How trustworthy are Sofirn batteries?

[PiercingTheDarkness]

Okay, I ran another discharge test at 15A and the temp reached 62 degrees Celsius. Slightly exceeding the max of 60. I reckon 14A continuous would be fine

I wonder what the ideal room temp is meant to be for an accurate test. Room temp tonight is 20C.

I’m not sure what’s up with this cell on capacity as almost every discharge shows a different result. Then again my charger hasn’t got a reliable cut off, sometimes 4.20v and others up to 4.25v.

This test at 15A got just over 5400mAh and battery was 4.23v

[TimMc]

I received four button top 18650’s in a BLF LT1.

Sofirn 18650 3000mAh Test #1 (2020-11-06)
Room temp: 17C
Capacity (mAh):
3060, 3071, 3051, 3091
Internal Resistance (mOhm):
51, 59, 53, 46

Measured with a Vapcell S4+.

Is 2A continuous charge ok for these when around 3.8V?

[niajef]

@TimMc

I received four button top 18650’s in a BLF LT1.

Sofirn 18650 3000mAh Test #1 (2020-11-06)
Room temp: 17C
Capacity (mAh):
3060, 3071, 3051, 3091
Internal Resistance (mOhm):
51, 59, 53, 46

Measured with a Vapcell S4+.

Is 2A continuous charge ok for these when around 3.8V?

i have similar findings with their 18650, all measured just a tad over the rated 3000, but their 26650, which is supposedly PLB re-wrapped, rated at 5500, one of them measured at 5480, which is close enough ill let it slide, but the other is 5331, a bit disappointed with that. the no brand 26650 that came with my ft03 was over 5500, but it was only rated 5000

[PiercingTheDarkness]

@TimMc

I received four button top 18650’s in a BLF LT1.

Sofirn 18650 3000mAh Test #1 (2020-11-06)
Room temp: 17C
Capacity (mAh):
3060, 3071, 3051, 3091
Internal Resistance (mOhm):
51, 59, 53, 46

Measured with a Vapcell S4+.

Is 2A continuous charge ok for these when around 3.8V?

I personally wouldn’t charge at 2A for a cell that has no datasheet. I no longer use Sofirn batteries, I stick to the big brands

[JasonWW]

@TimMc

I received four button top 18650’s in a BLF LT1.

Sofirn 18650 3000mAh Test #1 (2020-11-06)
Room temp: 17C
Capacity (mAh):
3060, 3071, 3051, 3091
Internal Resistance (mOhm):
51, 59, 53, 46

Measured with a Vapcell S4+.

Is 2A continuous charge ok for these when around 3.8V?

Like Funtastic said, without a data sheet its risky. You can try as long as your willing to monitor the temperatures to make sure they don’t get too hot. I would feel more comfortable at 1A to 1.5A.

[JasonWW]

@niajef

i have similar findings with their 18650, all measured just a tad over the rated 3000, but their 26650, which is supposedly PLB re-wrapped, rated at 5500, one of them measured at 5480, which is close enough ill let it slide, but the other is 5331, a bit disappointed with that. the no brand 26650 that came with my ft03 was over 5500, but it was only rated 5000

Surely you are not referring to the PLB 5500mah cells relabeled by Shockli, etc… No one has ever said they are related. They are definitely not related. They use a local Chinese made cell. Some measure closer to 5000 and some closer to 5500 and they separate them into two groups and label them appropriately. They are quite generic and nothing special.

The PLB 5500mah on the other had is a top quality cell. One of the best in its capacity.

[niajef]

@JasonWW

@niajef

i have similar findings with their 18650, all measured just a tad over the rated 3000, but their 26650, which is supposedly PLB re-wrapped, rated at 5500, one of them measured at 5480, which is close enough ill let it slide, but the other is 5331, a bit disappointed with that. the no brand 26650 that came with my ft03 was over 5500, but it was only rated 5000

Surely you are not referring to the PLB 5500mah cells relabeled by Shockli, etc… No one has ever said they are related. They are definitely not related. They use a local Chinese made cell. Some measure closer to 5000 and some closer to 5500 and they separate them into two groups and label them appropriately. They are quite generic and nothing special.

The PLB 5500mah on the other had is a top quality cell. One of the best in its capacity.

i mean, it literally says that right on their site , even the ones that come with lights , are you saying they straight up lying? they dont say anything for their 18650s, and other manufacturers dont do this either, so i dont see why they would go out of their way to do this if its not true?

[PiercingTheDarkness]

Looks like they’ve just recently switched. The flat top PLB wouldn’t connect in series and so their factory rewrapped them and added a button top.

Might of been helpful to drop a link right from the start since the PLB button top has just been released by them. Jason was talking about the previous Sofirn 26650’s that came spec’d at 5000mAh and 5500mAh

[TimMc]

Sofirn 26650 HD Battery 25A Button Top, Rewrapped PLB Cell

[JasonWW]

@niajef

i mean, it literally says that right on their site , even the ones that come with lights , are you saying they straight up lying? they dont say anything for their 18650s, and other manufacturers dont do this either, so i dont see why they would go out of their way to do this if its not true?

We may be confusing the batteries. Their 5000mah HD 25A cell is a different version. They have 2 different 5000mah cells.

The regular 5000mah (and 5500mah) that are flat top (looks like button top is a new option) are not HD and have no amperage rating.

Then they have their newer 25A HD cell.

PLB stopped producing the 5500 that was so great and now produce a 5000 that is a bit less impressive. Don’t ask me why they stepped backwards.

I don’t think Sofirn said anything about their Heavy Duty 25A 5000mah being an actual PLB cell when they came out. They are definitely saying it now, at least on that Sofirn website. I checked their Ali store and there is no mention of PLB at all. I got a pair of these HD cells when they first came out and they are pretty impressive.

I have not gotten any of the new 5000mah PLB cells to compare them to. I also haven’t read any reviews comparing these 2 cells to each other.

So I dont know if the 25A HD are PLB rewraps or not.

Their other black 26650 is definitely not a PLB rewrap.

[niajef]

@Funtastic

Looks like they’ve just recently switched. The flat top PLB wouldn’t connect in series and so their factory rewrapped them and added a button top.

Might of been helpful to drop a link right from the start since the PLB button top has just been released by them. Jason was talking about the previous Sofirn 26650’s that came spec’d at 5000mAh and 5500mAh

oh ya im not aware of that, i literally came into the flashlight scene like 2 weeks ago, so i just assumed sofirns been doing this for a while

[TimMc]

@Funtastic

I personally wouldn’t charge at 2A for a cell that has no datasheet. I no longer use Sofirn batteries, I stick to the big brands

Ah. I had assumed that there would be a datasheet and some independent tests when I got the BLF LT1 kit. :person_facepalming:

Perhaps I should get a few more Sanyo NCR18650GA.

I’ll see how these go… don’t want to waste them.

[niajef]

@JasonWW

@niajef

i mean, it literally says that right on their site , even the ones that come with lights , are you saying they straight up lying? they dont say anything for their 18650s, and other manufacturers dont do this either, so i dont see why they would go out of their way to do this if its not true?

We may be confusing the batteries. Their 5000mah HD 25A cell is a different version. They have 2 different 5000mah cells.

The regular 5000mah (and 5500mah) that are flat top (looks like button top is a new option) are not HD and have no amperage rating.

Then they have their newer 25A HD cell.

PLB stopped producing the 5500 that was so great and now produce a 5000 that is a bit less impressive. Don’t ask me why they stepped backwards.

I don’t think Sofirn said anything about their Heavy Duty 25A 5000mah being an actual PLB cell when they came out. They are definitely saying it now, at least on that Sofirn website. I checked their Ali store and there is no mention of PLB at all. I got a pair of these HD cells when they first came out and they are pretty impressive.

I have not gotten any of the new 5000mah PLB cells to compare them to. I also haven’t read any reviews comparing these 2 cells to each other.

So I dont know if the 25A HD are PLB rewraps or not.

Their other black 26650 is definitely not a PLB rewrap.

im a little confused, actually very confused.

first, i dont know what you mean by their regular 5000mah that are flat top and looks like button top, are they selling that? i only see one battery option on their site, and its 25A HD, which they claim to be PLB, and 5000mah. wheres this regular one you’re talking about?

second, the one i got says 5500mah on the wrap. and i checked amazon.ca description, thats where i got them, they came with sp70. and it doesnt say PLB wrapped, it just says “(Sofirn 26650 5500mAh Button top batteries included).”
but on their own website, the sp70 listing does say it comes with PLB wrapped 26650, but it doesnt say the capacity. so does this mean the ones that come from amazon are the “regular” ones you’re talking about? and only if i buy them separately, or buy sp70 from their website, it comes with PLB cells?

i think im gonna need to have a word with their customer service and clear the air…

[PiercingTheDarkness]

@TimMc

@Funtastic

I personally wouldn’t charge at 2A for a cell that has no datasheet. I no longer use Sofirn batteries, I stick to the big brands

Ah. I had assumed that there would be a datasheet and some independent tests when I got the BLF LT1 kit. :person_facepalming:

Perhaps I should get a few more Sanyo NCR18650GA.

I’ll see how these go… don’t want to waste them.

Oh, if you’re charging them inside the LT1, they’ll be fine since it’s not 2A per battery, only 0.5A

[niajef]

@TimMc

@Funtastic

I personally wouldn’t charge at 2A for a cell that has no datasheet. I no longer use Sofirn batteries, I stick to the big brands

Ah. I had assumed that there would be a datasheet and some independent tests when I got the BLF LT1 kit. :person_facepalming:

Perhaps I should get a few more Sanyo NCR18650GA.

I’ll see how these go… don’t want to waste them.

or u can just leave s4+ on auto and let it do its thing…

[JasonWW]

@TimMc

@Funtastic

I personally wouldn’t charge at 2A for a cell that has no datasheet. I no longer use Sofirn batteries, I stick to the big brands

Ah. I had assumed that there would be a datasheet and some independent tests when I got the BLF LT1 kit. :person_facepalming:

Perhaps I should get a few more Sanyo NCR18650GA.

I’ll see how these go… don’t want to waste them.

OEM cells from Molicel, Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo, LG and Sony are the best. You always get accurate data sheets.

General rule of thumb is the higher drain cells can also take the fastest charging. Standard charge for GA is 1.67A. So they are probably okay at 2A.

I tend to use a lot of 30Q and I always charge them at 2A. It’s not an issue at all for them. Rapid charge for 30Q is 4A.

[PiercingTheDarkness]

@niajef

im a little confused, actually very confused.

first, i dont know what you mean by their regular 5000mah that are flat top and looks like button top, are they selling that? i only see one battery option on their site, and its 25A HD, which they claim to be PLB, and 5000mah. wheres this regular one you’re talking?

second, the one i got says 5500mah on the wrap. and i checked amazon.ca description, thats where i got them, they came with sp70. and it doesnt say PLB wrapped, it just says “(Sofirn 26650 5500mAh Button top batteries included).”
but on their own website, the sp70 listing does say it comes with PLB wrapped 26650, but it doesnt say the capacity. so does this mean the ones that come from amazon are the “regular” ones you’re talking about? and only if i buy them separately, or buy sp70 from their website, it comes with PLB cells?

i think im gonna need to have a word with their customer service and clear the air…

The AliExpress store does not mention that their 26650’s (here and here) are PLB rewraps, only Sofirn’s website says that.

The ones you received are the older version, not PLB

I hate how Sofirn have rated the PLB rewrap at 25A when they’re only 10A. For continuous they are 10A but only short pulse current at 15 - 25A. It’s a marketing tactic

[PiercingTheDarkness]

@niajef

are you saying they straight up lying? they dont say anything for their 18650s, and other manufacturers dont do this either, so i dont see why they would go out of their way to do this if its not true?

I can tell you one thing, they aren’t being truthful that the SP70 outputs 7000 lumens using them. I can’t get higher than 6000 with bypassed springs, factory they are 5200, and using the old Sofirn 26650 they are 4800.

Sofirn said 7000 lumens with their old HD 26650’s but tested to be no higher than the non HD ones.

[TimMc]

@Funtastic

Oh, if you’re charging them inside the LT1, they’ll be fine since it’s not 2A per battery, only 0.5A

Does the LT1 balance the cells when charging?

[niajef]

@Funtastic

@niajef

im a little confused, actually very confused.

first, i dont know what you mean by their regular 5000mah that are flat top and looks like button top, are they selling that? i only see one battery option on their site, and its 25A HD, which they claim to be PLB, and 5000mah. wheres this regular one you’re talking?

second, the one i got says 5500mah on the wrap. and i checked amazon.ca description, thats where i got them, they came with sp70. and it doesnt say PLB wrapped, it just says “(Sofirn 26650 5500mAh Button top batteries included).”
but on their own website, the sp70 listing does say it comes with PLB wrapped 26650, but it doesnt say the capacity. so does this mean the ones that come from amazon are the “regular” ones you’re talking about? and only if i buy them separately, or buy sp70 from their website, it comes with PLB cells?

i think im gonna need to have a word with their customer service and clear the air…

The AliExpress store does not mention that their 26650’s (here and here) are PLB rewraps, only Sofirn’s website says that.

The ones you received are the older version, not PLB

I hate how Sofirn have rated the PLB rewrap at 25A when they’re only 10A. For continuous they are 10A but only short pulse current at 15 - 25A. It’s a marketing tactic

they dont, but the 5000 one seems to match the description of the PLB ones on their site, because it does say “continuous discharge”, so either they are 25A, or its straight up false advertising.