Are these Cells really 12 years old?

[Gorillazilla]

Panasonic NCR18650PF with a date code of 0525

If the date code is correct then these cells were manufactured in 2010

according to here: https://eu.nkon.nl/blog/Panasonicbatterydatecode/

And here: https://batterybro.com/pages/18650-date-code-lookup-tool

Can anyone confirm this is true, and that the date codes have not changed or rolled over recently, for example to mean these were made in 2020 rather than 2010?

What is your opinion of these cells?

 

[fechter]

From what I can tell on the lookup site, yes, those are some really old 2010 cells.

I have several packs using Panasonic GCR18650DA cells made in 2013. The DA cell specs are very close to the PF. These are not high performance cells, but have a reputation for long service life.

Out of several hundred cells, I found maybe 3 that went bad during storage. The rest seem to be performing fairly well. They do sag quite a bit under heavy load, but they don't seem to heat up too bad. I've been running them for a few years and quite happy with them overall. The price was right.

If you want to build a bike pack with those, I suggest making it as large as possible capacity wise to minimize sag and heating.

 

[Gorillazilla]

From what I can tell on the lookup site, yes, those are some really old 2010 cells.
Img_1098.jpg

I specifically went with NCR18650PF as they are well known to be great cells, as I was looking to make a top notch bike battery pack for Longevity, safety and reliability

With them being so old This is not the case anymore?

 

[Gorillazilla]

Turns out that the 0 actually means 2020 rather than 2010, as the NCR18650PF was only introduced in 2013

So all is good.

 

[fechter]

Thanks for the update. Now I know that lookup site isn’t accurate. Even though my cells are 9 years old they seem to be working fine.