Samsung SDI 18650-XYW

Question about Samsung SDI 18650 cells: They are labelled 18650-25R, or 30Q, or 22F, or 15M, or 35E, or 29E, or 20S, or 25A, or 22P, or 26J ...
I understand that number (25, 30, 22, ...) means capacity (example : 25 = 2500mAh)
But what is the meaning of the letter after the number (R, Q, F, N...)?Manufacturing technology? Manufacturing plant? Max discharge current? ...? )
Thanks in advance for you answers

Samsung lithium batteries are divided into SDI ( Korea) SDI stands for "Samsung Digital Interface" I have no idea why but that is the Acronym
and SDIEM ( made in Malaysia). The third line there are usually 4 digits.
1st digit is the version.
2nd, 3rd, and 4th is the date code.
You can check that here.

Wolf

Thanks for prompt answer, but this is not what I am looking for.
So I ask again on another way:
Samsung 18650-25R : "25" means 2500mAh - What's the meaning of "R" ?
Samsung 18650-30Q : "30" means3000mAh - What's the meaning of "Q"?
Samsung 18650-29E : "29" means 2900mAh - What's the meaning of "E"?
etc...
I am looking for some good cells for restoring a DELL laptop battery (presently LGABD-18650 - 3000mAh - max discharge 5800mA @45°C)

Ahh OK.
To that I am not really sure but.....
What I can tell, and this is speculation, Samsung INR18650-XXX (Lithium Manganese Nickel) cells which are high drain all seem to have E, M, R, Q after the mA descriptor as in 13Q, 15Q, 15M, 15R, 30Q, etc. you get the point. Mostly used for power tools.

Samsung ICR18650-XXX (Lithium Cobalt Oxide) cells with low drain seem to never have anything past H
as in 30A, 30B, 26F, etc. Mostly used for laptops.
Again speculation but it may be a descriptor of specific tweeking of the cell chemistry. One example is the difference in manufacturer IR between the ICR18650-22B, E, F, FM, FU, H, (≤100mΩ) and the ICR18650-22P and PM (≤35mΩ) . Also the charge cutout is different 110mA vs 43mA.

They are all 2200mAh but subtle differences.

All speculation but that's the best I got.

Wolf

May be, but not sure
In Nkon 18650 Samsung page we can find:
E = INR 6.4 to 8.25A
F = ICR 4.4A
J = ICR 5.2 to 10A
M = INR 20A
P = ICR 10A
Q = INR 15A
R = INR 20 to 22A
S = INR 25 to 30A

I understand that I need ICR (low drain) for laptop,
but E = INR 6.4 to 8.25A looks strange
I also notice that ICR cells max capacity is 2600mAh while E is up to 3500mAh.
May be E cells have specific technology: INR and Low drain

g2lyon said:

I also notice that ICR cells max capacity is 2600mAh while E is up to 3500mAh.

Click to expand...

Na that's not true ICR cells go just as high as INR look at the ICR18650-28A, 30A, 30B, and 32A by Samsung.
Let's not even start with the LG ICR selection as it is just as diversified.
If you want to download a 239 cell spec database I put together then just go here.
Wolf

Ah, thank you,

Unfortunately there is no SAMSUNG ICR cells with capacty higher than 2600mAh on NKON site.

You know much more than I about cells. What would you suggest as a substitute for my native LGABD11865 (apparently "pure" ICR if I well understand)?
Could Panasonic NCR be a good alternative? I am not sure if "hybrid" chemistry of theses cells would suit native DELL charging PCB (designed for LGABD, )

Ah the good old LGABD11865 3000mAh cell. I think that one was specifically designed for Dell to last maybe 3 years. Planned obsolescence.
Out of all the Dell packs that had LGABD11865 cells in them that I harvested, I managed to get 60 cells out of 212 recorded with a SOH barely over 80%. Lord knows I sent many of them to the recycler as they were either dead or AC IR was in the ionosphere. Anything over 51mΩ AC IR for that cell will be a crapshoot and more than likely a disappointing result.

OK on to alternatives.
So if you go to my cell database and sort by 3000mAh cells you come up with 15 alternatives.

There are several issues with the LGABD11865. One is that this cell was designed for a max Voltage of 4.35 and a charge cutoff of 50mA
The only cells that match that somewhat are the Samsung ICR18650-30A and B. Although the charge cutoff is 150mA.
All the other "3000"mAh cells have a different max voltage and are INR or hybrid. So the Dell BMS and charging circuit would not be compatible with any of those cells. So as far as a replacement cells for the Dell battery LGABD11865 there really is not much of an option other than the ICR18650-30A or B and in the end you will be overcharging the cutoff limit by 100mA. That is probably why the LGABD11865s had such a short lifespan as they were purposely abused to give very good results for a short period of time. Long enough for the laptop to be replaced with a new one. Planned obsolescence as I already mentioned.
I have modified my cell DB worksheet to now include a side by side comparison of 2 cells that way you can have some insight.
Wolf

Thanks a lot for this very detailed answer.
Unfortunately ICR18650 30A or 30B are not available on NKON site. Would you know another liable supplier in Europe? I am not so confident in Aliblabla or similar !

Don't blame you for your apprehension with AliNoExpress etc. I do not have any hints as to where you would find the ICR cells in europe.
There is a an online store https://www.vaproseurope.com/produc...0b-3000mah-3-7v-rechargeable-battery-flat-top
That looks like it carries the 30B
A quick lookup sorting my cell database with 4.35V criteria brings us 14 cells including of course the original LGABD11865

Many have similar qualities and specs except for capacity.
Maybe this will help.

Wolf

That's more than expected ! Thanks again for your help.