I got a Fenix PD32UE a few weeks ago after reading on here how awesome it is. And I must agree. When playing around with batteries, I had some results that surprised me. As my knowledge on lithium batteries is intermediate, I am curious what this means to a forum of so many battery experts.
I had a few AW 2000mAh IMRs I use for an eCig and an AW 18650 ICR 3.7v @ 2600 mAh. This ICR was the newer chemistry. I then purchased a AW ICR 3.6v @ 3400 mAh (12.2 WH) which was also the newer chemistry. Today I realized the 3400 is ever so slightly longer than the 2600 and that the top terminals look a little different.
I decided to do a 4 hour runtime test. I would let the PD32 automatically shift to lower brightness levels progressively as the time continued. All of them started around the 4.2 topped charge.
At 4 hours, I recorded this:
AW 18650 ICR @ 3400 mAh = 3.65v
AW 18650 ICR @ 2600 mAh = 3.75v
AW 18650 IMR @ 2000 mAh = 3.43v
None of them showed brightness loss at any level which makes sense given their end voltages and the Fenix's circuitry. However, I was surprised that the 2600 ICR had a higher voltage than the 3400 ICR. What are people's take on this? I understand that the raw mAh ratings are not end-alls, but I was under the impression that the 2600 and 3400 AW batteries were the same Panasonic NCR cells? (I am like 95% sure the 3400 is a Panasonic NCR18650B???)
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While on this topic, does anyone have a comparison of the different AW 18650 cells? They make an ICR rated at 2200, 2600, 2900, 3100, and 3400 mAh, respectively. Are there any advantages of certain ones of these over others? (for example, at the time I got my 2600, I was told the chemistry in it is newer than the 3100 and for most of the usable running time, the 2600 delivered more power than the 3100 and so I purchased that).
I had a few AW 2000mAh IMRs I use for an eCig and an AW 18650 ICR 3.7v @ 2600 mAh. This ICR was the newer chemistry. I then purchased a AW ICR 3.6v @ 3400 mAh (12.2 WH) which was also the newer chemistry. Today I realized the 3400 is ever so slightly longer than the 2600 and that the top terminals look a little different.
I decided to do a 4 hour runtime test. I would let the PD32 automatically shift to lower brightness levels progressively as the time continued. All of them started around the 4.2 topped charge.
At 4 hours, I recorded this:
AW 18650 ICR @ 3400 mAh = 3.65v
AW 18650 ICR @ 2600 mAh = 3.75v
AW 18650 IMR @ 2000 mAh = 3.43v
None of them showed brightness loss at any level which makes sense given their end voltages and the Fenix's circuitry. However, I was surprised that the 2600 ICR had a higher voltage than the 3400 ICR. What are people's take on this? I understand that the raw mAh ratings are not end-alls, but I was under the impression that the 2600 and 3400 AW batteries were the same Panasonic NCR cells? (I am like 95% sure the 3400 is a Panasonic NCR18650B???)
==========================
While on this topic, does anyone have a comparison of the different AW 18650 cells? They make an ICR rated at 2200, 2600, 2900, 3100, and 3400 mAh, respectively. Are there any advantages of certain ones of these over others? (for example, at the time I got my 2600, I was told the chemistry in it is newer than the 3100 and for most of the usable running time, the 2600 delivered more power than the 3100 and so I purchased that).
