LifePO4 14500

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

I have some 2xAA flashlight tubes that I like running incan E at 1A with 2x3.2V cells. Though it’s only 30-33 mins. of light with these cells with somewhat low capacity (compared to Li-ion especially), that’s what fits these battery tubes. I could run a dummy and a 3.6V Li-ion, or 2x NIMH, but I find the best output (not the brightest) is using 3.2V and these lamps (A6010, my tastes have shifted, from A3712, to MN02, and now I am very fond Tad’s 6V, 1A lamp, a lamp I dismissed when they were available because I didn’t want to run 6V).

I got my first and only batch of IFR14500 600mAh, Exell brand (white), from BatteriesinaFlash, and iirc, they were pretty cheap (I think I paid ~$45 for 32 cells ~5ya). I have abused these cells, and I am satisfied with their performance, considering the abuse. But if any vendor still has these excell IFR14500 in stock, the prices have gone way, way up. While I was enjoying my cheap cells, Walmart was selling quads for $26, and sold out! Who bought them at that price? My sympaties.

My understanding is 3.2V LiFePO4 14500 is a common cell in Japan and Asia in general. So I would expect my options to have expanded and be pretty wide, but the prices for them are absurd on Amazon, $4/pc or $16/quad, and while AliExpress has better prices than eBay for them, they’re only slightly better prices.

I have at least identified more brand labels. Beyond Exell, there is also Coolook, Soshine, PKCell, Schockli, GTK, Yxzheng, an unbranded blue cell, and an unbranded grey cell (possibly UltraFire?), all with varying stated capacities. Coolook is labelled 650mAh and I have seen reported test capacities of ~550mAh. Soshine advertises 700mAh, but reported tests are again ~550mAh (which is a huge mark against Soshine for lying). Shockli claims 650mAh and are the most expensive at $4/pc everywhere I have seen, but I’ve seen no data on actual capacity. GTF claims 600mAh, and is the least expensive cell among them I can find at $1.45/pc before ship, but I don’t see any capacity tests anywhere for GTF.

By the design of the slick label, I think the Schockli cells have to have been recently released, possibly explaining why they sell for $4/pc and up from there. But since I am making an investment, and I’d like to get 48 new cells (that’s how many spaces the battery case has available), I don’t want to pay 2-4x than I need to for effectively the same cell.

My suspicion is, of the two main capacity varieties (lower at 300-400mAh and higher at 550-700mAh) the higher capacity cell, which is my interest, regardless of what any of the labels say, only stores about 550mAh, because that’s just the best they could do without massive interest occurring, leading to more development. I think maybe, possibly, all LifePO4 cylindrical cells are stuck at whatever generation they are, and unlike with steady capacity increases with Li-ion (mostly thanks to Tesla), LiFePO4 cylindrical cells haven’t really advanced in capacity in the last 5 years or more, so whatever generation of development that is, that is all that is available in this chemistry.

What I was hoping for was to learn my suspicions are wrong, and there is a clear pack leader, analogous to how FDK-made Japanese Eneloops are known to be a good value regardless of their high $4+/pc price.

Anyone running 3.2V IFR14500? Please tell me everything, your experience and your impressions. HKJ, if you have recent IFR14500 tests I missed, please point the way, and if you have formed any impressions about the available field of IFR14500 cells, I’d like to know them, please.

2

See what he said above. Standard li-ion's voltage decreases more or less steadily, and incandescent bulbs' output will noticeably decrease with lower voltage; for this reason the flat discharge curve of LiFePO4 is ideal to drive them.

I guess there's not much improvement in consumer market LiFePO4 cells due to insufficient demand or competence.

3

Seems asinine, doesn’t it? It’s about the light.

I have about 30 H10s, and will get more. Great cells, and I use them constantly.

But the lamps that match the 3.7V, the A3712 &A3718, are 1.2A and 1.8A, and put out a lot of intense light. Though the A6010 is supposedly 70 & 10 lumens brighter, respectively, the slightly lower color temperature of the A6010 allows the brighter light to be more tolerable longer than the dimmer, slightly cooler lamps, especially with dark-adapted eyes. Also, A6010 is 1A, which allows better runtime. I use the A3712 & A3718 (and A7212) during the day and early evening, but after dark I prefer warmer temperature light.

I can run the A6010 on a single 3.6V cell, but after the voltage drops below about 3.9V, the light gets too dim and a little too warm.

The A6010 produces a beautiful illumination when properly driven. I just initially mistakenly believed they’d only work with 2 primary cells, and idk who wants to run primary with incan, would get very expensive (but perfect for keeping in drawer for long periods in case of emergency). Also, primary 3V 14500 cells not all that common, very expensive, and won’t produce any amps.

And the lights I want to use the A6010 lamp in happen to all be 2xAA bodies, but they all tail stand, so they make great room lamps. So I am kind of stuck with what I have, but not exactly unsatisfied.

4

That is my experience, was hoping it was otherwise. RCR123A cells get a lot more love than 14500, so their capacities have slightly increased such that 650mAh is the lowest capacity seen in any decent cells, but 750mAh might be the most.

It’s just weird there are so many IFR14500 brands now (and a few more labels I missed) and that they’re so expensive compared with other cell formats due to capacity differences.

Prices should be based on capacity and chemistry, not cell format.

5

Tesla and other car makers are using lifepo4 now in some cars. Shorten the name to lfp which is good.

6

Depends what’s your application. Too expensive for walking your dog application. If you are exploring Mars then the cost can be justified.

7

Just fyi, the application is ceiling bounce. I haven’t used my installed lighting since I moved in here in 2018. Usually, except for the year I only carried an E1 w/ MN02, I’ve been using LED, mostly, for the ambient lighting. I really only used the Zebralights and Noctigons for the last 2 years.

But this past week it’s been exclusively incan E in here (oops, and incan M, and one incan P), and I am loving it. So, because I’m running incan 4 lights simultaneously, I’m charging batteries like never before, and I just need to get some more (so if I forget to charge, I’m not forced back to LED or worse, to using AAA LED). Current circumstances, however, require that I be frugal. I knew it was a long shot that anyone had a secret source of cheap but decent LFP14500.


8

Wal-Mart has Westinghouse 8 for $24

9

Thanks, I missed Westinghouse, 500mAh, $2.87/pc

I just saw a post somewhere from 2018, Duracell Solar 3.2V 1000mAh 18500 (which I am also looking for) on clearance for boxes of 2 for 10¢. That is depressing because I paid $6/pc for mine in 2015, and they’re pretty good cells, still using them. But stock is depleted everywhere, except possibly Malta.