Quick Faq: Wholesale Samsung 25R Li-ion Batteries January 27 2015, 1 Comment

Some answers to commonly asked questions about the 25Rs

Samsung SDI's lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant

Why is the 25R good for vaping?

There are only several brands that produce li-ion cells of high enough quality to merit use in a mod. The top 3 contenders are Panasonic, Samsung, and LG. Sony has fallen off this list as their capacity to produce li-ion dwindles. Panasonic is by far the market leader in lithium ion and is the largest lithium ion battery wholesaler in the world. Samsung also produces great cells - the Samsung 25R is the perfect balance between capacity and maximum ampere discharge.

In the world of batteries, these two variables are always at odds. Scientists work hard to find a battery that runs for a long time, and has a lot of power behind it. The 25R is rated at 2500mAh, and has a max. continuous discharge of 20A. No battery today has a a better balance of specs than this. LG's HE2 and HE4 come close, but time and time again the Samsung marginally outperforms them.

Vape stores need to be concerned about buying wholesale batteries that are not dangerous. The 25R at 20 amps rated discharge has enough power behind it to power almost any mod safely. They are also ideal and tested for high-amp pulse discharges, making them the perfect candidate for sub-ohm vaping.

Can you explain the wholesale Samsung 25R battery industry?

Samsung's 18650 li-ion batteries are manufactured in South Korea. However they also produce cells in China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Samsung is going to build China's largest lithium ion factory catered to electric vehicles (EVs). It is very possible as capacity increases many of these Chinese cells will make their way into the hands of vapers in the US. From preliminary testing we have found Chinese cells to be comparable with South Korean cells, in all areas except cycle life. Small inconsistencies not ironed out in China might cause the internal chemical structure of the batteries to degrade more quickly over time.

As these factories produce such huge volume of batteries, the supply chain mandates that they are sold to authorized Samsung distributors, who are scattered around the world in the largest cities. Battery Bro buys its wholesale Samsung 25R batteries directly from the only authorized Samsung distributor in the South China / Hong Kong region.

Many of these cells are sold onward, and the supply chain hierarchy is often up to six levels deep. Chinese suppliers on Alibaba for example do not increase market efficiency at all. They simply import into China where warehousing and sales staff are cheap. When they find a buyer, they export them out of China - with all shipment and customs fees made the responsibility of the buyer.

Instead of doing this, Battery Bro's Samsung 25R batteries are sourced from high quality distributors and are never rewrapped. This alleviates much of the risk associated with counterfeit batteries. One tactic fraudulent suppliers on Alibaba use is to mix real high-quality cells with lower quality grade B or C cells.

Are wholesale Samsung 25R batteries readily available?

Battery Bro keeps wholesale 25Rs stocked in our warehouse in California. Many other suppliers both domestically and abroad also carry the 25R, however you will need to find a supplier specialized in 18650 cells.

2015 projections

We expect both the demand and supply for wholesale Samsung 25R batteries to grow mutually into late 2015. It is very hard to speculate on exactly what will happen - but there are several things to look forward to. The opening of several large li-ion factories in Asia may drive the price down. However, it is reported that their capacity has already been contracted out to electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla which would mean no surplus of supply.

I believe in the case of vape shops, more and more will carry 25R this year. The reason is simple - the Sony battery reputation is tarnished from counterfeiters, they are scarce, and the higher cost of the VTC4 is not justified by its specifications. The VTC4 and VTC5 were the previous go-to cells, a sort of cultural artifact that remains in some vape shops. However as we see below, the 25R is expected to become much more of a go-to vape cell in 2015.

Google Trends

The first thing to note is how new these batteries really are. The VTC4 data starts in November 2013, and the 25R data starts in June 2014.

I see three things after seeing this Google trend chart:

• The Samsung 25R overtook the VTC4 in popularity first in December 2014.
• The VTC4 peaked in March 2014, and has been declining since
• The 25R is quickly growing in popularity and is showing no signs of slowing down

What are the markings on my Samsung 18650 battery?

The bare cell is packed by the PET tube made out of PVC. Often the text, code, or numbers you see are actually underneath this skin, printed directly on the metal. One way to identify counterfeits VTC5s for example, is to see where the code is printed - if it's on the tube rather than metal you have a fake.

There may be three lines on the cell tube of your Samsung 18650:

• Line 1 : INR18650-25R --- cell model name
• Line 2 : SAMSUNG SDI --- cell manufacturer
• Line 3 : 125 --- part number of 25R

Line 1 : B0BB --- 1st digit: Line number ( “1” for cylindrical line No.1, “B” for cylindrical line No. 4)
2nd digit: Final number of Model Name (“0” is INR18650-25x)
3rd digit: Year ( “B” is 2011)
4th digit: Month ( “9” is Sep. ; A is Oct., B is Nov., C is Dec)

Line 2 : 7B111 --- 1st digit: Negative coater number ( “7” is No. 7 coater)
2nd ~ 4th digit: Batch number
5th digit: Serial No. of assembling

Line 3 : E9 --- 1st digit: Reel No ( “E” is E reel ; A is A reel, B is B reel, ... F is F reel)2
nd digit: Winding Machine No. ( “9” is No. 9 winder)

Now you can understand a little bit behind the meaning of the markings on your batteries. Note: just because your battery markings don't quite fit with the codex above - does not mean they are fake. This is an example definition and might not be up-to-date or apply to every battery.

Does Battery Bro only sell wholesale 18650 batteries?

Yes, Battery Bro is exclusively a wholesaler of 18650 batteries.  There is no minimum order quantity for retailers or industrial partners. As a wholesale suppler of Samsung 25R batteries, we offer tiered pricing and discounts with higher quantity orders.

I have two 25Rs with different shades of blue, is one of them fake?

The hue of the outer tube color is not consistent across all batches (which are released several times a year) and all factories. The exact hue of the PVC tube is not controlled and not mentioned in the battery data sheets. All that is mentioned is their color. It is because these cells are intended to be hidden in packs rather than be sold loose to end-consumers.