Samsung 30q 18650 -VS- Molicel P26A 18650 (and the winner is.....)

EFOIL.builders Electronics (ESC, remote, batteries)
1

Hi all, I recently built a 2nd battery for my efoil. My first battery was made with Samsung 30q cells. When I built my 2nd battery the price of cells sky rocketed so I decided to use lower cost Molicel P26A cells. I wanted to post my results from some tests I’m doing to see what cell is superior. The results may surprise you!

Battery 1 (Samsung)
14s12p - 168 count Samsung 30q 18650 - 3,600mAh
Charged to 50.4v
Cell Cost: $581 as of 9/1/2021

Battery 2 (Molicel)
14s12p - 168 count Molicel P26A 18650 - 2,600mAh
Charged to 50.4v
Cell Cost: $1386 as of 9/1/2021

Test 1:
Battery Rundown - 50.4v (4.2v cell) to 42.0v (3.5v cell)

Results:

Samsung 30q
57min runtime to 42.0v (3.5v cell)
Avg. Speed: 12.7 mph
Max. Speed: 17.4 mph
Distance: 12.15 miles

Molicel P26A
59min runtime to 42.0v (3.5v cell)
Avg. Speed: 12.2 mph
Max. Speed: 15.6 mph
Distance: 12.01 miles

Winner: Molicel P26A :tada:

Both batteries performed the same. Ride time is the same. Distance is the same. Cost on the other hand is not the same! The cost to build the Samsung battery is x2 more. You can basically build two batteries for the price of one Samsung battery. Hopefully this information helps some folks. See my build post for battery photos.

My next test will be a rundown to 49.6v (3.3v cell), keep you posted!

molicel
molicel1080×2400 212 KB

Molicel

samsung
samsung1080×2400 218 KB

Samsung

7 Likes
2

Something is off in your post regarding the price of batteries. Maybe you’ve switched prices?

How many cycles have your 30q?
How many cycles have p26a?

I’ve heard somewhere that molicells loose capacity faster than samsung.
But with the price difference it isn’t of great importance.

3

Thanks for finding my error! I had the prices above switched.

Samsung: $1386
Molicel: $581

I have about 14 cycles on the 30q and only 1 on the p26a. I’m going to ride the p26a down to 39.6v (3.3v cell) to see how it performs. I will also keep updating this post as the batteries age to see how well they do after a few years.

I was not expecting an hour of ride time on the p26a’s so I’m super excited about that!

1 Like
4

Nearly two years… have you noticed anything ?

5

The Molicel cells are better. They discharge very evenly. I have over 500 miles on the Molicel battery and it’s solid. Zero issues. The samsung cells are always .1 to .2 off after discharge, so when I charge it take a bit longer for the balance charger to balance all the cells.

5 Likes
6

Molicel is the best quality of all these brand

1 Like