EBL 9V battery (6F22): real or fake? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 07:56:28 am
content: Hi! I bought EBL li-ion 9V batteries (really 8.4V) from amazon. I bought this brand because it was recommended here:https://www.wrytech.eu/products/pdvs2. However, when the batteries arrived, I noticed that they are kinda lightweight and flimsy. Not super-bad, but suspicious. The package looks fine to me. The charger is also fine. So, I measured capacity with a cheap electronic load I have. The battery was charged up to 8.45V by the bundled charger. The discharge current was set to 60mA (0.1C), and stop voltage 7V. Here is what I've got:Declared capacity: 600mAMeasured capacity:453mAh@60mA currentWeight: 25.9gThat's 24% less capacity than declared. Question: are the batteries fake or real?Are there better 9V batteries on the market?

author: Gertjan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 11:37:37 am
content: Hi exe,I bought the same batteries, and posted about them here:A heads-up on the EBL 6F22 Li-ion 600 mAh batteriesYou can compare your batteries with my photo.I did not yet measure the capacity. But they work well in daily use.It is usual that a battery has less capacity on it's first cycles.regards, Gertjan.

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 12:47:37 pm
content: I think it's real. It may get more capacity after a few uses or EBL just simply overstated the capacity but I don't think it's counterfeit.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 02:32:18 pm
content: The branding seems to have changed significantly (white/red vs blue/silver) and the case design also has some differences compared to the batteries shown in the Wrytech product. The red/white battery claims a nominal 7.4v, suggesting two li-ion cells in series internally, but the photos of the silver/blue cells I've found don't state this so perhaps there have been internal changes too.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 03:42:50 pm
content: I just finished measuring my NiMh battery, with discharge down to 6V (with 20mA current, or ~0.1C) it only measured 166mAh vs 220mAh what's on the package, but battery is already a few years old (but it wasn't used much). So, the li-ion seems to be far superior, even if it doesn't meet the spec.I also think I need to verify my electronic load. May be it's out of cal. Stay tuned.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 04:16:05 pm
content: Well, electronic load seems to be fine. I only measured it at 60mA. The dmm showed it as 60.1mA. After 10 minutes the load displayed 10mAh, then my battery died. I quickly checked 20mA current, it was also measured by dmm as 20.1mA.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 09:18:40 pm
content: Yes they do feel light, compared to a regular alkaline of 45g.The one I have is Soshine, claimed capacity of 680mAh:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005720545701.htmlThey could have fit larger cells inside the case, but not much maybe 10-20%edit: I'll see if I can do a test on this old battery.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 09:27:10 pm
content: Unlikely to be fake. I've never tested mine for capacity but they've always greatly outperformed anything else so I don't think there's anything better. IDK if there are parameters specified for that 600mAH, so perhaps try using 30mA/0.05C and a 6V (3.0V/cell) cutoff. I'll bet you get a lot closer to that 600mAH.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2025, 07:48:50 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on September 24, 2025, 09:18:40 pmI tried to find exact model of your battery, and I couldn't. Though for some reason I tend to think that last three digits of the battery id is capacity.Quote from: bdunham7 on September 24, 2025, 09:27:10 pmI may try that, but I expect things to be very marginally better. Li-ion should be fine with 0.1C discharge current, even 0.2C is not an issue at all graphs I've seen (I did my research before doing the experiment). The battery was also overcharged by almost 50mV, so that offsets any any little missed capacity when discharging down to 3V.PS I'm on the verge of disassembling one of batteries to see from which cells they make it. On the one hand, it's fun research, on another I won't be able to return my precious 42euros. However, you guys can crowd-fund me)PPS I'm in touch with EBL company. They seem to be nice so far, though for some reason requested an invoice from my amazon purchase. I wonder why they need it? A proof of purchase?

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2025, 08:18:47 pm
content: AFAIK, every battery will give different capacity test results at different discharge currents. Lower discharge currents will give higher capacity results - up to a point. A battery is a chemical device and the capacity is determined by the amount of chemicals and how fast the chemicals can react. If you try to draw too much current, the chemistry can't keep up and the voltage drops. Let the battery rest and the chemicals catch up and you can draw more current without recharging.A common, but not universal, discharge rate for small battery testing is the 20 hour rate. I.E. set the discharge current to a value that will pull out the nominal capacity over a 20 hour period. That tends to be a low enough value to allow the chemistry to keep up. In your case, that would be 30ma rather than 60ma. Larger batteries might use an 8 hour or even 1 hour rate. That's particularly useful for UPS batteries because their normal operation involves unusually large currents.Another factor in the capacity measurement is cut-off voltage. Your stop voltage was 7V. Drop that to 6V5 and the measured capacity will increase.Bottom line here is that trying to match the stated capacity is almost impossible. What parameters did they use? How much marketing exaggeration was involved? In your case, you measured 450 mah compared to the stated 600 mah. Reasonable? Maybe. Exaggerated? Maybe. Fake? Who knows? YMMV

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2025, 09:20:31 pm
content: I think its just a date code, 20170420, april 20 2017. I don't see capacity written on the cell anywhere. I would not personally bother taking the battery apart.If I measure the cell its 33x22x7mm (code 702233). Similar cells of that size are 400-550mAh.I'm seeing ~470mAh from charging at 100mA (ignoring any efficiencies), which is essentially what you saw. I'll see what I can find to do a discharge test.Quote from: edpalmer42 on September 25, 2025, 08:18:47 pmOP did do that then ran it until the BMS cut out. Total capacity was 463mAh, if I read correctly.QuoteAgree, but I think for sure its just the usual exaggerated specs, not fake. Common with most of these type of products.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2025, 09:47:08 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on September 25, 2025, 09:20:31 pmBut what voltage did EBL use as a cutoff voltage? Was that stated anywhere? The OP used 7V0. If EBL used 6V5 they'd get a higher capacity value. They can use whatever voltage they want - even voltages that are low enough to degrade the battery. As long as the battery lasts past the warranty period - if there is one - they don't care.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 26, 2025, 07:25:09 am
content: I chose 7V as cut-off voltage because, according to numerous discharge plots I analyzed, at 3.5V there is very little energy left in li-ion cell.Quote from: edpalmer42 on September 25, 2025, 08:18:47 pmFor the sake of science, I charged another battery from the same batch to 8.385V with included charger (the charger says "full"), and set discharge voltage to 30mA. Cut-off voltage is 6.5V. See you in like 12 hours or so. My prediction is the measured capacity will be below 500mAh.PS to me it doesn't make sense to set cut-off voltage too low. This is 9V battery, we can discharge it all the way to zero, but the circuit it supplies will stop working much before that. Also, deep discharge causes capacity degradation.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2025, 08:40:04 am
content: Quote from: exe on September 26, 2025, 07:25:09 amI agree completely. But these days we have to be sceptical. Just go to Aliexpress and look at some of the claimed capacity figures for 9V Lithium batteries. 28 AH, 29.8 AH?? These are obviously nonsense, but it makes you question all the capacity values, even the reasonable ones. The lack of standard testing procedures further confuses the situation.

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2025, 06:49:10 pm
content: I have some of the previous blue EBL 9V batteries and their tested capacity has never been above 500mAh. 450-475mAh is typical. However, when one died, I disassembled it and the pouch cells were labelled 600mAh.The label print quality shown in the OP's photos seems lower than what Gertjan posted in the other photo. I've ordered some of these new red ones from EBL's official store and will report back with photos and capacities when they arrive.Specification "fibs" are very common from these brands so it typically comes down to just deciding what you're willing to live with for the price. EBL has historically been within the realm of reasonable, so that is why they have been regularly recommended thus far.It's possible that under very specific conditions EBL could claim they were able to reach 600mAh with these batteries. It probably involves cherry-picking two top-performing pouch cells, cycling to the right amount to get the highest capacity, and then testing at various temperatures and currents to get the best result. I doubt they have actually done this, however!

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2025, 07:19:10 pm
content: Quote from: exe on September 26, 2025, 07:25:09 amI agree there's a limit to what makes sense, but I'd say 3.3V open circuit or 3.1 to 3.2V under load would still be reasonable. Most devices using 9V batteries have pretty small loads and work down to nearly 6V (1V/cell for alkaline).

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2025, 07:37:09 pm
content: Final capacity of the Sofirn battery at 60mA discharge: 552mAhThe protection circuit is conservative as the two voltages on the internal cells were: 3.28V and 3.68V. So maybe it cut out at ~3V. I think that is reasonable, I don't want a 9V battery working below 6 or 7V, its dead at that point and could affect accuracy of the circuit.I'll re-balance the cells as they must have drifted over time (cell is 8 years old).

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2025, 08:52:37 am
content: I've got the measurements, with discharge current of 30mA the capacity is 445mAh at 7V, or 484mAh at 6.5V. I'm a bit jealous for @thm_w battery that is 8 years old, unbalanced, and still performs better. For some reason I thought EBL is a premium US brand, so my expectations were high.

author: BILLPOD
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2025, 01:49:51 pm
content: Quote from: exe on September 27, 2025, 08:52:37 amAI says: EBL batteries are primarily manufactured in China. They are known for being budget-friendly options in the rechargeable battery market.

author: CaptDon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2025, 01:54:08 pm
content: Sadly, most of the older electronics designed around the 9V alkaline battery begin to work very poorly below 7.5 to 8 volts so a cutoff of 6.5 is meaningless. Most wireless microphones work poorly at 8.0v or lower. In critical wireless mic applications a handful of quality alkalines is still the best bet.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2025, 01:58:25 pm
content: EBL is known for inflating capacity ratings. So most likely that it's genuine but stated capacity is fake.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2025, 02:02:04 pm
content: Quote from: BILLPOD on September 27, 2025, 01:49:51 pmI'm tired of users posting AI responses. IMHO worthy of a warning and a temporary ban if if done again.

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2025, 12:50:28 am
content: It's possible to have a better battery, but cost and ease of acquisition might be a problem. Thus far, I've easily obtained the EBLs at around $5ea, including shipping.Various 9V battery test results here, although no EBL:https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries9V/Common9VIndividualTest%20UK.htmlThis seems like the best one he tested, over 600mAh at 6.5V (although old):https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries9V/Conrad%20energy%20LiIon%209V%20500mAh%20(Blue)%20UK.html

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2025, 01:17:26 am
content: I got the older-style EBLs many years ago, they'll power a smoke alarm for a year at least and have never had the alarm beep at 3am like conventional batteries will. I recharge them yearly so I've never tested their total capacity but they're a perfect replacement for conventional 6F22s in this situation.Another thing to be aware of is that, at least at the time I bought mine, a lot of the chargers for 9V batteries were crap compared to the ones for more mainstream cell types, so the charger you're using could also be an issue.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2025, 01:56:10 am
content: Quote from: exe on September 25, 2025, 07:48:50 pmProbablythis, they want to make sure any problems you may be experiencing are from their product and not god-knows-what sort of copy battery.

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2025, 10:58:35 am
content: I use EBL AA Li-Ion rechargeale batteries and I like them but I do think EBL isn't a high end brand. Their support is decent. Before I bought the batteries I asked them what kind of current limit they have on the batteries and they said 2A. I tested them and indeed 2A. The battery hold the charge for long time which I use them for low drain applications to avoid alkaline leaking and the lower voltage of NiMh. (Some NiMH has very high rate of self discharge so the batteries don't last long although the device doesn't draw much current from them.)

author: Gertjan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 12:38:04 pm
content: I measured the capacity of two new EBL 600mAh 6F22 batteries.These batteries were used for a month in my PDVS2mini v2, so had about 10...15 full discharge / charge cycles. Before this capacity measurement I charged them using the EBL charger, as supplied with these batteries.I measured at a discharge current of 60mA, as I do wih all my PP3 batteries. (It is the supply current of my radio mikes). Conveniently, in this case it is also the standard 1/10 capacity current.I stopped the discharge at 6.4V, as the voltage drops fast below this point, so not much capacity is lost, and it is safe for the cells.The result:Full size graph:EBL-600mAh-capacity-1500pix.pngThe discharge curves of both batteries track each other very nicely.But the capacity is disappointing: only 451mAh and 452 mAh. Or just 75% of the promised capacity....In my professional life I used iPowerUS 6F22 Li-Poly batteries for decades, with very good result.Capacity was also a bit less then nominal, but usually no more then 10%. (same measurement parameters and setup) And they lasted very long. Some I used for 10 years.I noticed iPowerUS has anew 800mAh model:These are targeted at a professional market, so are more expensive. It also means that there is a realdatasheetIn due course I will get a few. I suspect it will be worth it.regards, Gertjan.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 06:37:20 pm
content: Quote from: Gertjan on September 29, 2025, 12:38:04 pmOK, I guess the EBLs are 450mAH in real life. I can live with that in most cases.In some cases the cost doesn't really matter, so where can those iPowerUS products be purchased?Edit: OTOH, the new iPowerUS 800mA have some bad reviews, so maybe I'll wait...https://www.reddit.com/r/LocationSound/comments/1l0ming/ipower_9v_batteries_are_shockingly_bad/

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 07:44:25 pm
content: Energizer 9V alkaline specs stated at 50mA discharge it's good for about 500mA so the EBL is close to the alkaline and that's all I expect.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 09:02:54 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on September 29, 2025, 06:37:20 pmMaybe why the warranty is only 3 months.There are some suppliers:https://www.trewaudio.ca/product/ipower-9v-lithium-800-mah/https://www.audiolambda.com/product/ipowerultra-li-polymer-9v/But thats more than 4x what I paid for the Sofirns ($5 USD each). So not worth it to me.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 09:16:56 pm
content: I did try a battery that I think was equivalent to the EBL, but I find the low terminal voltage annoyiong on on these just as I did the earlier NiMH ones. They've moved on a bit further now - I have a 'Pujimax' 6F22 that claims 1200mAh and has a terminal voltage over 9V and a USB C socket for charging. I presume it has a boost converter but I haven't yet measured real capacity. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the usual con of having a 3.7V lithium inside that's rated at 1200mAh but before the boost converter.It's noticeably bigger than an older Panasonic NiMH : 16mm thick instead of 15mm. But the Panasonic is 8.4V 170mAh - possibly even worse capacity and voltage than the alkaline original.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404298785224Although I haven't measured it, I do prefer it for in-use life to everything else Ive tried.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2025, 12:44:38 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on September 29, 2025, 06:37:20 pmI was thinking that too, I'm not that fussed about what the exact numbers are as long as they do what they're supposed to, which is power a smoke alarm or similar device for a year without running out of juice. And they work just fine for that.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2025, 07:13:47 am
content: Quote from: artag on September 29, 2025, 09:16:56 pmThat's a different beast, the batteries we are discussing here are 2S with no DC-DC converters.I have two usb-c batteries, they are very noisy. One had like 1V p-p under no load.

author: TUMEMBER
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2025, 03:46:37 pm
content: Quote from: artag on September 29, 2025, 09:16:56 pmShow me, kitty, what's inside, and why the descriptions on the "box" are marketing gimmicks.1300 mAh, but for a 3.7V cell, not a 9V one... someone might be fooled by first impressions.