Over Charging?

[Xtian]

This could just be a battery problem, but I thought it was worth sharing.
And sorry for posting a lot of topics as a new member.

I have to use my computer to charge my batteries, using USB plug in.

This has had me puzzled, so I want some input.

During the day, I usually vape for 2-3 hours while the other battery charges.
When my battery dies, I switch them out, and continue this process.

Sometimes however, both batteries do die, and here is the interesting part.
I found it only takes 30-45 minutes to fully charge the battery.

Obviously this isn't a problem.

But then, when I go to bed, I leave one of the batteries, usually the dead one, plugged in, charging over night.

To my surprise, when I wake up in the morning, and start vaping, the battery that has been charging for 5-7 hours, only works for 15-25 minutes.

Then of course, when I plug it back in, and wait 30 minutes or so, it works a good 2 hours.

It is almost as if the battery starts to drain after 3-4 hours of charging.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Can the battery overcharge?

I for one, have never seen a battery do this.

My ipod, which is ALWAYS plugged into my computer, is always fully charged when I unplug it, after a good 3-4 day charge. (it doesn't actually need to be charged for that long)

This will happen on both batteries, not just one.

What do you guys think?

[40oz]

Are you charging with the USB over night, or is it a wall charger? If its the usb maybe your computer switches to a power saving mode? Pretty odd battery problem

There was a great post a while back about lithium batteries, i forget who posted it but they linked a TON of info. Very much worth searching for.

[Xtian]

Yes I am using the usb charger.

The thought that my computer being in sleep mode has an effect on the charge did cross my mind.

However, I charge my ipod the same way, also being plugged into the USB port.

I also tried leaving my computer on, but my computer goes into a sleep mode after so long of inactivity, usually 20 minutes.

So nothing I can really do about that, but like I said, the ipod charges, so why not the battery on my e cig?

[40oz]

I wish i had an answer. Again maybe try to dig up that post i mentioned. It more or less linked to a good read about lithium ion batteries in general. You might find something on that post. x fingers.

[jimgman]

you arent the first person to notice lower performing batts after long charges. maybe there is something to the chargers draining the batteries slowly after charge completes

[puff-puff-pass]

OK....I am looking at building my own charger. So, I did a little bit of research and here is what I found (so far).
1) These batts are not "Smart" batts...they do not communicate with the charger to say "I'm full"..."I'm over-heating"..."I'm too weak to charge."
2) A quality charger will charge the batt to 4.6 (4.7 depending on maker), then let the batt drain 10% before trickle charging back to 4.6. THIS IS WHAT MAKES A LI+ION BATTERY ACTUALLY BE "FULL".
3) Most cheap chargers will take the batt to 4.6 then quit. So the battery is not actually "full" but is only at approx 70% of capacity charge.
4) Cheap chargers do not have "leak protection" to prevent the batt from draining back through the charger. I interpret that as "live ground depletion."

From your description, I would say that #4 above is your problem. If your charger has an indicator light to show when a charge is being applied, I would try to take the batt out first thing in the morning, then put it back in the charger for 10-15 minutes...watch for the charge light to illuminate. If it does show "charging", then hopefully that will get you back to 4.6v at >70%. If no charge is applied to the batt, then just use it as normal, but try to always remove the batt and avoid overnight charges.

If there are any battery gurus in here, please let me know if my information is incorrect.

[Steampunk]

I've been having similar problems when leaving batteries to charge in the wall charger...sometimes 8+ hours. I am going to try just charging 3-4 hours to see if it helps any.

[Doostin]

Interesting topic. I've noticed mixed performance with long charges as well. I might need to go buy an egg timer for my battery charger lol, I don't think these chinese chargers have much intellect at all!

[Xtian]

4) Cheap chargers do not have "leak protection" to prevent the batt from draining back through the charger. I interpret that as "live ground depletion."

From your description, I would say that #4 above is your problem. If your charger has an indicator light to show when a charge is being applied, I would try to take the batt out first thing in the morning, then put it back in the charger for 10-15 minutes...watch for the charge light to illuminate. If it does show "charging", then hopefully that will get you back to 4.6v at >70%. If no charge is applied to the batt, then just use it as normal, but try to always remove the batt and avoid overnight charges.

If there are any battery gurus in here, please let me know if my information is incorrect.

This is some great information puff, and I thank you for sharing it.

It wont be long before our e cigs are top notch and selling for half the price. We are pretty much the lab rats for this device, and things like this need to pointed out, so someone can fix it.

It would probably be better if I just let it charged while I took a shower and ate breakfast, It would probably charge a lot better than leaving it in over night.

My computer must be hungry for power!

[puff-puff-pass]

Interesting topic. I've noticed mixed performance with long charges as well. I might need to go buy an egg timer for my battery charger lol, I don't think these chinese chargers have much intellect at all!

Not an egg timer...geta timer that you would use for a lamp. They can be had at any home depot, canadian tire, etc. Just plug in your charger, set the timer to turn off in 3 hours, then have a good night sleep.