CR2025 vs CR2032 Battery
CR2025 and CR2032 batteries are very popular non-rechargeable 3.0 volts lithium batteries, commonly used in calculators, remotes, medical equipment, security systems, computers, laptops, etc.
CR2025 and CR2032 batteries are very similar in size and electrical characteristics, and many people wonder if these batteries are interchangeable...
Published: March 11, 2023.
CR2025 and CR2032 Batteries Features and Specifications
CR2025 and CR2032 batteries share the same chemistries and have very similar dimensions (D x H):
- CR2025: 20.0 x 2.5 mm,
- CR2032: 20.0 x 3.2 mm.
Both batteries have exactly the same diameter (20 mm), but the height is different (by 0.7 mm).
Common labels of these batteries are:
- CR2025: DL2025, BR2025, LiR2025, ECR2025, E-CR2025, SB-T14, 5003LC, etc.,
- CR2032: DL2032, BR2032, LiR2032, ECR2032, ML2032, E-CR2032, SB-T51, 5004LC, etc.
Labels differ depending on the manufacturer and actual chemistry type:
- CR20**: Lithium Manganese Dioxide chemistry,
- BR20**: Lithium Carbon Monofluoride chemistry,
- LiR20**: Lithium-Ion chemistry (rechargeable),
- ML20**: Manganese Dioxide Lithium chemistry (rechargeable).
Lithium Manganese Dioxide chemistry is non-rechargeable chemistry and it is the most common chemistry, featuring a nominal voltage of 3.0 volts, a cutoff voltage of 2.0 volts, and a shelf-life of 5-7 years, sometimes even more.
CR2025 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 160-170 mAh, while CR2032 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 210-230 mAh.
Actual capacity depends on the temperature, battery age, discharge current, and similar.
Depending on the battery model, standard discharge current, maximum continuous discharge current, and maximum pulse discharge current differ between CR2025 and CR2032, but thanks to the larger size, the CR2032 battery is able to provide stronger currents, which is very important when powering devices that periodically require relatively strong currents (remote controls and similar devices).
Lithium Carbon Monofluoride chemistry is non-rechargeable chemistry, featuring nominal voltage in the 2.8 volts (older batteries) and 3.0 volts (newer batteries) range, a cutoff voltage in the 2.0 volts (newer batteries) and 2.25 volts (older batteries) range, and a very low self-discharge rate ensuring shelf-life sometimes even longer than 10 years.
BR2025 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 130-150 mAh, while BR2032 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 180-190 mAh.
Actual capacity depends on the battery age and temperature, and discharge current, which should be kept low.
Note: discharge currents of Lithium Carbon Monofluoride chemistry are smaller than the discharge currents of Lithium Manganese Dioxide chemistry.
Hence, BR2025 and BR2032 batteries are used almost exclusively as memory backup batteries in computers, laptops, servers, medical equipment, security systems, and similar.
Also, BR20** batteries feature a wider operating temperature range than CR20** batteries, although this also depends on the actual battery model.
Lithium-Ion chemistry is a rechargeable lithium 3.6-3.7 volts chemistry, allowing the batteries to be recharged 300-500+ times.
CR20** and LiR20** batteries are not directly compatible since not all devices support the voltage difference which can cause some units to malfunction or it can even damage them.
So, replace your CR20** battery with a LiR20** battery only if explicitly allowed by the device's manufacturer.
LiR2025 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 30-40 mAh, while LiR2032 batteries feature a nominal capacity of 35-50 mAh and in high-drain applications can save some money in the long run.
Manganese Dioxide Lithium chemistry is rechargeable lithium 3.0 volts chemistry, allowing the ML20** batteries to be directly compatible with CR20** and BR20** batteries, at least regarding the output voltage.
ML20** batteries are usually recharged directly by the device - if they are recharged using the external battery charger, the battery charger must be intended for ML batteries and not LiR batteries, or it must have ML batteries charging mode.
ML20** batteries are relatively rare.
Are CR2025 And CR2032 Batteries Interchangeable
CR2025 and CR2032 batteries are "mostly" interchangeable, with several potential issues:
- CR2032 batteries feature larger capacity and generally under the same conditions, they last longer,
- CR2032 batteries can provide stronger currents and in high-drain devices can last longer,
- CR2025 batteries are lower by 0.7 mm (~0.02756 inches) and many battery compartments that accept CR2032 battery properly, may accept CR2025 battery, but with potential battery contacts issues - 0.7 mm is not much, but can be enough to make battery contacts unreliable,
- CR2032 battery is higher by 0.7 mm and battery compartments intended for the CR2025 battery can be even damaged if the CR2032 battery is being inserted instead of the CR2032 battery.
CR2025 and CR2032 Batteries Safety Issues
CR2025, CR2032, and similar batteries should be kept out of the reach of children and pets - if swallowed, they can cause chemical burns that can be very dangerous, even deadly.
If that happens, contact the nearest emergency service and act according to their instructions.
Long Story Short: both CR2025 and CR2032 batteries are very popular batteries that can be easily found in local and/or online shops and stores.
Don't mix them - use CR2025 batteries for devices intended to be powered by CR2025 batteries and use CR2032 batteries for devices intended to be powered by CR2032 batteries.
It is that simple :)
