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. They should never be used 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 cell is a good performer. At 10A it did almost as well as the Lishen LA/SA/SD/SF and the Molicel M50. At 20A it’s essentially equal to the Lishen LA and Murata VTC6A. The Molicel P42A and P45B and the Samsung 50S outperform this cell at 15A-20A and higher though.
I have not tested its cycle life. Check my 18650 Ratings and E-Scores table (link below) to see how well this cell performed against others.
Cell-to-cell performance consistency (four cells) was okay 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 4284mAh and 4294mAh…weird. Perhaps Imren uses two different cells for this model?
The 25A continuous current rating on the wrap seems reasonable. But the wrap lists a 40A “non-continuous” rating, which is useless without knowing how it was set. Was it based on voltage sag? Cell temperature? Cycle life? A combination of these things? Or was it just something the cell can survive for a couple of pulses?
If we just say the rating is 40A does that mean I can keep pulsing the cell at 40A until it is empty? No, that would make the cell much too hot! We need to know how the rating was set and what limits it has to know how it can be properly used. Otherwise it is a useless number.
Some of the large manufacturers have higher non-continuous ratings but they tell you the limits for the rating (voltage sag, max temperature, effect on duty cycle, etc.). I would love to see Imren do the same.
A 40A pulse for two seconds brought the voltage down to about 3.5V, which isn’t bad. But you can easily overheat the cell pulsing it at levels this high and it does speed up aging of the cell. If you want to pulse a cell this hard never let the cell get hotter than the datasheet limit of 75°C.
Interestingly, the datasheet lists a 40A continuous and 80A pulse (2 sec) rating. I do not know why the wrap ratings are so different from the datasheet ratings and the 80A rating is preposterous. IMO, this makes the datasheet pretty useless.
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 18650 Battery Shop - Rechargeable Batteries in USA | 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. They should never be used 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 cell is a good performer. At 10A it did almost as well as the Lishen LA/SA/SD/SF and the Molicel M50. At 20A it’s essentially equal to the Lishen LA and Murata VTC6A. The Molicel P42A and P45B and the Samsung 50S outperform this cell at 15A-20A and higher though.
I have not tested its cycle life. Check my 18650 Ratings and E-Scores table (link below) to see how well this cell performed against others.
Cell-to-cell performance consistency (four cells) was okay 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 4284mAh and 4294mAh…weird. Perhaps Imren uses two different cells for this model?
The 25A continuous current rating on the wrap seems reasonable. But the wrap lists a 40A “non-continuous” rating, which is useless without knowing how it was set. Was it based on voltage sag? Cell temperature? Cycle life? A combination of these things? Or was it just something the cell can survive for a couple of pulses?
If we just say the rating is 40A does that mean I can keep pulsing the cell at 40A until it is empty? No, that would make the cell much too hot! We need to know how the rating was set and what limits it has to know how it can be properly used. Otherwise it is a useless number.
Some of the large manufacturers have higher non-continuous ratings but they tell you the limits for the rating (voltage sag, max temperature, effect on duty cycle, etc.). I would love to see Imren do the same.
A 40A pulse for two seconds brought the voltage down to about 3.5V, which isn’t bad. But you can easily overheat the cell pulsing it at levels this high and it does speed up aging of the cell. If you want to pulse a cell this hard never let the cell get hotter than the datasheet limit of 75°C.
Interestingly, the datasheet lists a 40A continuous and 80A pulse (2 sec) rating. I do not know why the wrap ratings are so different from the datasheet ratings and the 80A rating is preposterous. IMO, this makes the datasheet pretty useless.
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 18650 Battery Shop - Rechargeable Batteries in USA | 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/
