I suppose I should have just put this all in the original message; got lots of PMs asking for more info. It's all already here, in some of my previous messages in this thread, and in a thread over in the Concentrates section, but I guess it's worth putting it all in one place. The only battery I haven't mentioned yet is the newer Sony 2150mAh V3.
Before I get into the specifics, you need to understand we are talking about four or so batteries that are all great batteries; the "A" team. There are subtle differences (trade offs), and which one is "best" is as bogus as saying one particular vaporizer is the "best". It all depends on your usage and needs.
There are two categories of battery chemistry involved here, the kind that absolutely should have some sort of electronic protection either built into the battery or the mod, and the kind that doesn't need special protection (because it's much less sensitive to thermal runaway and physical damage). All Lithium batteries are dangerous if you short them or mis-charge them, but the ones that I'm going to recommend are the ones that don't require special protection, which are the ones that have IMR based chemistry. This message is gonna be too long already to get into battery chemistry in detail, so that's all you get (from me) about it, for now.
The 4 1/2 batteries in question:
(The 1/2 part): A bunch of Panasonic (and other) NON IMR chemistry batteries that have mAh ratings up to 3400mAh or so. Use them in your flashlights, or maybe some other brand vape that has built in electronic regulation, and whose core doesn't draw anywhere near what the Cera cores draw. In our usage, they suck for two main reasons. (1) All that extra mAh can't be used by any of the Cera cores. If you look at the voltage these batteries put out as you use them up, you'll find that it drops below 3.3V for the entire last third of its remaining energy. Too bad the Cera doesn't work very well below 3.3V. (2) The protection circuit drops a minimum of 0.15V doing its job. That's a whole lot when we're talking about a 4.0V (what a freshly charged battery puts out under a 4 Amp Cera load) to 3.3V (the voltage when the Cera core isn't wonderful anymore) range. Oh, and as a bonus, these NON IMR batteries have high internal resistance, so they heat up a bunch as you use them (as if the core didn't heat things up enough on its own). For some uses, particularly low current devices that work just fine down to, say, 3.0V, they are great choices; just not for our Ceras.
OK, on to the four batteries really in question.
The Panasonic
CGR18650CH (2250 mAh) and
NCR18650PD (2900 mAh).
The Sony
US18650VTC3 (1600mAh) and
US18650V3 (2150mAh).
These are all great batteries, and they'll all work great in your Cera. They all use "safe" Lithium chemistry. The differences are subtle, though similar between the two choices in each brand. In both cases they have chosen to provide one battery that has the ability to deliver more power for a shorter time, and one that has the ability to deliver less power for a longer time. For those of you who have been battery nuts for a long time, it's similar to what AW did with the 1600mAh and 2000mAh versions of their 18650 IMR batteries.
The lower capacity battery in each brand will work a
little better (faster heating of the core, less heating of the battery itself), but won't last
quite as long. The higher capacity battery in each brand will take a little longer to heat up the core, and will get a little warmer itself, but it will also last a little bit longer. With the EO core the higher capacity cell
might be a
slightly better choice, with the LL core (or if you have both), the lower capacity battery
will be a
slightly better choice. But we're really picking nits here.
The Sony's are of lower capacity in both cases, but also deliver more power in both cases; Sony traded off some of the capacity to provide more power. The Panasonic NCR18650PD has the most capacity (2900 mAh), but alas it delivers a lot of it at below 3.3V. So it turns out its capacity
when used in a Cera, is about the same as the Panasonic CGR18650CH. And the CGR18650CH delivers more power. So that's why before the Sony batteries came out, the battery fanatics among us preferred the CGR18650CH. Both Sony batteries deliver most of their power above 3.3V.
There are two other considerations. The Panasonic CGR18650CH is getting really hard to find. If you're a "higher power, less capacity" kind of person, the Sony US18650VTC3 is actually a better battery, so just buy that. The other consideration is cost. If you have to pay through the teeth for one kind, and one of the other kinds is half the price, you're probably nuts to buy the expensive one.
Some links:
The
Sony US18650VTC3 can be had for $12/pair ($6 each), the
Sony US18650V3 can be had for $10/pair ($5 each), both with free shipping from Fasttech. The US18650VTC3 is temporarily out of stock.
The
Panasonic CGR18650CH can be had for $11/pair ($5.50 each), the
Panasonic NCR18650PD can be had for $14/pair ($7 each), again with free shipping from Fasttech. The CGR18650CH is temporarily unavailable from Fasttech. In case they never get them back in again, they can still be found here and there. I bought some from
this place on Amazon a long time ago, and they still list them as available. They're priced at $30 for 4 ($7.50 each). I didn't search very hard though, and you may be able to find them in smaller quantities than four elsewhere.
tl;dr = If a burgler broke into my home and stole all my 18650 batteries, I'd probably buy Sony US18650VTC3's to replace them, but I'm a performance kind of guy; the Panasonic CGR18650CH's will probably do just as well in a Cera, as will the Sony US18650V3's, and they will last a
little longer. YMMV and you can't go wrong with any of them.
edit: I know I didn't go into details about the new higher capacity Sony US18650V3 (2150mAh) battery. I have to grab the real spec sheets and discharge curves before I want to get more specific, but I remember that it has a higher internal resistance than the US18650VTC3, meaning it won't deliver as much power (it's rated at 10 or 15 Amps, I forget which), and the VTC3 is rated (and will deliver) 30 Amps, continuously. At the 4 to 5 Amps the Cera cores draw, either will work well. And I haven't heard any reports of either Sony having trouble maintaining their output.
