How trustworthy are Sofirn batteries?

PiercingTheDarkness · 2018-11-18T11:53:02.000Z

TheAuditor:

I just got the new SP33 which came with a 5500mah 26650 battery. I can’t find out much about the specs of this battery. Has anyone tested it or can point me in the right direction?

Sofirn’s datasheet specify the capacity as 5000mAh. Buyers have shown tests of approx 4700mAh

PiercingTheDarkness · 2018-11-18T12:00:55.000Z

Sillen:

14500 discharged 855mAh on Li500, happy with that.
Ordered SP33 with 26650 kit to test that. Getting a load tester in 11.11sale to test both A & mAh
21700 & AA NiMh on a separate order

What tester did you get? I used the Lii-500 until learning it wasn’t testing properly on every cell. It gives a rough approximation.

I recently received the West Mountain Radio - CBA IV and it’s excellent.

I used to think my Samsung INR18650-30Q’s were fake on the Lii-500 as it was reading 2840mAh at 500mA discharge. Tried it on the CBA and it’s 3027mAh at 600mA & 2968mAh at 10A. Big difference

Sillen · 2018-11-19T09:35:58.000Z

Got this tester https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ATORCH-150W-Constant-Current-Electronic-Load-200V20A-Battery-Tester-Discharge-Capacity-Tester-meter-12V24V48V-Lead-acid/32821877897.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3da24c4dguTbIi

JasonWW · 2018-11-20T01:57:19.000Z

Funtastic:

TheAuditor:

I just got the new SP33 which came with a 5500mah 26650 battery. I can’t find out much about the specs of this battery. Has anyone tested it or can point me in the right direction?

Sofirn’s datasheet specify the capacity as 5000mAh. Buyers have shown tests of approx 4700mAh

This also what I’ve heard. They are also not high drain cells. Just generic middle of the road cells.

JasonWW · 2018-11-20T02:05:18.000Z

SKV89:

JasonWW tested the 21700 Sofirn in the C8F and it performs well. I think I recall someone said the Sofirn 3000mah or 2800mah battery might be a rewrapped Samsung/Sony.

Yes, their 4000mah 21700 is really top notch and high drain.

I don’t know much about their 18650 cells, but they are definitely not rewrapped name brand units.

Their black 3000mah 18650 seems to be really good. It’s a high drain cell “close” to a Samsung 30Q, but not one. DB Custom got really high output and amps from it.

So I only know about their black 3000mah, black 4000mah and black 26650. All the other versions I don’t know anything about except they are low cost.

Illumn is mainly a USA seller. What country are you in? Have you checked with NKON? Do Banggood or Gearbest ship to your country?

PiercingTheDarkness · 2019-01-04T10:35:37.000Z

Here is a test at 5A for the Sofirn 3000mAh (Black), Panasonic NCR18650GA (Red), Samsung INR18650-30Q (Pink)

As you can see the Sofirn performs almost equal to the GA.

teacher · 2019-01-04T10:43:02.000Z

Funtastic:

Here is a test at 5A for the Sofirn 3000mAh (Black), Panasonic NCR18650GA (Red), Samsung INR18650-30Q (Purple)

As you can see the Sofirn performs almost equal to the GA.

Interesting, thanks Funtastic. . :+1:

JasonWW · 2019-01-04T10:49:07.000Z

Funtastic:

Here is a test at 5A for the Sofirn 3000mAh (Black), Panasonic NCR18650GA (Red), Samsung INR18650-30Q (Pink)

As you can see the Sofirn performs almost equal to the GA.

That is more voltage sag than I expected. So not quite as good as a 30Q. I wonder if it is still the same battery that DB Custom tested almost a year ago.

RobertB · 2019-01-04T12:02:24.000Z

SKV89:

JasonWW tested the 21700 Sofirn in the C8F and it performs well. I think I recall someone said the Sofirn 3000mah or 2800mah battery might be a rewrapped Samsung/Sony.

I have 4 of the Sofirn 21700’s and although they seem to be decent cells, they under perform. Fully charged, I put one in my FF E07 and turbo mode didn’t seem that great. Put a Samsung 30Q in, and turbo was noticeably brighter. In other words, they can’t handle the amp draw. Tried with all 4 of the 21700’s, same result. They act like a 10A cell. Ordered some Samsung 30T’s for the E07 instead.

PiercingTheDarkness · 2019-01-04T12:10:33.000Z

In my next order of Sofirn lights I’ll get some 21700’s and 26650’s for testing and upload the graphs.

I may just start my own thread showing results for

14500 900mAh
18650 2800mAh PCB
18650 3000mAh
21700
26650

That should help those who are on the fence about getting them bundled with their lights.

MascaratumB · 2019-01-04T12:16:20.000Z

I use the 14500 batteries of Sofirn and never had a problem. Capacity is as advertised (900mAh, measured several times), but I guess they are not High-drain cells (at least not as EFEST)! Also note that they are shorter than other 14500s!

teacher · 2019-01-04T12:21:16.000Z

Funtastic:

In my next order of Sofirn lights I’ll get some 21700’s and 26650’s for testing and upload the graphs.

I may just start my own thread showing results for

14500 900mAh
18650 2800mAh PCB
18650 3000mAh
21700
26650

That should help those who are on the fence about getting them bundled with their lights.

~~Have you got a link to your thread, I can’t find it.~~ My bad, I misread. :person_facepalming:

That is a great idea!! Keep us posted if you do start your own thread.

JasonWW · 2019-01-04T12:25:21.000Z

RobertB:

SKV89:

JasonWW tested the 21700 Sofirn in the C8F and it performs well. I think I recall someone said the Sofirn 3000mah or 2800mah battery might be a rewrapped Samsung/Sony.

I have 4 of the Sofirn 21700’s and although they seem to be decent cells, they under perform. Fully charged, I put one in my FF E07 and turbo mode didn’t seem that great. Put a Samsung 30Q in, and turbo was noticeably brighter. In other words, they can’t handle the amp draw. Tried with all 4 of the 21700’s, same result. They act like a 10A cell. Ordered some Samsung 30T’s for the E07 instead.

Some actual numbers might help.

They blew away the 30Q in my C8F. 11.5A and 3330lm compared to the 30Q’s 9A and 2900lm. The 30T performed about the same as the Sofirn 4000mah with 11.5A and 1160lm. (The 30T should show its extra muscle at higher amp draws)

I just don’t see how it’s possible a 30Q could actually outperform the Sofirn 21700.

What is the amperage range of the E07?

Also, what is a “10A cell”?

Brainsick67 · 2019-01-04T12:45:47.000Z

They are good to me…tested like 4 of the 3000mAh ones, and they ALL came to 3,000mAh or a tad more.

JasonWW · 2019-01-04T14:02:57.000Z

Brainsick67:

They are good to me…tested like 4 of the 3000mAh ones, and they ALL came to 3,000mAh or a tad more.

Capacity is just one aspect of the battery. The black 18650 3000mah have always been accurate for capacity. It seems to be a bit lacking as far as internal resistance and voltage sag, though. It looks like the 30Q definitely beats it in those regards.

Back when DB tested them the performance was so close to a 30Q he thought that’s what they were, just rewrapped. Their amp draw and output matched the 30Q exactly. The one tested above shows a bit below the 30Q at least as far as a 5A load is concerned. I’m wondering if Sofirn switched to a different battery or a different chemical mix in the last 6 months or so.

cyclops · 2019-01-04T14:51:16.000Z

I found one interesting thing when charging the 21700. If I use a Samsung Quick Charger (micro USB), then the cell charges to more than 4.5v!!! I tried it with the supplied kit charger and also with an Xstar MC1 ANT. However if I use a non quick charge (slower) microusb charger, then the cell charges correctly to 4.2v. I hope thee is no major damage done to my battery with one off excess charge!

JasonWW · 2019-01-04T15:11:27.000Z

cyclops:

I found one interesting thing when charging the 21700. If I use a Samsung Quick Charger (micro USB), then the cell charges to more than 4.5v!!! I tried it with the supplied kit charger and also with an Xstar MC1 ANT. However if I use a non quick charge (slower) microusb charger, then the cell charges correctly to 4.2v. I hope thee is no major damage done to my battery with one off excess charge!

Whaaaat? The chargers are supposed to be designed to terminate at 4.2 volts. I’m not sure how a battery can cause an overcharge. Undercharge, yeah, but not overcharge. Sounds freaky.

cyclops · 2019-01-04T15:27:47.000Z

JasonWW:

cyclops:

I found one interesting thing when charging the 21700. If I use a Samsung Quick Charger (micro USB), then the cell charges to more than 4.5v!!! I tried it with the supplied kit charger and also with an Xstar MC1 ANT. However if I use a non quick charge (slower) microusb charger, then the cell charges correctly to 4.2v. I hope thee is no major damage done to my battery with one off excess charge!

Whaaaat? The chargers are supposed to be designed to terminate at 4.2 volts. I’m not sure how a battery can cause an overcharge. Undercharge, yeah, but not overcharge. Sounds freaky.

Yes, even I was a bit puzzled by that. I dont think its an issue with the battery, probably these MC1 types chargers are not smart enough and the Samsung Quick Charge Adapter messes up their calculations and it overcharges the battery. I could replicate it but I dont want to do that as I am afraid that it’ll damage the cell.

ChrisGarrett · 2019-01-04T16:19:56.000Z

JasonWW:

Brainsick67:

They are good to me…tested like 4 of the 3000mAh ones, and they ALL came to 3,000mAh or a tad more.

Capacity is just one aspect of the battery. The black 18650 3000mah have always been accurate for capacity. It seems to be a bit lacking as far as internal resistance and voltage sag, though. It looks like the 30Q definitely beats it in those regards.

Back when DB tested them the performance was so close to a 30Q he thought that’s what they were, just rewrapped. Their amp draw and output matched the 30Q exactly. The one tested above shows a bit below the 30Q at least as far as a 5A load is concerned. I’m wondering if Sofirn switched to a different battery or a different chemical mix in the last 6 months or so.

And also longevity. Just about any cell can perform well for the first 10 cycles. Come back after 30, 50, even 100 cycles and see what’s up?

Chris

JasonWW · 2019-01-04T16:52:46.000Z

All cells loose capacity the more you recharge it. It varies from cell to cell. This info is usually found in the battery documentation.

Here’s the info on the Samsung 35E as an example.

7.9 Cycle Life
Each cycle is an interval between the charge (charge current 1,020mA) with 100mA cut-off and the discharge (discharge current 3,400mA) with 2.65V cut-off. Capacity after 500cycles.

Capacity ≥ 2,010mAh (60% of Standard Capacity)

So you lose 40% of the capacity after 500 recharge cycles. Even the batteries I charge the most are still only once a week. It would take me 9.6 years to get to this.

I don’t really pay this much attention. If I wear out a battery I’ll replace it. I’m sure we will have all kinds of better batteries in the coming years. The batteries that I very seldom use and recharge might last me decades. I guess that’s a good thing? I don’t really care. Just my opinion.