Become a Patron!

18650 shelf life?

H4X0R46

H4X0R46

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Hello all, so I contacted my favorite battery vendor about their HG2s they have for sale and was told that the batch they have is dated November 2017. Now I'm wondering if that's considered older since these cells naturally degrade even when not being charged and/or discharged. How long does it take for an unused brand new cell to become "old"?
 
inspects

inspects

Squonkamaniac
Senior Moderator
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 5 Years
I'm not sure, but I found some samsung batteries I bought a few years ago, charged them, working just like any other samsungs I have.
 
r055co

r055co

VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
If you take care of them and not abuse them (keeping around CDR) they'll last a few years

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
 
PoppaVic

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
r055co said:
If you take care of them and not abuse them (keeping around CDR) they'll last a few years

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I think the panic/confusion is warehouse shelf-life. And, I am sure there is some damned study, somewhere by someone that got a pile of money in a grant to stare at the boxed cells for many months and measure "remaining charge".

I've never gotten a cell with less than about 3.25v - ever.
 
inspects

inspects

Squonkamaniac
Senior Moderator
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 5 Years
The ones I found which were in my closet for two years still were at 3.40...never used, never charged
 
Carambrda

Carambrda

Platinum Contributor
ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years
If the storage conditions have been properly maintained, over the course of 6 months being kept in storage you can expect the capacity rating of an 18650 INR/NMC battery such as the LG HG2 to have declined by usually not much more than 1.5%.

F2.large.jpg
 
H4X0R46

H4X0R46

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Ah, you guys are truly awesome! Well alrighty, unpopular opinion it seems, but I love my HG2s! They seem to be getting harder to come by and more expensive when you do! I know there's that allotment of time between the factory to sitting in a battery vendor's warehouse for months. Thanks y'all!
 
jwill

jwill

The Great King of Nothing
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 2 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reddit Exile
VU SWAT
H4X0R46 said:
Ah, you guys are truly awesome! Well alrighty, unpopular opinion it seems, but I love my HG2s! They seem to be getting harder to come by and more expensive when you do! I know there's that allotment of time between the factory to sitting in a battery vendor's warehouse for months. Thanks y'all!
Click to expand...

HG2's are great batteries. If you are comfortable with them and they provide what you need, thats a win.

I have 18650 batteries that are several years old still in regular rotation. I used to keep track of how many times I charged them to see what the service life was but gave up on that pointless business. Now once they stop fully charging or I suspect they are discharging too quickly they go into the flashlight only pile where they are used until they die.

Lithium batteries have a good service life if cared for and used carefully and the right battery is used for the right application. Wrap them when they need it, store them in a case, charge them before they get too low and if you store them for long periods do not do not do so with a full charge.
 
SteveS45

SteveS45

Diamond Contributor
ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years
jwill said:
I have 18650 batteries that are several years old still in regular rotation. I used to keep track of how many times I charged them to see what the service life was but gave up on that pointless business. Now once they stop fully charging or I suspect they are discharging too quickly they go into the flashlight only pile where they are used until they die.
Click to expand...

I see so many posts how people supposedly keep track of age and charge cycles who recycle them after so many cycles or age. I have batteries that perform exactly like the day I got them almost 4 years later. I do the same as you @jwill
 
Jon@LiionWholesale

Jon@LiionWholesale

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Unlisted Vendor
It makes a huge difference how they're stored. For us, they're stored under 30% SOC and at room temperature in a climate controlled warehouse, so that means that for a couple years they're basically "as new", maybe minus a percent or two.

If you were to store them fully charged or not climate controlled, then they can degrade faster.
 
r055co

r055co

VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Jon@LiionWholesale said:
It makes a huge difference how they're stored. For us, they're stored under 30% SOC and at room temperature in a climate controlled warehouse, so that means that for a couple years they're basically "as new", maybe minus a percent or two.

If you were to store them fully charged or not climate controlled, then they can degrade faster.
Click to expand...
Yep, cool dry place with a slight charge. From what I hear around 3.5V but even with that they will degrade with age even if you don't use them, but you can slow it down.
 
H4X0R46

H4X0R46

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
jwill said:
HG2's are great batteries. If you are comfortable with them and they provide what you need, thats a win.

I have 18650 batteries that are several years old still in regular rotation. I used to keep track of how many times I charged them to see what the service life was but gave up on that pointless business. Now once they stop fully charging or I suspect they are discharging too quickly they go into the flashlight only pile where they are used until they die.

Lithium batteries have a good service life if cared for and used carefully and the right battery is used for the right application. Wrap them when they need it, store them in a case, charge them before they get too low and if you store them for long periods do not do not do so with a full charge.
Click to expand...
Good to know! Yeah I'm very careful with my batteries, I don't let them go below like 3.68v or so. About the time my mod tells me 50% or below, they go on the charger. I DO however charge my HG2s at 1A. Always wondered how much that shortens their life span. The data sheet for the HG2 says they can charge up to 4A (which I'd never ever do lol).
 
H4X0R46

H4X0R46

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Jon@LiionWholesale said:
It makes a huge difference how they're stored. For us, they're stored under 30% SOC and at room temperature in a climate controlled warehouse, so that means that for a couple years they're basically "as new", maybe minus a percent or two.

If you were to store them fully charged or not climate controlled, then they can degrade faster.
Click to expand...
That's great info! You probably noticed the battery vendor I mentioned was Liion haha I really only buy from Liion. It's good to know, I'll probably put another order in for some HG2s when I get a chance. Thanks!
 
Carambrda

Carambrda

Platinum Contributor
ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years
H4X0R46 said:
Good to know! Yeah I'm very careful with my batteries, I don't let them go below like 3.68v or so. About the time my mod tells me 50% or below, they go on the charger. I DO however charge my HG2s at 1A. Always wondered how much that shortens their life span. The data sheet for the HG2 says they can charge up to 4A (which I'd never ever do lol).
Click to expand...
Mooch recommends vaping the batteries down to 3.0 volts, or higher if the amp draw on the batteries gets close to the CDR (i.e. 20 amps for the LG HG2) and if that makes them get a tad warm. If you vape at very low wattage, discharging them to 2.8 volts doesn't hurt them too much.

As for the relationship between battery charging rates and battery aging. Mooch recently did a video on this:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

VU Sponsors

Top