Everything You Need To Know About The 18650 li-ion Battery
A 18650 is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Their full and common name is “18650 li-ion cell”. The 18650 cell has a voltage of 3.7v and has between 1800mAh and 3500mAh.
There are two types of these cells, protected and unprotected li-ion batteries. We recommend you protected 18650 li-ion batteries. The average 18650 li-ion battery charge time is approximately 4 hours. Charge time can vary with the amperage and voltage of the charger and the battery model.
18650 li-ion Chemistry
There are several different chemical combinations for 18650 li-ion batteries. We suggest that you focus on the protected method, the chemistry can increase and is not reported.
Here are some of the current “varieties”. Depending on your device type one sway be better than the others.
- LiFePO4 which is Lithium iron phosphate also known as IFR or LFP or Li-phosphate
- LiMn2O4 which is Lithium manganese oxide also known as IMR or LMO or Li-manganese
- LiNiMnCoO2 which is Lithium manganese nickel also known as INR or NMC
- LiNiCoAlO2 which is Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide also known as NCA or Li-aluminum
What Are 18650 Li-ion Batteries Used For?
Flashlights, laptops, vaping, electronics, and even some electric transports use the 18650s. Tesla uses 7180 of these batteries. Many high lumen flashlights such as the Fenix PD35 or Thrunite TN14 use the 18650 cells or the even larger 21700.
Laptops and other electronic devices use one or more 18650’s and have restoring electronics built-in. 18650’s are also used in vaping accessories.
18650s are regularly Lithium-ion batteries. If you are familiar with electronic devices you can change out some battery packs manually, but be careful, using the wrong type of 18650 or using it incorrectly can generate fire.
The Best 18650 Battery
The Orbtronic 18650 battery is the best. This is a 18650 3.7v 3500mAh protected cell. This is a high-drain battery. We like it but it is costly than other cells.
The LG18650b is the best low-cost 18650 battery. The Panasonic 18650 is a 18650 3.7v 3400mAh Protected cell. This is less expensive and insignificantly lower amp hours. This cheap 18650 li-ion battery is still more expensive than the unprotected ones.
What 18650 Brands Are Best?
The Samsung, LG, Orbtronic, Panasonic, and Nitecore are good reliable 18650 Li-ion rechargeable cells. Be sure to buy them from a reliable source such as dev.18650canada.ca or direct from the manufacturer.
We don’t use the below voltage and amperage 18650s because they have lower amp hours and low peak wattage and lower established wattage.
The Best 18650 Battery Charger
The 18650 li-ion batteries are rechargeable, so you will need a great charger. We use two separate 18650 chargers for these batteries.
The best 18650 L-ion battery charger is the Nitecore i4 because it can charge much anything.
The second best charger is the XTAR VC4. It is a USB-powered 18650 battery charger. It requires batteries with any USB power source. This unit is reliant on the power source.