14500 Li-ion Batteries

Recently my interest has shifted toward small lights that produce a lot of lumens using a single 14500. My initial experience with that type of battery was with Klarus 3.7V, 750 mA-hr with the built-in micro usb recharging port. I also have a couple of the newer version that is rated 3.7V, 800 mA-hr of charge.

Being male, I have the "more is better" tendency, so when I decided to expand my stock of 14500, I looked at some other options. I found ON THE WAY brand on amazon that was rated for 2000 mA-hr, 3.7V, so I decided to try a few. I have been disappointed with the run time of the ON THE WAY, which I estimate is about half what I get from one of my Klarus batteries in the same light(s).

So is this likely to be an issue with a crappy off brand not meeting its advertised specification of how much charge it will hold, or perhaps a super high (relative to the Klarus) self-discharge rate, or something else?

What are the better choices for 14500 batteries?

If you have a bit of time for some research put "test/review 14500" into the search engine on here as I've typed it without the quote marks.
That will bring up HKJ's reviews of those cells. HkJ is a trusted reviewer of cells and chargers, and I don't buy anything without checking with him first.

Don't buy cells off Amazon - the chances are that they are fakes.
Always buy from a trusted supplier and always buy from a well known manufacturer.
Don't buy cells with ****fire in the name, unless it's Surefire.
If a cell has a capacity way above the average, it's not a goodun, probably a smaller cell repackaged and using sawdust to make up the bulk.

The same goes for chargers.

Anyway, do a bit of research, it will pay off in the end.
P

I've been using Efest 14500 , 800mAh batteries in a FireFly titanium light for better than 2 years.
The light is one of two of my EDC lights being used on average of 4-5 minutes a day.
The battery gets charged once a month and typically shows as still having 3.7 volts on the Nitecore D4 charger.

The only batteries I purchase via Amazon or eBay have been Eneloops and Energizer Ultimate Lithium's for my trail cameras, but those are purchased from dealers I've had a long term relationship with.

peter yetman said:

If you have a bit of time for some research put "test/review 14500" into the search engine on here as I've typed it without the quote marks.
That will bring up HKJ's reviews of those cells. HkJ is a trusted reviewer of cells and chargers, and I don't buy anything without checking with him first.

Don't buy cells off Amazon - the chances are that they are fakes.
Always buy from a trusted supplier and always buy from a well known manufacturer.
Don't buy cells with ****fire in the name, unless it's Surefire.
If a cell has a capacity way above the average, it's not a goodun, probably a smaller cell repackaged and using sawdust to make up the bulk.

The same goes for chargers.

Anyway, do a bit of research, it will pay off in the end.
P

Click to expand...

Thank you for the response and advice! I did some searching, but I got too many hits. I'll try again with test/review included.

NoNotAgain said:

I've been using Efest 14500 , 800mAh batteries in a FireFly titanium light for better than 2 years.
The light is one of two of my EDC lights being used on average of 4-5 minutes a day.
The battery gets charged once a month and typically shows as still having 3.7 volts on the Nitecore D4 charger.

The only batteries I purchase via Amazon or eBay have been Eneloops and Energizer Ultimate Lithium's for my trail cameras, but those are purchased from dealers I've had a long term relationship with.

Click to expand...

Thank you, sir! I appreciate the response!

The highest capacity 14500 that I know of is the Vapcell 1000mah. Should give you the longest run time.
HKJ's test http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...eview-of-Vapcell-ICR14500-1000mAh-(Gold)-2018

In my experience it's virtually impossible to get more than about 750-800 mah out of a 14500. Anything higher and it's likely false advertising. I would even question a 750 with built in USB as it's quite a feat to jam in the battery and charging port into the same form factor. Maybe I'm wrong or voltages are different somehow....

I have Vapcell 14500 1000mah advertised and on SkyRC MC-9000 it's confirmed 990mah...

I ran a 1 amp discharge test on the icharger with the vapcell 14500 and got 932mah. Vapcell pushed the manufacture to try to make a better cell and they succeeded. The same thing happened when Aspire pushed for a better 18350. There's not been much improvement in the smaller battery sizes for several years. They also just released a better high current 16340 cell but have yet to be tested by anyone. Vapcell tested it for 745mah at a discharge rate of 7 amps.