# Test/Review of EagleTac 18650 3400mAh (White-green)



## HKJ (Nov 18, 2012)

[size=+3]EagleTac 18650 3400mAh (White-green)[/size]







Official specifications:

Made in Japan battery cells
304 Stainless steel button top
High current load of up to 5A
IC protected against short, over-discharge, over-charge
Measures only 68mm in height
Steel plate reinfocred bottom
Ultra high capacity and high voltage even under heavy loading
Voltage: Typical 3.7V (4.2V when fully charged)
Capacity: 3400mAh (discharged at 0.2C)
Dimensions: 18.6mm x 68mm (+/-0.1mm)
Weight: 50gram






This is the latest cells from Panasonic with the highest capacity.
The cell used can be discharged down to 2.5 volt, in my test I only discharges to 2.8 volt, i.e. I do not measure the full capacity. But then, not all lights will be able to use the full capacity.
































The two batteries does track nicely, due to the protection circuit the battery has slightly lower output voltage at high current.

































[size=+3]Conclusion[/size]

This is a very good battery.
Like the EagleTac 3100 battery, this battery is very short for a protected battery, this can be useful sometimes.



[size=+3]Notes and links[/size]

How is the test done and how to read the charts
How is a protected LiIon battery constructed
More about button top and flat top batteries


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## candle lamp (Nov 18, 2012)

Thanks a lot for your excellent test review always. HKJ! :thumbsup:

Many manufacturers release good high capacity protected 18650 li-ion cells.


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## climberkid (Nov 18, 2012)

I'm just glad there are so many 3400 mAh that are testing well!


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## HKJ (Nov 18, 2012)

candle lamp said:


> Many manufacturers release good high capacity protected 18650 li-ion cells.



That is true, just about all batteries based on the Panasonic cells are "very good".



climberkid said:


> I'm just glad there are so many 3400 mAh that are testing well!



But there are differences, the length varies between manufactures and there is also differences in the protection circuit, both at what current it trips and in the resistance (Compare the voltage in the 5A current trace).
Generally a battery with very high current limit will have slightly lower resistance in the protection circuit, but the risk of damaging the battery is higher, because you can draw much higher current than the battery is designed for.


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## MichaelW (Nov 18, 2012)

Is there a more/less agreed upon standard as to the capacity, in watt*hours, or a cr123A?
So, this 18650 has the stored energy of 3 cr123As


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## lensman (Nov 18, 2012)

Thanks for this. Eagletacs have become a staple for me and I appreciate having the reviews up in such a timely manner! They are a lifesaver!


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## HKJ (Nov 18, 2012)

MichaelW said:


> Is there a more/less agreed upon standard as to the capacity, in watt*hours, or a cr123A?
> So, this 18650 has the stored energy of 3 cr123As



There are standards for measuring capacity, but I am not using them. I prefer to test with a couple of different loads.

The energy of a CR123 will depend on the current draw, at low current it might be around 4 watt, but at higher load will drop to below 3 watt.
Compared to this a high capacity 18650 can have 3 times the energy of a CR123 in about 2.5 times the space. But remember that the voltage is different.


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## oKtosiTe (Nov 18, 2012)

Good. Now I don't have to regret recommending these. 
Thanks for the review!


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## Lurveleven (Feb 21, 2013)

Can these cells be used reliably in series? I'm not able to see from the pictures if the button top is protruding enough to make good contact.


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## troisanh (Feb 21, 2013)

thanks for review HKJ, glad there are shorter 3400mah batteries out there.


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## HKJ (Feb 21, 2013)

Lurveleven said:


> Can these cells be used reliably in series? I'm not able to see from the pictures if the button top is protruding enough to make good contact.



It is a very short button top, but they can be used in series.


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## Lurveleven (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks, then I think these may be the safest cells to buy since they will probably fit more lights than the other 3400 mAh cells.


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## Verndog (Feb 21, 2013)

I have a question. If this cell is using the Panasonic 3400 and the KeepPower is using the same Panasonic 3400 then why is this labeled at 3.7V and the KeepPower labeled at 3.6V?


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## HKJ (Feb 21, 2013)

Verndog said:


> I have a question. If this cell is using the Panasonic 3400 and the KeepPower is using the same Panasonic 3400 then why is this labeled at 3.7V and the KeepPower labeled at 3.6V?



The Panasonic datasheet says 3.6 volt.
The guy making the labelling was probably just writing the value used for other LiIon cells, without checking the datasheet for this cell.


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## jeffkruse (Feb 21, 2013)

Lurveleven said:


> Can these cells be used reliably in series? I'm not able to see from the pictures if the button top is protruding enough to make good contact.



The top of mine is pushed in from using it in a Spark SD6. I doubt I could use this cell in serries. It could even be a problem charging depending on the charger.


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## Verndog (Feb 21, 2013)

HKJ said:


> The Panasonic datasheet says 3.6 volt.
> The guy making the labelling was probably just writing the value used for other LiIon cells, without checking the datasheet for this cell.



So you are convinced they use the exact same cell, and there is no chance slightly different versions may be out there?


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## sidness (Feb 21, 2013)

jeffkruse said:


> The top of mine is pushed in from using it in a Spark SD6. I doubt I could use this cell in serries. It could even be a problem charging depending on the charger.



The top of mine is pushed also from a shiningbeam s-mini, there is no way it could be used in series.


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## vondy (Feb 27, 2013)

I'm new to the 18650 battery, where are you guys purchasing them? Does anyone know if the 3400 EagleTac will fit in a Sunwayman V20C?


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## markr6 (Mar 20, 2014)

Just curious. If I removed the Eagletac wrapper and PCB, would I be left with the basic green NCR18650B, or does Eagletac (and others) originally purchase something even more bare to wrap?


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## HKJ (Mar 20, 2014)

markr6 said:


> Just curious. If I removed the Eagletac wrapper and PCB, would I be left with the basic green NCR18650B, or does Eagletac (and others) originally purchase something even more bare to wrap?



I do not know if they purchase it without wrapper or remove it them self, but some manufactures uses the cell without the green wrapper. This makes the diameter of the final battery a bit smaller.


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## Charles L. (Mar 28, 2014)

Speaking of wrappers, does anyone else find that their Eagletac wrappers tear more easily than others? I have two Eagletac 18650's, a 3100 and 3400, and both have developed small tears in the wrapper. This hasn't happened on my AW's and Orbtronics. Just my bad luck….?


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## oKtosiTe (Mar 29, 2014)

Charles L. said:


> Speaking of wrappers, does anyone else find that their Eagletac wrappers tear more easily than others? I have two Eagletac 18650's, a 3100 and 3400, and both have developed small tears in the wrapper. This hasn't happened on my AW's and Orbtronics. Just my bad luck….?


I've had this too, especially near the edges. I try to add a drop of superglue as soon as I notice to keep them together.
Although I don't have any other 18650's to compare to.


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## Tulip bush (Mar 31, 2014)

Had issues with the wrapping splitting on mine.


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## tobrien (Aug 16, 2014)

I just bought an Eagletac 3400 from the MP (I didn't know about the wrapper issues, but hopefully they've fixed that issue by now), and I'm wondering if it's okay at all to charge this at 2A?

On the NCR18650B datasheet (PDF link here), Panasonic says:
*Charging Current: Std.1625mA*

so does that mean it should be _around/average of_ 1.6 Amps? I ask because I'm gonna hook one of my best friends up with an 18650 setup for his new Fenix PD35, but am unsure if I should get a charger capable of 2A or not.

Secondly, I see that the nominal capacity for this cell is 3350mAh (see PDF link), which rounds up to 3400, but I did find it rather interesting that the nominal capacity isn't closer to or slightly above 3400.


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## HKJ (Aug 16, 2014)

tobrien said:


> On the NCR18650B datasheet (PDF link here), Panasonic says:
> *Charging Current: Std.1625mA*
> 
> so does that mean it should be _around/average of_ 1.6 Amps? I ask because I'm gonna hook one of my best friends up with an 18650 setup for his new Fenix PD35, but am unsure if I should get a charger capable of 2A or not.



It means that as long as you stay at or below 1625mAh, the cell may* last the specified number of cycles.

Panasonic does not specify how fast you can charge, before you do real damage to the cell or risk a venting cell.


*There are many other conditions that must be fulfilled for that.


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## mihail (Aug 21, 2014)

I got one of these also and noticed that it is labeled "EagTac" instead of "EagleTac". I was about to call the dealer and tell him that he gave me a fake one, then I saw that even the reviewed ones are labeled the same. 
I have also the 14500 cell from EagleTac and there is no spelling issue. Am I missing something or what?
The wrapper is so very thin that I can see some letters and pictures underneath it.


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## rickypanecatyl (Aug 23, 2014)

Just stumbled on this and all your battery threads and have found your charts extremely helpful and I'm still trying to figure out what they all mean...

I've got kind of a dummy question here - if I'm using a Vinh modified light that overdrives an XML2 to 5 amps and want to know how this battery will perform in this light does this chart mean that:

- this battery can run my light on high (emitter driven to 5 amps) for 34 minutes and that at that drive level and has about 9.3 Watt/hours & 2.8 amp hours?

Or am I missing something huge such as inefficiencies/losses and/or the fact that the emitter is running on a different voltage than the 3.7 or 4.2 volts of this battery?


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## HKJ (Aug 23, 2014)

rickypanecatyl said:


> I've got kind of a dummy question here - if I'm using a Vinh modified light that overdrives an XML2 to 5 amps and want to know how this battery will perform in this light does this chart mean that:
> 
> - this battery can run my light on high (emitter driven to 5 amps) for 34 minutes and that at that drive level and has about 9.3 Watt/hours & 2.8 amp hours?



Only if the light uses 5A and can work down to 2.8 volt. The 2.8 volt is usual going to be a problem.



rickypanecatyl said:


> Or am I missing something huge such as inefficiencies/losses and/or the fact that the emitter is running on a different voltage than the 3.7 or 4.2 volts of this battery?



You need to know what voltage your light requires.
In this chart it is the yellow line, above that line the light is in regulation with stable brightness.


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## rickypanecatyl (Aug 23, 2014)

On a different note I will concur with several of the other posters that this is one of the most "delicate" or cheaply made batteries of the dozens I have in regards to the button top caving in, wrapper coming off leading to that "disc thingy" falling off (is that the PCB?). 

I have lots of them (the older Red "3100" as well) and getting them to work in a light usually includes trying to pry the button top up with a knife - whether for a light or a charger.

I'm excited to find your charts HKJ! Now I just have to overlay your tests with some _*"Ability to handle physical abuse"*_ tests and *"Different flashlight fitting tests"* to find which battery is the best battery!

I know some guys care a lot about costs, but as none of my batteries have "physically survived" anywhere close to 1/2 the number of suppossed cycles they are capable of I'd certainly be thrilled to pay 4X the going rate for a battery that:

- was safe
- gave me at least 8 watt/hours at 10 amp discharge
- worked in ALL my 18650 lights
- wrappers never came undone; disc thingy never fell off
- button top doesn't dent


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## HKJ (Aug 23, 2014)

rickypanecatyl said:


> On a different note I will concur with several of the other posters that this is one of the most "delicate" or cheaply made batteries of the dozens I have in regards to the button top caving in, wrapper coming off leading to that "disc thingy" falling off (is that the PCB?).



Fixing a torn wrapper takes about 5 minutes: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?356063-Rewrapping-a-battery

That "disc thingy" is probably the protection, see here: http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/battery protection UK.html


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