Charging 18650 batteries at 2.0 amp.

[UncleRJ]

Before you proud members of the VU Peanut Gallery jump my poor old Keaster, I pretty much know this is a stupid question.

I put the Efest LUC 4 bay charger on my Xmas list.

Most likely I was having a beer or two at the time and I was drooling over the capability of being able to charge my VCT5s at 2.0 amps.

Is this as bad an idea as I think it is?

Be kind in your responses please.

OK, fat chance of that so let the abuse roll in

 

[M5amhan]

good question. ive read several discussions on this, some saying never go over 1 amp others saying it is fine but decreases the life of the battery. now vaporshark coming out with their zip charging capabilities saying it charges in 15 minutes so that may be what they are doing there. and if its not safe i figure they wouldnt do it

 

[Ellipsis]

that sounds like a sweet charger...
google brought myvaporstore.com up at the top , so that was my first indoctrination into that charger...
i, too, would like to know about the 2 amp usage...
i will punch the first person square in the face who, "google fu, daniel-son's" me !!

 

[Lefty]

The 2 amp won't be available when you insert an 18650, only 26650. Your choices on the VTC5 will be .5 and 1 amp.
Edit: I'm apparently full of it. You actually can select 2 amp but only from the middle two charging slots (I always had one in the first slot which then limits you). Whether you should IDK.
More about the charger here. http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Efest LUC V4 2014 UK.html
This also led me to believe the 2 amp was just for 26650.

 

[Celtic Fog]

They are rated to handle a max of 4a charge current, so I would think you should be able to do that no problem if your charger has the option. Keep it Foggy Unc!

 

[Zamazam]

Fast charging decreases battery life. At 2 amps I would make sure the batteries don't get too hot.

 

[madmonkey]

Also, if you can find them....good, not all, but good battery manufacturer spec sheets should have an "optimal charging rate" and a "max chrage rate" spec just like they have an optimal and max and burst discharge spec. Sometimes this information is hard to find as we all know but there should be this info on a real spec sheet for the battery nevertheless.

 

[Hobby Kid]

The power output on the LUC charger is selectable. I grabbed this to paste as it's quicker than typing out someone else's review:

"Efest do not recommend that you use this 2.0 setting all the time – it does reduce the life span of your battery. But in a pinch when you forgot to charge your batteries and you need them, a quick charge comes in handy."

​

 

[Celtic Fog]

Good looking out Mr. Kid!

 

[fq06]

Lol, necro post and recomending a fire product in one shot.
Both make me giggle a little.

Edit: And the spam vanishes

 

[KingPin!]

I've read that over time it always best to charge with lowest amp possible to preserve the life expectancy of a battery having said that I'm no expert ...but both DNA250 and YiHi chipsets offer 2a balanced charging now on 18650s

 

[conanthewarrior]

Seeing as most batteries we use can be fast charged at 4A, 2A wouldn't be too bad. 1.3A is the standard charge rate for a HE4 for example (Edit, sorry, 1.25A). Check the datasheet of your batteries to find what is OK for them.

Over at the Evolv forums, one of the moderators I was speaking with told me of a study which showed slow charging of a battery can be worse for it than charging at it's stated rate, or even a slightly faster charge, as plating can build up on the anode if it is kept in a charging state for too long, during slow charging. This was only one study though so do not take it as gospel, just a possibility.

I usually charge at 1A, never less now, and occasionally at 2A. I still have some batteries from when I first started vaping that are fine. They do not last quite as long between charges, but this is to be expected with batteries that have been charged regularly.