The FV battery has been discussed in previous postings on this thread already, but I'm going to post the information again here for everyone's convenient reference.
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The battery we have chosen to power the FlashVAPE is a Valence LiFeMgPo4 (lithium iron magnesium phosphate) cell, which is among the safest, most stable of any Li-ion batteries on the market today. This can be confirmed with a little research into li-ion battery varieties. What this means is that this cell is chemically very stable at high discharge rates (2+C stable discharge and up to 3+C pulse discharge rate), without the risk of exploding or giving any gaseous discharge. You can explore the safety aspects of this type of cell on Valence's website:
http://valence.com. You can literally short the battery with a copper wire, and the wire will burn red hot, but the battery will be fine... and kids, please don't try this at home... you'll likely burn down the house, but the battery will probably still be ok
Secondly, this particular cell is rated at 3.2V operating voltage, as opposed to 3.7V for regular Li-ion 18650 cells. Our chargers are specially made to matched to this voltage, with cut-off at 3.65V. Please don't use any other battery in the FlashVAPE, or charge our batteries with any other chargers. The battery itself is self-regulated with cut-off below 2V. This battery has a rated life cycle of >2000 (100% DOD) to 80% capacity. Which means that you can recharge it over 2000 times before it will drop to below 80% of its rated full capacity (you can probably still use it a whole lot longer after 2000 charges!).
Valence LiFeMgPo4 cells power electric vehicles all over the world, its the cell powering the SEGWAY, and it is the only cell we find good enough for the FlashVAPE.
When selecting the cell for the FlashVAPE, we tested over 20 different li-ion batteries. With safety first and foremost on our minds, second only to performance and longevity of use, we went with this Valence cell. Although there are lower priced options available, we feel that the Valence cell is the right choice when you combine all these factors.
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It should be again noted that FV smart chargers are SPECIFICALLY MANUFACTURED TO MATCH the 3.2v LiFePo4 cell, with cut off at 3.65v as opposed to regular 4.2v chargers for 3.7v cells. You should only use the included FV smart charger to charge the FV 3.2v cell. This is an important safety matter that needs to be mentioned.
Below you will find a picture of the 3.2V VALENCE LiFePo4 cells that power the FV, current FV owners can confirm this..... You will notice that there are 2 slightly different types of branding labels on these cells, one which labels the cell as: VALENCE SAPHION 3.2V, and one that labels as: LISHEN VALENCE PROVEN 3.2V. They are the exact same cell, model: IFR-18650EC. These cells are made by a Chinese mega-factory: LISHEN, for VALENCE. We receive about the same number of each style (mixed) when we receive our battery shipment, which means these cells are not separated even ex-factory. We've also been told that the packaging of this IFR-18650EC cell may be updated again in the near future, so we'll have to wait to see what they look like when released. There will be no change in manufacturing specs regardless of the outer packaging.
We are working on re-badging the FV cells with our own custom slip-on covers for some added coolness, so you will soon see FV cells look like this:
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FV STAGE-2
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For FV STAGE-2 fans, I am also happy to provide further details on your 3.7v high drain cell for those interested to know:
Above you will find the Panasonic CGR18650CH 3.7v high drain cell (top), which we were originally planning to use in the S-2. However, this cell is said to be discontinued soon, and is in the process of being phased out by the manufacturer. That being the case, we have chosen the SAMSUNG ICR18650-22PM high drain 3.7v cell (bottom) as the replacement. Both these cells are rated 2200 mah, and both are safe, high-drain cells (rated over 10A) which supports the kind of extreme power the S-2 calls for. We have done extensive testing on both, with the exact same performance when used in the S-2.
The SAMSUNG ICR18650CH is a top-quality LiNiMnCoO2 cell, made in Korea by Samsung Electronics. Our FV STAGE-2 chargers are designed to match the specs of this cell, with cut-off at 4.2v.
The original FV chargers and the FV-S2 chargers are each clearly labelled on the front and on the back, so its will be easy to distinguish between the two. However, please do pay particular attention when you are charging the FV cells, to use the right charger with each different cell.
We are re-badging FV-S2 cells with our own custom slip-on covers to look like this:
Needless to say, we source all our cells through large, reputable dealers only. Actually, counterfit cells are not all that difficult to spot if you know what you are looking for. A simple comparison of the physical aspects of the cell (especially the weight of the cell, and the "+" and "-" ends) will usually give the fake away, and a further simple performance test will definitely let you know if you are buying fake batteries.
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