Bestinone.net IMR batteries current measurements : 18350/14500/18500

MAx current on my copy of UF-980L direct drive. All charged to 4.20-4.21V fully. It would differ in your case as it depends on the resistance of the whole system. But just a heads-up on what it can do.... The 18350 can sustain this over 3C discharge for 3 minute slowly dropping down to 2.5A and not even heat up. (it is a wee bit warm, but probably due to the heat from the LED + driver conducted to the cell - the driver surface is pretty hot). The heat is from the LED/driver, not the cell, as i tested it the light with the cell naked/exposed to air as i removed the tube.

18350 - 2.95A

14500 - 2.9A

18500 - 3.3A

Earlier i told E1320 that the 14500 can only reach 1.8x, 1.9A on my Xeno E03. After 3 cycles they still do that. I think it is because of the driver, perhaps they changed something.

But seriously after measuring lights, 2.4A won't give you much more lumens. At 1.9A it is easily at the limit already for cooling. You can use 2.4A and just get a wee bit more light after 30 seconds, and probably at the same level as another light doing 1.7A after 3 minutes. Unless you are using it at -15 deg C and in a breeze...heh.

I'll try to test the capacity soon, but for pure current discharge and subsequent heating up of the cell (dangerous), this appears to be good and real Li Mn.

WOW I am tempted to change the driver in my R5A3 XML mod from 1.8 amp to 2.8. I am definitely getting some 18350s for my 501A XML lights. Very impressive performance for the price, thanks for sharing.

E1320, if you followed bro HKJ's excellent write-up on measuring high current with DMMs at lower voltages, most probably all our figures can be thrown out of the window from a scientific/engineering standpoint. LOL! But then we are not, taken at face value and for "relative comparisons", they are ok. These cells are great.

Like i said elsewhere, P60 lights are quite crippled when doing high output due to heat, but 18350s for say a L2m XP-G or some of the 2-cell high voltage drop-ins is a good idea. but anyway from a financial standpoint they make sense. AW is $8 per 18350 so that's $16/pr, plus $4.50 shipping via First Class local in CONUS so that's 20.50 bucks. International is $6.50. This is $7.40/pr shipped internationally and I think Air mail registered tracking is free for orders above $12 or so.

Mitro measured 550mAh thereabouts for the 600mAh 14500s.

On my Fandyfire STL-V6 XM-L which takes in 2 cells 8.4V, the 18350s ran the light for 35 mins exactly. It starts off with around 1.32A and initially very slowly rises as the voltage drops. At ending voltage of 3.2V the current is 2.2A. From 1.6A to 2.2A it is pretty fast, just around 3 mins. But if you put in regular 16340, that 3 mins should be quite unhealthy.

This is something like a 10.5W light incld driver losses. I think the 800mAh rating is probably true in reality, might even be higher if you do 0.5A....remember I start off at 1.3A and majority of the time it ranges till 1.6A, not an easy load with 2C. If we are talking about 18650 Li Co-speak, this is a 6A test (!!) with the last 3 minutes up till 9A and nope i don't try to "squeeze every last drop" by discharging till 2.5V.

This cell probably beats any Li Co 16340s and can hang around high-end AW branded Li Co 16340s (750mAh) while providing massively more current, if your light can accept 18mm dia. Stuff like Solarforce MPP-1, Dereelight DBS V3 aspherics, P60s, Solarfoce L2m etc...and you want to do multi-cell for higher voltages but wanna keep the overall length short and can accept a drop in runtime. EXCELLENT STUFF!

I think a lot of this stems from the fact that it does not heat up at high currents like Li Co does and hence waste energy. When I took it out it is not much warmer than my hand, 40 deg C at most.

Hmmm....

Where would you draw the thin line of when getting LiMn instead of LiCo?

Should for example Xeno be driven only with LiMn, considering runtime is not a problem? Little less runtime, better "battery health, lifetime perhaps" and less worries about running the batt with too high currents?

www.bestinone.net seems to be down ATM :expressionless:

Hehe...that choice would depend on your personal preference. I won't feel good running Li Co over 1.5C for extended periods, preferably 1C max.

did u try 3 18350s yet on the fandy?

i have 3 16340s in the v2 but havent really tested it.

can that u80 body be purchased somewhere?

thx

Ive been hooked on BIO IMR cells since my first order arrived, I have two more orders in the mail now.

I only use them in smaller lights where i know my run times will be short and max lumens are wanted.

My MF XML drop-in's pulls 3.3A- 3.4A off of an 18650 IMR as i have 2 SF L2 lights with this setup.

My UF 501A with an R5 emitter and an IMR 18350 is 1.7A-1.8A

I did try an MF XML drop-in in the 501A and could only get 2.4A out of the 18350 cell, But it was at 3.9v at the time so that may make a difference.

Imo they are great cells if you want an extra jolt in a light you know you wont use for extended periods, We have 2x 18650 cells for that. I wont buy an AW IMR after trying these as i cant see how they could be better in any way.

A few things to be aware of:

1: On Bestinone's site they list their 18650 as 1500mAh, You will get 1400mAH cells until they get more of the 1500's in stock. Ive spoke with the Owner/CS rep and they know this and say they wont change it as they have the 1500's on order. But i did get a $2 refund on my first purchase as i wasn't happy loosing the extra capacity.

2. In dealing with Kiko who is the contact you will most likely talk to, He or she is very quick with answers and replying to emails and fixing issues. And does ship items fast, But they go threw Beijing post which is alot slower if thats possible than HK post.

I plan on doing some capacity tests but i haven't been feeling well lately but i hope to get some capacity tests and high amp runs and ill post the results up.

Right now i have my 18650 1400mAh IMR cell on my Hyperion and im gonna do a .5A test for capacity and a 3A test for how it handles high loads.

After that ill do the 18350 800mAH IMR but im not so sure it can do 3A from what i seen with a test run on the MF XML 2.8A drop-in and all the cell could push was 2.4A but it was at 3.9V also.

I have a set of 10440 IMR's in the mail for my EOS A3 Upgrade R5 and ill post results on them also.

Im doing this to show just how much a cell can push your light to its limits with just a cell swap, But like i said imo its only good for lights you plan on running for short bursts as heat build up will happen fast and also the capacity isn't high. And the extra heat on the emitter kills lumens anyhow so its counter productive to run these past 15-20 minutes imo.

Das, I think the extra heat kills lumens in under 1 min. Like i said the eyes are a poor indicator unless you are shining at far enough objects eg ones which get you 1-2 lux @ target so they do not stop down.

James, unfortunately that u80 body cannot be purchased seperately. Need to wait for someone to try with Ultrafire C8 or other close cousins like Bryinte. A lot of other lights cannot work,m like Tank007, Solarforce etc. Even the Ultrafire 980L cannot mate.

My first cycle of the 18650 IMR at .5A for capacity testing is complete. The result is 1416mAH with just stopping it at 3v, Had i taken it down too 2.5v the capacity would be much higher than the stated amount on the cell.

Ill update as the tests run, Next is a 3A test on the 18650 and then on the 18350 IMR.

The 3A test on the IMR 18650 is in and finished with a capacity of 1228mAH at this much amp draw. It seems to mimic mitro's testing on AW IMR 18650 cells and the BIO IMR 18650 cell tests. Mine are still stopped at 3A when most other testers will drain the cell further down too 2.8A and 2.5A which i find unrealistic. I do find a 3A test very relative to this cell as ive seen my MF XML drop-ins hit 3A - 3.1A for the short periods ill run them that high in fear of smoking the emitter.

Next up will be the IMR 18350 cells at .5A and im gonna do 2A as this cell will most likely be pushing XPG's and not XML's. I know i get 1.8A - 1.9A in my UF 501A with 1.5A driver and R5 emitter.

Here is mitro's test he did with the AW IMR and the BIO IMR 18650's which show mine are on the nose as his tests.

So I am probably correct with my comments. Lucky. You know lately I have been pushing somewhat big claims about this better than that etc. ... Lumens light drop due to heat, blah... And then finally this big blow of Bestinone.net excellent cells hanging around with AW cells. I just hope nobody flames me.... I guess i can take refuge that this is BLF and not CPF as it'd definitely be more "sensitive" over there. hehe....

Nice to know and have another confirmation on the Bestinone 18650 performance from another batch (you mentioned yours is 1400mAh). I was originally afraid that someone may chip in and ask "hey, are these real Li Mn in the first place, how can you be sure and who the heck is bestinone.net"?

Lastly, thanks for the hard work Das. It gets easier when hobbyists do share info and not doing double work!

I still don't think the BIO are "as good" at the AWs if you don't consider price. But when was the last time you didn't consider price? :)

These are worth every penny (minus the 10440s)

EDIT: I just ordered 2 more 18350s, 4 14500s, and a pair of 26650s. I'm really curious about the 26650s.

No problem in running the tests, I wanted them for myself also but ive been lazy and not feeling up to do them.

How do i know they are Li Mn? Several ways actually. The first clue is when my 1.5A driver running an R5 emitter starts getting 1.8A- 1.9A tailcap readings.

Secondly, My Hyperion does cell resistance (mOhm) reading and these are half of what a normal cell is, Mabey even 1/3 of the resistance a Li-Ion cell has.

I do think your a bit off in how fast heat starts making an emitter drop lumen's, As long as thermal path is good to the body it should be in minutes and not seconds.

Hehe...i am actually quite "sensitive" in all these things. But yes good thermal path...like SR3800 (esp in medium mode) and my new Fandyfire STL-V6, very happy with the performance and I probably think i am spoilt by them. The Yezl M7X XM-L is absolutely crazy, the 5mm thick head soaks up the heat like nobody's biz before dropping due to heat soak. The Fandyfire....after 3 seconds switch on and the lux stabilises, it does not drop, well it does....let me describe i reflect the light off a wall and its 1570 10 seconds, 1569 15 seconds, 1568 20 seconds.....something like that i just did it 1 minute ago. Think in terms of percentage.

But there are plenty of lights with results that are ugly and dive (it is not solely the battery voltage drop, coz I can compare with an unregulated light like M7X, and it bounces right back up fast when you switch if off and cool with ice).... but the good news is that you can't detect a smooth drop in light output and for me I can't see the diff like 20-30% unless you are doing A-B with another reference light and making sure the hotspot size are the same (or you look at the spill). For us hobbyists we try to optimise everything, take photos etc....that's the fun. heh... :)

Well I guess we all can be "coloured" by the price...heh. But if i look at your 18650 results, i'd say both cells' performance AW IMR and BIO IMR are about the same. One thing I need to say is that for 18650s i don't really see the need for IMR because there are good unprotected cells like Panasonic 2900/3100 which can dish out very good amps, the Xtar 2600 are also really good. Maybe for customs, if they need crazy amount of amps.

Propably if you went to CPF and said that there´s no reason to invest for AW and show graphs, they would say that these won´t last more than 10-20 cycles and AW is forever :D

When you ask for cycle graphs, nada...

If not a locked thread already before that.

Well, my experience with crap Ultrafire and Trustfire cells is that....they are ok. But only the crap authentic UF/TF cells, not the crap copied or mimic UF/TF cells which are recycled from laptop batteries. ROTFL. Get from MF or DX, all my crap cells are great. PCB works also, driver shorted out and the PCB cut it out within 0.5s. All my crap cells i dead short out with the multimeter, all passed multiple times....i'd rather dead short in a controlled environment multiple times with my eyes on the meter rather than it dead short itself out in an uncontrolled environment without me knowing.

Anyway I just ordered 8pcs of XTAR 18700 (Sanyos) 3 weeks ago and be done with it, fits well with my Panasonic 2900 (only use them when you are sure of the light be ready to cut it out and not tailstand unsupervised), 4 x Solarforce v2 18650 2400s. I think most are over 10 cycles now esp the Solarforce 2400 which should be nearing 20, still going strong as good as new even when testing. These China Solarforce cells cut off during charging and discharge cut out at within 0.01V standard in my regulated 2-cell lights without fail. The Trustfire flames are a bit out, but not a biggie at 0.02-0.03V for discharge. And I do stress them till 4.21V sometimes 4.22V unknowingly. Absolutely no reason why these Chinese/Jap batts would not do 100 cycles in tip top form.

The BIO cells, well i'll need to use them for 2 months, then i shall report back. :) Still a bit early to talk about longevity.

I am very interested to see the results on the 26650 testing.
Thank you for your work on this, I will be ordering some 14500’s soon.