What is the best high capacity 18650 battery?

How many times were they cycled?
Were they all discharged and recharged by the charger?

Couple of times each (by the MC3000) when I got them a few days ago, same for the 35E two years ago (they saw very little flashlight use if any, stored at 3.7-3.9V). Just ran the 750mA test on these 4 tonight discharge maybe an hour after charge completed. Usually test at 500, but wanted to see a result before bed.

So for new cells 2% isn’t bad, 36/35=~3, and really, I don’t see a lot of capacity loss with storage, but 1 would be my guess. I have original Panasonic Bs that lost maybe 2-300mAh over many many years. Lot less than the calendar life data I see published.

Just looked at the 35E datasheet and they’re min 3350mAh with a 2.65V cutoff at .2C with C=3400 (not 3500). Can’t find a 36G datasheet yet but I presume it’s similar. FWIW, maybe nothing, the DC IR was about 55mohm for the 36G vs 45 for the 35E, but take MC3000 IR measurements with a grain of salt. I see 30-45 for 30Q/VTC6/HG2.

Maybe the improvement is mainly less voltage drop under load, hence the 10A rating instead of 8A?
This would mean the cell has higher Wh but that would not be visible form looking at mAh, a discharge graph like the ones from HKJ would be necessary.

So as far as capacity goes, they’re pretty much the same as the 35E, right? I think that’s what we were all predicting. How is this in any way sad?

Have you compared their internal resistance?

Have you measured their current output using a FET based driver?

Are they rated at 10 amp continuous? I haven’t seen any data sheets for it.

Edit, I guess datasheet aside, the stores are listing it as a 10 amp continuous cell. So that must be where the Improvement is.

I0A CDR rating vs 8A, yes. I wouldn’t pay extra for the 36G but then, I didn’t.

Argh, the MC3000 does Wh but the result is buried and I didn’t record it. I can rerun the test later but the next day or two I’m topping off 50 or so cells in anticipation of the hurricane (NC, USA).

No plans to do a FET driver test, they’ll be used in Zebralight SC600w MkIV Plus and SC64w primarily. I have a handful of budget lights, one of them probably FET, but all I’m sure of is most are 7135. Emisar D4 (XPG) OTW, that’s FET I think.

Hey… if you think the minuscule run time increase you ’might see’ is worth the price of getting new batteries…… I say go for it & let us know how it works out. :+1:

I mostly got them both out of curiosity and because it has been two years since I got the last batch of batteries. Got two VTC6 and another GA from ZL few weeks ago, three 30Q since they seem like good ones to have (I do vape some, and the SC600M4 can pull 8A), so a few 36G, especially on sale, seemed like a good addition. 1-2%, if it’s not more money, and rated 10A, what’s not to like… Figured if they’re new for 2018, they’ll at least be sure to be fresh cells. Now, if I get any other 3600, that’ll be purely for curiosity. Eight this-year batteries is more than enough. The Anker 10Ah power bank also makes using a few for USB purposes less likely.

Update after some 2A discharge runs:
36G#1 3145mAh 11.164Wh
36G#2 3143mAh 11.167Wh
35E#1 3111mAh 11.065Wh
35E#2 3121mAh 11.088Wh

So at best .1Wh or <1% increase. Vs brand new 35E, probably no increase.
Conclusion: you’re buying 10A vs 8A CDR, and maybe at HKJ’s 5 or 7A load the 36G will have a more apparent advantage, but at 7A the 3000mAh high drain versions, so far, always seem to win out.

Cool, thanks for the info.

Test results for the 36G from 18650batterystore.com on my Xtar VP4 Plus Dragon charger.

3454, 3385, 3427 3463, 3328. The average is about the same as the 18650GA. I think charger tests at 1A.

There’s no freaking way this cell is 3,600mah. Also this cell has a recessed top (not flat) so I needed to weld solder blobs inorder to even charge them on my charger.

I think the capacity of the 36G is supposed to be pretty much the same as the 35E, the big difference being a higher continuous amp draw. 8 to 10

As expected the real world capacity is always less than the manufacturer rating.
I think the only way you can get close to the manufacturer rating is by discharging at like 0.1A or something ridiculous.

Quite disappointing results for the 36G from Thunderheart LG M36 vs Samsung 36G capacity test .

Of course, since he only tested one cell the results are not very reliable, but at anything but low current the results he got for the 36G are worse than his results for the LG MJ1 .

There's something wrong with that test for sure, even the 35E outperforms the M36.

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Samsung%20INR18650-35E%203500mAh%20%28Pink%29%20UK.html

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/LG%2018650%20M36%203600mAh%20(Cyan)%20UK.html

You seem to be jumping to one of two conclusions. Either the test is inaccurate or the 36G it’s just not that good of a battery.

Thundheart says that the store Queen Battery did their own test and decided not to sell the 36G because of it’s reduced performance.

It seems odd that Samsung would release a battery that didn’t actually perform better than its predecessor. Who knows, maybe more tests need to be done.

Why would a newly released battery from the exact same brand with a higher current rating and higher mAh rating perform worse than the 35E?
As I said earlier, the 35E outperforms the LG M36 (at lower currents, the M36 is better at 5A+)

Earlier in the thread someone tested their 36Gs and found that they were almost identical to the 35E, only slightly better.
Maybe this reviewer got fake or reject samples or something like that?

Often, but, for example, I just tested the XTAR 2200mAh high drain and got near 2300mAh. Not sure that’s ever happened for the 3000+ rated cells, I think I got 29xx for most of those. With 2600 and below I’m often pleasantly surprised.

I’d say 20-30% of the 18650s I order are like that. It’s still a “flat top,” and if a charger can’t make contact I blame the charger (and use a little magnet).

Chargers vary. Some have a full-length flat contact from the bottom of the bay with no protrusion to contact the battery. The MC3000 accommodates AAA to 26650, so it’s just a compromise I accept. The XTAR MC1 Plus contact, in contrast, sticks out a bit and can deal with it. The fully flat contacts also aren’t as safe, since, if there’s any flaw with the edge of the wrap, they could bridge outer shell to top contact. Not that you should use a cell with a flaw in the wrap at all…

I would like to buy some high capacity batteries (3000 mAh+). For first check Sanyo NCR18650GA are seem to be good.

What are the recommended places to buy in EU?

I found on banggood, but I don’t know if they are genuine?

Banggood doesn’t knowingly sell fake batteries. So if it says it’s a Sanyo ncr18650ga, and that’s what it should be.

In the EU I only know of https://eu.nkon.nl.