Test/review of Apexium INR18650 2600mAh (Yellow)

Apexium INR18650 2600mAh (Yellow)







Official specifications:

  • Typical capacity: 2600mAh

  • Minimum capacity: 2500mAh

  • Rated discharge capacity: 2500mAh

  • Nominal voltage: 3.6V

  • Shipping voltage: >=3.4V

  • End of charge voltage: 4.2V +/-0.05V

  • End of discharge voltage: 2.5V

  • Rated charge current: 2.6A with 0.1A cut-off

  • Rated discharge current: 0.52A

  • Maximum discharge current: 25A (35A with 80°C cut-off).

  • Cycle life: 500 cycles to 80% with 10A discharge

  • Cycle life: >=1500mAh after 250 cycles at 25A discharge and 0.52A charge.

  • Operating temperature: Charging: 0°C ~ 60°C (recommend <50°C), Discharging: –40°C ~ 60°C

  • Storage temperature: 1 month: 0°C ~ 60°C, 3 months: 0°C ~ 45°C, 1.5 year: 0°C ~ 23°C



This is a high current cell with moderate capacity.











The cells are tracking very nicely even at 30A





















Conclusion

These cell are very good at high current, they easily do 20A and can handle more.



Notes and links

The batteries was supplied by Apexium for review.

How is the test done and how to read the charts
How is a protected LiIon battery constructed
More about button top and flat top batteries
Compare to 18650 and other batteries

Thanks for the review!

Looks like a good battery,Maybe a VTC5A rewrap??

What is up with all that writing on the wrap?!!! I have never seen that before!

If I had this battery the first thing I would do is rewrap it!!,The color[yellow] and especially the book they wrote is the biggest annoyance!

EDIT: Should have checked first. The VTC5A and VTC5D BOTH have Three leafs on the positive pole, NOT Four like this battery.

I went blank,could not remember the terminology for the Positive pole sections for FT batteries,sucks getting old!

They have made their own datasheet for the battery. I do not know if this is because the manufacturer the cell (or pay somebody to do it after their receipt) or they have rewrapped an existing cell and written a datasheet for it.
The datasheet makes me believe most in the first point, but the story on the cell look more like a rewrapper preparing for detail sale.

Personally, I do not think it is a rewrap of a Sony VTC5A (the appearance of the positive pole does not match visually), nor has any major brand like Sony / Murata, Samsung SDI, LG Chem, Panasoni / Sanyo or even E-One Molicel. It looks a bit like Howell’s cells. But I did not know this model sinisterly, very powerful, keep 30A Continuous for a nominal capacity of 2600mAh is excellent even.

HKJ, may I ask you where did you get them? Where did you get them? Because frankly I would be interested in ordering them for testing.

HKJ always puts the suppliers info at the near top of the review where the battery specs are listed.

Yes, I saw it’s just write: apexium, so I was on their site, there is no place where we can buy these cells on their site and I look elsewhere to see, and nothing, so thanks anyway for your answer. But I’m not more advanced, lol.

That discharge curve shape smells like Panasonic.

Cheers ^:)

Ooh Panasonic UR18650NSX.

Knew this was a Panasonic high drainx but could not remember the name.

Sorry, it’s not a Panasonic/Sanyo UR18650NSX, please see the positive pole, it’s 4 legs, it’s unknow chinese cell productor, i think. the chinese are more better now.

Hmm this is getting really nice if that is the case then.

Thanks for the correction. À demain.

I emailed them and asked them, WHY all that writing?! They responded relatively quick. Did not answer my question but asked if I wanted some cells. I said sure…then of course they wanted to know my website address, how many I sell a month and name of company!

I told them I am a hobbyist. Waiting to hear back but DOUBT very much that they will send me a few cells!

Here is what 4 X Sanyo GA can help produce! 5000Lumen/1.05Mcd!

It is ALWAYS good to be honest and sometimes its beneficial to being wrong!!

I did not think they would give me Two samples because I am not a Kingpin Lithium Ion dealer. I told her[Amy] that I am a hobbyist and a flashaholic.

She said , “Thank you for giving us a chance to send you free samples”! Pretty soon I will have the same pull and connections as HKJ! :wink:

The reason I said “discharge curves smell like Panasonic” is because there are some HKJ reviewed cells whose discharge curve shapes are nearly equal. See, for example, Orbtronic 18650PD 2900mAh black (Panasonic NCR18650PF based) or AmpMax 18650 2900mAh black (Panasonic NCR18650?). Check 'em in HKJ's comparator. A considerable improvement (reduction) in the separator thickness and maybe composition for these cells may well be the reason for the higher discharge rate (increased surface = less internal resistance). The lesser energy density because of more space taken by the thinner separator because of way more stuff turns.

I am not saying that is this way. Just a reasonable guess.

Cheers ^:)

Lucky you wolfdog1226, those are kickass cells.

Me, on the other hand, am right now about empty handed. It's not the first time the idea of asking for help right here comes to my mind, images included. There's certain opposition within me but I know it is of no service to The Light. I even purchased one of the Convoy S2+ Copper Limited Edition hosts not that long ago, but guess I am going to have to sell it. I originally planned on making a build with an XHP50A-00-0000-0D0UG435G (≈3500K 3-step EasyWhite, 90+ CRI, top G4 bin according to datasheet; bought the last 2 pieces from Arrow about a couple months ago), textured/orange peel reflector, H1-A boost driver soldered to pill and lighted tailcap. Guess that is not realistic for me now because I am rich LoL. I have all parts, in case anyone interested.

More on this later.

Cheers

Originally posted on Mon, 09/03/2018 - 19:07. Edited for a lil fix plus addendum.

She also told me they have a USA Warehouse. They will be sending a big shipment there and they will send me my samples.

I guess if people in the USA and the dealers like them there should be easy access to obtain them.

They have close to identical voltage sag as VTC5A, even a bit better after 3.4V which I will never see!

Barkuti …

I think that
Orbtronic PD,
is
Panasonic NCR PD 2900

It seems to me that the trail of Apexium discharging looks like Aosibo’s …
Maybe ???

Good point. The trail is also quite similar to that of these no longer state of the art Panasonic cells, as I said. All of this could be because all of these cells probably share the same chemistry, being the insulator technology the major difference. The Aosibo review was published nearly 4 years ago, if both that one and the Apexium INR18650 2600mAh come from the same OEM I guess they've improved the insulator quite a lot because, at 0.25Ah point in the discharge curve, the average cell IR for the Aosibo is ΔV / ΔI = (3.875V - 3.165V) / (30 - 5) = 28.4mΩ, whereas average cell IR for the Apexium is (3.94V - 3.495V) / 25 = 17.8mΩ.

I wonder about cycle life, though.

Cheers :-)

Look at the positive pole of the apexium, it is much less curved (almost flat) on its extremities, which leaves thought that the Aosibo is a rewrap of a model from LG, Apexium as for him, does not looks like no positive pole existing in major manufacturers (Samsung, Sony / Murata, LG, Panasonic / SANYO, etc …), and more when you compare the curves of discharges at different levels of intensity between the Aosibo and Apexium, sag tensions are not at all the same (especially at high intensity, it’s more than blatant). As I have heard from my previous posts on this topic, Chinese cells have made a huge technological leap forward in terms of performance (I do not speak in any of their regularity and reliability), especially for the purpose of to impose a maximum on the vape market, for example Golisi, a recognized rewrapper, whom I had the opportunity to discuss for a moment with their technical and marketing managers, advocates the use of only manufacturing batteries and brands completely Chinese, because they found it difficult and tedious to succeed in obtaining important qunatités of Japanese and / or Korean cells of qualities (ex: Sanyo NCR20700A and NCR2070C which are very hard to obtain, since the order books of this mark are completely saturated by requests from Tesla, BOSCH, Metabowerke, DeWalt, etc … and unfortunately for an indefinite time, try to get original NCR20700A, you risk waiting really long to see indefinitely). As a result, Chinese cell manufacturers have seized the opportunity to grab a good chunk of the battery market for the high-powered vape, which is not really surprising to them. Finally, the only time I saw positive poles much like those of apexium is on cells from Howell, a Chinese manufacturer, they make cells 18650 and 20700, to my knowledge.

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