Samsung INR18650-25S Batteries from VapCell

No, friends, you’re not experiencing déjà vu—I really did review Samsung INR18650-25S batteries before, but those were bought locally.
Today I’m reviewing the same batteries, but these came from VapCell. I ordered them partly for comparison.


I’ve shown genuine batteries several times before, but they were from AliExpress. It rarely worked out to compare them with ones bought locally, so this was a good opportunity.

They come in small cardboard boxes. Nothing fancy.


Externally, the only differences are the VapCell sticker and the production date. These were made in early 2020, so they’re 9 months “younger.”


Their dimensions and weight are the same, within the margin of error.


The preliminary test also showed no differences.


As I’ve already mentioned, these batteries can be charged at the standard rate of 0.5C or faster, at 4 A.

By the way, not long ago a friend was looking for replacements for Samsung 13L batteries. The catch was that they’re in a 10S pack, and the charger charges them at 4 A. As it turned out, there aren’t that many battery types you can charge at that current without risking overheating them and shortening their service life.
I think we replaced them with 13R cells. There was a price limit, but in my opinion, 25S cells would have been perfect for the job.

Charging at 4 A took 48 minutes; the locally bought ones took 51 minutes.


Both batteries were tested under the same conditions as the previous ones: discharge rates of 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2C, and currents of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 A.

The results were roughly the same as before, but I’ll compare them on a single graph later for clarity.


The temperature was also comparable, especially at 30 A.


The second cell



While I was at it, I measured the remaining capacity at a 0.2C discharge rate after discharging at 30 A and letting the battery cool completely to room temperature. I managed to “get” about another 100 mAh out of it.


First, a comparison to see how closely the batteries match each other. Overall, things look fine, although there’s a small difference toward the end of the graph at 0.2C and 0.5C.


Compared with the locally bought ones, though, these delivered slightly less capacity. It’s possible there was a small difference in the temperature during testing, but I expected the newer batteries to deliver at least about the same amount, if not more.

Blue: locally bought batteries; red: VapCell batteries.


And here are the impedance measurements at 1 kHz: when received, after the preliminary test, and at the end, after 10 tests.


Conclusions.
Subjectively, they’re the same as the locally bought ones; the difference is minimal.
Objectively, they’re slightly behind in capacity and have a little more internal resistance, even though they were made noticeably later.

Now, about the price.
When I bought these batteries locally, 2 pcs. with shipping cost me 322 UAH (about $11.5), or $5.75 each. A pair from VapCell costs $14.80, which works out to $7.40 each. In my opinion, that’s a significant difference.
So I’d look for them locally first, especially since they’re genuinely excellent batteries, particularly for power tools.

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