18650 Battery Test

[old4570]

Greetings,

Apologies for this question but I just need to confirm as I'm not thoroughly sure about the charts.

For a single 18650 high drain (about 2700 mah) MC-E light, what brand/model would be best?

Thanks,
Moses

The IMR is best .. Batt No 8

Just check the SSC P7 Test , ....

 

[dudu84]

Subscribed!
Waiting for graphs to be reposted :thanks:

Very informative comparisons
One question, do you know if the eagletac cell will fit in Pila IBC charger?

 

[Rod911]

I did a very rudimentary test on the weekend testing out the capacity of my 18650 cells and the waterproofness of my T10L.

The ingredients were:

• EagleTac T10L
• Soshine 2800mAh
• Ultrafire 2600mAh (the "pink/red' set, but the more expensive version)
• TrustFire 2400mAh "red and black" set
• A bucket of water

According to EagleTac, the T10L is supposed to do 2 hours in high mode. So my goal was to see if I can keep the light powered on high for 2 hours.

So I turned the light on and dropped it in a bucket of water and the results are as follows:

Battery   |   Starting Voltage   |    Duration
---------------------------------------------------
Soshine   |   4.09v              |   1 hour 55 mins
Ultrafire |   4.13v              |   1 hour 51 mins
TrustFire |   4.12v              |   1 hour 59 mins

As a side note, once the light turned off, I checked their voltages. Both the Soshine and Ultrafire cells had a 0v reading, whereas TrustFire had 3.29v and 3.36v after 30 minutes of rest. The Soshine and Ultrafire cells both were able to be charged full again, with what seems, to be no ill affects.

 

[berry580]

What about this Trustfire?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20392

i got 1hr 47min on max with it on my Jetbeam Jet-III PRO Ti with the light in water for cooling.

When it turned off automatically, it was at 3.5V, then eventually went back up to 3.55V after a few minutes. I was a little surprised, I thought the cut off is at 2.75V(?).

 

[Rod911]

What about this Trustfire?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20392

Those were the same TrustFires that I tested. There are two red/pink Ultrafire varieties over in DX, and the set I bought were these.

As for the red/pink Ultrafires used in the Light-Reviews test, they were bought off from KD according to Mev in that thread. Therefore, I have no idea whether they are the same version that I got from DX, or this version which is the cheaper, and allegedly by DX themselves, has an incorrect capacity label.

 

[jirik_cz]

I was a little surprised, I thought the cut off is at 2.75V(?).

In fact, the cut off is even lower, somewhere around 2.5V. But the cell voltage will bounce up after you remove the load.

 

[dudu84]

I did a very rudimentary test on the weekend testing out the capacity of my 18650 cells and the waterproofness of my T10L.

The ingredients were:

• EagleTac T10L
• Soshine 2800mAh
• Ultrafire 2600mAh (the "pink/red' set, but the more expensive version)
• TrustFire 2400mAh "red and black" set
• A bucket of water

According to EagleTac, the T10L is supposed to do 2 hours in high mode. So my goal was to see if I can keep the light powered on high for 2 hours.

So I turned the light on and dropped it in a bucket of water and the results are as follows:

Battery   |   Starting Voltage   |    Duration
---------------------------------------------------
Soshine   |   4.09v              |   1 hour 55 mins
Ultrafire |   4.13v              |   1 hour 51 mins
TrustFire |   4.12v              |   1 hour 59 mins

As a side note, once the light turned off, I checked their voltages. Both the Soshine and Ultrafire cells had a 0v reading, whereas TrustFire had 3.29v and 3.36v after 30 minutes of rest. The Soshine and Ultrafire cells both were able to be charged full again, with what seems, to be no ill affects.

I guess the Soshine cell will have similar runtime to TrustFire if it's also charged to 4.12V. I hope those TF cells will have consistent quality as it's been tested.
I have a pair of gray TF protected, advertised 2400 mAh, but when compared with AW17670 1600mAh cells, they have only ~1900-2000mAh true capacity and the protection circuits just don't work :/

 

[berry580]

Those were the same TrustFires that I tested. There are two red/pink Ultrafire varieties over in DX, and the set I bought were these.

As for the red/pink Ultrafires used in the Light-Reviews test, they were bought off from KD according to Mev in that thread. Therefore, I have no idea whether they are the same version that I got from DX, or this version which is the cheaper, and allegedly by DX themselves, has an incorrect capacity label.

I was actually replying to the OP, but thank you for replying anyway, and a SPECIAL THANK YOU for showing me (and others) the link to that 18650 shoot out. lovecpf
That'll help a lot... never knew the pink TF 18650 are so good... =O
I'll know what to buy next time, as I just ordered a couple of UF and TFs from DX yesterday. *sigh*

In fact, the cut off is even lower, somewhere around 2.5V. But the cell voltage will bounce up after you remove the load.

hhmm....... I've never used a 18650 till its triggered to turn off automatically before, its my first time with the J-III PRO Ti.
But i thought going too low isn't good for the battery, how low is too low? As i always thought its not good to go under 2.75V
I once had an unprotected RCR123 on my iTP C6T, and apparently one battery drained faster than the other and one of it just went too low and couldn't be recharged again...

I guess the Soshine cell will have similar runtime to TrustFire if it's also charged to 4.12V. I hope those TF cells will have consistent quality as it's been tested.
I have a pair of gray TF protected, advertised 2400 mAh, but when compared with AW17670 1600mAh cells, they have only ~1900-2000mAh true capacity and the protection circuits just don't work :/

Well clearly their quality isn't that consistent. Otherwise no one would be buying AW's.
As you could see, runtimes with AW and UF/TF aren't different enough to explain the magnitudes of the price differerentials. So i suppose what's left is brand image, QC, and maybe AW batteries uses better materials hence safer and degrade at a lower rate (?).

 

[dudu84]

Well clearly their quality isn't that consistent. Otherwise no one would be buying AW's.
As you could see, runtimes with AW and UF/TF aren't different enough to explain the magnitudes of the price differerentials. So i suppose what's left is brand image, QC, and maybe AW batteries uses better materials hence safer and degrade at a lower rate (?).

I believe initial capacity doesn't mean everything. A good quality cell will retain decent capacity after hundreds of cycles but "cheap" batteries will store significantly less energy after some use, can be as few as <20 cycles? <50 cycles?

The new TF and UF 18650s came out not long ago so there is no concrete data on them yet, but I do hope they hold up well after ~100 cycles or so, they'd have great values for the money

 

[old4570]

Ok , replaced the missing runtime graph ...

The graphs I had for max current delivery are gone , but I did list them .

 

[berry580]

I'd love to see where did you get your <20-50 numbers from, why can't it be as few as 2 cycle or 5 cycles?

Just out of interest, what concrete data about these li-ion are you talking about? Where are the concretes to justify the AWs selling at a 400% premium?

I believe initial capacity doesn't mean everything. A good quality cell will retain decent capacity after hundreds of cycles but "cheap" batteries will store significantly less energy after some use, can be as few as <20 cycles? <50 cycles?

The new TF and UF 18650s came out not long ago so there is no concrete data on them yet, but I do hope they hold up well after ~100 cycles or so, they'd have great values for the money

 

[dudu84]

Just out of interest, what concrete data about these li-ion are you talking about? Where are the concretes to justify the AWs selling at a 400% premium?

My bad, I shouldn't have used the word "concrete". I meant to say until more cpfers share their positive experiences with those new cells, it's a little hasty to conclude whether they are as good as AW cells or not. AW cells have been around for much longer and they've earned good reputations, while there has been more than a few mixed reports of those "fire" cells (earlier cells, not TF black& red for ex) on both cpf and DX's forums.

I'd love to see where did you get your <20-50 numbers from, why can't it be as few as 2 cycle or 5 cycles?

I've seen some posts on cpf regarding how capacity can diminish quickly after a small number of cycles with the "cheap" Li-on cells but I can't pinpoint you precisely to any of them that I still remember (hopefully some other members can chime in here).
However, if you also consider 0mAh as an extreme case of reduced capacity, then the number 20 or 50 are still plenty conservative, as I have experienced cells no longer take charge after being used once and there are certainly complaints on DX about how the "fire" cells are dead after a few charges.

I'm not arguing all those "fire" cells are bad, it's just that they can be inconsistent

 

[crawler]

hey guys! NEWBIE here.......please bare with me. I recently purchased a Romisen RC-F4 and a Romisen RC-G4........recommended by a friend and got good reviews from CPF. my one question..........is there a recommended battery for these lights? i have tried CR123As and they work pretty good...............just curious if they can be better without any modifications. i appreciate any info on this....thanks a bunch!

 

[dudu84]

hey guys! NEWBIE here.......please bare with me. I recently purchased a Romisen RC-F4 and a Romisen RC-G4........recommended by a friend and got good reviews from CPF. my one question..........is there a recommended battery for these lights? i have tried CR123As and they work pretty good...............just curious if they can be better without any modifications. i appreciate any info on this....thanks a bunch!

Hi Crawler, :welcome:
The RC-F4 circuit works best with 2x CR123A/RCR123 batteries. Even though it also works with 1x 17670 battery, it's unlikely that you can find a 17670 cell that fits into RC-F4 tube without modifications. My AW 17670 cells, with stickers peeled off, are still too big for both of my RC-F4s. The RC-G4 on the other hand, has a larger body tube that can accommodate some 18650 cells. Unprotected 18650 cells will probably fit, but not recommended. I have 2 grey Trustfire 2400mAh, 1 cell is too large while the other fits beautifully, of course 17670 cells will fit in RC-G4.

I'm not sure what model of RC-G4 you have, mine is single mode and similar to my RC-F4, it is not as bright on 1x 3.7v battery as 2x 3.0v/3.7v batteries but the runtime will be longer.

 

[crawler]

i ordered these from DX.........

Description​

UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger PLOP
Item #: 1251​

TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery (2500mAh 2-Pack Blue)
Item #: 5790​

Ultrafire 3.7V 1800mAh LC 17670 Protected Battery 2-Pack
Item #: 3301​

i want to try them out to see if i can get longer run-times with the rechargeables. i guess it wouldn't be a bad idea if i got a set of RCR123s/16340s. only issue would be when i use them in the RC-G4.....too much wiggle room for the batteries inside the tube.

i'm assuming i am supposed to get longer run time from the 18650 / 17670 route.....not brighter than having 2 CR123s / RCR123s?

i am already impressed with the size and brightness of the F4.......very handy when under a house or in an attic......lots of light means the creepy crawlers go hide........i haven't tried the G4 in comparison to the F4 yet though. what type of results should i expect?

 

[dudu84]

i'm assuming i am supposed to get longer run time from the 18650 / 17670 route.....not brighter than having 2 CR123s / RCR123s?

i am already impressed with the size and brightness of the F4.......very handy when under a house or in an attic......lots of light means the creepy crawlers go hide........i haven't tried the G4 in comparison to the F4 yet though. what type of results should i expect?

RC-F4 and RC-G4 will be brighter on 2x CR123/ RCR123 than on 1x 17670 (also 18650 for RC-G4). I did a runtime test for RC-F4 on a 17670 long time ago so I don't remember precisely, but I know the runtime will be easily over 2 hours. The 17670 cells from DX might NOT fit into your RC-F4 (you may need to replace the plastic wrap with sticky tape).

Both RC-F4 and RC-G4 have very similar, if not the same, outputs on 2x CR123A/RCR123 batteries.

 

[BirdofPrey]

I'm wanting to get some more eagletac batteries (toasted mine in a wash/dry cycle) but the source I used last time shows them as out of stock and I know they are discontinueing the eagletac line of flashlights so perhaps batteries too.

Anyone now of a good place to purchase these?

 

[Toohotruk]

HERE.

 

[BirdofPrey]

Thank you very much sir.

 

[Toohotruk]

No problem!


Mike at PTS is a great guy, you won't regret doing business with him. :thumbsup:


Oh, and if you set up an account and let Mike know you're from CPF, you get a discount...

You can see details of the discount HERE.