These tests below only note my personal 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 is 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
This is a good performing cell at lower current levels. It tested well at 5A, essentially equaling the Sanyo NCR18650GA and performing almost as well as the Molicel M35A and Samsung 35E3. At 10A it doesn’t do quite as well, about the same as the EVE 33V. Check my 18650 Ratings and E-Scores table (link below) to see how well this cell performed against others.
The cell’s wrap says “CONTINUOUS DISCHARGE 10.5A” but the Imren datasheet lists this as a 10A cell for up to 25°C ambient temperature. The extra 0.5A was added for marketing purposes? I guess the reason why is unimportant, in my opinion it’s unacceptable to play with ratings like that.
What bothers me is that the datasheet says this cell needs to have its current rating lowered if it’s used at temps higher than 25°C, which can happen in almost any device and especially in a battery pack. This derating should probably happen for all cells but the datasheet for this cell explicitly calls this out. Calling this a 10A (or 10.5A) continuous cell is not realistic IMHO for typical uses.
The wrap also says “3500mAh 30A”. Imren has told me that 30A is a “max” rating and is what they feel it can handle and is a guide for vaping use (where it gets pulsed). But this cell dropped to about 3.2V when pulsed for two seconds at 30A. This is too much voltage sag for a cell being rated at 30A “max” and I’m sure it affects the cell’s cycle life too.
Considering its performance and the required temperature-dependent derating I recommend staying at 7A or lower. You’ll get decent performance at that level.
Cell-to-cell performance consistency (four cells) was pretty good but not as good as cells from the big manufacturers. I don’t think you would notice the difference though.
These Imrens tested out at 3506mAh and 3514mAh, (barely) meeting their 3500mAh rating. I have not tested the cycle life of these cells.
Imren has told me that they are committed to using accurate ratings and are even willing to get rid of the high pulse/burst/max ratings on the wrap. This is great to hear but we will have to see what happens. It will take time for Imren to redo the wraps and get them into distribution though.
Four cells were donated for testing by Imren (Best Li-ion 18650 Battery Store - Lithium Battery & Chargers | IMREN). Thank you!
18650 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/18650-battery-ratings-table.7447/
20700/21700 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/20700-21700-battery-ratings.7827/
Continuous Current Discharge Graphs
Ratings and Performance Specs Graphic
I want to work for the community full time! If you feel what I do is worth a couple dollars a month and you would like early access to battery availability, battery testing and news, and a say in what I test, then please consider becoming a patron and supporting my testing efforts: Battery Mooch is creating battery and device tests | Patreon.
To see how other cells have tested check out this link: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/
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
This is a good performing cell at lower current levels. It tested well at 5A, essentially equaling the Sanyo NCR18650GA and performing almost as well as the Molicel M35A and Samsung 35E3. At 10A it doesn’t do quite as well, about the same as the EVE 33V. Check my 18650 Ratings and E-Scores table (link below) to see how well this cell performed against others.
The cell’s wrap says “CONTINUOUS DISCHARGE 10.5A” but the Imren datasheet lists this as a 10A cell for up to 25°C ambient temperature. The extra 0.5A was added for marketing purposes? I guess the reason why is unimportant, in my opinion it’s unacceptable to play with ratings like that.
What bothers me is that the datasheet says this cell needs to have its current rating lowered if it’s used at temps higher than 25°C, which can happen in almost any device and especially in a battery pack. This derating should probably happen for all cells but the datasheet for this cell explicitly calls this out. Calling this a 10A (or 10.5A) continuous cell is not realistic IMHO for typical uses.
The wrap also says “3500mAh 30A”. Imren has told me that 30A is a “max” rating and is what they feel it can handle and is a guide for vaping use (where it gets pulsed). But this cell dropped to about 3.2V when pulsed for two seconds at 30A. This is too much voltage sag for a cell being rated at 30A “max” and I’m sure it affects the cell’s cycle life too.
Considering its performance and the required temperature-dependent derating I recommend staying at 7A or lower. You’ll get decent performance at that level.
Cell-to-cell performance consistency (four cells) was pretty good but not as good as cells from the big manufacturers. I don’t think you would notice the difference though.
These Imrens tested out at 3506mAh and 3514mAh, (barely) meeting their 3500mAh rating. I have not tested the cycle life of these cells.
Imren has told me that they are committed to using accurate ratings and are even willing to get rid of the high pulse/burst/max ratings on the wrap. This is great to hear but we will have to see what happens. It will take time for Imren to redo the wraps and get them into distribution though.
Four cells were donated for testing by Imren (Best Li-ion 18650 Battery Store - Lithium Battery & Chargers | IMREN). Thank you!
18650 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/18650-battery-ratings-table.7447/
20700/21700 Ratings and E-Scores Table:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/20700-21700-battery-ratings.7827/
Continuous Current Discharge Graphs
Ratings and Performance Specs Graphic
I want to work for the community full time! If you feel what I do is worth a couple dollars a month and you would like early access to battery availability, battery testing and news, and a say in what I test, then please consider becoming a patron and supporting my testing efforts: Battery Mooch is creating battery and device tests | Patreon.
To see how other cells have tested check out this link: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/
