Test/review of Aspire ICR18650 1800mAh (Black-yellow)

Aspire ICR18650 1800mAh (Black-yellow)







Official specifications:

  • Nominal capacity: 1800mAh

  • Nominal voltage: 3.7V

  • Maximum discharge current: 40A




Aspire has some very good 18350 cells, bot how about their low capacity 18650 cell?











The discharge curve matches fairly well and capacity is constant up to at least 30A, but the 30A curve looks to be at the limit for the cell.







At 30A the cell gets very hot.















Conclusion

The capacity on this battery is rather low, but the performance up to 20A is good, 30A is at the limit.



Notes and links

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

Disappointing after the surprisingly great performance matched with large capacity of their 18350 cells.

I believe the current performance is rather good, but 18650 is the premium size (or was, the 20xxx/21xxx looks to be the new premium size), i.e. all the big manufacturers have made their best cells in that size.

Yeah, I know the best manufacturers have made the best 18650 cells already. What I was hoping is that “the rest of the world” AKA Aspire in this case, would have made a comparable cell to the great 18650’s for a lower price. I’m just surprised and saddened that it seems the 18650 tech has been at its peak forever, yet nobody can catch up and give us a better price.

P.S. I agree current performance seems good for this cell, but at the price of capacity less than 2Ah? Not really great. :frowning:

Wassup fellows?

A lil off-topic question aimed at electronic device experts like ;-) Henrik, though battery related too. I am to convert an old incandescent Petzl headlamp to led. Can I use a battery management system circuit as an electronic switch? It seems to me that if I install a little switch in the anode to P+/B+ input line of the BMS, it should work right, doesn't it?

Should be an extremely reliable switch, no need for it to handle any significant amount of power.

Cheers :-)

P.S.: not a bad battery, but LG HB6 cells are pretty inexpensive and handle current a little bit better despite the slightly lower capacity.