Vape Battery Blog

At Ace Vape Melbourne, we believe that it is very important to understand the importance of battery use and safety. For many years now there have been many myths about batteries for vape. The horror stories you have heard about vaping may sound very daunting, such as vapes going kaboom. While on the surface of this story may be true, the in depth story as to why this has happened has been never told. In this blog, we’ll go in depth about the different types of batteries used in vapes, battery safety, how to properly charge batteries and what you can do to maintain longevity of your battery. 

Types of batteries

Traditionally, 18650 batteries were used for laptops, torches, power drill batteries etc, and then vapes were then made to work with these batteries. For those who are looking for batteries for your vape, the most common battery found online would be called INR or IMR. The ‘I’ stands for Lithium-Ion, the ‘N’ stands for Nickel and the ‘R’ stands for a round cell battery. The ‘M’ in IMR stands for Manganese. Both INR and IMR can be safely used with vapes. Another type of battery can is commonly seen but cannot be used is ICR batteries, where the ‘C’ stands for Cobalt. The reason why you can’t use an ICR battery in a vape is because even though it may be rated as an 18650 battery, it's actually a bit taller than your standard INR and IMR battery. ICR batteries are traditionally used in torches which use ICR 18650 batteries. 

To make things more complicated, there are two slightly different variations to an 18650 battery.

As shown in the image above, the 2 variants are Flat Top and Button Top 18650 Batteries. In vape devices in particular, only flat top batteries are used. Button Top batteries are more commonly used in devices such as torches where the contact points are spring loaded, because the Button Top protrudes out every so slightly making them not fit in vapes. 

Brands

There are many brands of batteries, such as the mainstream brands Samsung, Sony and LG and then other brands such as Efest, Golisi, Vapcell and the list can go on. While there are many different brands of batteries on the market, when we refer to batteries for vapes, there are 3 main factors that you need to consider (1) Amps, (2) Volts and (3) MilliAmp Hours. All the different brands in the market all reference the same 3 main factors to determine the performance of each battery they sell. Traditionally speaking, maximum continuous current(A) means the strength of the battery, the milliamp hour (mah) is how long a battery lasts and volts (V) which is the nominal voltage in which the battery will be at its weakest. Yes, we agree, super confusing, but don’t worry, this is what we’re here to unravel. 

Size

Firstly, we’ll talk about the different types of batteries with reference to physical size. There are many types of batteries, and each box mod uses different types of batteries and the required battery will alway be specified by the manufacturer for your box mod. In the year 2020, the most common batteries used are 18650 and 21700. These numbers must sound very confusing at first but there is a hidden meaning to them. For example, an 18650 battery, to break this down, the meaning of the name 18650 is the battery is 18mm wide, 65mm tall and the last zero means that the battery is round.. 18650 batteries are the most common batteries used in modern day vapes. Similarly 21700 batteries get their name because it is 21mm 70mm tall and the last zero means that it’s a round battery. 21700 batteries are what we would refer to as the new up and coming batteries with higher outputs and milliamp hours.

Volts(V) vs Amps(A) vs MilliAmp Hours(MAH)

Commonly, 18650 batteries have a maximum capacity of 3000mah. This is restricted due to its physical size. With current technology, an 18650 just physically can’t really hold more than 3000mah. Generally speaking, if an 18650 battery claims more than 3000mah, it’s most likely a lie. This is one area where you should be very cautious as there are many fake batteries for sale with some outrageous claims of their 18650 batteries having something ridiculous of 9900mah. Battery current (which is measured in amps) is a very important factor for vaping. Generally speaking, vape devices require a minimum of 15amps (continuous) to safely use a vape. The maximum current found on an 18650 battery is 25amps continuous. The important thing when looking at the current is if the battery details a “continuous” current and the reason behind this is as the name suggests, the amount of current delivered by the battery from continuous use. The nominal voltage is the minimum voltage of the battery which the battery can still be usable. With lithium-ion batteries, which is the only type of battery used in vapes, the nominal voltage is roughly 3.6v, each battery will be slightly different. What this means is once that battery gets used and the voltage drops down to 3.6v, your vape will show low battery. The maximum charge for these batteries is 4.2v. 

A 21700 battery is the same when it comes to nominal voltage. So the nominal voltage is 3.6v and when fully charged a 21700 battery will be at 4.2v. The most obvious difference is the physical. With the size difference, there are a few positive factors to point out. Being that the battery is physically bigger compared to an 18650, it means that there can be more cells leading to an increase in the maximum current and milliamp hours inside that battery, giving you a longer battery life and harder hitting vaping experience. It all sounds great and all but then why don’t all vapes use a 21700 battery. The main is the market is already flooded with box mods that use 18650 batteries, to change them means that they will need to put more money into research and development to introduce new devices. The second reason is that 21700 devices can be quite large and heavy. So there’s a bit of compromise that you will have to consider if you want a device that uses 21700 batteries. A vape that uses a single 21700 box mod, in our opinion is great, is the perfect size box mod for a balance of size and battery life, but a dual 21700 box mod is very big and heavy and some may feel that it’s not worth the compromise. When it comes to choosing the right 21700 battery, it's very important that you don’t get hung up on how much milliamp hours the battery has because the higher the milliamp hours will mean that you sacrifice the maximum continuous current, and what you need to remember is that vape devices operate on maximum continuous currents of over 15amps.

Ace Vape Recommendation

At Ace Vape Melbourne, we specialise in providing only the top brand vape products available on the market. Our choice of batteries is Samsung. Now some of you may argue otherwise but here us out. 

What you need to bear in mind is batteries are extremely expensive to design and manufacture, that’s why you commonly see brands such as Samsung, Sony and LG around when it comes to these types of batteries. When batteries are produced and tested, they will be sorted out to see if they are to the standard that it's set out for. For the batteries that are to the specified standard, it will get the companies name stamped on it and sold off. For the batteries that have not made the specified standards, these batteries are sold off to companies that don’t make their own batteries and they are relabelled as another brand. While there may be many companies to consider, we feel that Samsung offers the best value, quality and reliability on the market for batteries.

Considering this fact, Ace Vape has decided to carry Samsung 30Q for the 18650 and the Samsung 40T for the 21700. 

The Samsung 30Q is a great little battery that has 3000mah and maximum continuous current of 15amps. It performs flawlessly while giving you good battery life and is well priced at only $12 each and is suitable for nearly any box mod. 

The Samsung 40T which can be considered as the 30Q’s bigger brother, is a much more powerful, measuring at 3900mah and a maximum continuous current of 30amps. Considering that the Samsung 40T offers so much more, it's priced well at $25.

How to Charge your Vape?

There is a bit of an uncertainty among users when it comes to charging Lithium-Ion batteries. Being Lithium-Ion makes these batteries a lot more sensitive in the ways that you charge them. Now commonly, all vapes have a USB port on it and you charge it with your most convenient USB charging port i.e. a wall brick for your phone. Wall Bricks for your phone range from 2amp to 5amps charge. Ideally for an 18650, you want to be charging them a lot slower then what a phone charger offers, particularly between 0.5 - 1amp chargers, such as the USB on your computer. Essentially what happens when you fast charge a Lithium-Ion battery is that it damages the electrode particles in your battery causing it to lose capacity and shorten its lifespan. A properly charged battery can last you from 6-8 months or even more, whereas if you use a fast charger to charge your batteries, you might get about a month. Batteries have a limited number of charge cycles before they become 

So, the big question here is, how do you properly charge your battery? Well there’s a number of solutions depending on which vape you use. At Ace Vape, we offer chargers to help encourage the longevity of your batteries. If you use a vape that has a built in battery or your vape offers USB charging, we have a slow charge wall brick that will charge your battery at 0.5 amps. This will help maximise the life of your battery while maintaining maximum use time. The other option for those who have a vape with removable batteries is to use an external battery charger specifically designed for 18650 and 21700 batteries. At Ace Vape, we offer Efest chargers. There are three different models for externally charging your batteries that we have to offer by Efest.

The most popular chargers that we sell are from Efest, the K1 charger and K2 charger. The Efest K1 and K2 charger come from the same series of chargers. A simple single or dual battery charger that can charge a wide range of batteries and can charge to a maximum output of 1amp. They also offer reverse polarity protection, short circuit protection, over-current protection and Zero voltage activation function. The great chargers to use at home or on the go because they are self regulating and USB powered. So what that means for you is that regardless of what you plug these chargers into, the max charge it will produce is 1amp. So it's perfectly safe if you were to use it on your phone chargers or car chargers. The K series chargers use an LED indicator to show you when your batteries are charging and fully charged. The reason why the K1 and K2 chargers are so popular is because they are very reasonably priced at $10 and $20 respectively, offering true value for money. Another reason why you may want an external charger as opposed to using the USB on your vape is because sometimes the USB port on your vape can break, not allowing you to charge your phone. Getting any external charger is a great way to continue using your existing vape without having to fork out more money for another vape, because these chargers are only a fraction of the price of a new vape. 

The third option we sell is the Efest V4, a four battery charger. The Efest V4 is a big upgrade to the K series chargers by Efest. While still having reverse polarity protection, short circuit protection, over-current protection and Zero voltage activation function, the Efest V4 offers variable charging speeds with 0.5amp and 1amp while charging 4 batteries or the open of charging at 2amps with 2 batteries using the 2 middle trays only. The other difference with the V4 is the display screen. It gives an exact gauge on how far charged your batteries are. 

Vaping and Battery Safety 

If you’ve come into Ace Vape before, then you would’ve heard us rant on about battery safety. Some will wonder what that actually means. Battery Safety refers to your battery condition. This may comprise of factors such as age and physical condition of the battery. 

In the image above, we would like to stress the importance of understanding of when you should and shouldn’t use a battery. The reason why batteries with feel wrap and no wrap should be re-wrapped or discarded is because they have the potential to short out and potential to blow up in worst case scenarios. Carrying batteries loosely in pockets or bags with metal objects have the same end result of shorting out and blowing up. If you’re carrying spare batteries, we always recommend using a battery carry case. This is to make sure your batteries are always safely stored without any intrusion. 

Other signs to not to use a battery is when batteries are physically dented or show signs that the battery has imploded in itself. This has a lot of negative effects on the electrodes in the battery and has a huge safety risk.

Should you find your batteries get dented, we highly recommend that you don’t use your batteries and seek new ones.

Other factors to consider with Battery safety in mind is temperature. You should never leave a battery in a hot place, such as in the car on a hot day or next to a heater for example. There’s nothing wrong with leaving your vape while it's cold, sometimes we may just more than likely forget it in the car, but the biggest concern when it's hot weather. The temperature in a car can get a lot hotter than atmospheric temperatures and these batteries are highly susceptible to heat, and in really hot conditions can lead to battery malfunction and let’s be honest here, heat is everyone’s worst enemy.

Final Thoughts

While there are a lot of factors to vaping. The types of batteries you choose plays a big role in your vaping experience. Buying genuine quality parts has never been so important. Considerations of battery type and quality while considering how you charge your batteries and how to maintain it plays a key role, and we don’t just mean this because we’re selling vapes but we genuinely care about your vaping experience. Because there’s nothing worse than having a vape that doesn’t work properly

If you have any enquiries about anything we mentioned in this blog. Please feel free to contact us via phone Carlton 0488 383 842 or Tullamarine (03) 9338 7002 or via email info@acevape.com.au