Queen Battery QB18350 900mAh 9A Li-ion cell's capacity test

thunderheart

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Original article: https://www.thunderheartreviews.com/2019/08/queen-battery-qb18350-900mah-test.html

I've tested cylindrical cells of different sizes - from 10440 to 28600, but it's the first time i've got an 18350 cell. Queen Battery QB18350 is a 900mAh cell rated at 9A max.
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It has the same 18mm diameter as any 18650 cell but is 30mm shorter - the length is 35mm. Here is the video version of this review with comparison to a 10440 (AAA), a 14500 (AA) and an 18650 cell:


The battery was bought from my reliable supplier (Queen Battery) and 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.
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I've used version 3.0 of my battery holder based on 0.5mm thick pure copper terminals
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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 charge current mentioned in its datasheet to charge end voltage. Before each discharging or charging i've held a 1-1.5hrs pause. The environment temperature was 25±2°C. To be sure in results i've done each test minimum twice (usually 3-7 times).


Queen Battery QB18350 900mAh

The heat shrink tube doesn't have much information on it. There is only the model number, nominal capacity and nominal voltage mentioned.
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The main specifications from Queen Battery QB18350 datasheet (pdf):
Nominal capacity: 900mAh (at 0.5C discharge)
Nominal voltage: 3.7V
Standard charge current: 450mA (0.5C)
Max charge current: 900mA (1C)
Charge end voltage: 4.20V
Charge cut-off current: 9mA (0.01C) (100mA used)
Ambient temperature:
During charging: 0–45°C
During discharging: -20–60°C
Max continuous discharge current: 9A (10C)
Discharge cut-off voltage: 2.75V
Internal resistance: 80mΩ
Weight: 25g

Cycle life:
The capacity should be ≥80% of initial value after 150 cycles at 0.5C charge / 1C discharge or after 500 cycles at 0.5C charge / 0.5C discharge.

DC IR at 900mA in fully charged condition was 18.9±4.4mΩ (measured using EB Tester Software's Resistance test feature).

Measured dimensions: 18.2mm (diameter) × 34.9mm (length).

Measured weight: 23.9g.
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Queen Battery QB18350 900mAh capacity test results:
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Just look at the capacity at 0.2C/0.18A! It's more than 1100mAh!!! 27% higher than declared! Even at 2A discharge it's still above 1000mAh and at 5A - above 980mAh! Numbers seem to be excellent but let's look at the curves. I really don't like the 9A curve. The voltage sag witnesses that 9A is too much to be held by this cell and i'd not recommend to go over 5A.


Verdict

I'd call QB18350 an excellent 1100mAh/5A cell but not a 900mAh/9A one. 2.75V discharge cut-off voltage may cause problems if your BMS cuts off at 2.5V but in most cases we use 2.8 or 3.0V cut-off so it won't be an issue.

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