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Typical life span of batteries?

Ms. Trixy

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My favorite Kanger SubVod Li-pos that I use in the morning and for errands have petered-out. At full charge, not enough for one vape. It's been 2 years though.

My LG HE4 (yellow) 18650 batteries that I have used for 2 years are draining too quickly also.

Is 2 years about right for this to happen?

EDITED:
Hubby found just the battery replacements for the SubVod at HeavenGifts.com for only $9.90!
:bliss:
 
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Rickajho

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Two years of what?

There are a lot of user behaviors that will factor in to the lifespan of lithium batteries. It's easy enough to say "300 cycles" but that's way too simplistic. High current drain use or deep discharge in mechanicals are just two things that will make battery lifespan shorter than average. If you got two years usage out of LiPo's I would just say "thank you", count it as good and be ready to move on.
 
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Ms. Trixy

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Hubby found just the battery replacements for the SubVod at HeavenGifts for only $9.90! Will order today.

Thanks for the confirmation, ttatlanta!
 
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Mattp169

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yea i have gotten about 2 years out of set of kg he4s i use din my ipv d2 and i drained them everyday. actually im going on 3 years for 2 sets of lg hg2s.
How you charge them makes a difference too. low amp recharge helps, using a charger that will not over charge your battery etc
 

conanthewarrior

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I have batteries that are just over 2 years old (Blue 25R's and Sony VTC4's) that still work- they do have a noticeable loss in runtime though.

The VTC4's have had fairly stressful use, when I first started to vape with my first higher powered mod, an OG Sig 150, I went a bit mad with the watts as it was new to me, and having fun. 80-120W was fairly average, and 150W, and even over 160W when I got the Xcube 2.

I have added many more batteries since this though, so can't say how many cycles they have had, but I know they have had a lot and been stressed through their life.

2 year is still a good amount of time for a rechargeable battery though, at least in my opinion. For the price of a battery, the amount of use you get is great. Since vaping I have switched to rechargeable batteries for everything, you really do save a fortune. You do need to get the better Eneloops for high drain things, but they work very well.
 

Teresa P

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I'm a cheapskate from way back...lol! I just treated myself to new batteries after some of the old ones had been in use for 2+ years, but I keep my old ones to use in my 521 tab.
 

Rickajho

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Hubby found just the battery replacements for the SubVod at HeavenGifts for only $9.90! Will order today.

Thanks for the confirmation, ttatlanta!

Can HG actually ship those to you? Places like FT, DealExtreme etc. have given up trying to find a shipping carrier that will accept bare lithium batteries. (Hell you can't even get NiMh batteries in retail packaging shipped at this point.) Been a few recent reports of actual devices with internal batteries being being turned back at China export customs as well.
 

The Cromwell

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Can HG actually ship those to you? Places like FT, DealExtreme etc. have given up trying to find a shipping carrier that will accept bare lithium batteries. (Hell you can't even get NiMh batteries in retail packaging shipped at this point.) Been a few recent reports of actual devices with internal batteries being being turned back at China export customs as well.
I noticed a LI battery shipping option at FT checkout a couple of weeks ago.
 

Ms. Trixy

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I found a US vendor that has the Kanger SubVod batteries. And they're here in AZ! $9.95. :)
HeavenGifts does NOT ship batteries. Too bad, only $7 ea.

Thanks for the reminder, Rick.

@The Cromwell I'm too nervous of customs. I had an ordeal with them once and I have to be home to sign for a package I have no idea when it will arrive.
 

conanthewarrior

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I'm a cheapskate from way back...lol! I just treated myself to new batteries after some of the old ones had been in use for 2+ years, but I keep my old ones to use in my 521 tab.

Nothing wrong with that at all in my eyes- if you can save money, you might as well :).

Seeing as you are only really glowing coils on the 521 tab and using it to check resistance, a battery that lasts a long time isn't really needed compared to an actual vaporiser.

@RonJS , I have some 18650 flashlights, how long do you find the old batteries last, and at what power setting? I get around 3 and a half hours with a 25R on a Convoy S2+, with 6 drivers on mid mode. These have been kept for the actual flashlight, occasionally were used in a mod when I had less batteries.

This takes it down to the low voltage flashing point, but it is more than long enough for me and really bright for on the road (I use them on my bike).
 

RonJS

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@RonJS , I have some 18650 flashlights, how long do you find the old batteries last, and at what power setting? I get around 3 and a half hours with a 25R on a Convoy S2+, with 6 drivers on mid mode. These have been kept for the actual flashlight, occasionally were used in a mod when I had less batteries.

This takes it down to the low voltage flashing point, but it is more than long enough for me and really bright for on the road (I use them on my bike).

I've only used 18650's for 3 years and only 1 of those in a flashlight. They still power up my flashlights that I use in various power levels. Seldom do I power then up for longer than 10 mins. As long as I get even a few minutes of useful light, they won't be recycled.

Ron
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Rickajho

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Bear in mind that as lithium based batteries age out they are going through internal deterioration in the process. Accumulation of dendrites - in effect accumulating into a short - can't be seen but are known to be a potential issue when lithium batteries age out and no longer perform well or hold a charge.

I'm just saying there is little to be gained pushing a lithium battery for a few minutes of flashlight use at the end of it's life span - and potentially a lot to lose - just because you can.
 

RonJS

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Bear in mind that as lithium based batteries age out they are going through internal deterioration in the process. Accumulation of dendrites - in effect accumulating into a short - can't be seen but are known to be a potential issue when lithium batteries age out and no longer perform well or hold a charge.

I'm just saying there is little to be gained pushing a lithium battery for a few minutes of flashlight use at the end of it's life span - and potentially a lot to lose - just because you can.

Thanks for that Info!

While the most expensive flashlight I have cost me less than 12 bucks, having one short out at a critical time could be far more costly. I'll now store them for use in pairs. :)

Ron
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The Cromwell

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Bear in mind that as lithium based batteries age out they are going through internal deterioration in the process. Accumulation of dendrites - in effect accumulating into a short - can't be seen but are known to be a potential issue when lithium batteries age out and no longer perform well or hold a charge.

I'm just saying there is little to be gained pushing a lithium battery for a few minutes of flashlight use at the end of it's life span - and potentially a lot to lose - just because you can.
Will use of anti-dendrite shampoo help?
 

conanthewarrior

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Bear in mind that as lithium based batteries age out they are going through internal deterioration in the process. Accumulation of dendrites - in effect accumulating into a short - can't be seen but are known to be a potential issue when lithium batteries age out and no longer perform well or hold a charge.

I'm just saying there is little to be gained pushing a lithium battery for a few minutes of flashlight use at the end of it's life span - and potentially a lot to lose - just because you can.

They say you learn something new everyday- today I have learnt this!

I knew as a battery aged, it's capacity and CDR falls, but I honestly never knew cycles could cause enough damage over time to cause the battery to short internally.

Is there any guidelines you know of to avoid this happening? None of my batteries are much over two years old, but if they can short internally over time that is quite worrying.
 

The Cromwell

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tiny internal shorts is why they start bleeding off their charge.
Normal in the aging process but can/will be accelerated by high current charges and discharges.
 

HondaDavidson

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tiny internal shorts is why they start bleeding off their charge.
Normal in the aging process but can/will be accelerated by high current charges and discharges.
Fwiw. Another name for internal shorting. .. is the internal resistance of a battery or mod......


Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
 

The Cromwell

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I am pretty sure the internal resistance is the resistance to outputting current.
The lower the resistance the more current the cell can output and less voltage sag under output current conditions. also runs cooler.
The higher the internal resistance means less current and more voltage sag under high current loads and runs hotter when draining.
 

UncleRJ

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Nothing wrong with that at all in my eyes- if you can save money, you might as well :).

Seeing as you are only really glowing coils on the 521 tab and using it to check resistance, a battery that lasts a long time isn't really needed compared to an actual vaporiser.

@RonJS , I have some 18650 flashlights, how long do you find the old batteries last, and at what power setting? I get around 3 and a half hours with a 25R on a Convoy S2+, with 6 drivers on mid mode. These have been kept for the actual flashlight, occasionally were used in a mod when I had less batteries.

This takes it down to the low voltage flashing point, but it is more than long enough for me and really bright for on the road (I use them on my bike).


I keep several 18650 powered LED flashlights at different rooms/places around the house so one will always be close to hand when the lights go out and I keep them powered with my old batteries. And being paranoid about the things that skitter and run around in the dark (AKA Cat's), those batteries are removed and charged on a schedule.
 

conanthewarrior

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Fwiw. Another name for internal shorting. .. is the internal resistance of a battery or mod......


Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
Ahh, I see. I was familiar with the increase of internal resistance in a battery when it ages, I did not know internal shorting was another name for this.

@The Cromwell , internal resistance is indeed a, if not the main factor for a cell not being able to output the current levels it could when new. As you mentioned high current charges and discharges speed up this process as cells age.

I haven't actually ever tested over a long period of time a battery that has been ran fairly hard, vs one that has had more gentle use. My oldest batteries do have a noticeably shorter runtime compared to batteries bought just a month or two after, and these were pushed a lot harder.
When I was fairly new to vaping I enjoyed the clouds, but eventually the novelty wore off, hence why the older batteries were pushed farther.
 

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