Review: 4 way 16340 Test

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Been sitting on these batteries for a while , waiting for some spare time to do the testing [ quite time consuming ] , and I had some time today , so better late then never.


Soshine 16340 unprotected - 16.3mm Dia , 33.9mm Long - I got these two from Don some time ago , and with nothing to test them against , they sat around doing much of nothing . Discharged both cells @ 0.5A with the Imax B6 and they returned 414mA and 448mA [ claimed capacity 700mAh ] . Now in the runtime test there was no protection circuit to to cut discharge bellow 3v and I ran it down to 2.9v @ rest [ there you go ] and therun time test went for 30 minutes . [ Came from 4 pack sold at Manafont ]


Fireworm 16340 protected - 16.5mm Dia , 34.8mm Long - I purchased these as I was some what impressed by the Fireworm 18650's I got some time ago , but I guess you cant judge a 16340 by the performance of a 18650 . Discharging both cells @ 0.5A returned 341mA and 364mA [ 1000mAh claimed ] , the runtime test was terminated when the protection circuit cut in at 28minutes and 15 seconds . [ Ebay ]


Xtar 16340 protected - 16.4mm Dia , 35mm Long - Again , purchased these on the reputation of the 18650's . Discharging both cells @ 0.5A returned 437mA and 451mA [ 600mAh claimed- I needed a magnifier to see it ] , the runtime test was terminated when the protection circuit cut in at 33minutes and 30 seconds .

[ Xtar on Ebay ]




Th run time test was done in a single mode L2m with a low voltage drop in [ Solarforce 0.8-4.2v ] . You can see the Soshine boost seriously as it drops below 3v , the other batteries were stopped by the protection circuit , so I have given them a 0 value .




Discharge capability test . 3 different lights were used , my good XR-E R2 [ L2M 18650 ] , L2m with SSC P7 , and my Ultrafire A20 XM-L T5 .


Conclusion :

If there is a conclusion to be drawn from this , its that Solarforce really needs to put the V2 16340 on the market , other than that , the other batteries were simply disappointing . The capacity of all 3 test subjects were very low , if Solarforce can make a 16340 that tested at 721mA @ 0.5A I cant see why 600mA capacity should be out of the question .


2

That's good news about the solarforce V2. Currently the only ones I've had any luck with are the IMR 16340's. Then again, the only other ones I've ever used are the flame trustfires, which have been complete and utter crap for me (only with these two particular 16340's).

3

Dont know why , but seems a good 16340 is a rare find , so the search continues .

4

Match, I just measured the full bore current dump of my unprotected trustfire flames, it was 13.7A.

It was a honest mistake, i meant to measure voltage but did not check that it was wired for current. LOL! I was like wow, 13.7V. 2 seconds later I felt the battery went warm and immediately pulled the plug after realising what I have done.

Yeah, my DMM leads can do 13A. Cool

5

Did you measure a Short ?

6

Well I did not actually mean to measure a short, but yeah technically I just measured a short. It was an accident. I was like WTF 13 volts? Oh...13A. Uhh...why is the battery going hot within 2 seconds? Abort abort abort! Sealed

Battery is still fine.

Yes, the whole Li-Co actually did go warm within like 2 seconds. You can feel the temperature difference by just a 2 seconds short between this and another unshorted 16340.

7

you were measuring the prelude to a boom .

8

Yep.... so we can say that 2 seconds does not make Li-Co go boom. I think we need like a minute? Like that Trustfire X6 on DX case.

Temperature has a part in it as well i guess / thermal runaway is 180 deg C. But 0 to 2 seconds, it raised like from 28 deg C to 35 deg C. The heat gradient was instantly "feelable".

Not too bad, I don't think 16340 can blow fingers apart. I had blown 7.2V NiCd before.

Big packs here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMy2_qNO2Y0

Lower velocity : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQjudHKh-bI&feature=related

Microwave heating Lipo : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRwyiR-FnhQ&feature=related

Burning 2S1P 700mAH which is 2X of our case. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnbarHvBpLo&feature=watch_response

9

+1

I've been looking to buy some 16340's for a couple of weeks now. I searched, and searched, and searched, but couldn't find the SF V2's any where.

I've almost pulled the trigger on some protected AW's multiple times, but haven't yet, and keep hoping the SF's hit the market soon. (Or someone will tell me where I can find the buggers?!)

10

I contacted Solarforce , and they told me there wont be any more :

Seems that after the first batch there may have been some negativity about there size .

So Solarforce has decided not to produce the V2 16340 ..

I did suggest that the cells were too good not to bring to market , and maybe they should be marked as 17360 so that folks dont think they are a direct replacement for CR123A and to give buyers a idea of there true size ..

The ones I have wont fit every light [ 1x16340 ] , but they will fit ones with a little extra wiggle room for a 16340 .

Oh well , I hope Solarforce will reconsider ..

11

Thanks for your hard work Matt!

12

marketed at 17360 would work. Theres a known market for 18340s, which we know are longer with protection. Oh well.

Im still using my trustfire flames, which i havent done a discharge test on yet. But i do put in 500-550 mA back, so it cant be more than 500mA capacity...

13

That's a shame, I have 4pcs of the V1 and they are pretty good. V2 would fit L2m really nicely.

14

Thanks for the test. Pretty disappointed in the XTAR which i had great expectations. Did you had only 1 sample? Anyway not looking good for cosistency in any case... :/

Still pretty hard to find a good 16340...

15

Just tested 2 unprotected "flame" Trustfire. Discarge current 0.5 A, cut off at 3 V. One cell returned 619 mAh, another 597 mAh. Not bad, I think these batteries are still the best value for money.

16

I need to buy some Flame trustfires , I have a pair , but there getting old now .

17

I know they aren't exactly budget, but how do the AW ones compare? I need to either get a pair or 17670 for my unbored 6P.

18

I’ll have to verify it later, but I remember them being ~550mAh when I tested the pair I have @ 0.5A.

19

http://www.jayki.com/index.php?mid=flashlight_review_board&page=3&document_srl=11905

In this run time test , I have a AW for comparison .

20

Most 16340s are junk. I speak from bitter experience.

But a few aren't. Matt (old4570) is the guy to ask about which ones aren't garbage.