These tests below only note my personal opinion for the ESTIMATED ratings for the batteries I tested at the time I tested them. Any battery that is not a genuine Samsung, Sony, Murata, LG, Panasonic, Molicel, or Sanyo can change at any time! This can be one of the hazards of using “rewrapped” or batteries from other manufacturers so carefully research any battery you are considering using before purchasing.
Misusing or mishandling lithium-ion batteries can pose a SERIOUS RISK of property damage, personal injury, or even death. Never use them outside of a fully protected battery pack and you use them at your own risk. Never exceed the battery’s true continuous discharge rating (CDR), never let it get colder than 0°C or hotter than 60°C, and keep the plastic wrap and top insulating ring in perfect condition. Never use a battery that is physically damaged in any way.
Testing batteries at their limits is dangerous and should never be attempted by anyone who has not thoroughly studied the dangers involved, understands the risks, has the proper equipment, and takes all appropriate safety precautions.
If the battery has only one current rating number, or if it only says “max”, then I have to assume the battery is rated at that current level for any type of discharge, including continuous.
Test Results
My thanks to @wolfgirl42 for donating four cells for testing!
Vapcell sells this as the Lishen LR2170LH in a clear wrap, not in the factory wrap. I have no reason to doubt them, and there is evidence that this is the LR2170LH, but I was unable to confirm that. This test report and the ratings graphic assumes it is though.
This is a great performing cell, but it’s not the best “power” 21700. In my testing the LR2170LH performs essentially the same as the Samsung 30T for most of the discharge (30T is better after the first 2/3) and is almost as good as the Molicel P45B for the first bit of the discharge. After that the P45B is clearly the better cell. See my discharge graphs for more information.
Someone here got slightly better results though with their Lishen’s. This might be due to batch differences or cell-to-cell performance inconsistencies, I don’t know. It was about a 3% difference.
The LR2170LH is rated at 60A “maximum discharge current, continuous discharge” (for 15°C-45°C ambient temp) in the datasheet but this is clearly a non-continuous, temperature-limited rating for things like power tools and electric vacuum cleaners. This cell would become hot enough to boil water at 60A. The datasheet lists a 70°C max cell temperature spec so that makes it about a 35A cell. I recommend staying below 35A to reduce voltage sag and help to extend cell life.
Its maximum charging current spec is listed as 30A for 25°C-45°C ambient. I recommend staying below 10A to reduce risks and help extend cell life.
The four cells I tested delivered 2899mAh, 2934mAh, 2962mAh, and 3005mAh. This is terrible consistency and doesn’t meets this cell’s minimum capacity spec of 2960mAh.
I did some slightly abusive cycling at 10A charge/35A discharge down to 3.2V, well under this cell’s maximum 30A charge/60A discharge datasheet rating, to make sure these cells are not “fragile”. After twenty cycles the cell lost 5.2% of its run time. This isn’t great but it’s not a disaster.
I don’t know who is selling it retail but Vapcell should have it and Ancoo has an online listing for it but with the wrong photo and specs.
Continuous Current Discharge Graphs
Ratings and Performance Specs Graphic
18650 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
20700/21700 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
To see how other cells have tested check out this link: Links To All 21700, 26650, 18350, 18500 Battery Tests | E-Cigarette Forum
