Li-ion Battery Safety and Shopping Guide

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
2

First of all, 99% of the graphs below are from HKJ. These were done by him, I am simply placing them in this thread for easy reference.

LiCo Cells

These batteries have the highest capacities of all Li-ion batteries. They generally are rated for up to 5 amp drain. Below I have covered the most popular cells, if there are any I should add just post below.

UR18650FM

The UR18650FM is a good battery with 2600 mah capacity. It is often found in laptop battery packs. It does a much better job of keeping a high voltage than NCR18650 series batteries. For this reason it will often give longer run times than a NCR18650A if used with a 7135 driver.

Review here.

Datasheet here.

NCR18650

This battery has a high capacity (2900 mah) but is no longer very popular as the NCR18650A/B cells have a higher capacity.

Full review here.

Datasheet here.

NCR18650A

The NCR18650A is one of the highest capacity 18650s on the market with a capacity of 3100 mah. They are discharged down to 2.5 volts, rather than the 3 volts of other cells. It is often used in lights that need the highest runtime possible.

Full review here.

Datasheet here.

NCR18650B

These are currently the highest capacity 18650s made. They are discharged down to 2.5 volts, rather than the 3 volts of other cells. If you see any cell claiming to have more than 3400 mah, they are lying. Do not buy that cell.

Full review here.

The datasheet has not been released yet.

IMR-LiMn Batteries

These batteries are great for high loads.

AW IMR 2000 mah cell

Good battery, and works fairly well up to 10 amps.

Full review here.

Unknown internal cell

AW IMR 1600 mah Cell

Extremely capable battery works for loads up to and above 20 amps, albeit at the sacrifice of run time.

Full review here.

Unknown internal cell.

CGR18650CH

A hybrid IMR cell that can go up to 10 amps, and still has a good capacity (2250 mah) for IMR batteries. This is not technically a LiMn battery, but has been placed here due to it's characteristics.

Full review here.

Internal cell is CGR18650CH datasheet is here.

UR18650W

Good cell, 1500 mah capacity does very well at high loads.

(Not HKJ)

Datasheet is here.

LiFePo4 Batteries

These batteries are much safer but at the expense of capacity and voltage. For this reason they are not very popular so no full reviews have been done.

APR18650M1

This is a LiFePo4 battery, but it can deliver very high currents. It is rated to deliver 30+ amps. Very low capacity (1100 mah) Also much safer, again due to different chemistry.

Datasheet here.

Tenergy 18650P LiFePo4

This battery is a slightly weaker version of the APR18650M1, it is only rated for 11 amps despite being the same capacity.

1200 mah LiFePo4 18650

These cells are some of the most common LiFePo4 cells, they do not have a brand name or anything of that sort. They are rated for 18 amp discharges.

Example.

1500 mah LiFePo4 18650

These are higher capacity then the previous ones, but are only rated for a 4.5 amp discharge.

Example.

3

First of all, 99% of the graphs below are from HKJ. These were done by him, I am simply placing them in this thread for easy reference.

16340

A 16340 is a battery the same size as a CR123 battery. They are also sometimes called RCR123. As described above some are 4.2 volts fully charged while others are 3.5 fully charged. Make sure your flashlight can support the type you choose.

AW IMR 16340 (LiMn)

This battery is good for lights that need high amounts of current from a 16340.

Obviously due to the size it can only supply a maximum of 2 amps without losing a large amount of capacity.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell

AW 16340 750 mah Protected (LiCo)

This battery has a high capacity, but only at loads below 1 amp. In general, the IMR battery will be better.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

AW LiFePo4 500 mah 16340

These are very safe batteries, but have a much lower capacity and a lower voltage. For this reason they are not very popular.

18350

The 18350 is used in lights such as the L2M. It is 2mm thicker than a CR123 cell so it will most likely not fit in lights meant for CR123 batteries.

AW 18350 IMR

The 18350 IMR is a great battery and can handle loads up to 5 amps while still having a 700 mah capacity.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Trustfire Protected 18350 1200 mah-LiCo

These are protected LiCo batteries, while they do have a higher capacity than the IMR version they most likely do not do as well at higher currents. No tests have been done on them so far.

14500

The 14500 is used to replace AA batteries, it has a much higher voltage than AA batteries so do not use a 14500 unless it is specified that it will work.

AW 600 mah 14500 IMR-LiMn

This battery handles loads up to 3 amps very well.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

AW 14500 750 mah-LiCo

This cell does well up until the 2 amp point, at 3 amp loads the IMR cell would most likely perform better.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Intl-Outdoor Protected 840 mah 14500

This is the highest capacity 14500 at an approximate 800 mah capacity. Like the above battery it will do well up to the 2 amp point, but much above that and an IMR cell may be better.

Full review here.

Internal cell is UR14500P, datasheet is here.

10440

These cells are the size of a AAA battery. As is to be expected they have a higher voltage. Do not use these in your AAA light unless it is specified that it will work.

AW 10440 LiCo Unprotected 350 mah

This battery has a tiny 350 mah capacity, which is less at any significant current draw. It can only handle draws up to .5 amps.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Efest IMR 10440 350 mah

Like all 10440 batteries it has a tiny capacity, about equal to the above one. But it can handle currents up to 2 amps.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell

16650/17650

The 16650 is meant to be a replacement for lights that run on 2 CR123 batteries. It has a lower voltage at 4.2 volts versus the 6 volts of the CR123s. Some lights are compatible but not all are.

Keeppower Protected LiCo 16650 2000 mah

This battery can handle currents up to 2 amps reliably, but due to the protection tripping in between 2 and 3 amps it is not as capable as it could be. It also has to be charged up to 4.3 volts to get full capacity.

Full review here.

UR16650ZT inside, datasheet is here.

Sanyo UR16650ZT LiCo 2100 mah

This battery has to be charged up to 4.3 volts for full capacity. It can only handle currents up to 3 amps.

Full review here.

Datasheet here.

Eagletac 17650 1600 mah LiCo

This battery has a lower capacity, and can only handle currents up to 2 amps.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

18500

Two of these are used to replace 3 CR123 batteries. They are thicker than CR123 batteries, but do have a similar voltage. (2*4.2=8.4; 3*3=9)

Keeppower 18500 1500 mah LiCo-Protected

This battery can handle currents up to 5 amps without a problem.

Full review here.

UR18500F inside, datasheet is here.

UR18500F 1620 mah capacity LiCo

This is the same battery used in the above battery, except it is not protected. For that reason I reused the same graph.

Full review here.

Datasheet is here.

4

First of all, 99% of the graphs below are from HKJ. These were done by him, I am simply placing them in this thread for easy reference.

All of the below batteries are ones bigger than 18650.

26650

These are the same diameter (approximately) as a C sized battery, and the same length as a 18650. For this reason they are often used in C maglite mods, along with in lights that want a longer runtime than a 18650.

A123 26650 2500 mah LiFePo4

This battery can supply extremely high currents but at the cost of capacity, it is rated for a 70 amp continuous discharge.

Full review here.

Datasheet here.

Keeppower 26650 4000 mah LiCo Protected

This battery can handle currents up to 7 amps, but there is variation in the batteries.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Trustfire 26650 5000 mah LiCo Protected

This battery is one of the few good fire brand batteries. It does well up to the 5 amp load, and it would be a good idea to keep the load under that level. There is a small variation in batteries.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

King Kong ICR26650 4000 mah

This is one of the few batteries where the true capacity exceeds the marked capacity. It does well up until 10 amps, all while having over a 4000 mah capacity.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

King Kong INR26650 4000 mah

This cell also exceeds it's rated capacity, but is not as good as the ICR26650. It can handle loads up to 7 amps.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

32600

This is the exact dimension of a D cell so is a higher voltage replacement for D cells.

Ultrafire BRC32600 4000 mah LiFePo4

This cell has a lower capacity then stated, but can handle loads up to 20 amps. Due to being a LiFePo4, it does this at a low voltage.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Feilong 32600 5000 mah LiCo

This battery has not been tested yet. One can guess that it can handle loads fairly well due to the large size, but we can't know for sure.

32650

These are slightly longer than a D cell, and higher voltage.

Feilong 32650 6000 mah LiCo

This battery has not had discharge curves done, but the capacity has been tested. It handled currents up to 13 amps.

Amp Draw

 mah
1 5612
2 5580
3 5539
4 5559
5 5501
7 5404
10 5384
13 5226

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

Protected LiCo 5000 mah 32650

There are no discharge curves, but at a 3 amp discharge it tested at 4697 mah to 3 volts. At a 1 amp discharge it tested at 5191 mah. This is fairly impressive.

Full review here.

Unspecified internal cell.

26500

26500 batteries are the exact size of a C battery, but they are have a higher voltage.

26500 3000 mah LiCo

This battery has not had any tests done on it, but if the specs are true is a very good battery.

Unspecified internal cell.

5

Hi Scaru

Another good one for the “ScaruPedia” :slight_smile:

You should probably explain what IMR (Lithium-Mangan) is as you mentioning them
and that they are considered safer (as the LiFe/Lithium-Iron) because they don tend
to start a nasty fire when they are physicaly destroyed (punctured/cut/broken).
AFAIK the Lithium reacts with Cobalt but not with Iron or Mangan.
I think not going into the chemistry is probably the wrong way as thats the essential way these cells work.

As a noob in LiIon i haven’t any experience but reading here in BLF helped a lot.

Also a mild warning about Blabla-Fire-5000mAh Cells would help not to be scammed.

Thanks for your effort

Mo

6

I was getting ready to PM you about this! Perfect timing…

7

I will add some more info about IMR batteries now, I guess I will have them be a third class.

As for not going into chemistry I am trying to keep this relatively simple. I plan on explaining that LiCo are more reactive than LiMn but I see no reason to explain why. (As that requires more knowledge and discussion of bonding etc.)

The warning about xxxxfire cells will come later on when I explain what type of batteries to buy.

8

I finally know what a protection circuit looks like now!

9

Thanks scaru. You have been a busy boy lately.

10

Thanks for your posts. Must say that they answer many of my questions.

11

Osmrs! :wink:

12

Great Job scaru!!! :wink:

13

Ditto!

14

An excellent resource for those getting into the addiction.

15

First 3 comments are lists of different types of batteries along with discharge curves. <--Still in progress

Can anyone point me towards the NCR18650B datasheet?

16

Double Ditto!

17

They haven’t been seen in public yet :frowning:

But you might try asking HKJ, he often has datasheets for cells that other people haven’t even heard of :stuck_out_tongue:

Edit: and, by the way, those FAQ threads about LEDs, Li-Ions, etc are a very nice Christmas present from you to BLF community! Thanks :slight_smile:

18

Ok, thanks. That's what I was guessing. I'll send him a PM.

19

Good job, Scaru!

The only correction I'd offer is that all ***fire cells are NOT crap. Most are, granted, especially the Ultrafire offerings, but a genuine Trustfire cell is a damned good budget cell with excellent capacity and are as safe any other good Li-Ion cell.

20

I have heard people say that many times, but I have never come across any trustfire cell (or any xxxxfire cell) that is equal to any other trustfire cell. For this reason they can't be used in series. At one point I had 2 that were within 60 mah of each other, but they had drastically different internal resistances. (So in high drain lights they would not be equal)

So for that reason I would say they are crap, at least for multi-celled lights. I don't see the point in ordering them, when you can buy good brand name 2600 mah cells for only a bit more.

21

I simply don't believe in blanket statements. I only suggest that you qualify the original "crap" statement that in a multicell light they may want to avoid certain cells but some are fine in single cell lights. Otherwise it comes across like you are one of those Surefire fanboys that is convinced that any chinese light or budget light that is not a Surefire light (that is to say any light other than a Surefire) is guaranteed to fail the next time you need it or explode in your hand and kill you and your entire family.

Many of us use Trustfire cells extensively and have never had an issue with a genuine Trustfire cell. Just sayin'...