Test/Review of Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh (Pink)

Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh (Pink)







Official specifications:

  • Initial IR (1kHz): <18mOhm

  • Initial IR (DC): <30mOhm

  • Charge method: CC-CV (4.2V+/-0.05V, 100mA cut-off)

  • Standard charge current: 1.5A

  • Fast charge current: 4A

  • End voltage: 2.5V

  • Max. continuous current: 15A

  • Rated discharge capacity (0.2C): 3000mAh

  • Rated discharge capacity (10A): 2700mAh

  • Cycle life: 300 cycles to 70% (4A charge and 15A discharge)

  • Cycle life: 250 cycles to 70% (4A charge and 22A discharge, pause at 70°C, resume at 50°C)




Modern high current cells with lots of capacity.










Very good discharge curves, capacity is nearly constant and they track perfectly. Even the 20A curve maintains a decent voltage, but as can be seen below the cell gets warm.
The tail on some curves is because I continue to record after stopping the discharge (If the cell is hot), i.e. it shows how much the voltage recovers.



The cell will heat up at a 10A load, but it is rated for it.





The cell can also handle 20A for some time, but you are supposed to stop when it gets hot (As I do here).
Remember the chart shows above ambient temperature, the actual cell temperature goes above 75°C.















Conclusion

This cell is very good, it can handle about 15A continuous discharge and has no problems with 20A pulses.



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

Thank you!

Yes, excellent review and testing ,thank you very much!

What was your discharge cut off voltage ? 2,8V as shown in the Diagramms ?

Yes, I have not changed that.

Thanks for the review!

(I got lucky. I ordered some last night, prior to the review coming out.) :slight_smile:

Nice to see, thank you!

I find this to be one of the best performing cells out there, and the capacity is just a bonus! Always good to get confirmation HKJ style, great to see the charts and get a feel for just what it’s doing.

Awesome work, as always, and again, Thank You!

Excellent. Now you are just missing to compare it with Sony VTC5A.
And also LG MJ1 would be nice.

Excellent review HKJ.
Glad I have few of these before the restrictions on shipping of Li-Ion cells from China by some of the online retailers

i used 2 of these new and in series in my ec4s. to my surprise, my opus showed that they took a very different amount of charge to refill each one. i see that as very bad. what should i do ? try it again, try 2 more new batteries, or just chop them in half with an axe ?

Thank you for the review HKJ.
I hope my flat-tops finally are on their way to me (yes, I was NOT on the GB and received button-tops).

I find that the only cell that comes close to the 30Q is the Efest 35A or 3000mAh Dark Purple cell. Everything else falls short, including the Sony VTC5. I haven’t seen a VTC5A, so that one I don’t know about. The LG HE-2 falls short, as does the HE-4. What used to be the king of cells, the Samsung 20R, can’t touch it. (ok, well, the 20R does pretty high amperage but falls so fast due to it’s 2000mAh capacity)

That said, the light that I have that will draw the most current from a single cell prevails on the LG HE-2. 21.1A is the highest I’ve seen from a single cell in a flashlight, this is in a Titanium X6 Quad 219C. The 30Q and 35A are right up there, but not quite at that level. This is a rare case though, and in virtually every other light I’ve tried em in the 30Q is top dog.

If you’re looking at what the numbers are during charging then that’s very misleading. You have to do a discharge test in order to see what the capacities are. Even that is not extremely precise with low price chargers. My hobby charger seems to be 10% lower than my Opus, but which one is closer to being correct is impossible to say.

I think what @tarver asking is why his 2 batteries take on different amount of charge after being used in his EC4S.
Running a discharge test will shows the capacities of both his batteries, which is another issue whatsoever.
But if he has not done so, it is best for him to do it first so that he can concludes that both batteried that gone into his EC4S has roughly the same capacity.

To me, if @tarver try 2 more new batteries in his EC4S and still get different amount of charge to refill, it’s more likely due to his light.

Nice one HKJ. This cell is no joke!

Thanks, HKJ! :slight_smile:

Thank you for your quick answer !
As I am always testing capacity of my rechargeable batteries, I was not really sure if my measurements were really accurate using my, in comparison to yours, budget equipment.
I have got 12pcs of 30Q and I am quite happy to see that my measurements pretty much match with yours (I´m just doing simple capacity testing up to 3A).

Hi, everybody!

I need a help about INR18650-30Q battery manifacturing date code.

For the other Samsung elements refers written below:

â–  Cell package : The bare cell is packed by which packaging material, PET tube.
â–  Model and tube marking : there are three lines on the cell tube as follows.
Line 1 : INR18650-25R —- cell model name
Line 2 : SAMSUNG SDI —- cell manufacturer
Line 3 : 2D51 —- date code (Capacity ; “2” is over 2.0Ah, Year, Month, Week)

But 18650-30Q element have different Line 3 code. Only three letters. The principle of the code is different. I don’t know whether the item is new or 1-2 years old. :slight_smile:

Since the Samsung 30Q is a relatively new offering, it simply cannot be 2 years old.

(I do have an atrocious time line memory, so 2 years could be “new” to me, sorry if that is the case. Bottom line is, it really can’t be an old enough cell to really matter. Authenticity would be far more important and there are other identifiers for that.)

See the 1st line on the can under the wrapper, 3rd digit = year, 4th digit = month.
I found it here.