Battery Details

[jackforey]

So i have done a couple battery pulls and generally well now i have about 2 dozen 18650 and im trying to test them not for how charged they are but testing cells and current flow making sure these batteries are good and usable and safe at lease to a .2ohm build. if anyone has ideas on more i should be looking for when testing or a tester i can buy please let me know the two types of batteries i have now however are.
Heres what i know about batteries: but can someone please fill in the blanks with a decent range for vapine
Volts: (3.4-4.1?)
Watts:?
Amps:?
amphours:?
Cells:?
please any help appreciated.

 

[Mike H.]

No need to test really as the community has already determined what cells are adequate for use in vape devices.

For a single 18650 mechanical device ,the sony VTC3 or vtc4 are the king of the throne..They are a true 30 amp continuous battery which can support below a .20 ohm coil but not by much without pushing it to its limits. .20 ohm with 4.2v will produce 88 watts of power and pull 21 amps from you 30 amp cell.

For regulated devices it less forgiving and most tend to use a true 20 amp continuous cell within the 100 watt range...anything more one should consider the sony batteries for safety.

The trusted cells are:
Sony VTC3 (30 amp) 1600 mah.
Sony VTC4 (30 amp) 2100 mah
Sony VTC5 (20 amp) 2600mah (if you can find an authentic cell)
LG HE2 (20 amp) 2500 mah
LG HE4 (20 amp) 2500 mah
LG HG2 (20 amp) 3000 mah
Samsung 25r (20 amp) 2500 mah


In some cases other brand name cells are re wraps using one of the above cells and cost more to purchase. As well as print the "burst" rating of a cell and not its true continuous rating which is the most important factor in determining a proper and safe cell to use.

 

[Lefty]

Personally I wouldn't use any "pulled battery" on a .2 build, but that's just me.

 

[NemesisVaper]

So i have done a couple battery pulls and generally well now i have about 2 dozen 18650 and im trying to test them not for how charged they are but testing cells and current flow making sure these batteries are good and usable and safe at lease to a .2ohm build. if anyone has ideas on more i should be looking for when testing or a tester i can buy please let me know the two types of batteries i have now however are.
Heres what i know about batteries: but can someone please fill in the blanks with a decent range for vapine
Volts: (3.4-4.1?)
Watts:?
Amps:?
amphours:?
Cells:?
please any help appreciated.

Unless you can identify them exactly you're never going to know the exact amp limit.

You could roughly measure mAh by discharging to 2.5V then charging them using something that will give you a mAh count. Some mainstream chargers will do this.

Watts that can be generated by the cells re a function of its amp rating so you won't know unless you know that.

The green cell you have is a Sony. Type the model number into Google and you'll get plenty of hits. No way that's a high drain, at least not the calibre of high drain you'll need for 0.2 ohms. Lenovo wouldn't use 20A cells in a laptop, too cost prohibitive.

The other cell is likely the same.

In short, you've got yourself some nice reliable cells to use in a torch.

 

[CurlyxCracker]

They are protected batteries. And I wouldn't use them at such a low resistance by any means

 

[jackforey]

Okay well the other party of my question because I have a couple other older Sony vtc4 but there old can I use a battery tester to make sure they're still okay like not draining or losing volts and power due to a bad cell. ?

 

[Mike H.]

Regarding the old vtc4's...Why not just charge them (providing they are at least 2.5v or higher from sitting)...in which case i would replace them if not but, anyway charge them if possible and once charged take a voltage reading...let them sit for an hour after a charge and take another voltage reading..if they stay at the 4.0 volt range, they should be good cells...voltage can be lower but it can be an indicator of worn cells if they dont have at least 4 volts...one that showed 3.7 volts in other words, after a charge and sitting, is not going to be a good cell.

If you want a charger that shows both voltage and mah capacity look to buy the XTAR VC2 battery charger....they also have a feature that can try and bring back over discharged cells as well.

 

[NemesisVaper]

They are protected batteries. And I wouldn't use them at such a low resistance by any means

If they're out of a battery pack they're unprotected cells. They'd all be wired up to the same protection circuit inside the pack itself. The Sony cells are definitely unprotected as they come from the factory. Their wrap doesn't extend all the way down and wrap around the bottom like it does on most 18650s we use. Sony wrap them short to allow soldering or welding tabs to them without melting wrap getting in the way.

 

[CurlyxCracker]

If they're out of a battery pack they're unprotected cells. They'd all be wired up to the same protection circuit inside the pack itself. The Sony cells are definitely unprotected as they come from the factory. Their wrap doesn't extend all the way down and wrap around the bottom like it does on most 18650s we use. Sony wrap them short to allow soldering or welding tabs to them without melting wrap getting in the way.

I've seen some from an old rca cam recorder that used unprotected cells. I'd imagine in a laptop it wouldn't be necessary to use protected cells.

 

[Mike H.]

That green battery surely appears (could be wrong) to be a protected cell with that huge grove on the positive end..i suppose measuring the cell would tell that tale as it would be longer than a normal flat top from the pcb installed.

I looked at my vtc4 and its no where near as wide of a groove.

 

[NemesisVaper]

That green battery surely appears (could be wrong) to be a protected cell with that huge grove on the positive end..i suppose measuring the cell would tell that tale as it would be longer than a normal flat top from the pcb installed.

I looked at my vtc4 and its no where near as wide of a groove.

Protection pcbs are always installed on the negative. Installs on the positive are too complicated. The whole outside of the cell except the very centre pole is negative, this includes a portion of the metal on the positive face.

Protecting the positive would involve messing around insulating the protection contact so that only the very centre touches the cell. Protecting the negative simply means slapping a full face contact on there, way more simple.

Covering the positive would also interfere with venting.