battery charging

[cloudyjosh]

Is it bad to use a battery down to 30% and then charge it? And also is it bad to take a battery off charge half way through?

 

[BillW50]

Ah... we are talking about lithium battery abuse! And you have to be careful with all of the information out there, as some of it is wrong. Like the memory effect of Ni-CAD batteries has a problem with capacity if you didn't discharge them down to say 0.9v per cell and then recharge them full once again. Other battery types including lithium batteries, doesn't have this problem. So the practice of discharge and charging cycles are a waste of time.

And no, it isn't bad to use a battery down to 30% and then recharge it. Nor is it bad to take a partially charged battery and use it. But don't do the following:

- Charge while frozen (they can explode)
- Charge when battery is over 110 degrees F (their lifespan shortens a lot)
- Charge higher than 4.20v per cell (for 3.7v lithiums, as they can explode)

 

[zaroba]

Is it bad to use a battery down to 30% and then charge it?

This really depends on the voltage your trying to use and the device itself.
In a mech, you have to watch to make sure you don't over discharge.
In a vv/vw device, it should tell you when the battery is too discharged to supply the voltage/wattage that you are trying to use and stop firing.

At 75 watts on my sig 100 with a 0.16 ohm rda (3.6v), I usually can't get below 30%
But at 50 watts (3.0v) I can get down into the 20s.

I also have an RDA that has 0.8 ohm resistance, and oddly, at 80 watts (8.0v) I can take batteries down below 10%

 

[cloudyjosh]

Ok thankyou very much guys I use mechs and sig 50w with efest 35A on .2 ohm coil my sig stops at 30%

 

[BoomStick]

High drain lithiums in four easy steps.


1. Get a voltmeter that reads to the hundredth.

2. Get an ohm meter that reads to the hundredth.

3. Go to http://batteryuniversity.com/ and read all the lithium stuff.

4. Gain knowledge of and use known, quality products.

 

[BoomStick]

Just to add. Battery U has all the info about charging and using these cells. To apply that knowledge you really need a voltmeter. I don't rely on colored lights or battery gauges. A voltmeter lets you know exactly what voltage your charger is charging to and what 30% on a battery guage means in volts. A proper digital voltmeter that measures to the hundredth is an essential tool for any high drain, user replaceable battery user. People preach the importance of having an ohm meter that reads to the hundredth, but voltmeters don't get as much attention. You really need both.