3500mAh cells tested: Sanyo vs Panasonic vs LG vs Samsung

[thunderheart]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here andI know this forum is mainly about harvesting used cells and maybe this test should not be published here. Nevertheless, i think it could be interesting to take a look at the results of discharge test of this cells.

The cells were bought from Queen Battery, a Chinese supplier of genuine batteries, who specializes mainly on EV and eBike market. Queen Battery has a branch in Europe, but they also work with customers from Americas, Russia, etc

I've tested with ZKETECH EBC-A20 and a self-made battery holder. It's a PC-connected battery tester supporting 4-wire measuring and discharging at up to 20A.

I've followed all the prescriptions of the IEC61960-2003 standard concerning battery's capacity measurement. Before each discharging cycle each battery was charged at standard current mentioned in its datasheet to 4.2V (cut-off at 0.1A, which is the lowest supported by EBC-A20). Before each discharging or charging i've held a 1-1.5hrs pause. The environment temperature was 20-25C (21-23C to be honest).

Discharge cut-off voltage was 2.5V for Sanyo, Panasonic and LG and 2.65V for Samsung (following their datasheets). Discharging currents were 10A, 8A, 5A, 2A and 0.2C which was 0.67A for Sanyo and Panasonic and 0.68A for LG and Samsung.

Id like to mention, that Sanyo and Panasonic are the same company now and I use different brands just to distinguish Japanese made NCR18650GA marked as SANYO from Chinese made NCR18650GA which doesnt have brand marking but is designed in Panasonic style. So lets start!

Sanyo NCR18650GA

This cells marking is SANYO L NCR18650GA 7401. The L means that it was made by Sanyo Energy Higashiura Co. LTD, Japan. Here is its datasheet.

The main specs:
Rated capacity: 3300mAh (0.67A discharge at 20C)
Capacity (min): 3350mAh (0.67A discharge at 25C)
Capacity (typical): 3450mAh
Discharge cut-off voltage: 2.5V
Max continuous discharge current: 10A
Standard charging current: 1.675A (Ive charged at 1.68A due to EBC-A20s resolution restrictions)
Max charging current: 3.35A
Charge end voltage: 4.20V 0.03V

Here are the results Ive got:

As you can see, at 0.2C (0.67A) it gave out 3491mAh / 12.64Wh which is much more than the typical capacity of 3450mAh declared in the datasheet. The results at higher discharge rates are:
2A: 3351mAh / 11.88Wh
5A: 3323mAh / 11.27Wh
8A: 3286mAh / 10.76Wh
10A: 3295mAh / 10.60Wh

Almost 3300mAh at 10A! And the curve has no sudden falls. I think its a brilliant result, bravo Sanyo!

Panasonic NCR18650GA

This guy is the twin brother of Sanyo. The wrapping is in traditional Panasonic style and has Made in China and D 75051W markings.

The cell was made in Suzhou, China, at Panasonics new battery plant. It shares the same specifications and the same datasheet with Sanyo NCR18650GA, which is not a surprise as far as they have the same model number.

The Chinese NCR18650GA showed the following results:

At 0.2C (0.67A) it gave out 3448mAh / 12.53Wh - exactly the same capacity which is mentioned as typical in the datasheet. Its lower than the Japanese ones result, but still a great one. At higher rates:
2A: 3305mAh / 11.69Wh
5A: 3295mAh / 11.13Wh
8A: 3286mAh / 10.73Wh
10A: 3250mAh / 10.31Wh

The results are a bt lower than those of the Sanyo, but the difference is not critical. Sanyos results can also differ from cell to cell, so the main thing is that it complies with the datasheets typical capacity. At 8A there is almost no difference and at 10A the difference is only 45mAh.

LG INR18650 MJ1

This battery is made in South Korea (I guess) and the wrapping has the following marking: LGDBMJ11865 P274I301A1. The datasheet is here.

The main specs:
Capacity (nominal): 3500mAh (at 0.68A discharge)
Capacity (minimum): 3400mAh (at 0.68A discharge)
Discharge cut-off: 2.5V
Max continuous discharge current: 10A
Standard charging current: 1.7A
Max charging current: 3.4A
Charging end voltage: 4.20V 0.05V

The standard charging and discharging currents are a bit higher than NCR18650GAs, but the cut-off voltage is the same.

At 0.2C / 0.68A the capacity was 3384mAh / 12.32Wh which is lower than the minimum declared in the datasheet. Not a good start for a heavyweight player. The results at higher rates:
2A: 3275mAh / 11.62Wh
5A: 3258mAh / 10.98Wh
8A: 3208mAh / 10.39Wh
10A: 3205mAh / 10.09Wh

I cant call these results great or even good. Maybe they could be good if the cell was marked as a 3400mAh one, but for a 3500mAh cell its a fail. Surprisingly the results at 8A and 10A are almost identical.

Samsung INR18650-35E

This cell is also South Korean and it is marked INR18650-35E SAMSUNG SDI 2G25. Here is its datasheet.

The main specs:
Capacity (min): 3350mAh (at 0.68A discharge)
Capacity (typical): 3400mAh
Discharge cut-off: 2.65V
Max continuous discharge current: 8A
Standard charging current: 1.7A
Max charging current: 2.0A
Charging end voltage: 4.20V

Pay attention to the discharge cut-off voltage its higher than that of others. Max charging current is only 2A which is slightly higher than the standard charging current and significantly lower than 3.4A allowed for Sanyo/Panasonic and LG. Max continuous discharge current is limited by 8A, but I have tested it at 10A for comparison.

At 0.2C (0.68A) the second Korean guy shows 3488mAh / 12.63Wh even having discharging cut-off at 2.65V! I want to remind the result of Japanese made NCR18650GA with 2.5V cut-off: 3491mAh / 12.64Wh the difference is only 3mAh / 0.01Wh!!! Bravo Samsung! The results at higher rates:
2A: 3384mAh / 11.90Wh
5A: 3317mAh / 11.08Wh
8A: 3248mAh / 10.47Wh
10A: 3205mAh / 10.14Wh

At 10A its slightly higher than the LG MJ1, but dont forget that the Samsungs max discharging current is 8A and the MJ1 was discharged to 2.5V.


COMPARISON

Looking at the heroes one by one is interesting, but more interesting is to compare them. I will not compare at 0.2C because the 0.2C is not the same for all 4 batteries.

So lets start with 2A:

Samsung continues its surprises! Even with 2.65V discharge cut-off it managed to overtake the Sanyo NCR18650GA! Sanyo is the second, Panasonic the third and LG is the last. The difference between Samsung and LG is 109mAh / 28Wh.

5A discharge:

Sanyo takes over Samsung thanks to its 2.5V discharge cut-off voltage. The battle between Samsung and Panasonic for the second place is lost by Samsung because although it has higher capacity (3317mAh vs 3295mAh), Panasonic has higher energy: 11.13Wh vs 11.08Wh. So Samsung is the third and LG is the fourth as expected.

8A discharge:

The two NCR18650GAs showed the same capacity, but the Japanese one has 0.03Wh more energy given out, so the first place is occupied by him. The third is Samsungs nimble 35E and LG is yes, the fourth.

10A discharge:

Sanyo proves that he is number one and there cant be another opinion. The difference between Japanese and Chinese NCR18650GAs is 45mAh / 29Wh. Panasonic is the second, LG has lost the third place to Samsung despite its specs.


CONCLUSION

The Japanese made NCR18650GAs triumph was not a surprise for me, but the brilliant show by Samsung was! Nevertheless, Sanyo NCR18650GA is the number one, Panasonic NCR18650GA is not the same but very close to its Japanese bro and is the number two. Samsung showed an exceptional performance at 0.2C and 2A but at higher discharge rates Panasonic was better. LG is the outsider of this division. Its not a bad battery, but the competitors are better.

The prices (without shipping) at the moment of purchase were the following:
Sanyo/Panasonic NCR18650GA: US$3.70
Samsung INR18650-35E: US$3.10
LG INR18650 MJ1: US$3.10
For the latest pricelist, shipping rates and discounts drop an e-mail to wangxin570@gmail.com (Queen Batterys sales manager). They can also make battery packs on demand.

You can also check out my YouTube channel with reviews of battery chargers and other stuff. The Miboxer C4-12 (3.0A x 4 slots) review is coming soon. Subscribe to not miss the new reviews.
For those who prefer watching than reading Ive made the video version of this test

Im looking forward to read your thoughts, suggestions and questions in the comments!

 

[Korishan]

Very well done! Now we have a 4-wire tester on the forums, nice!

 

[thunderheart]

Thanks Korishan! In fact i didn't know to post or not to post it here I've already done a number of tests of different cells and if secondlifestorage members are interested - i'll post them here (as well as upcoming tests).

 

[Korishan]

Most definitely. Just put each big test in its own thread, to make things easier to filter

We like tests, numbers, and GRAPHS w/ LINES!!!

 

[thunderheart]

Me too))

 

[hbpowerwall]

Thanks Korishan! In fact i didn't know to post or not to post it here I've already done a number of tests of different cells and if secondlifestorage members are interested - i'll post them here (as well as upcoming tests).

Feel free to post away Thunderheart

 

[Headrc]

Good one Thunderheart...bring it on! The more the better..

 

[thunderheart]

Thanks for warm welcome guys!

 

[daromer]

Nice tester and work. One thing i would do different is the cables/wires/contacts from the tester. It may be 4 wires from the tester BUT its hooked up a bit to far away from the battery itself and therefore introduces an potential error. The measure leads should kind of be connected to its own contact to the battery or very very close to the battery tab

But with that side note its a nice unit and nice work youve done. It looks like the tests lygte tend to do.

 

[thunderheart]

You're right, the idea is to connect 4 wires to the battery, but in real life we need to connect them to the holder contacts. In this test i used thick and large enough steel pads as contacts to not influence on the results. In my recent tests i used an upgraded holder with pure copper 20x20x0.3mm pads and i'm looking forward to upgrade it with larger pads. In pursuit of perfection)))

 

[BlueSwordM]

For this test, I would advise doing something like a spring bypass, or spring contact bypass.

It's used in the flashlight community to direct drive high power LEDs to their full potential, some reaching 20A at max power without burning the wires, or heating them up.

Example: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5803/21403543141_2b7c1a6964_b.jpg

Then connect the power wires directly to the tester, and you'll get the least voltage drop possible, along with measuring the voltage using 2 additional wires as you did.

 

[thunderheart]

Took a look at the picture and i think the contact square is toooo small. Voltage drop isn't a problem because my tester uses 4-wire connection (2 separate wires for voltage).

 

[rev0]

Hey thunderheart, how programmable is that battery tester? Could you program a specific charge profile which varies charging current throughout the cycle? I'm still in the early design phases for an extender battery for my Nissan Leaf, and one of the big problems is getting cells that can handle DC quick charging, which pushes over 2C charge rate into the on-board battery (and hence would push nearly as much into a small extender pack, though decreasing proportionally with the extender pack size). Other people have used hybrid batteries, which are designed to handle much higher C rates for charge/discharge, but I'm curious how a "standard" 18650 energy cell would handle the charge profile like the following:








There's not really a clear definition for what it's doing in that "phase 2", since as you can see it behaved a lot differently on one charge compared to the other.

Edit: Well had no idea those testers were that cheap. Totally bought one just now, the 10A version: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EBC...on-phosphate-lithium-battery/32855337209.html On sale for $51.

 

[thunderheart]

Could you program a specific charge profile which varies charging current throughout the cycle?

No. You can set the current and the end voltage. It charges the battery using CC method until the end voltage is reached and then starts reducing the current keeping the voltage intact (CV).