"The battery is imbalanced"

[Ms. Trixy]

After hearing Mooch say that batteries don't need to be married, I have the error message on my Sigelei 213, "The battery is imbalanced". It won't fire - only if tilted a different way each time. I'm taking out a fresh married pair now. Your thoughts?

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

You don't need to marry batteries because the differing rates of discharge aren't going to effect them that much at all, unless you pair a battery that has been used ALL the time for a year with a brand new one. Don't do THAT, but otherwise it's fine.

Marrying is just a 'good habit' because it makes sure your batteries roughly both have the same life cycle, it's not to prevent third degree facial scarring or anything.

The Sig 213 is junk. I hate to say it, but it is. It can barely do 150W yet claims 213W+ and it's very, VERY cheaply made. There is every chance the board has gone faulty, the programming firmware has bugged itself or maybe the contacts inside the mod have come loose or something. It's most definitely not your batteries, as there would have to be a VERY large voltage difference (like 4.1V and 3.5V) in your cells to trip this error message.

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

My going theory would be a problem with the contacts. They could be loose, the factory solder job could be wearing down, friction could've dislodged something, god knows.

The only way it IS your batteries, is if they have such a high internal impedance (this is a defect, so TWO cells having it is unlikely, but all it would take is one) and when you have an int. resistance on a cell that's very high it can cause a TON of battery sag under load, which would give that message as well.

 

[SteveS45]

Did @Mooch release the conclusion of the testing on Marrying Batteries?

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

No idea, but working for three different OEM battery companies taught me a lot. Marriage is something you do mainly to promote your batteries to have as long of an overall lifespan as possible. As when one battery is discharged at more frequent rates, it degrades faster, then the newer cell ends up doing more work which degrades it faster. With how the vaping market is, with all these high drain batteries, it's no longer dangerous at all to not marry cells unless one is like, geriatric old and one is brand new. Do I still recommend you do it? Yeah, but you don't have to and it certainly isn't dangerous.

Besides all that, it has nothing to do with the Sig popping that error message, as it means the batteries aren't making good contact, there's an issue with the board in the mod or that one or both of the batteries is defected and is sagging heavily under load.

If the battery is sagging heavily, the internal impedance of the cell (internal resistance) is probably way higher than it should be, and if that's the case I would safely discharge it to 0V in a salt solution and dispose of it.

 

[SteveS45]

Thanks @Mikhail Naumov but I am concerned with hearing if @Mooch released the results from the testing his is running presently because of the statement at the top of this post. I was following a thread on it.

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

It's all good man.

 

[scalewiz]

You say it will fire if you tilt it a certain way??? If so, it is most certainly a problem with the mod, not the batteries. Something with the battery contacts, contact wiring, wiring to boards, wiring between boards...something would be moving and affecting the connections. This one will will require mod repair/replacement.

 

[SteveS45]

I am wondering what batteries are doing this? Age? Condition? Maybe some pictures to see if they are dimpled on the negative side?

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

I missed the tilting part. It DEFINITELY is the mod, then. Likely on the battery contacts end, something has come loose or dislodged. It will require a repair.

 

[The Cromwell]

After hearing Mooch say that batteries don't need to be married, I have the error message on my Sigelei 213, "The battery is imbalanced". It won't fire - only if tilted a different way each time. I'm taking out a fresh married pair now. Your thoughts?

You have battery connection issues in your mod.

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

Going with the theme of other 213's, from what I was able to research, a common problem is that the inner contacts from overtime wear and use can end up dislodging from the thin plastic frame they're held in place by, either that or one of the solder joints pops off. Since you're able to 'fix' the problem by tilting the mod, I would venture to say it's likely a wire that has coming loose. Because tilting it would force proper contact.

Whatever it is, it can't be serious, as the mod still boots up. One or both of your batteries is likely making a VERY small, hair-like connection with a wire or contact. This is allowing the mod to power on and display shit, but it's not enough for it to work under load.

If you have a soldering iron or maybe a lot of creativity and some epoxy you might be able to fix it yourself, but otherwise I'd say the repair cost isn't worth it and I'd just buy a new mod.

 

[Ms. Trixy]

Thanks so much, guys. I put in a different set of LGDBHE2's. If it happens again I'll have handy hubby take a look. He has soldering equipment, etc. and knows about batts since he is a flashlight enthusiast. No dimples on negative ends and all wraps are scratch/tear free.
All of your advice is well taken. And yes, I did know that the 213s have gained a less than adequate reputation due to shoddy construction. Daniel ripped Sigelei to shreds on that one.

Did @Mooch release the conclusion of the testing on Marrying Batteries?

I saw Mooch in 2 live streams. One with Tony from Vapor Trails and the other was with another reputable reviewer, maybe Mark Fagan - in the same week. In both cases Mooch DID say batteries don't need to be married. I didn't have a problem until I divorced them.

He did rave of the VTC5 and VTC6 batteries as far as testing. He also tested a new 30A battery that perfectly hit the mark. I know I wrote it down but can't seem to find it at the moment. I'm sure you'll find the videos.

This other set of browns will confirm you're theories I'm sure. I should have figured the tilting was the mod, not the batteries; which are just over a year old. I finally got rid of the LG yellow. I'm not a chain vaper and turn off all mods at night. Mid use, I'd say.

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

Some 18650's are slightly longer/shorter than others. It's SLIGHT, but it's there. These LG's might be long enough to force a connection via friction, I wouldn't count the problem out just yet. It'll likely return overtime, I'd have the husband look at it if he has the equipment.

 

[SteveS45]

I had the slightest bit of e-Liquid on the battery positive which made no continuity one time which was a WTF moment to say the least! I simply rolled up a paper towel and wiped the connections down and that was the end of the problem. Doesn't take much to cause it.

 

[rdsok]

Just because you can do something ( not marry the batteries in this case ), doesn't mean it's the best practice to follow.

As batteries age and wear from use, they don't hold a charge as well as they did when new. By pairing them together, the two batteries should discharge in a similar fashion closer together than two not paired together and of different ages and have worn down differently. By always using the two together... they age and wear about equally and should discharge similarly... If you use a battery that doesn't discharge as quickly together with one that discharges quicker.... the battery that has the higher voltage will try to balance the charges between them and charge the lower voltage cell.

An occasional situation using unpaired batteries will likely not be an big issue... but it's still a best practice to use two that are of the same age and wear pattern none the less.

 

[The Cromwell]

Batteries do not have to be married, however they should be around the same usage and definitely the same model/brand of battery.

 

[rdsok]

To me... marrying/pairing two batteries is much easier than trying to keep up with and log the usage of each battery to know if any two can be used together... Otherwise there is no way by just looking at a battery, to know how it compares to another of the same make/model that was used separately