What is the best high capacity 18650 battery?

You can see the archived poll results on the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20221220093741/https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/72812

I donā€™t think there is one best. The 3 you list are all good high capacity cells.

Those are all good. If I had to choose it would beā€¦.

  • 1. Sanyo GAā€™s
  • 2. LG MJ1ā€™s
  • 3. Samsung 35Eā€™s

Which ever of the three you can get the cheapest is the best :stuck_out_tongue:

That confirms Virisenoxā€™s recommendation in the other post :+1: thank you! I try to find the best priceā€¦

edit

I forget to ask 1 question about driver; I have just buy a M2X-UT olight with a extension tube to have 2x18650 battery power.

How to make the light become super hot rod :slight_smile: ?? is there a good driver recommended for this light so I can get more power to xpl-hi led?? Reflector is very nice and can throw very good, but people say can boost itā€¦

sorry for asking stupid question but I donā€™t know very well electronic.

You can do one mod to boost it without replacing the driver, and that is bypassing a spring.

Steel is not a good conductor of electricity compared to copper.

In fact, on average, it has 5% the conductivity of copper.

Take 20AWG copper wire, solder it to the top of the spring, then around the spring, solder it to the bottom, and you are good.

Replacing the driver is going to be harder, so ask people to help. I canā€™t right now since I need to sleep. Ciao!

The highest capacity for 18650 is 3600mAh, not 3500

The list should look like this

  • Panasonic NCR18650G (impossible to buy)
  • LG INR18650M36 (3600mAh / 10A)
  • Samsung INR18650-36G (3600mAh / 10A)

There is no need to get too technical. Battery capacities vary based on load, temperature, etcā€¦ He just wants to buy some ā€œgoodā€ ones. No Panny B, no old ones, Ultrafires, etcā€¦

I consider the best batteries the high drain ones because I usually donā€™t run them down below 3.5v anyway. That extra capacity is lost on me, but I sure like the reduced voltage sag. :+1:

18650G is not a 3600 mAh cell unless you over-discharge it to a silly level.
See this test:
https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Evva%2018650%203600mAh%20(Black)%20UK.html
It is extremely close to 18650GA. In this test it shows higher IR (which may be due to protection) and exactly the same capacity. So really more like 3350 mAh. Actually weā€™ve seen some rewrappers (Klarus comes to mind) replacing 18650G with 18650GA in their lineup while retaining 3600 mAh marking.
https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650comparator.php
Compare discharge curves of 18650G and 18650GA at low amps, all the bumps line up.

Canā€™t speak about the others though.

Battery's capacity is defined in the IEC61960-2003 standard as the capacity at 0.2C discharge to the cut-off voltage (see datasheet) after being charged at the standard charge current (see datasheet) and left for 1-4hrs befor discharging. All this must be done at 25Ā±5Ā°C.

Of course we can charge and discharge at any current and measure the capacity as we want, but the nominal capacity according to the standard and mentioned by the manufacturers is the one i described above.

I haven't tested any of Gs so i have nothing to say about their actual capacity. Maybe Panasonic stopped its production due to such poor performance.

You get my point though, right? In real use you donā€™t get that exact 0.2C discharge, etcā€¦

So in a flashlight the capacities vary.

MrGrun just wants to avoid any duds. All those cells mentioned above are about equal in real world use. Your not going to notice an extra 100mah. :wink:

Of course you'll never feel that 100mAh in real life. But we can't measure a capacity "in real life" that's why we have standards with guides how to do that:) That's what i'm talkin' about:)

None of these BS manufacturer claim numbers are correct. Go look at a proper test done by HKJ and you will see the true capacity.

The 35E has the most mAh, there is no debate about that.

I will order several batteries end of July for me and my friend also. I just want to get the best value product. From the vote, majority say Sanyo is the best (made in Japan) I donā€™t know HKJ BS procedure testing, but I rather trust BLF users experience. I am just afraid to get fake Sanyo :expressionless:

Any recommendation for some trusted online Sanyo battery seller? (my friend stay in USA)

thank you

Get them from Liionwholesale:

I would get 4xSamsung 30Qs in high drain light scenarios, since they have lower internal resistance, and can lose less power due to heat, along with 4x NCR18650GA or LG MJ1.

Actuall HKJ is one of the best reviewer at here( and yup, he is ā€œBLF users experienceā€)

You will not get any better ā€œexperienceā€ than info from HKJ.

Here is a link to his siteā€¦. poke around & check it out. :wink:

http://lygte-info.dk/

The GA keeps a slighly higher voltage than the 35E at medium currents, like 3A, typical of 1000 lm flashlights. I think the higher voltage and total power would be useful for the buck driver that the M2X-UT seems to have.

Still since both are very close I would buy the cheaper one.

Depends what you want.

NCR18650GA has a slightly higher max amperage than the 35E.

35E, however, has a slightly longer run time at lower outputs (<0.5A and below). They are about the same at 1A.

The MJ1ā€™s are pretty similar but seems to be slightly worse.

LOL

If you had a chance to have sex with Angelina Jolie would you do that or you'd prefer to ask Brad Pitt how she does in the bed?

Having all 4 cells in my hands and a good equipment i preferred to do my own tests at the same time in the same conditions, following the IEC61960-2003 standard rather than just sitting in the sofa and posting others' tests.

HKJ has inspired me a lot and i think not only me but also hundreds or even thousands of others. King regards to him from Russia!