Samsung INR21700-50G Batteries from VapCell

More genuine batteries sold by the Vapcell store—this time, the relatively new Samsung INR21700-50G cells, notable for their high capacity and discharge current of up to 14.7 A.

I actually already had these batteries, but as rewrapped cells sold under the Vapcell G50 name. At least, that's my suspicion, and I'll check it at the end of this review. For now, here's a straightforward review of some good batteries.

They came in plain cardboard packaging, with no branded boxes. By the way, they cost the same as the G50 cells I showed earlier, but those came with a branded box. Judging by the reviews, these cells are also supposed to come with a box, but mine arrived in cardboard packaging.


I found a datasheet online, but for some reason I have doubts about whether it's genuine.


According to the markings, they were made in late February 2020, almost a year ago, so they're still fairly fresh.
The positive terminal is flat, and there's a matrix code which, as it should be, is unique to each cell.




The “conditioning” cycle was run with a 2 A charge and a 1 A discharge. The measured capacities were 4937 and 4986 mAh.


The nominal charging current is 0.33C, or 1.617 A. Charging at 0.5C and 1C is also supported, but I used 0.33C for my tests.


Charging in this mode took 3 hours and 23 minutes, with the CV phase lasting a little longer than expected.


According to the datasheet, the maximum continuous discharge current is 2C, or 9.8 A, while the short-term current is 3C, or 14.7 A. I tested at 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 3C, where C = 4900 mAh. The 3C test was run for just as long as the other tests.

The first cell delivered slightly more than 4900 mAh (18 Wh) at 0.2C and over 4800 mAh (16 Wh) at 3C, which is very good in my opinion.


No issues with temperature at 2C and 3C either; everything looks great. As far as I can tell, the cells can be discharged continuously at 3C, but this will reduce their service life.


The second cell showed practically the same results.




The cells' characteristics match very closely, with no complaints here either. They're almost identical, and the small differences are more likely due to measurement error and temperature.


Cell impedance as received, after “conditioning,” and after all the tests.


And, of course, a comparison graph showing:
The Samsung INR21700-50G reviewed here
Samsung INR21700-50E
LG INR21700-M50T
Vapcell G50

Yes, after comparing the graphs, we can say with confidence that the Vapcell G50 uses Samsung INR21700-50G cells. You might be able to tweak the capacity figures to make them look similar, but matching the characteristic curve is much harder. And as you can see below, the graphs are identical.


I'll keep the conclusions brief.
These batteries are fairly new, fully meet their stated specifications, and are genuine Samsung INR21700-50G cells. I won't comment on the price; my only goal was to measure their characteristics and add another graph to my “collection,” so it will be easier to identify the cells used in various rewraps later on.

As for applications, as I understand it, these are currently the 21700 cells with the best capacity-to-current ratio. They can be used in electric vehicles and power tools, though for the latter I'd use packs with at least a 2P configuration. The upside is that a 5S2P battery can deliver nearly 10 Ah at currents up to 30 A.

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