Battery Mooch - Battery Myths and Facts: Part 1
Here are some of the myths I often see in posts about the lithium-ion batteries we use:
MYTH #1: Dropping one of our batteries in water can cause it to explode.
FACT #1: Water (even if dirty or salty) or e-liquid isn’t very conductive and what little current might flow is tiny compared to what we draw from a battery when vaping. Even if the battery case is opened there is no metallic lithium in our rechargeable batteries to react with water. Only non-rechargeable lithium-metal batteries have lithium in them that can react with water.
MYTH #2: You must replace your batteries every XX months.
FACT #2: While it doesn’t hurt to replace batteries often on a fixed schedule for many vapers that just results in spending a lot more money on batteries when it’s not needed. Definitely replace any batteries immediately if they are damaged in any way, start acting weirdly, or are running hotter even if not being used harder. But if you are not using your batteries (vaping or charging) very hard you can get years of use out of them. There’s no set schedule, replace them when they start losing a lot of capacity (run time). Never use a battery with worn, torn, or damaged wraps though! Not even just a little!
MYTH #3: You must never use your battery below 3.6V, or 3.2V, or some other number.
FACT #3: All of our batteries are rated to go down to 2.5V every time we use them. They will not blow up or be badly damaged if you vape them down to any voltage above that (assuming everything else is okay). If you are not otherwise abusing them you might get a bit more overall battery life by staying above 3V or so though.
MYTH #4: We can use our batteries as hard as we want as long as they don’t get “hot”.
FACT #4: The temperature of a battery on the outside can be a LOT lower than the internal temperature. The outside heat is felt through a plastic wrap and is what reaches us after it spreads throughout the battery. Inside the battery though there are hot spots that can be badly stressed by the pulses of high current we draw from the battery when vaping. This ages and damages them internally. Our batteries start aging faster at internal temperatures as low as 45°C/113°C, what most of would say was just barely warm on the outside. For increased safety and longer overall battery life, keep your batteries from heating up.
MYTH #5: We must occasionally fully discharge/recharge our batteries to keep their full capacity.
FACT #5: Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from the “memory effect” like NiCd/NiMH batteries do. We do not need to discharge/recharge them occasionally in order to “refresh” them. However, for phones, tablets, and other devices like that it can help recalibrate the battery percentage meter if you occasionally let the device run until it turns itself off due to a low battery and then charge it for 24 hours. If you find that the battery meter is still way off then it might be time to replace the battery.
MYTH #6: Lithium-ion batteries (including LiPo’s) need to be “broken in” for best performance.
FACT #6: Unless certain steps during manufacturing were skipped or they were in storage for a couple of years we do not have to cycle our li-ion (including LiPo) batteries to “break them in”. You can just go ahead and use them. If they are cheap batteries or were stored too long then maybe, perhaps, possibly you might get a small increase in performance by discharging/recharging the battery. But that will happen anyway if you just go ahead and use it.
MYTH #7: You can use certain chargers to “refresh” or “recondition” old batteries.
FACT #7: A battery that has aged from use or is damaged will stay aged/damaged. You cannot increase their performance by charging them in some way. If they have been stored without being used for a very long time you might get a small increase in performance after using and charging them normally though.
MYTH #8: You can increase the life of a li-ion battery by storing them in the refrigerator.
FACT #8: It makes almost no difference to the “calendar” life of a battery by keeping it in the refrigerator when not being used. Keeping it at room temperature is fine and prevents any possible condensation and rusting issues from keeping them at cold temperatures. Never freeze them! That can damage the battery and is a safety issue if you try to charge them at below 0°C/32°F. Batteries are best if they’re being used though. Cycle through them all instead of storing some and using some.
MYTH #9: The best battery is (whatever)
FACT #9: There is no single best battery for vaping. The best choices for low power vaping have low current ratings but have very high capacities. The best choices for high power vaping hold their voltage up well, run cool, but have lower capacities. In the middle are some great all-around batteries. Not the best for any particular purpose but good performers in almost any device. There are different best batteries for different styles of vaping. Taking the time to find the ones best for the way you vape will help you get better performance from your batteries and to vape for longer before recharging.
Always remember...
** There is no round battery we use with a true current rating over 35A.
There is no 18650 with a true current rating over 30A.
Any 18650 over 3000mAh (except Hohm Life 3077mAh) cannot be rated over 20A.
There is no round battery we use with a capacity rating over about 5500mAh.
There is no 18650 rated over 3600mAh..**
Here are some of the myths I often see in posts about the lithium-ion batteries we use:
MYTH #1: Dropping one of our batteries in water can cause it to explode.
FACT #1: Water (even if dirty or salty) or e-liquid isn’t very conductive and what little current might flow is tiny compared to what we draw from a battery when vaping. Even if the battery case is opened there is no metallic lithium in our rechargeable batteries to react with water. Only non-rechargeable lithium-metal batteries have lithium in them that can react with water.
MYTH #2: You must replace your batteries every XX months.
FACT #2: While it doesn’t hurt to replace batteries often on a fixed schedule for many vapers that just results in spending a lot more money on batteries when it’s not needed. Definitely replace any batteries immediately if they are damaged in any way, start acting weirdly, or are running hotter even if not being used harder. But if you are not using your batteries (vaping or charging) very hard you can get years of use out of them. There’s no set schedule, replace them when they start losing a lot of capacity (run time). Never use a battery with worn, torn, or damaged wraps though! Not even just a little!
MYTH #3: You must never use your battery below 3.6V, or 3.2V, or some other number.
FACT #3: All of our batteries are rated to go down to 2.5V every time we use them. They will not blow up or be badly damaged if you vape them down to any voltage above that (assuming everything else is okay). If you are not otherwise abusing them you might get a bit more overall battery life by staying above 3V or so though.
MYTH #4: We can use our batteries as hard as we want as long as they don’t get “hot”.
FACT #4: The temperature of a battery on the outside can be a LOT lower than the internal temperature. The outside heat is felt through a plastic wrap and is what reaches us after it spreads throughout the battery. Inside the battery though there are hot spots that can be badly stressed by the pulses of high current we draw from the battery when vaping. This ages and damages them internally. Our batteries start aging faster at internal temperatures as low as 45°C/113°C, what most of would say was just barely warm on the outside. For increased safety and longer overall battery life, keep your batteries from heating up.
MYTH #5: We must occasionally fully discharge/recharge our batteries to keep their full capacity.
FACT #5: Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from the “memory effect” like NiCd/NiMH batteries do. We do not need to discharge/recharge them occasionally in order to “refresh” them. However, for phones, tablets, and other devices like that it can help recalibrate the battery percentage meter if you occasionally let the device run until it turns itself off due to a low battery and then charge it for 24 hours. If you find that the battery meter is still way off then it might be time to replace the battery.
MYTH #6: Lithium-ion batteries (including LiPo’s) need to be “broken in” for best performance.
FACT #6: Unless certain steps during manufacturing were skipped or they were in storage for a couple of years we do not have to cycle our li-ion (including LiPo) batteries to “break them in”. You can just go ahead and use them. If they are cheap batteries or were stored too long then maybe, perhaps, possibly you might get a small increase in performance by discharging/recharging the battery. But that will happen anyway if you just go ahead and use it.
MYTH #7: You can use certain chargers to “refresh” or “recondition” old batteries.
FACT #7: A battery that has aged from use or is damaged will stay aged/damaged. You cannot increase their performance by charging them in some way. If they have been stored without being used for a very long time you might get a small increase in performance after using and charging them normally though.
MYTH #8: You can increase the life of a li-ion battery by storing them in the refrigerator.
FACT #8: It makes almost no difference to the “calendar” life of a battery by keeping it in the refrigerator when not being used. Keeping it at room temperature is fine and prevents any possible condensation and rusting issues from keeping them at cold temperatures. Never freeze them! That can damage the battery and is a safety issue if you try to charge them at below 0°C/32°F. Batteries are best if they’re being used though. Cycle through them all instead of storing some and using some.
MYTH #9: The best battery is (whatever)
FACT #9: There is no single best battery for vaping. The best choices for low power vaping have low current ratings but have very high capacities. The best choices for high power vaping hold their voltage up well, run cool, but have lower capacities. In the middle are some great all-around batteries. Not the best for any particular purpose but good performers in almost any device. There are different best batteries for different styles of vaping. Taking the time to find the ones best for the way you vape will help you get better performance from your batteries and to vape for longer before recharging.
Always remember...
** There is no round battery we use with a true current rating over 35A.
There is no 18650 with a true current rating over 30A.
Any 18650 over 3000mAh (except Hohm Life 3077mAh) cannot be rated over 20A.
There is no round battery we use with a capacity rating over about 5500mAh.
There is no 18650 rated over 3600mAh..**
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Great info.