18650 battery recommendations for T-Beam?

[Tolkien]

Hello!
I felt it’s time for a little update to tell you what I am doing.
Yesterday I brutally slaughtered two Ryobi battery packs. They are from 2009 and I bought new batteries for them to replace the old. I bought batteries that were exactly the same:

So the question is: batteries that have been sitting for years - will they work?
The new batteries I bought are also old (2016). I am hoping they will be able to charge and work in the Ryobi. I don’t need top performance, just a working drill/screwdriver! My budget is very limited so I need to try to save a bit.

The batteries I remove will be used for LoRa! This means I will be able to salvage a couple of batteries to use for my project. I would like to make some Nodes with the CubeCell:

Simple Repeater Node, using a CubeCell

Hello, based on the factory_test examples by Heltec i wrote the code for a simple repeater node. I’m using this for range tests and the following scenario: The CubeCell (devboard) is placed in a location with good transmitting conditions. Incoming packets are repeated to my T-Beam, which is located in bluetooth range to my mobile phone e.g. sitting room. So i can watch TV, read a book and am still getting long range meshtastic messages.

I intend to put them “here and there” by giving them to friends and family!
Do you think I would be able to run them with a 10 year old 1300mAh Samsung INR18650 13Q battery? Or perhaps if I connect several. It would be nice to be able to power them with solar. I think it’s only possible in the summer here, as it gets pretty cold and dark during winter.

For this winter/spring:

Another idea I had was to place devices in cars! Do you think that could work? Perhaps not with the CubeCell but with the “fully functioning” boards. I would then connect it to the 12v-port with a USB-adapter of the trunk (many modern cars have those) and hide it in the side of the car where the medic kit or tire shifting stuff is usually hidden. Most cars have a small hatch for that somewhere.

It could then be charged every time someone uses the car which means I don’t need to worry about solar charging etc! Please give me any input on this. I could also insulate the battery properly so there is no need to heat it during the winter?

I imagine doing this with about 20 friends all over the city which means it would be possible to “pick up” messages here and there which would then be distributed once someone is near another persons home or car! For cold climates, car mount is the way to go!!

So say something like this:

• Fully capable Meshtastic LoRa in car powered by battery charged every time someone drives the car. I would need to disable GPS here? Would it be possible to make a “car version” of the firmware?
  The antenna could be placed close to the window for maximum reach.
  Say that the care is used 20min per day on average. I guess that would be enough to keep the battery alive 24/7?

• Node Cubecell on the roof or somewhere near the house or apartment, which would require low power and be charged with our weak sun. Perhaps insulated and painted black? Would temperature variation destroy it?

• Fully capable Meshtastic LoRa placed in apartment, powered by USB-adapter and battery added for power outages.