In the past, my Zanflare C4 measured 18650 battery capacities higher (by about 10%) than datasheet specifications, and (unfortunately) the bias was not consistent.
It was necessary to firmly press the contact slides firmly against the batteries to get the LiitoKala Lii-500 to work with 18350 batteries.
A 500 mA charge and discharge rate was used with all three chargers.Edited: A 500 mA charge and discharge rate was used with the Zanflare C4 and MiBoxer C2-4000. However the charge rate on the LiitoKala was set at 500 mA so the discharge rate was only 250 mA.
The average of the MiBoxer C2-4000 and LiitoKala Lii-500 measurements is about 970 mAh. The Zanflare C4 measurements were not considered because of its optimistic bias. The 970 mAh average obtained is about 20% short of the labeled 1200 mAh capacity.
The anode on the Orbtonics IMR 18350 battery looks similar to the KeepPower IMR 18350, and both have the same performance specifications. But the charge capacity of the KeepPower 18350 was measured by HKJ to be 1124 mAh (see table below), which is about 15% higher than the measured capacity of the Orbtronics 18350 battery.
Edited: Reference the LiiTokala Lii-500 NOR test. If a 500 mA charge rate is selected by the user, then a 250 mA discarge rate is automatically selected by the charger. If a 700 mA or 1000 mA charge rate is selected by the user, then a 500 mA discarge rate is automatically selected by the charger.
A 500ma discharge test doesn’t tell you a whole lot about how the battery will perform in most flashlights. It gives a indication of capacity but with higher current draw the capacity can decrease quickly. Notice in your chart above “Test Current (A)” the capacity at 3 amps is only 42 mah less than at .5 amps, that with the high capacity is what makes the KeepPower Aspire 18350 special. Not all batteries behave this way to high current loads. If you can test it at 3 amps or more might give a better indication. From your numbers though it doesn’t look like the same battery as the KeepPower or Aspire.
When you ran the discharge test was the battery at rest for awhile or did you charge it up to 4.2v then start the test?
What was the cut off voltage set at in your test?
Thanks for the good info. I will be using these batteries to power my BLF A6 when the 18350 tubes arrives. I will try to figure out a way to test for voltage sag in the batteries in Turbo mode (with the A6 drawing about 5 A). My testing resources so far are (1) two 6500K A6 flashlights, (2) two 18350 tubes on the way (3) Samsung 30Q batteries, (4) a multimeter and (5) a Lux Meter on the way. If the KeepPower is the gold standard for 18350 batteries, I may have to get a couple of these as well to do a side-by-side comparison.
The table below indicates what I recall about the batteries being charged and rested before starting the capacity tests. Why is this important? I will try to pay closer attention next time.
The cut off voltage for these three chargers is automatic. That is to say, they cannot be manually set. I have observed that cut-off voltage for the MiBoxer C2-4000 is about 2.8 V and the cut-off voltage for the Zanflare C4 is about 2.75. I have not observed the cut-off voltage for the LiitoKala Lii-500.
Battery partially charged and rested before starting the NOR test.
Battery fully charged. Can't recall if it was rested or unrested.
In the past, my Zanflare C4 measured 18650 battery capacities higher (by about 10%) than datasheet specifications. Unfortunately, this bias is not consistent.
It was necessary to firmly press the contact slides firmly against the batteries to get the LiitoKala Lii-500 to work with 18350 batteries.
A 500 mA charge and discharge rate was used with all three chargers.Edited: A 500 mA charge and discharge rate was used with the Zanflare C4 and MiBoxer C2-4000. However the charge rate on the LiitoKala was set at 500 mA so the discharge rate was only 250 mA.
I am looking for a new charger to replace my Zanflare C4. Do you have one you like? Thanks!
BTW, I don't think the Aspire 1200 mAh 18350 battery is available anymore.
Just curious, how did you accomplish this on the Lii-500?
The reason I ask is that if you run Nor Test and set a 500 mA charge rate, it will automatically use 250 mA during the discharge phase (even though the display will continue to show 500 mA).
Vapcell is available, which is the same cell with a new wrapper:
BTW, my Aspires tested at 1101 mAh on the Lii-500 using 500 mA discharge current.
Pete, thanks for the great observation about the LiitoKal Lii-500. If a 500 mA charge rate is selected by the user, then a 250 mA discarge rate is automatically selected by the Lii-500 during a NOR test. To get a 500 mA discarge rate, then a 700 mA or 1000 mA charge rate must selected. Therefore, the results of my Lii-500 NOR test on the Orbtronics 18350 battery are somewhat skewed compared to the other two chargers..
Please note that when the charger is in the capacity detection mode, the discharge mode is divided into 2 types.
When you choose the charging current (300mah, 500mah), the system recognizes the discharging current is the 250mah automatically.
When you choose the charging current (700mah,1000mah), the system recognize the discharging current is the 500mah automatically.
But the unit used for current used is wrong. It should be mA instead of mah .
The manual I got with my Li-500 was worthless on this topic.
Thanks also for the tip on the Vapcell 18350 1100 mA battery. I may check them out if I really get into the 18350 form factor with my BLF A6 - as well as the KeepPower IMR 18350 1200 mA battery.
Yeah, I bought two 18350 cells to experiment with a shorty Convoy S2+ as well as BLF A6 (Astrolux S1). I was hoping they’d be usable as headlamps, clipped to a hat, but they’re still too bulky/heavy for that purpose, so I ended up not using them much. Can’t beat something like a Nitecore TIP for wearing on the brim of a hat - it weighs almost nothing.
If your needing to check battery capacity plus charge cells then I would recommend a hobby charger.
Most, even the cheaper ones, can do a 3 to 5 amp discharge test.
I use a icharger 208b but this is a little on the expensive side just for general purpose capacity test.
I’m not up to date on exactly what plug in chargers are capable of at the moment. I’m sure they are a few members who could chime in, and recommend one. I’m old school, and the hobby charger is still the most versatile when it comes to running discharge test in my opinion.
A decent one can be had for about the same price as some of the plug in chargers. Some hobby chargers are capable of data logging using logview (software). Out puts a graph similar to HKJ’s graphs that can be saved and used in post.
.
There is a bit of a learning curve though and not for everyone, but if your becoming more serious about testing batteries to share your findings or just your own personal use, I think its the next best step up.
Here’s a old log file I had saved on imgur. It’s a AA duracell (rewraped eneloop) at a 3amp discharge.
I like to EDC a flashlight in a small belt holster like this, but a full sized A6 is a little too large for my requirements. So I'm going to try it in the 18350 configuration. My TG06S currently works fine as an EDC flashlight, but I just want to try something different. (I'm also looking forward to trying the FW3A for EDC - eventually.)
