Charging a new 18650 battery

[Cardslinger]

I got 2 new TrustFire 18650 2400mah batterys and a TrustFire 001 multifunctional 2 bay charger.
When I plugged in the charger it showed 2 green lights without any batterys inserted.
I put both in and the green turned to red indicating a charging state. Both batterys were a very tight fit
That was over 6 hours ago. they still are showing red so I assume they are still on charge.
Is this a normal time for charging a new battery? I thought these were mostly pre-charged & held a charge for up to a year with minimal discharge.
I have 14500's that charge in under 3 hours on a different charger.
Any thoughts??
Thanks

 

[Trucapri]

Mine isn't Trustfire, and I use a single battery charger, but I put one in about noon today and it's not finished yet. I normally don't take notice because I usually charge overnight . . . built in sensor. . . and I'm curious as well as to how long it takes. I've checked the connection a couple of times and its in snug, both the battery to the charger and the charge to the receptacle. We'll see????

 

[Cardslinger]

I'm on pins & needles here, these came with my new DON & I can't use it untill the battery's charge

Bummer

 

[Trucapri]

You're right!! I was fortuante that mine came in ready to go. With this one taking as long as it is, and even though it may always take this long and I just haven't watched before, I ordered a couple more and another charger today. Although I understand these batteries should take charge for as much as 6 months, I know sometimes you just get a dud!

 

[strebor]

Thanks for posting. I just got a Lavatube to replace my Piper starter kit on Thursday and put the battery in and it worked right away. I don't know how long the battery's take to charge as i haven't needed to charge it yet. But it's awesome to know what to expect now. I love having a battery that lasts over 8 hours and ECF for always being there for great information.

 

[Trucapri]

Update: I've come to the conclusion that the charger light on mine is just stuck on red!

I popped it in my PV, pulls like a full charge to me!!


How's yours coming along??

 

[Cardslinger]

Still Charging ................. CRUD

& I'm old old school, they have to be fully charged for me to take them off charge.

 

[yzer]

It can take a long time to charge a 18650. It takes me 6-7 hours to charge a 14650 battery which has considerably less capacity and is considerably smaller. That's if my 14650s are down to less than 3.4 volts.

It could be that your 18650s had discharged considerably somewhere between the time they were made and when you got them. Sometimes batteries Li-ion batteries do that if they have been stored for quite a while.

I have a Trustfire TR-001 charger that I use for 14500s. It charges them in about four hours. It's a pretty slow charger but it will get the job done.

 

[Peezy]

are they protected batteries? this might be why there a tight fit... I have regular and protected 18650's 14500's and 18350's

All the protected ones are a bit longer and harder to fit in chargers/devices

 

[Cardslinger]

I think they are the protected ones but I'm not sure. They are still charging, almost 8 hours now, but if they ever charge I can check them out.

are they protected batteries? this might be why there a tight fit... I have regular and protected 18650's 14500's and 18350's

All the protected ones are a bit longer and harder to fit in chargers/devices

 

[yzer]

Yes, protected batteries are longer than the stated size. The stated size should be accurate for non-protected batteries.

I won't use non-protected Li-ion batteries.

Two different brands of protected 14650 batteries I use actually measure 69mm in length. They won't fit a TrustFire TR-001. True to size, a 14650 should measure 65mm in length.

Likewise for the TrustFire protected 14500's I use. These are actually 52mm in length instead of 50mm.

In these battery sizes the first two digits are width in mm, the last three digits are length in 1/10th mm.

 

[Retriever]

Do you have a multimeter? You really should check your batteries before and after they are charged. You can pick up a multimeter just about anywhere and they are really easy to use.

 

[Cardslinger]

No, I don't have a multi-meter so I cant check them.
With the TR-001 when the Battery's are charged will the lights turn to green from the red that I see now?

 

[Keeno]

No, I don't have a multi-meter so I cant check them.
With the TR-001 when the Battery's are charged will the lights turn to green from the red that I see now?

Yes, from red to green when charged....mine always top out at 4.1 according to the LT. Question.....does yours emit a slight high pitched buzz when charging your batteries??

 

[karmakatie]

No, I don't have a multi-meter so I cant check them.
With the TR-001 when the Battery's are charged will the lights turn to green from the red that I see now?

Yes the lights will go green when they are done charging

 

[yzer]

Each battery will charge independently of the other. One will go green first. Leaving the batteries in the changer after they go green for a few hours won't hurt anything.

 

[yzer]

Terminal charge between 4.10 and 4.17 is optimal for long Li-ion battery life. My TR-001 and six clustered YL-103As terminate in this range. Neither are fast chargers but they don't heat the batteries much, either.

 

[Cardslinger]

EUREKA, they both just went green

NOW I CAN START ENJOYING MY DON

Thanks for all the input I guess the charger is working as intended.

 

[Retriever]

Congratulations! Let the vaping begin!

 

[yzer]

Great! How many hours for the full charge? Don't be surprised if it takes a little longer next time you charge the 18650s. Your pv will probably run the voltage down lower than what you started with today.