I was reading up on that! I just haven't looked at what batteries were on the market yet. I'm really trying my hardest, but I don't think these guys are going to hire me because of the lack of knowledge tbh, at most I just understand the basics like what the parts are, ohms law and the contents of e-juice. Why IMR and LiPo batteries? Are they safer? You're right, I should focus on the basics. He just said it would be cool if I knew what was on the market currently. Thanks for your input btw, I really appreciate it
"IMR" and "INR hybrid" chemistry batteries are what's called "high drain" batteries. The bulk of them are 18650 and 26650 in size but there are some IMR/INR batteries that are in 1835 and 18490/18500 and even 14500/14650 and 16340 sized as well. They're cylinder shaped pretty much...the numbers are the size of the battery....and 18650 batter is 18mm in diameter and 65.0 mm in height for example. The "IMR" and "INR" are short hand for "Lithium Manganese Round" meaning the chemistry of the battery and it's basic shape. "INR hybrid" stands for "Lithium Nickel Manganese hybrid Round" again stating its basic ingredients and shape. These are what's known as "high drain" chemistry batteries meaning they have a much higher amperage discharge rate than the older ICR or "Lithium Cobalt Round" chemistry batteries. Battery's life or storage capacity is measured in milliamp hours or "mah" rating. Basically 1000 mah is the same as 1 "amp hour." So if you have a battery that has a storage capacity of 1000 mah or aH than it can be discharged at a rate of 1 amp for 60 minutes before it is drained.
How fast the battery can be drained or discharged is measured in amps and is also referred to as the batteries "Continuous Amp drain limit rating" or simply known also as the "C" rating. So if a battery has a MAH rating of 2000 mah and a "C" rating of "2" then the battery can discharge at a rate of 4 amps for 1 hour before it is completely drained. There is also another drain limit known as the "pulse amp drain limit." Anytime you discharge a battery above it's continuous drain limit you are "pulsing" the battery. IMR/INR batteries have a superficial rating also known as the "pulse limit." The pulse limit is like an emergency safety net. Batteries can only be pulsed for a few seconds above their continuous drain limit rating and each battery has a different max amp pulse limit and how long it can be pulsed at that limit. The battery will get warm quickly if it is being "pulsed" and after it's done being pulsed it will need several minutes to cool down and settle before you should use it again. If you pulse a battery for too long you create stress on the battery (I’ll explain this later) and can cause it to overload and "vent" also known unofficially as "thermal meltdown". But more on that in a bit
The older LCR batteries typically have highest storage capacity and mah ratings of at least 2500 mah up to 3400 mah on average...but despite having a large mah capacity the chemistry is not very stable and can only be discharged at a rate of 1 or 2 C depending on the battery. So if you had a 3400 mah battery and it had a max drain rate of 2C then it's max discharge rate is 6.8 amps which would drain the battery in 30 minutes if drained continuously. Unlike IMR/INR batteries, ICR's don't really have the flexibility of a pulse limit and their 2C rating is the max you want to push them for safety's sake.
IMR/INR batteries are of a more stable nature. They have a lower internal resistance as well allowing them to discharge at a much higher rate than their ICR cousins but they lack the storage capacity in trade for this higher drain limit. The average mah rating of these batteries right now on the market is between 1500-2500 mah and the continuous amp drain ratings for most of them are 20 amps but some like the VTC 3's and 4's are 30 amp continuous drain. These batteries also have the higher "pulse" limit to allow for a safety cushion if there is a sudden spike in current draw and even though they are more stable and have a high current draw they can still vent and go thermal if mishandled.
A LiPo or “Lithium Polymer” battery is the third most common type. These are similar to the battery in your cell phone for lack of a better reference. They can be molded into any shape and have the lowest internal resistance of these three types of batteries giving them a fairly high storage capacity as well as an average amp discharge of 15 to 20 "C". These batteries, unlike the others are hard wired into whatever device they are used for and must be charged via internal charging plug with a micro USB being the most common. Because of their lower internal resistance and more stable nature typically a LiPo battery with the same storage capacity as an IMR will out preform the INR and last longer.
Just like the resistance of your atomizer your battery has "internal resistance" from the current passing through the materials it's stored in. LiPo batteries have the lowest internal resistance and ICR's have the highest on the norm. The lower the internal resistance the more efficient the battery will perform. Over the natural lifespan of a battery just from normal use the internal resistance slowly increases causing a decrease in storage capacity and output performance. Eventually it will get to the point where the battery will no longer function properly and will have to be replaced and recycled.
Misuse of batteries such as pushing a battery to it's Max continuous drain limit constantly or pushing it into it's pulse limit constantly will cause stress on the battery. This is most noticeable as the battery gets extremely hot. High stress and high heat cause the battery's internal resistance to rise prematurely. This is part of a safety build into the battery to help prevent it from thermal meltdown. Unfortunately, once a battery has been stressed hard enough to increase the internal resistance it can't be undone and the battery's life and performance abilities will have been shortened permanently. When a battery is pushed too hard, to hot, to fast that it cannot raise it's internal resistance fast enough to protect it's self...the battery will then "vent" or go into thermal meltdown. The temperature of the battery will be near boiling hot and pressure will build up very rapidly....if the mod the battery is in doesn't have sufficient ventilation then it can blow the mod apart with bomb like force. These are the explosions that the media loves to use to smear vaping’s good name. A meltdown happens very fast. The rapid heat and maybe if you’re lucky a “hiss” is all the warning you get before it happens…the best you can do is throw the mod away from you and anyone else it could harm if you’re outside. If inside try and get it in a tub or sink if possible but if it is more than a second’s reach from you just throw the mod in the safest place and hope for the best.
If you google battery university or even go through the battery section of the forum it’s full of good reference material. Some of the most popular batteries on the market right now are the Samsung 20R, the Samsung 25R, the LG HE2 and HE4, MXJO, Efest batteries, AW brand batteries, and the infamous “Sony” VTC 3’s and 4’s….even though the VTC 5’s are highly sought after they aren’t currently readily available and if someone says they have new ones for sale there is a good chance it is fake or if it is real they will ask more than it’s worth for it. There is so much I go on and on about when it comes to batteries but here is the just of the basics about them. A good site to learn about the specifics of them would be like
www.RTDvapor.com as they list most of the popular batteries basic specs and memorize them. I hope this helps and it wasn’t too long winded