LG INR18650-MJ1 batteries from Vapcell

You’re not imagining things: I reviewed these batteries almost two years ago. But back then they were from Nkon; today’s ones are from AliExpress.
A look at the batteries, some tests, and of course a comparison with the previous ones.


I’ll start by commenting on the price. I agree, it’s somewhat... high—about one and a half times what it was at the store I mentioned. But shipping there costs extra, while AliExpress offers free shipping, which partly makes up for the difference. Personally, though, I was more interested in the comparison itself, especially since the batteries I tested last time were a little unusual.

The packaging is basic: cardboard boxes with some warnings on them.


There’s no point listing the specs from the AliExpress page, since they’re available in the original.


Visually, they seem to differ only in color. There’s now a warning label, and, more importantly, a matrix code that lets you tell a counterfeit from a genuine battery—at least for now.
The markings have also changed slightly: there’s now an extra character before the date code. But based on the old table, the production date is day 118 of 2020, so they’re just over a year old.
The matrix codes are different, as they should be on genuine batteries.


Dimensions and weight are all fine.


The batteries arrived at about 30% charge. The “normalization” cycle gave results of 3420 and 3448 mAh.


As last time, I checked the charging time at 0.5C, or 1.7 A. This time it was slightly longer, by about 7 minutes.


I tested capacity using the same settings: 0.2C, 0.5C, 1C, 2C, and 10 A. The results were quite predictable: the battery easily delivered its 3400 mAh, though it fell short of the stated maximum of 3500 mAh.


The temperature at 6.8 A and 10 A was about the same as with the previous batteries.


The second sample produced virtually identical results.


But for some reason, the temperature at a 10 A discharge current was higher. A mystery.


The test for consistency between the batteries looks practically perfect to me. At 0.2C, the lines merged into one.


Battery impedance as received, after “normalization,” and after all the tests. The differences are also within the measurement error.


And now for the promised comparison with the batteries from Nkon. Since their results varied a little more, I’m showing one of the batteries reviewed here (blue) and two from the previous test (red). The load currents are 0.2C, 1C, and 10 A.
There’s a slight advantage for the previous batteries, but it’s not a big one. Though it’s probably worth noting that one of the previous samples exceeded 3500 mAh.


Conclusions.
Well, I’ve already explained the price: unfortunately, they’re expensive. As for quality, I can say unequivocally that I have no complaints. These are the same well-known MJ1 cells, among the few high-capacity 18650 batteries that can continuously deliver up to 10 A.

That’s all for now. I hope you found this useful.