These are supposed to last 3 years with everyday use and maintain 80% of their original capacity. They are selling them in laptop batteries now, but in not sure if they sell 18650s individually. They are much more durable in heat and supposedly will not explode. Any thoughts?
Laptop battery website (drbattery.com)
Manufacturer's website (Leyden Energy)
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/04/leyden-20110417.html
sounds good.
Anyone see a max discharge spec?
SOUNDS GREAT!
Most laptops are very, very hard on their battery packs. Take a typical 6-cell pack which is arranged 3S2P to give around 4000mAh at 10.8 or 11.V nominal. The typical PSU for these laptops is a 90W affair. Assume half of that is for charging while the other half powers the laptop. So say 45W from the cells (Mine is around 80W at full power from the battery) so that's 4-5A from the cells. But they are two sticks of three in parallel so each cell sees half of that. So we are talking about 2C from the cells - within the limits for lithium cobalt cells but still not the best for their longevity. The lithium amide (I'm guessing it is amide rather than imide BICBW) cells will, at the least have to match that.
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Just registered on their site. From the data sheet that you can then download they give a max discharge of 2C from their 18650s which are rated at 2200mAh - hence 4.4A maximum.
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Good topic. I went over that site but it doesn't really say no venting. That is my main concern with lithium cells. The discharge rate and capacity are sufficient for my needs. Great to see new battery chemistries. Go science!
Benefits
Yes the real advantage I see if the lifetime of over 1000 cycles, the ability to withstand heat well, and the safety of no pipebombs. I contacted the company to see what the price would be to do an order. I will let you know what I find out. Here is a graph that tells the story
Won't Explode ?
But what if I'm driving down the street in Miami and I'm kidnapped by Libyan Terrorists and I need to use the 18650 to Macgyver- style blow my way out of the vault.
OK - I don't know how to do that and it's an unlikely scenario.
But I've been amazed after purchasing my first 18650 Flashlight only 2 weeks ago how almost No One in any retail store including Battery Stores knows what 18650s are and now there's a new type that will even be more of a mystery.
Kidding aside - sounds really good- maybe due to better safety they will become more popular- seems more Eco Friendly than using throwaway batteries- recyclable 18650s.
Really was my first 18650 flashlight and the batteries are little powerhouses , just like I hoped.
Imagine how long a small radio would run on one charge with a 18650........~!
So if they are using them in laptops and the torch market and a few other areas are, hopefully enterprising people will break them out individually.
On this Forum alone they could sell a hundred right off the bat- so bring them on IMO.
That’s because they aren’t normally seen separately by users, but are packed away inside laptop batteries (an “N-cell” battery has a 90+% probability of having N 18650s inside) and apparently some recent cordless power-tool battery packs.
Its always good to see new chemistries making an appearance.