that they were the same size as a group of cells I had pilfered from another pack that truly were 18650s but were only 1.2V. When it came time to put them into my flashlight...they wouldn't fit.

They appear to be 19mm in diameter and about 63mm in length. It can't be a 19670, because it's shorter than the 18650 I have in my hand at the same time. They do charge well and hold that charge, but I have nothing to use them in at the moment.

The only markings on the cell is a large, dark "C", and the text QANFJ32 above the numbers 027856.

...any ideas? What the heck is the red cell?

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Now that I've done some further reading on CPF...I think I have absolutely nil idea of what I'm talking about here. Apparently what I *thought* was an 18650 is actually a 17670 size, which is the light blue battery on the right up there.

Wow I've got a lot to learn. However I'd still like knowing what the red cell is supposed to be.

Looks like a 4/3A NIMH cell to me.

Wikipedia has this nice list of battery sizes. Something that comes close is "B" size (21.5x60 mm), I quote: "Most commonly found within a European 4.5 volt lantern battery". Maybe some of such cells were used to build that battery pack. :thinking:

What voltage does it measure? Have you made any attempt to charge it? Did you check markings on the battery pack they came from?

Thanks Retro. I did check several tables including the Wiki...I did see that "B" size, but it doesn't quite seem as large in diameter as a 21.5. I need access to a set of calipers and then I will know for sure. The voltage is good, typical for a Li-Ion at 3.7/4.2. They charge nicely. As this was one of my first attempts to scrounge from a battery pack, I didn't know to check the pack for markings. I think I was a little too excited at the prospect of the "find", newbie that I am. I sincerely thought they were 18650s.

The search continues, I suppose. It would be a shame to just chuck/recycle them.

The best I can tell...the blue cell is a 17670, and the red one actually is an 18650. The blue one will fit in my 6P light, and is 2x the size of a CR123A battery, which a 17670 is reported to be. I would say the red one is ~2mm shorter than the blue one, and it is too large in diameter to fit in my 6P...roughly 1.5mm larger.

I'm learning. Slowly. Li-Ion is new territory for me.

JoeAsheville said:

...any ideas? What the heck is the red cell?

Click to expand...

NiMH batteries are made in many custom sizes for industrial applications. Just measure the dimensions and you'll know.

the 18650, 17650, 26650, 16340 etc. terminology is commonly used only for Li-Ion batteries.


the red cell in your picture does look a lot like a Li-Ion 18650.

Hi Helmut. The red cell is definitely a Li-Ion...the blue cell was just in the picture for sizing purposes and is definitely a Ni-MH.

Sorry for the confusing picture and description.

JoeAsheville said:

Hi Helmut. The red cell is definitely a Li-Ion...the blue cell was just in the picture for sizing purposes and is definitely a Ni-MH.

Click to expand...

yeah I was just gonna edit my post to include what I though about the red cell, sorry I kinda forgot that

No worries whatsoever. I'm the newbie here Thanks for lending your input.

PCC said:

Looks like a 4/3A NIMH cell to me.

Click to expand...

Duh! You were asking about the red cell and I thought you were asking about the blue one. My bad. It's an 18650, that's for sure. Not sure who the manufacturer is.

As I understand it, but I might be wrong!

A 18650 is supposed to be 18 mm wide and 65mm long
17670 is supposed to be 17 mm wide and 67mm long
16340 is supposed to be 16 mm wide and 34 mm long
Etc.

Edit: relevant info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes#Round_lithium-ion_rechargeable

Kamerat said:

As I understand it, but I might be wrong!

A 18650 is supposed to be 18 mm wide and 65mm long
17670 is supposed to be 17 mm wide and 67mm long
16340 is supposed to be 16 mm wide and 34 mm long

Click to expand...

Yes, but the diameter can easily be 0.5mm more.
Many of the batteries we uses has added button top and protection, both add to the total length. Due to this 18650 can be up to 70 mm long. In my reviews I list the sizes of a battery when I test it.

If you don't want to wait for a calipers, use a string to measure the circumference, then divide by 3.14159. (Circumference = Pi * diameter so diameter = circumference / Pi [3.14159 should be close enough])

Now THAT'S practical advice. I love the string idea.

I was able to break open a computer battery pack that had stopped charging, and extracted the cells. It turned out they were exactly the same size, and labeled "CGR18650C"...so now I'm 100% confident that the red cell in the original post is an 18650.

Great ideas being posted though. I know I'm going to like it here

I've now discovered from this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?344741-Test-Review-of-Sanyo-18650-2600mAh-(Red)

...that the red cells are Sanyo 18650. No idea other than that...the dates show 2010. A few others are from 2004, out of a really old IBM pack.

This is great stuff.