A123 Systems LiFePO4 Cell - date of manufacture important?

Thread Starter

tims

Joined Mar 6, 2017
3
I want to buy A123 Systems 3.3v 2.5ah 26650 LiFePO4 cells that are on clearance at my local electronics shop but don't know how long they have been sitting on the shelves.
Is there any way to tell when they were manufactured and what is the maximum time (from the date of maufacture) they can be assumed to still be in prime condition?
Thanks
 

oz93666

Joined Sep 7, 2010
739
They will never still be in 'prime condition' ... This type of cell is listed as having a ten year shelf life , which is quite long for a lithium cell , but capacity starts to drop a soon as they are manufactured ,after 10 years they may have about 90% new capacity ....

If a number code is printed on the cell this can tell you manufacture date , a search will tell you how to decode it ...

Have just checked the price of these new .... expensive $5, you are paying for the ability to have very high discharge current and long cycle life ... they are about 2 times as expensive as other lithium cells which are smaller (18650) and with higher capacity .

If you are sure you want these perhaps a fair price is $3.50 each

These 26650 cells are available new on eBay with a higher capacity 3,500mA ... $7
 
Last edited:
Top