Batteries and power - information and specs

[Kate]

There should be a thread for us to refer to about batteries and power for our devices - specs, maintenance, troubleshooting, charging, hints, tips and anything else related to our little lithium ion buddies, USB cables, etc.

Now I don't know much about this but I know a man who does so I'll start this thread with one of his posts:

Originally Posted by trog100

USB e cig leads have voltage or current limiters built into them.. with ones like the janty with a battery in line the battery does this..

the ones that dont have the battery inline have the current restricter somewhere else..

the e cig heater coil has a resistance based on it being fed between 3.5 and 4 volts.. a PC USB socket puts out 5 volts.. its maximum rating is 500 ma.. feeding five volts straight from the USB socket to the e cig atomizer will wreck the PC..

its better to use a USB power hub..

charging a lithium cell too quickly will wreck it.. something that takes two hours is good.. something that takes twenty minutes is bad...

lithium ion battery technology is fragile technology it dosnt like being abused.. the cell is abused when its discharged no sense in adding to the abuse with the charge..

the term is "C" one C equals a one hour charge or a one hour discharge..

C is the capacity of the battery.. one C would be to discharge the battery at a one hour rate.. or charge the battery at a one hour rate..

a normal e cig battery gets short bursts of up to six C discharge every time a puff is taken which is why they die so quickly..

a continuous on situation would discharge a normal e cig battery in about eight minutes..

e cig batteries aint happy bunnies and for a very good reason.. they are literally being flogged to a quick death.. even the so called better ones..

just some e cig lithium ion battery facts.. if any manufacturer wished to dispute my facts they are free to do so.. i am 100% sure none will..

trog

I don't use batteries anymore!

[Bastage]

"feeding five volts straight from the USB socket to the e cig atomizer will wreck the PC.."

I've tested USB direct 5v USB modded cables on 20 PC's. No dead ports to date. No dead ports reported from the many people that have done the mod themselves, or the people I've done mods for and given them cables. Atomizer performance is top notch, atomizer life is very good as well. Not going to argue about it, just posting facts and what I've seen.

[Sun Vaporer]

You are right Kate. Nice if you could get one up and going. It took me forever to find the right portable USB battery block to plub my USB passthough into because I could not find the right specs. I finally got it from one of the posts (5v--1amp output). Happy as a clam now as the portable power block is small and lasts 2 days of heavy vaping!! So I am a happy camper. Would have been nice to have a quick referance thread to have gone to.

[dc2k08]

This article ran in the NY Times last week. some tips to care for them. main points:

• No. 1 problem is heat. Too much warmth causes the battery to drain faster. “You don’t want to leave it sitting on the front seat of a car. It’s like the care and feeding of the baby. Don’t leave it in the car with the window rolled up.”

• In rare cases, some batteries can overheat on their own. Mr. Wozniak uses the phrase “thermal runaway,” a term that can mean anything from toasting a user’s lap to catching fire. Manufacturers now include special circuits in laptop batteries to watch for this and, if detected, shut down the system.

• A second important step is keeping the contacts to the battery clean. An eraser is an ideal accessory for any charging station because it’s one of the simplest ways to remove the thin layer of oxide that can build up on the two metal tabs of the battery. Make sure to clean the contacts on the device as well and then blow away any eraser bits.

• Mixed views on charging. some say heat and constant charging can wear a battery down, that it's better to keep the contacts clean and avoid the possible damage from repeated insertion/removal of battery. others say that you should feel free to top them off as often as possible and that you’re extending the cycle life by topping them off and preventing a deep discharge.

  Much of the confusion about this point comes from nickel-metal hydride cells, the previous generation of battery technology, which work better if they are often depleted completely before recharging. Newer lithium-ion cells do not suffer from this malady, but users might want to deplete their batteries from time to time anyway. The circuitry that estimates the amount of power left inside a battery can become uncalibrated. Depleting the battery resets this meter.

[Kate]

Thanks for the input folks, I think this will be a handy thread.

Here's a link Scrubadub posted recently that might help us educate ourselves - Welcome to Battery University

[dc2k08]

competition time: emm, don't actually have a prize but can anyone come up with a way to figure out a standard test for judging a battery's worth. we always leave comments on here like this battery lasts 6 hours or 1.2 days or 15 cigarettes or 125 drags etc.

problem is, no-one's 6 hours are the same, no-ones 125 drags are the same. we need a proper standard, maybe something to plug a battery into to see it run down and time it. the awquard thing is, the vacuum switch and chip get in the way. anyone ever figure out a way of overriding the chip and turning on one of these bateries and leaving it on? (without dismantling it)

also here's a free vid: ever wonder what's in a 9 volt battery?

9 Volt Battery Hack! You'll Be Surprised... - Video

[Bastage]

Battery "life" or storage capacity is measured in milliamp hours. There's no need to drain batteries down to check, they are already rated. There is no way to compare user to user, but comparing standard battery capacity is as easy as reading the specs.

A standard mini cig battery for the 901 is somewhere around 140 mah. I dont' even bother with those anymore.

[TribbleTrouble]

My E-Cigar uses a 3.6V 360 mAh battery. I found on Deal Extreme a Lithium battery that is the same size (to fit in the Cigar Tube), same voltage, but it is a 1,800 mAh battery. That means you can go longer before it needs a recharge, right? I'm also wondering if I can use my same charger. I think I can, since it is the same voltage, it will probably just take longer to charge. Let me know if I'm wrong, because I don't want to fry my charger!

[Bastage]

Originally Posted by TribbleTrouble

My E-Cigar uses a 3.6V 360 mAh battery. I found on Deal Extreme a Lithium battery that is the same size (to fit in the Cigar Tube), same voltage, but it is a 1,800 mAh battery. That means you can go longer before it needs a recharge, right? I'm also wondering if I can use my same charger. I think I can, since it is the same voltage, it will probably just take longer to charge. Let me know if I'm wrong, because I don't want to fry my charger!

depends on your charger. If your battery charger charges at 500ma, to charge an 1800mah battery you would need to charge it for 3 1/2 hours (1800/500). If it charges at 100ma you'd need to put it on for 18 hours (1800/100). Chargers that were made for lower capacity batteries probably charge at much lower rates like 100ma, which isn't really powerful enough to charge an 1800ma battery without it taking forever. Find a battery charger that charges at 500ma to 1000ma (1 Amp) and just apply the same charging method. If you're charging a 1800mah battery with a 1 amp charger you'll only need to put it on charge for about 1.5 hours.

I use a standard trustfire charger for my ecig modded batteries. It charges at 500ma. My battery capacity is 2500Mah. That measn it takes 5 hours to charge fully if the battery has been drained. I normally don't run this one dead just because it lasts forever, so every now and then I'll put it on charge for 3-4 hours then it's good to go.

[parapo]

Originally Posted by TribbleTrouble

My E-Cigar uses a 3.6V 360 mAh battery. I found on Deal Extreme a Lithium battery that is the same size (to fit in the Cigar Tube), same voltage, but it is a 1,800 mAh battery. That means you can go longer before it needs a recharge, right? I'm also wondering if I can use my same charger. I think I can, since it is the same voltage, it will probably just take longer to charge. Let me know if I'm wrong, because I don't want to fry my charger!

it is physically not possible a battery with the same chemical components (li-ion) be that bigger in capacity,and having the same size.
with different components maybe,but 3.6V are lithium batteries...

suppose i'm wrong (which i'm not) and it is that small,
yes it will last way longer,and you can use the same charger,
but it will take much longer to fully charge them.