Cells

Although not visible from the outside, rechargeable cells are a battery pack’s most important component. Quality level among the cells available from various makers ranges from "awesome" to "awful"

As quality level varies greatly between cell manufacturers, so it does among battery packs. To save on cost, many battery pack suppliers- even many OEM’s (manufacturers of the "original brand" packs supplied with original equipment) - often use lower-cost cells.

Although the difference won’t be obvious immediately, battery packs assembled using poor quality cells quickly reach the end of their cycle lives and begin to die off, while the better cells are just hitting their stride. Some "no-name" cells will begin to fade away after as few as 100 to 200 cycles- that’s about 3 to 6 months usage if you drain and recharge the battery pack once a day. Equivalent cells from reputable manufacturers have been known to last for 1000 cycles and more- about 3 years usage!

Another important cell quality factor is internal resistance. High internal resistance affects battery performance, causing premature power cutoff under heavy current draw. Cells made in a highly automated environment using high grade raw materials will exhibit low internal resistance, with little variation between cells- and vice versa.

Standard GL Batteries battery packs are manufactured using cells made by undisputed industry leaders Sanyo and Panasonic*. The hallmarks of these cells are higher capacity, lower internal resistance, extended cycle life and stable quality over time- all of which can be equally applied to GL Batteries battery packs. Our battery packs have a well-earned reputation for keeping up the pace, cycle after cycle, and going the extra mile long after the competition has dropped out of the race.

*Where a lower cost, yet proven high quality cell option is desirable we offer Gold Peak (GP) cell option on most models.