Vapcell A11 18350 1100mAh batteries from a local shop

It's been quite a while since I last tested batteries. I needed some cells in the relatively uncommon 18350 size to repair a vape, so I bought some, tested them, and here are the results.

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A long time ago, I reviewed a device called the Wismec Active Kit. I liked it at the time, but I didn't use it as a vape. The little thing did a great job as a Bluetooth speaker while I was renovating my daughter's place.
Yes, it's a rather rare and unusual vape with a built-in Bluetooth speaker, and a pretty good one at that.


After that, it just sat around until the war started and buying cigarettes became a problem. That's when I remembered I had not only a vape with a set of atomizers, but also e-liquid. I've been using an e-cigarette about 50% of the time for over a year now.
But gradually I started noticing that it charged unusually quickly and ran out just as fast. I roughly measured its capacity, and it turned out to be really bad. Even though I run it at around 9-10 W, it had started shutting off occasionally.

There was no point in taking it apart, since I already have a review with detailed photos.


As I wrote back then, the case was probably designed for 18650 cells, but when they added the speaker, they had to cut corners, so they fitted 18350 cells instead. More precisely, they fitted a JS18370 battery. From the name, you can tell that it probably contains a pair of 18370 cells, or maybe even 18350s, since 18370s are incredibly rare.


I'll cover the replacement in another review. I'm a bit short on free time right now, but I can show you the test results already.

At first I wanted to buy Vapcell M11 batteries, which I've already reviewed, but then I spotted the newer A11 version. It has a rated continuous discharge current of 10 A instead of 9 A, at almost the same price. I figured the newer version had probably spent less time in storage, offered a slightly higher current, and hadn't been tested by me yet, so I ordered it.
Since the seller is in my city, I got a small package the next day.

The M11 batteries cost 150 UAH each, while these cost 160 UAH. That was another reason I ordered the A11.



Before the tests, here are the specifications from the Vapcell website.
Model: A11
Size: 18.3 ± 0.2 *35.3 ± 0.3 mm
Typical Capacity: 1100mAh (0.2C discharge)
Min capacity: 1000mAh (0.2C discharge)
Nominal voltage: 3.60V
Max Continuous Discharge Current: 10A
End-of-charge voltage: 4.20V
End-of-discharge Voltage: 2.5V
Weight: 26g ( Appr)
Internal resistance: 30mΩ ( Appr)（AC 1kHz）
Standard Charge: 500mA,CCCV 100mA cut-off
Quick Charge Current: 1500mA



Visually, the only difference from the M11 is probably the color, since they have the same size and rated capacity. And as I mentioned, the A11's maximum current is 10 A, compared with 9 A for the M11, although I tested the latter at 12 A in my review.


Dimensions and weight


As always, before the main tests I run what I call a "normalization" cycle. This isn't "training," "conditioning," or anything like that, because batteries like these don't need to be "broken in." I run the first cycle to, so to speak, "zero out" the battery and test all the batteries from the same starting state.
In the first cycle, I got about the rated 1100mAh, so no issues there. The batteries were initially charged to around 55-60%.


Two charging modes are specified: 500mA and 1500mA. Note that my vape's built-in battery charger has a charging current of about 2 A, i.e. 1 A per cell, which is not exactly a low current.
I tested at 500 mA. The current dropped slightly during the process—that's a tester bug—but even at this setting, charging took 2 hours and 27 minutes, which is pretty good.


At 1.5 A, the CV phase took considerably longer; the cells were clearly struggling to charge at that rate.


I ran discharge tests at eight settings: 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3C, 5, 7.5, and 10 A.
Well, what can I say? In my opinion, 7.5 A is their limit, at least for sustained use.


Temperatures at 5, 7.5, and 10 A. You can already see that they get quite hot at 7.5 A.


The second one behaved almost identically; the difference was within the measurement error.


The temperature results were similar.


Comparison of how closely their characteristics match at 0.2, 1, and 3C, and at 5 and 10 A.
The second cell performed slightly better, but I wouldn't say the difference was large; it was mainly noticeable at higher currents.


Cell impedance after delivery, after conditioning, and at the end of testing. Note that the M11's impedance is significantly lower: 21 mΩ versus 29 mΩ for the A11. It's odd that the A11 is rated for a higher discharge current than the M11.


At a discharge current of 7.5 A—or, more precisely, once the temperature exceeded 70–75°C—the heat-shrink tubing started to come off. After the 10 A test, when the temperature went above 90°C, it had peeled off quite noticeably. This is typical of Chinese heat-shrink tubing; I've never seen it happen with branded cells, even at temperatures above 100°C.


Comparison with the M11 at 0.2 and 1C, and at around 5 and 10 A. The cells were tested under slightly different conditions, so I compared the closest matching results.
I should also mention that when I tested the M11 cells a few years ago, I had problems with the battery tester: it added a pulse component, which introduced measurement error. Fortunately, I spotted the problem fairly quickly, and it affected only the test of these cells.

The cells under review are highlighted in red, and the M11s in blue.


And now for the conclusions.
To be honest, I expected the cells to perform a little better. At 5 A, they clearly fall short of the M11 cells, and at 10 A, it's best not to use them for extended periods. My cells will be used at around 1.5–2C, which is generally fine, but I still hoped for better.
Of course, someone will ask: why not use cells from disposable vapes? I could—I've got some, including ones of the same size with a capacity of 1200 mAh. But their impedance is around 35 mΩ, so they're rated for an even lower discharge current. My vape is rated for up to 80 W, which means the discharge current could reach around 25 A, or 12.5 A per cell. The cells under review can handle that, although it would be very hard on them; disposable-vape cells probably couldn't.

Overall, these are decent cells, but their impedance is higher than the M11's, and in practice they should be used at no more than 5–7.5 A.

That's all from me. I hope you found this useful.