Do batteries expire?

[thejman]

I have some VTCs and would like to know if they expire at some point? I havent used them in a while but they arent overused. Just wanna know is it time or usage that decides their life? Thanks in advanced

 

[r055co]

Yes they do, they degrade with age whether you use them or not.

If they drop below 2.5v from sitting don't try to recharge them, toss them for they are damaged.
If they don't fully charge to 4.2v toss them

 

[thejman]

Yes they do, they degrade with age whether you use them or not.

If they drop below 2.5v from sitting don't try to recharge them, toss them for they are damaged.
If they don't fully charge to 4.2v toss them

Thanks a lot Rossco, .1 won't matter I suppose like 4.19 right?

 

[r055co]

Thanks a lot Rossco, .1 won't matter I suppose like 4.19 right?

Might be your charger, but then it's most likely not and is your battery dying. I'd keep an eye on it but certainly replace is as soon as you can, like order replacement now.

 

[Mike H.]

I have some VTCs and would like to know if they expire at some point? I havent used them in a while but they arent overused. Just wanna know is it time or usage that decides their life? Thanks in advanced

Batteries do have a "shelf life" but that's like 3yrs or longer....A lot of batteries being sold today have sat for a year or longer before finally being sold....Sony hasn't made VTC3,4 and 5 in quite some time yet there are still originals being sold and are good cells...I purchased 4 authentic VTC4's about a month ago and they work great....This shelf life is assuming they are stored at 3.6 to 3.7v which is considered nominal voltage...I purchased some Sony VTC5,s back when I first started vaping to do a home made mod box with but never got around to it..a couple of years later I was using mods that took 18650s and the batteries lasted me a about a year which is about the average life span...Ive only recently replaced them because they wouldn't last near as long as they did before....It was definitely time to replace them....they would still charge to 4.20v but didn't last very long before draining down.

A battery can charge to 4.2v but that doesn't mean an hour later after it sits and cools off that its still going to read 4.2v...My VTC4.'s I bought showed 3.61v when I charged them for the first time.

 

[thejman]

Thank you both.

 

[conanthewarrior]

Batteries do have a "shelf life" but that's like 3yrs or longer....A lot of batteries being sold today have sat for a year or longer before finally being sold....Sony hasn't made VTC3,4 and 5 in quite some time yet there are still originals being sold and are good cells...I purchased 4 authentic VTC4's about a month ago and they work great....This shelf life is assuming they are stored at 3.6 to 3.7v which is considered nominal voltage...I purchased some Sony VTC5,s back when I first started vaping to do a home made mod box with but never got around to it..a couple of years later I was using mods that took 18650s and the batteries lasted me a about a year which is about the average life span...Ive only recently replaced them because they wouldn't last near as long as they did before....It was definitely time to replace them....they would still charge to 4.20v but didn't last very long before draining down.

A battery can charge to 4.2v but that doesn't mean an hour later after it sits and cools off that its still going to read 4.2v...My VTC4.'s I bought showed 3.61v when I charged them for the first time.

When did Sony stop producing the VTC4 and 5? I remember we had some incorrect information that they had stopped being made, but that turned out to be a Sony PR move to try and prevent us using them- they was still being made for power tools and such.

 

[IMFire3605]

When did Sony stop producing the VTC4 and 5? I remember we had some incorrect information that they had stopped being made, but that turned out to be a Sony PR move to try and prevent us using them- they was still being made for power tools and such.

The plant that was producing them was in the same earthquake that affected Fukashima Power Plant, Sony had to move facilities to a new plant, so there was a pause in production a few years ago.

 

[SMOKIE]

You would think the battery MFG would put a born on date on them just like every car battery has.
Maybe it is time to start telling vendors, and manufactures this is what we want to see on our batteries.

 

[FΛDED]

You would think the battery MFG would put a born on date on them just like every car battery has.
Maybe it is time to start telling vendors, and manufactures this is what we want to see on our batteries.

View attachment 77298

It would be helpful, also adding a lot number in case the factory needs to recall certain cells from the public. But asking a battery company like Samsung/LG or any company to change it's ways after years and years of them doing their normal routine is pretty much like whispering in the wind, useless. Wishful thinking and very helpful, but I don't think they'll do it. I don't even the FDA could. But it would be nice to have added.

 

[r055co]

You would think the battery MFG would put a born on date on them just like every car battery has.
Maybe it is time to start telling vendors, and manufactures this is what we want to see on our batteries.

View attachment 77298

The thing is that the batteries we get are grey market batteries, never intended nor designed for the consumer market. They are for manufactures of devices, like portable Drills, Vacume Cleaners, Laptop's, etc. etc. What we get are also "not" A Bin batteries but B bin and in the case of the likes of eFest D and F.

So we really are not going to see anything like that on batteries

 

[FΛDED]

The thing is that the batteries we get are grey market batteries, never intended nor designed for the consumer market. They are for manufactures of devices, like portable Drills, Vacume Cleaners, Laptop's, etc. etc. What we get are also "not" A Bin batteries but B bin and in the case of the likes of eFest D and F.

So we really are not going to see anything like that on batteries

Let alone the processes the company guidelines follows for changes in procedures would take some time. I'm sure it'd have to go through some board and/or voted on, as simple as added expire date. Most batteries do have lot numbers, and some don't.

 

[r055co]

Let alone the processes the company guidelines follows for changes in procedures would take some time. I'm sure it'd have to go through some board and/or voted on, as simple as added expire date. Most batteries do have lot numbers, and some don't.

Frankly I'd be happy to see the re-wrappers label what battery they're using under the wrap.

But like that's ever going to happen

 

[FΛDED]

Frankly I'd be happy to see the re-wrappers label what battery they're using under the wrap.

But like that's ever going to happen

lol Yup. Kind of defeats the purpose for real info on original wraps being replaced with a fake. Also, adding an expiration date could be manipulated easily as they clone wraps, remember when Sony VTC5's were all of a suddenly were being produced again and they were being sold again by the thousands? I do. That was when I first started at the boutique I work at. We triple checked our batteries; from our vendor, the middle man (distributor), up to the manufacturer. I don't know how our owner did it but it was said, it was done. There are ways to investigate, not easily, but not impossible.

 

[conanthewarrior]

The plant that was producing them was in the same earthquake that affected Fukashima Power Plant, Sony had to move facilities to a new plant, so there was a pause in production a few years ago.

Yes I remember that happening, and the pause in production, as you say that was a few years ago now though- but after when many people assumed they had stopped being produced was false, and we now can get them again.