SilverFox
Flashaholic
This has been a long time coming, but here it is. I have finally put enough data together to present a comparison of some of the Li-Ion cells that are available. This will be an ongoing project and I will add cells as I get them.
I would like to acknowledge Mike at Pacific Tactical Solutions for the MicroFire and Wolf Eyes cells, Jon Burly for the Pila cells, AW for the AW cells, and Codeman for a variety of R-CR123 cells.
Here is some data to review…
MicroFire
Pila
Wolf Eyes
A while back, Pila and Wolf Eyes batteries were basically the same. Since Pila has re-designed their cells, the question has come up as to whether they are still the same as the Wolf Eyes. It appears that the 300 and 600 cells are different from the old Pila 150 and 168 cells.
Some have observed that their lights that would work with the old Pila cells, no longer work with the new Pila cells. It appears that the new Pila cells have a PTC that has a little bit lower shut off value than the old Pila or the Wolf Eyes cells.
The cells used for the MicroFire, Pila, Wolf Eyes, AW, and LG tests were all charged on the new Pila IBC charger.
AW
LG
Tenergy
Xpea sent me a Samsung ICR 18650 28A cell to check out. These didn't quite live up to their advertised 2800 mAh capacity, but they seem to be strong performers. At 6 amps the cell was heating up a lot, so I stopped testing there.
Here is the Samsung data
Icantsee sent me some Emoli cells to check out. These are 26700 size, so they are a little larger than what we have been used to, but if you can figure out a way to use them, they are solid performers. 15 amps is no problem for these cells, and you can push them harder. At 20 amps they started to heat up, so I stopped there. These are also referred to as Molicells, and I believe they are the IMR26700 cells. Milwaukee tools use these cells in their 28 volt tools. They are Lithium Manganese Oxide, so they are more tolerant of overcharge. Here is the Molicell press release for these cells.
In the press release, they are listed as 3000 mAh capacity, but the cells that I tested had 2900 mAh on them, I think. Perhaps Icantsee can check that out when he gets his cells back.
Thanks Icantsee.
Here is the Emoli data
Here is some R-CR123 data...
LightHound
AW
BatteryStation
Powerizer
It has come to my attention (thanks Chevrofreak and Flea Bag) that the graphs of the R-CR123 tests are difficult to compare because of the difference in Y axis ranges on the graphs. Looking at the graphs without paying close attention to the voltage scale, it would appear that the AW cells fall off drastically, compared to the Powerizer cells.
The Y axis of the graphs is selected to zoom in as much as possible on the data, yet still allow the legend to be read without overlapping the graph lines. As more tests are combined in a single graph, the legend size grows. To accommodate the larger legend size, the Y axis is extended.
I apologize for any confusion resulting from this.
Here is a comparison graph of the R-CR123 cells tested above utilizing the same Y axis scale.
Tom
I would like to acknowledge Mike at Pacific Tactical Solutions for the MicroFire and Wolf Eyes cells, Jon Burly for the Pila cells, AW for the AW cells, and Codeman for a variety of R-CR123 cells.
Here is some data to review…
MicroFire
Pila
Wolf Eyes
A while back, Pila and Wolf Eyes batteries were basically the same. Since Pila has re-designed their cells, the question has come up as to whether they are still the same as the Wolf Eyes. It appears that the 300 and 600 cells are different from the old Pila 150 and 168 cells.
Some have observed that their lights that would work with the old Pila cells, no longer work with the new Pila cells. It appears that the new Pila cells have a PTC that has a little bit lower shut off value than the old Pila or the Wolf Eyes cells.
The cells used for the MicroFire, Pila, Wolf Eyes, AW, and LG tests were all charged on the new Pila IBC charger.
AW
LG
Tenergy
Xpea sent me a Samsung ICR 18650 28A cell to check out. These didn't quite live up to their advertised 2800 mAh capacity, but they seem to be strong performers. At 6 amps the cell was heating up a lot, so I stopped testing there.
Here is the Samsung data
Icantsee sent me some Emoli cells to check out. These are 26700 size, so they are a little larger than what we have been used to, but if you can figure out a way to use them, they are solid performers. 15 amps is no problem for these cells, and you can push them harder. At 20 amps they started to heat up, so I stopped there. These are also referred to as Molicells, and I believe they are the IMR26700 cells. Milwaukee tools use these cells in their 28 volt tools. They are Lithium Manganese Oxide, so they are more tolerant of overcharge. Here is the Molicell press release for these cells.
In the press release, they are listed as 3000 mAh capacity, but the cells that I tested had 2900 mAh on them, I think. Perhaps Icantsee can check that out when he gets his cells back.
Thanks Icantsee.
Here is the Emoli data
Here is some R-CR123 data...
LightHound
AW
BatteryStation
Powerizer
It has come to my attention (thanks Chevrofreak and Flea Bag) that the graphs of the R-CR123 tests are difficult to compare because of the difference in Y axis ranges on the graphs. Looking at the graphs without paying close attention to the voltage scale, it would appear that the AW cells fall off drastically, compared to the Powerizer cells.
The Y axis of the graphs is selected to zoom in as much as possible on the data, yet still allow the legend to be read without overlapping the graph lines. As more tests are combined in a single graph, the legend size grows. To accommodate the larger legend size, the Y axis is extended.
I apologize for any confusion resulting from this.
Here is a comparison graph of the R-CR123 cells tested above utilizing the same Y axis scale.
Tom
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