This was a retest for this cell. In my previous testing it performed very well. Unfortunately Aspire has changed to a lower performing cell.
This cell’s wrap originally said “40A” but now it has no rating. There is a paper “Aspire Battery Safety Chart” included when you buy one though. It seems to indicate that this cell has a claimed continuous rating of 20A and can be vaped with at up to 30A.
I strongly disagree with Aspire’s decision to have no current rating on the wrap. Once that small piece of paper is misplaced then the only way to determine the cell’s claimed rating is to go to Aspire’s web site. This is an unacceptable burden on the vaper. Why not just have the rating on the wrap? Why should vapers have to work to determine if their use of this cell is safe or not?
The previous version of this cell was strong competition for the Sony VTC5A for mechanical device users and those who needed the hardest hitting cell, i.e., the one with the highest voltage when pulsed.
While this Aspire still hits as hard as the VTC5A for the first couple of draws it quickly drops in voltage as it discharges. The Sony VTC5A is clearly the better performer now, running for at least 40% longer when pulsed at high current levels done to 3.2V (about 3.6V at rest).
I am rating this cell at 25A and 1800mAh.
Two cells were purchased by me for the purposes of testing.
Cell photos: https://imgur.com/a/CwFKg
Ratings graphic: https://imgur.com/a/Wiecn
Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/bench-test-results-aspire-unrated-1800mah-18650-now-using-a-different-battery-performs-worse.835021/
All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/
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