Batteries for vape devices come in a wide variety of sizes and capacities.
Vaping devices will use one or more batteries and can also have built-in rechargeable lipo batteries.
What Is A Good Vape Battery?
A suitable battery for vape devices is one with a good balance of amperage and milliamp-hours; this balance will provide the optimum performance and usage time. However, it’s important to note that some vendors relabel batteries from other brands and make exaggerated claims about them. The majority of today’s batteries are made by Molicell, Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung.
What To Know When Purchasing A Battery For A Vape
Some things are good to know and a few you must know when looking at purchasing batteries, one is what you intend to do with the battery is it for a regulated device or mechanical mods.
With regulated devices, there are built-in safety features for the device to keep the user and batteries safe.
There are many trusted battery manufacturers and brands such as Molicell and Vapcell and manufacturers like Sony, LG and Panasonic also make batteries however LG, Sony, Samsung and Panasonic do not intend their batteries for end users.
Vape Battery Terminology
Amps = current output
Volts = pressure in electrical circuit
mAh = Capacity of charge
Ohms = Resistance
A battery that is a true 20 Amps will typically have 2000 mAh while many lesser-known names may falsely put 30 amps with 4000 mAh. These overrated claims can be dangerous and cause serious issues.
There are people that test and publish true reading produced from the batteries and make the knowledge public for everyone to see to make sure the battery you are looking at is the best for your needs.
The most well-known person is a gentleman called Battery Mooch who has tested hundreds of batteries over the years and made charts a list of the most accurate claims as well as publishing the overrated claims from companies.
It is always good to know a thing what you want from your battery and the type of device that you intend to you as mechanical mods may require more amperage depending on the coils build you have and it is strongly recommended to have the knowledge of ohms law.
What Is mAh Mean For Vape Batteries?
MAh is the abbreviation ofmilliamp hours which is the termination of capacity the higher mAh and more capacity and the longer the battery can hold a charge and output its capacity.
For example, a 3000 mAh battery can output its charge for longer than a 1000 mAh battery but generally the higher the mAh the lower the Amps and vice versa.
What is Amp (Ampage) Mean Vape Batteries?
In simple terms amps for vape batteries is the amount of current output a battery can output however there is a trade-off with mAh.
The amps indicates how much current you may safely take from it. This value should preferably be large, allowing you to vape with a variety of setups and at high outputs while yet preserving a safety buffer. The majority of vape cells have a 20 A maximum or greater, with some exceeding 30 A. You May not find any higher in 18650 sizes but may find some in 21700 sizes.
It’s good to know that batteries come in a variety of amperage ratings. The higher the current draw, the fewer milliamp Hours (mAh) you’ll receive, whereas slower-draw batteries have a higher mAh capacity.
A mid-tier amp battery say for example a Sony VCT5A that has an output of 25 amps is a well-rounded battery for a single battery or dual battery vape devices as the mAh is also balanced with a capacity of 2500 mAh
What is Battery Voltage mean?
The charge voltage of most vaping batteries is 4.2 volts, with a rated voltage of 3.7 volts and a voltage discharge cutoff of 2 to 3 volts.
Whenever vapers refer to a battery as “punchy,” they’re really referring to its high operational voltage. The voltage between a battery’s two terminals drops whenever it loses charge, and also how “hard-hitting” a battery is defined by how rapidly the voltage drops.
A harder-hitting battery will create more vapour for longer and deliver a greater vape on a mechanical mod since the available voltage immediately corresponds to how much vapour you receive. Regulated devices maintain consistency in performance, but a more powerful battery will maintain its voltage for longer and will not have to push as hard.
Battery specifications
Different sizes of batteries will have different specifications however the first four numbers for batteries that are used determine the diameter and height.
For example, the 18650 battery is a lithium-ion battery with a diameter of 18mm and a height of 65mm.
Because of its high-level capabilities, such as 250+ charge cycles and better energy density, the 18650 battery type is used in rechargeable and high current drain devices.
Because of its versatility, the 18650 Li-ion battery may be found in a variety of applications, including electric cars/scooters, power banks, and utility devices such as emergency lighting, torchlights, and so on.
This battery is famous in the electronics industry because of its safety features, as well as its high output current and energy capacity.
Example for 18650 battery size:
| Battery type | Li-ion | Technology |
| Battery sizes | 18650 | – |
| Size/ dimension | 18 x 65 mm | Standard (dd x hh) |
| Voltage | 3.7 volt | Nominal (std.) |
| Operating voltage | 2.5-4.2 volt | Range (std) |
| Cutoff voltage | 2 – 2.5 volts | Check respective datasheet |
| Capacity | 1200-3600mah | Per cell |
| Weight | 30gms to 55gms | Depends on capacity & technology |
| Charge density (Energy per cell) | 1.5 – 11.5Wh | Energy |
| Charge discharge cycle | 250 to 2000 | In number () |
| Optimum /Minimum charging time | 2.5 hrs to 3.5 hrs | Per cell |
| Shelf life | 36+ months | – |
Are vape batteries safe?
Batteries that are being used in vape devices such as in 18650’s or 21700’s have a built-in vent into the positive side of the battery this is to prevent the battery from over pressurising and venting gasses from the battery.
Most Vape devices will have built-in safety measures to prevent batteries from having such issues as power draw limits and short circuit protection and some devices may not even power on if it senses the batteries are not capable of outputting the power required.
You may have heard in the news or reports of vape devices or vape batteries exploding and with some reports of mechanical mods exploding this is not entirely true as most issues are caused by user error and are not the fault of the device.
Many of these incidents have been caused by the user not taking proper due care and attention to the condition of battery wraps, build limitation and exceeding the limitation of the battery and incorrect storage of batteries.
There are a few things you must know when using removable batteries:
- Never use damaged batteries this means are the battery wraps are intact are there any tears or holes in the wrap and dents on the positive and negative sides of the batteries.
- Is the insulator ring on the positive side of the battery in good condition.
- Are there any black spot on the side of the battery
- Do not exceed the amperage of the battery or batteries
- If using a device with two batteries to make sure you marry the batteries meaning you use them together, charge them together and do not separate them and use them individually.
- Never over-discharge your battery this is just as dangerous as overcharging your smartphone since it damages and weakens your battery.
- Never store batteries lose in pockets, bags or near conductive materials like loose coins and keys, make sure you store them either in a sealed battery container, in a device and away from children.
Users must take care and attention to maintaining levels of safety while using batteries as some reports of batteries venting and having serious issues have been due to user errors like storing them loose in pockets with keys and change.
Batteries in dual battery mods and multiple battery mods.
If you are using a device that takes two or more batteries it is very important that you marry the batteries this term means that you use them together, charge them together and make sure that they stay together and are not used individually.
There are some devices that can use 3 or more batteries and this will be the same for marring the batteries together.
The reason for marring the batteries together is so they can work to gather and share the load as well and discharge and charge evenly as if you were to separate one of the batteries and youse it separately for another device you may have issues with performance when putting it back in the pairing.
What Is The Difference between Regulated And Unregulated Mods?
Regulated devices
use a built-in control board managing power from the battery to the atomizer, these boards will have safety features to prevent issues from occurring however you still must take care and you suitable batteries that can output true amp rating.
Unregulated Devices
Ungegulated is a term for devices that have no power management and no realy safety features. Most unregulated devices are called mechanical mods or mech mods for short.
You can also get semi-regulated mods that will have what is called a MOSFET chip which is a semiconductor field-effect transistor used to switch or amplify voltages in circuits, in this circuit you can have resistors and fuses in the circuit.
How To Charge Vape Batteries?
In most cases, the device will have a USB port and onboard charging capabilities. Manufacturers usually recommend this way. However, for many devices and vapours, they prefer to have several sets of batteries that they can keep charged and ready so they are never without their device.
There are a whole host of external battery chargers that are well recognised in the industry. Here are the most notable 2:
Nitecore – not only do they provide battery chargers that accommodate multiple types and sizes in one charger, they are very well known for manufacturing a lot of battery powered products.
Efest – Efest has been a top branded and well-known name within the industry for many years. They do multiple types of sizes of battery, and generally are found in many vape stores. The Chargers are usually cost-effective and get the job done.
Unregulated Mods: Series vs. Parallel Arrangement
Unregulated mods that use multiple batteries have an extra issue to consider. The differences in series meaning positive ends on different sides of the battery slot and parallel meaning positive ends on the same side of the battery slot arrangement is critical for such devices.
Mechanical box mods with two batteries in series offer double the voltage of single-battery devices but the same amp limitation. The voltage remains the same in a parallel configuration as it is in a single battery, however the amp limit is doubled.
In summary, series or device that have what is are called stacked ( battery’s stacked end to end) the batteries and increases the voltage while parallel runs them both and splits the amp-load between them. Although the parallel is generally safer, vapers seeking larger clouds would favour the punchier series configuration. You can confirm that your batteries can deliver what you’re asking for if you take the difference between the two into account.
How To Spot A Fake Vape Battery
It is very important you purchase an authentic battery from reliable retailers as fake or over-rated batteries can be a safety risk.
Buying cheap batteries is not the best thing to do this is one aspect you should not be cheap on however you can typically get reliable batteries at a reasonable price when buying a vape kit.
Things to look out for when purchasing batteries are:
Colour difference – the genuine ones are usually dark in colour, whilst the fakes are always brilliant. For Samsung & Sony green colour wrapper batteries, this is very easy to see the difference.
Battery Wrap – When you remove the battery wrappers, you’ll notice that the authentic ones are usually soft to the touch, whilst the counterfeit ones are always hard.
The Code Written on the wrap – The text colour, font, size, and location of the code printed on the wrappers varied significantly.
The shape of the positive side – Many fake batteries will have a different shape or the number of legs on the positive side of the battery as well as a difference of the seal underneath the positive.
You can easily find reports and images of how to tell the difference from a fake to the genuine especially from Battery mooch’s forum post from e-cigarette-forum.com and the battery database from secondlifestorage.com
With over-rated batteries, you can find the true ratings and stats by looking at what Battery Mooch has said and the results of his tests.
What battery does vape mods use?
Vape devices can use many different types of batteries and come in an assortment of sizes with the most commonly used is 18650.
What Are The Most Common Types Of Vape battery?
The most common battery that is used is the following
- 18650 is the most common
- 20700
- 21700
These batteries are easily available from most vape retailers either in stores or online however with purchasing online some shippers will not ship batteries internationally.
There are other batteries that are used however that is less commonly used in devices such as 18350,20650 and 26650
What Are The Best Vape Batteries?
The best battery for your vape will depend on a few factors like what power you want and how long you want it to last.
For example with mechanical mod many people will want to have a hard hit / lots of power behind it and are not too worried about how long it will last so a battery that has a much higher amperage is more suited.
A Sony Vct5A with a 25Amp and a capacity of 2500 mAh or a Samsung 20s with 30Amps and capacity of 2000 mAh is very suitable for mech mods.
Regulated mods are not affected as much but you still want a good balance between amps and battery capacity.
Molicells are readily available and are more common in the market and offer a great balance in performance and longevity.
Molicell p26A 18650 – 25Amps and 2500 mAh
Molicell INR20700A 20700 – 30Amps and 3000 mAh
Molicell p42 21700 – 30 Amps and 4200 mAh
Depending on what battery type your vape device can take either 18650, 20700 or 21700 Molicell batteries are the most popular and easily available from many vape shops.
Other good alternatives of batteries are:
Sony Vct5 18650 20A 2500mAh
Vapcell K25 18650 20A 2500mAh
Samsung 30Q 18650 20A 3000mAh
Samsung 30T 21700 35A 3000mAh
Samsung 40T 21700 30A 4000mAh
How To Recharge Vape Batteries?
There are two different ways to recharge removable batteries the best way is to use an external battery charger like a Nitecore, Efest or reputable brands charger that is suitable for the type of battery or batteries you are using.
The other option that you can charge your batteries is to use the device itself however this can sometimes lead to an imbalance of charging to the batteries if the device uses 2 or more batteries. It is generally recommended you charge batteries on a dedicated charger.
Charging in an external charger is more reliable and a safer option as some models of chargers will display reading of the battery as well as having overcharge protections meaning once the battery is fully charged power to the battery will be stopped and the battery will not be charged further.
Vape devices with built-in non-removable batteries will often use either a micro USB cable or USB type C to charge the internal battery with the devices board managing the power. Many devices will either display the capacity and display when the battery is fully charged either from a display or colour changing leds.
How Long Do Vape Batteries Last?
Batteries for vapes can last a very long time however the length of time is dependent on the user for care and charging methods used as well as charge rates and discharge rates.
Some reports from users have stated that a pair of Lg HG2 18650’s have lasted over 4 years with being used in multiple duel battery mods and being charged on Nitecores D4 external battery charger.
With Devices that use Internal built-in batteries, can typical last from 1 – 4 years depending on usage and charge input as charging a built in battery with a to a high of amperage input can damage the battery and shorten the batteries life expectancy.
If you must charge either a built battery device or a removable battery device you can charge them with a usb cable connected to Pc’s Tv and games consoles as the output from those device are low. You typically what to charge batteries at 0.5 amps – 1amps depending on the manufature.
Are All Vape Batteries The Same?
Not all batteries are the same many can come in the same size but can have vast differences in amps and mAh it will depend on the type of use the battery has been designed for.
A Vapcell K25 18650 and a Molicell P26a 18650 are both the same size however the Molicell has a higher amperage at 25a and 2600 mAh than the Vapcell with a 20 Amp output and a capacity of 2500 mAh.
This can also be said for other batteries and is worth checking the stats and claims of batteries as some brands may overrate the batteries.
Battery Sizes:
- 18350
- 18650
- 26650
- 20700
- 21700
- 20600
Where Can I Buy Batteries For A Vape?
You can easily purchase batteries from many location but you may want to purchase batteries when purchasing a new device this way you have something completely fresh.
Many vape shops and online retailers of vape products will sell batteries with some even some bundle deals and will sell batteries with a device at a special offer.
You can also find some dedicated websites that specialize in selling batteries such as 18650.co.uk and fogstar.co.uk
If you are looking for a good reliable Battery for your vape device it can always be good to ask a vape shop for advice as some vape shops especially ones that solely specialize in vaping will know what is the best type of battery for the device.
Alternatively, you can always look at Battery Mooch’s testing results and determine what is the best option.
What Do Reviewers Say About Batteries?
You can find a whole host of reviewers talking about specific batteries. However the industry leader and go-to expert is Battery Mooch. A highly experienced and credited expert in testing batteries true output, specifications and efficiency.
Final Thoughts
With many different batteries and even more types of devices on the market, there may be some confusion with what is best for you however its worth remembering the balance between Amps and mAh is best and to check the stats and claims from the battery brand is accurate and true.
Resources
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blogs/mooch.256958/
https://secondlifestorage.com/index.php?pages/cell-database/
