Author: John Muchow

The ratings table has been updated several times the past couple of weeks so if you haven’t downloaded it recently, here it is. Three new Efests, two ESYBs, the Busbars, a Tesiyi, and the VTC5A battery have been added. This brings the total number of 18650’s tested up to 100 and there are still many, many more out there to get to.

Thank you for your support and for helping to spread the word on exaggerated battery ratings!

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/18650-battery-ratings-picking-a-safe-battery-to-vape-with.7447/

Bottom Line: This new Efest uses a translucent wrap that gives it a metallic look. It tested as a 23A 4300mAh cell that is identical in appearance and performance to the Basen and Brillipower 4500mAh cells. When run at its 35A continuous rating it gets hot enough to boil water. This Efest still has the useless “pulse” rating in large lettering on the wrap but does list both the continuous and pulse current ratings. Unfortunately, the ratings are exaggerated. But because it uses the same cell as the 4500mAh Basen’s and Brillipower’s, it is one of the better performing 26650’s. As all of the new Efests have this translucent purple wrap I suspect that this cell will replace both the solid purple and the green 4200mAh cells..

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/efest-metallic-purple-35a-4200mah-26650-bench-test-results-just-a-23a-battery-but-4300mah.747579/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

18650 current ratings and safety grades: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/18650-safety-grades-picking-a-safe-battery-to-vape-with.7447

Bottom Line: In my previous tests I rated this ICR Tesiyi cell as decent, but very overrated at 25A/2300mAh. They’ve changed cells but it is still overrated. It’s now a 25A/2500mAh ICR cell but the wrap has not been changed in any way to indicate that the cell was changed. They have also switched from a double-layer wrap to a single one. In addition, Tesiyi has still not updated the wraps to indicate continuous/pulse ratings as they said they would months ago. If Efest can start doing this, with accurate ratings, then I would fully expect the other companies to be able to do so too.

All this aside, this is a good 25A ICR cell with good capacity and the classic flatter discharge curve that provides a more consistent vaping experience when using a mechanical/unregulated mod. It delivers more capacity down to 3.2V than the Samsung 25R and hits harder than the VTC4 at higher current levels.

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/tesiyi-40a-2600mah-18650-bench-retest-results-changed-cells-a-very-good-25a-2500mah.747105/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

Bottom Line: The Sony VTC5A is a top-performing 25A 2500mAh battery. It runs at a higher voltage than the Aspire 1800mAh, VTC4/5, 25R, and HD2C and runs for almost as long as the VTC5. I want to do some more comparisons against other cells but this is probably one of the top three best 18650’s.

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/sony-vtc5a-2500mah-18650-bench-test-results-a-fantastic-25a-battery.746719/

Bottom Line: This new Efest is accurately rated at 20A and 2900mAh and seems to rewrap a lower grade LG HG2. Its appearance is identical to the HG2 but its voltage is a bit lower and it has about 100mAh less capacity. This does not mean it’s less safe to use! It’s just a performance change and this Efest is accurately rated at 20A 2900mAh. This Efest still has the useless “pulse” rating in large lettering on the wrap but does list both the continuous and pulse ratings, a welcome change for Efest. These new metallic purple wrap 18650’s ship with a plastic battery case for each pair of batteries.

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/efest-metallic-purple-20a-2900mah-18650-bench-test-results-a-20a-battery-a-lower-grade-hg2.746257/

Efest Metallic Purple 20A 2500mAh 18650 Bench Test Results…accurately rated 20A, the HohmWork battery!

Bottom Line: Surprisingly, this new Efest is accurately rated at 20A and 2500mAh and rewraps the excellent Hohm Tech HohmWork cell. While the new metallic purple Efests still have the useless “pulse” rating in large lettering on the wrap, I applaud Efest for showing both the continuous and pulse ratings. This is a great first step towards having accurate ratings on all of our batteries. The new metallic wrap 18650’s also ship with a plastic battery case, a welcome change.

This Efest is identical in appearance to the HohmWork 20A 2500mAh cell and is essentially identical in performance. It is an enhanced version of the LG HE2 and this is reflected in the Efest’s performance.

When I mentioned to Hohm Tech that this Efest seems to use their HohmWork cell I received the following (understandable) response as part of our discusssion:
“Hohm Tech, Corp. has officially opened the doors to licensing the tech to select brands and/or manufacturers simply as a move to get safer cells with robust capabilities into the hands of consumers (1st official licensing issued March 2016). Hohm Tech realizes there are brand loyal consumers, in which many of these consumers will now be using a new battery (not new brand) with or without their knowing. Hohm Tech will not disclose the brands and/or manufacturers which are or will be licensed to use Hohm Tech cells or other areas within the IC/HT tech. Although we will not be disclosing these details, we are unmeasurably honored the industry has welcomed our efforts and focus of delivering safer batteries with workhorse capabilities.”

Only time will tell us if this is the only cell that Efest will use for the 2500mAh or whether they will use multiple different cells like they did for their earlier 3000mAh cell.

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/efest-metallic-purple-20a-2500mah-18650-bench-test-results-accurately-rated-20a-the-hohmwork.745823/

A few vendors were recently sold fake HG2’s, some of which I have been testing. Based on their own in-house testing, IMRBatteries thought they were rewrapped LG MG1’s. I didn’t have any of that battery here but the ones I bought recently arrived and after testing, I agree. The new batch(es) of fake HG2’s are rewrapped 10A 2850mAh LG MG1’s. See the graph below for a comparison of the discharges for the recent fake HG2’s and the MG1.

https://imgur.com/a/6zfmo

Their appearance is identical to the HG2 and their high capacity means they will probably pass any capacity or lower power testing. The fake wrap that is used is very close in color to the real wrap and the printing on the side is good enough. Unfortunately, these are well done fakes.

Here are some ways to spot the fakes…

• All of them have shiny/smooth white top insulating rings. The real HG2’s have matte/textured rings. If it’s too hard to check the surface directly, use a pencil. The real HG2 ring will show the pencil marks. The pencil will just slide over shiny ring on the fake HG2’s and not leave marks. This does not mean every battery with a shiny ring is a fake! Just that the fake HG2’s have them.
• The insulator ring on the fakes is self-adhesive and is firmly glued to the top of the battery. If you can shift the position of the ring, using a toothpick or something plastic (not metal!), that’s a sign that your HG2’s could be genuine.
• The fake HG2’s perform very poorly at 50W, or higher. This is the best way to test if an HG2 is fake or not. If you get an early low/weak battery alert, even compared to a 2500mAh battery, it could be a fake.

This post will probably soon be obsolete as the counterfeiters are most likely already using matte/textured rings without adhesive for the next batch. It might not be HG2’s next time!

We’ve had fake VTC4’s, VTC5’s, 25R’s, HE2’s, and HG2’s. There will be others, and soon. All we can do is stay alert and share whatever info we have as soon as we can. A huge Thank You to everyone who helped spread the word on these fake HG2’s!

Here are a few things to look for and be aware of. You should replace your battery…

• When you start getting earlier and more frequent “low battery” alerts from your regulated mod even though you haven’t increased the power.
• When you notice that your mechanical/unregulated mod doesn’t hit as hard, or for as long, as it used to (before needing to recharge your battery).
• If it starts getting warmer during use or charging even though you haven’t changed power settings or your coil resistance.
• If your charger will no longer get to 4.20V before stopping. Make sure the charger is functioning properly, clean the contacts, and try switching charger bays before replacing the battery though.
• If you see physical damage to the metal top or can of the battery. Things like dents and deep scrapes should not be ignored! A damaged wrap and top insulator ring can be replaced without needing to replace the battery.
• If it vents and leaks fluid, even the smallest amount. Continuing to use a battery after it has vented or leaked can lead to the battery overheating and possibly going into thermal runaway and bursting.
• If it has rusted badly. You don’t need to worry about a few small spots but if they are pushing the wrap up or growing larger then replace the battery.
• If it has discharged down below 2.0V for a long period of time. Accidentally discharging down below that for a short period of time is ok. But if you left a battery unused for a long period of time and it’s now dropped below 2.0V, replace it. You might be able to “recover” the battery with certain chargers but it’s damaged and it’s just not worth it.

There’s no need to replace a battery on a fixed schedule, e.g., once a year. Those who use their batteries at high power levels might have to replace them every few months, or even sooner. Low power vapers can easily get a couple years of use out of their batteries.

Never throw your batteries in the trash! Please recycle them. Many electronics stores, home improvement stores, and vape shops will accept your batteries for recycling. First give the battery a couple of wraps in whatever tape you have to insulate it from any metal it might touch.

You do not need to replace a battery if you dropped it but there’s no physical damage.

There are several things you can do to help your Li-Ion batteries last as long as possible before needing to replace them. Some are easy, some are quite inconvenient. Some have a big effect, some very little. But doing any of them can help slow down the aging and degradation of your batteries.

— Temperature —

• Don’t overheat them. High temperatures are the biggest cause of battery damage and reduced battery life. Anything over about 45°C/113°F, what most would call warm, and your batteries start aging faster. The more time they spend being warm or hot, and the hotter they get, the more damage you’re causing.

• Don’t use them when they’re very cold, below -20°C/-4°F. The chemical reactions in a battery are a lot less efficient at low temperatures leading to poor performance. The sudden heating of the battery if used when cold can cause localized internal heating, possibly damaging the battery.

— Discharging —

• Don’t overdischarge them. Our batteries are rated down to 2.5V or lower but you can extend their life by staying above 2.8V-3.0V***. Going below 2.0V or so leads to metal being plated inside different parts of the battery, eventually causing an internal short circuit and possible bursting of the battery.

• If you accidentally overdischarge your battery below 2.0V immediately recharge it at the slowest rate your charger supports. Once the battery rises up over 3.0V or so you can switch to your normal charge rate.

• If the battery has been at 2.0V for a while then it’s probably damaged. It’s not worth trying to use the “recovery” mode of your charger (if it has it) because the damage can lead to an internal short circuit later.

• Li-Ion batteries do not need to be discharged occasionally all the way down in order to keep them in top condition. Li-Ion batteries do not suffer from “memory”. This is only needed for NiCd (nickel-cadmium) or NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries.

• Partial discharging and recharging multiple times is better for long battery life than discharging all the way down to where the mod indicates “low battery” and then recharging.

— Charging —

• Don’t charge a battery that is below 0°C/32°F. It causes metal to be plated inside the battery eventually leading to an internal short circuit and possibly bursting of the battery.

• Where possible, setting your charger to 4.1V will reduce stress on the battery and extend its life. But you will lose 10%-15% of the capacity of the battery.

• Make sure the charger you use turns off once the charge is complete. Check the instructions for the charger you want to use.

• Never use a trickle charger with Li-Ion batteries! The continuous holding of the battery at the trickle charge voltage damages it.

• Don’t overcharge them. To get the longest running possible time from a battery some chargers go up to as high as 4.27V. While this does result in a bit more vaping time before needing to recharge, it damages the battery. Most of the batteries we use are rated at up to 4.25V but even this is quite high. It’s not dangerous until we’re approaching 5V but battery damage starts occurring way below this.

• Without a separate meter monitoring the battery’s highest voltage before the charger stops it’s hard to know what our batteries are actually being charged to. Our best option is to have our batteries spend as little time as possible fully charged and charge them just before using them. This usually isn’t very convenient but it does extend battery life.

• Charging at a slower rate is better, to a point. Most of our 18650 batteries have a “standard” charge rate of 1.0A-1.5A and a “rapid” charge rate of up to 4A. Charging at 0.5A might help extend the life of your batteries a bit but if the batteries are not getting warm at 1.0A then that’s a good compromise between battery life and convenience. Going down to 0.375A or 0.25A won’t help much versus charging at 0.5A.

• Charge 18350’s at 0.5A until you know that they aren’t getting more than a bit warm.

• Charge 26650’s at 1.0A until you know that they aren’t getting more than a bit warm. The better 26650’s can be charged at up 2.0A without adversely affecting battery life.

— Miscellaneous —

• Storing batteries in the refrigerator doesn’t make much of a difference in battery life unless you live in an area with high temperatures year around. It’s not dangerous to refrigerate them but be sure to let them come to room temperature before opening whatever airtight wrapping/container you have them in.

• If a battery wrap becomes damaged, replace it immediately. Replace the top insulator ring if it’s also damaged.
• Every time you buy batteries also buy battery boxes or sleeves, wraps, and top insulator rings. You…will…need…them.

— Additional Information —

***This is the resting voltage, NOT the voltage “under load” that the battery drops to when being used. If your mod stops firing when the battery drops to 3.2V the battery can rise back to to 3.5V or even higher after resting for a while. This “resting voltage” is the important voltage, the one to be used when determining how low you are really discharging your batteries.

While stopping at 3.4V, 3.6V, or even higher might extend battery life a bit you are missing out on a lot of additional vaping time that you could use before needing to recharge. That additional vaping time can be enjoyed every day for, at most, just the cost of one extra set of batteries a year. Stopping at these higher voltages won’t hurt the battery though. Just let the batteries sit for an hour before charging to see what their true resting voltage is when deciding how low you want their voltage to go in your mod.

Know your mod, know your batteries, and vape safe.

Fake LG HE2 Alert!

There are now fake LG HE2’s being delivered to shops. James Reeves of Vapors, Inc. was kind enough to send me two of the fakes to help put the word out. Thank you sir!

They also received fake HG2’s in the same shipment so still be on the lookout for those!

Here some info on the fakes…

• They omit “LG” from the start of the model number, the first line of characters on the wrap. The fakes just say “DBHE21865”.
• The top contact is larger than any LG top contact.
• The top cap seal, under the insulator ring, is blue and not the milky white it should be.
• The metal cans of the fakes don’t have the tooling marks near the top that the real ones do. The fakes are smooth-sided.
• Its performance is terrible. Even a 10A discharge sends the voltage plummeting.
  Its internal resistance is over 70mOhms versus the approximately 25mOhms internal resistance of a genuine HE2.