This would be a good one, but I have some radios that detect the noise from the conversion circuit and cause weak signals to be unreadable. I haven’t seen it myself, but have read that they will cause interference that causes erratic behavior in some wireless devices due to the noise.
I am kind of ambivalent on using these cells. I bought a bunch of different ones when they were on sale. I have 12 of the previous generation Xtar cells and 12 of different brands (Ever heard of Messule or Sinceholy ?? both rated at 3600 mWh. Giving me ~2100 mAh testing with the S8000) Now I am really trying to find uses for them. They seem to do well in things like clocks. The ones I have with chimes maintain their volume better between cell change out (Done at Standard/Daylight time changes)But the self discharge numbers are not great. I have seen where Xtar recommends recharging every 6 months, even in storage.
At this point I am just wondering if the latest generation brings anything to the party (other than USB C charging, which I don’t care about) that would make me buy them over the previous generation. I notice that Xtar mentions “Anti-Leak” drivers in their Ad copy, or something like that. I wonder if they have figured out how to reduce the self discharge rate on the new ones?
【Updated】 Tests of XTAR 1.5V AA 4100mWh/2450mAh USB-C Li-ion Battery
XTAR 1.5V AA 4100mWh/2450mAh USB-C Li-ion battery testing videos by Dubious Engineering and ithomez. They used XTAR VX4 charger and electronic load to test the batteries’ capacities. The testing results are as below. The batteries deliver their full rated capacities. And the integrated USB-C charging port offers hassle-free charging, eliminating the need for separate chargers and enhancing convenience for daily use.
What do you think about this USB-C rechargeable AA Li-ion batteries? And what other tests do you want to know about this battery? Welcome to comment below.
I measured the runtime of a Manker E05 II on Medium and High with an XTAR 1.5V Li-ion 2450mAh USB-C cell.
It was slightly more stable (not much difference). Initial output was lower than Ni-MH. And the runtime ended up being slightly longer than a 1.2V NiMH 2450mAh cell.
The driver is pretty good. Perhaps I should test another flashlight like the Weltool T1 Pro V2 where the regulation isn’t the best and there’s no Low Voltage Protection.
What do I think of the idea? I think it’s a great idea, but after the refusal of Allmaybe to honor the warranty of the dangerous and defective Xtar charger I got from them there’s no way I’m going to buy another product from them.
It has been a long while since any official Self Discharge rate data on these has been stated. Has anything changed since the statements made a year or so ago? I appreciate the fact that capacity tests are showing the ratings are accurate. I really like the fact that Xtar is not publishing inflated numbers for these!
But there is more to determining the best application for the cells than only capacity. Most LSD NiMH cells have clear data published for this parameter. As these cells are promoted as a rechargeable option for replacing NiMH cells, it would be good to have matching data.
Can you give us current information on the self discharge rate for the latest series (USB charging) cells? Please.
Excuse me for wandering off from this AA trail but:
If you can manufacture this type of batteries with a 3V (CR123A) variety, wouldn’t it open a whole new niche market with people who still use (one, two, of three) 3V lithium primaries in their under- or overpriced flashlights?
Keeppower already offers Li-Ion in the format of CR123A with a regulated stabilized output of 3.0 Volt for some years now … that were two versions with Micro-USB port, the second one being the better, because of more capacity and external dimensions nearer at CR123A, and in last autumn they presented a version with USB-C …
Isn’t that weird? I mean, none of my NiMHs ever reach 1.5V, not even after a full charge, so this wouldn’t be due to (nominal) voltage. Perhaps the built-in converter on the XTARs result in a large internal resistance as seen from the flashlight driver, and this causes larger voltage sag with them than with the NIMHs, and the driver to throttle things down a bit?
I might be missing something, but this seems not too bad to me; I mean, Wh = Ah * V, so if these batteries really provided 1.5V for all/most of the discharge, 2100*1.5= 3150mW, so they would be providing only about 12.5% less than their spec. This could be explainable depending on the current you discharged them with (IME manufacturer usually specs their batteries at the most favorable conditions, and a low current – 250mA or even lower – would mean less energy lost as heat in the built converter circuit and in the battery itself).
I think I used 300 mA as the discharge setting … The things were on sale for real cheap. IIRC those Sinceholy things were like $12 for 8 cells and a charger. One of those Vipon things. An impulse buy. I guess time will tell about the long term durability.
