How often should I charge my battery?

[rammstein]

I have a variable voltage/wattage battery and I have heard that some say charge it as often as you can this reduces stress, others say that's bad, some say a combination of long and short cycles but I don't know which is best. My battery's manual said get down to 10% but it doesn't measure it accurately (but I love these batteries so I don't want to change but they are expensive so I want to prolong their life span as long as possible even if that does mean charging them very often.) I do have two so charging often isn't an inconvenience for me if that's what I am supposed to do.

 

[Nermal]

What I've gleaned from the forum is that they last longer from frequent charging - that is, long before a regulated mod would shut you down.

 

[FranC]

I charge them when they stop working.

 

[BlueSnake]

I charge them when the device quits firing. I have done this for years and have not experienced batteries prematurely dying. In fact I start thinking about replacing old batteries long before I start noticing any drop off in vaping time or power.

 

[Sgt.Rock]

Charge them early as opposed to late for longer overall life.

 

[93gc40]

Recharge when the battery gets to around 3.5-3.6 volts. Letting it discharge much lower can damage the battery. I have no science facts, but in practice. It seems that I get better battery charge life if I recharge at 3.5 volt than when I charge at 3.7. I have yet to kill a battery via use.. I keep 5 batts in rotation and recharge 2-3 batts per day.

 

[sonicbomb]

I change out when they are 3.6/7 volts in a mech. Sometimes lower in a regulated mod, or If I'm out and about without a spare.

 

[mattiem]

I charge my vision spinner batteries when the light flashes and tells me they need charging. Must be doing something right. My oldest 2 are about 2 1/2 years old and seem to still be going strong. I am treating my isticks and mvps the same way and time will tell if I am doing it right. Most of them are at least 6 months old.

Back when I was using removable 18650 batteries I would remove them from the device when the vape seemed weak. They would usually meter out at 3.7/3.8 so were ready to go on the charger.

 

[BlueSnake]

Lithium Ion batteries are good down to 2.5 volts. Mechanicals don't vape well much lower than 3.8 volts and regulated devices cut off between 3.2 to 3.5 volts. It will make no difference at all if they are routinely charged at 3.8 or 3.2 volts as we are not even approaching the lower limits of the batteries.

 

[DanJiblets]

When I had my Vision Spinners I had 2, and I'd just charge one every other night, and the other every other night. My neighbor has one of them now and it's still going strong like 6 months later. My girlfriend has the other with no issues. I really wouldn't stress about it. Worse case if one craps out, by the time it does whatever battery you are using will be like half the price you paid anyway lol.

 

[Baditude]

I have a variable voltage/wattage battery and I have heard that some say charge it as often as you can this reduces stress, others say that's bad, some say a combination of long and short cycles but I don't know which is best. My battery's manual said get down to 10% but it doesn't measure it accurately (but I love these batteries so I don't want to change but they are expensive so I want to prolong their life span as long as possible even if that does mean charging them very often.) I do have two so charging often isn't an inconvenience for me if that's what I am supposed to do.

It would have been best to state exactly which specific battery device you are using. Most advanced personal vaporizers use replaceable rechargeable batteries (external batteries), while others have a built-in rechargeable battery which is not removeable (MVP and iStick). Ego batteries (fixed and variable voltage) are in themselves the battery which is rechargeable but not replaceable. These can all be different lithium chemistry batteries: ICR, NCR, INR, IMR, Li-po.

According to Battery University, lithium batteries will get the longest life if you charge frequently without over-discharging them to the point where they are considered drained. Most batteries are considered drained when they reach between 3.2 - 3.4 volts. A battery which gets drained to 2.5 volts or lower may not be able to recover its charge.

Battery Basics for Mods: IMR or protected ICR?

Rechargeable Batteries

Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries

 

[Baditude]

I have a variable voltage/wattage battery and I have heard that some say charge it as often as you can this reduces stress, others say that's bad, some say a combination of long and short cycles but I don't know which is best. My battery's manual said get down to 10% but it doesn't measure it accurately (but I love these batteries so I don't want to change but they are expensive so I want to prolong their life span as long as possible even if that does mean charging them very often.) I do have two so charging often isn't an inconvenience for me if that's what I am supposed to do.

I would have appreciated it if you had said more specifically what battery or battery device your are using.

We use lithium batteries in our vaporizers. There are several varieties of lithium batteries in use, the most common being: ICR, IMR, and Li-Poly.

Ego devices and the new boxs mods use Li-Poly batteries which are not removeable and use a USB charging cord. Most "mods" or APV's use lithium external removeable batteries which are charged in a box charger.

Battery University says that lithium batteries will see the longest life if they are charged frequently without being completely drained with each use. So, its better to pull the battery sooner than later and recharge it than to drain it down to where it will no longer work in the device. Unlike some other chemistry batteries, lithium batteries do not need to be completely drained before recharging. A lithium battery used in vaping is considered to be drained when it reaches 3.4 volts; allowed to drain lower than 2.5 volts may be critical to the life of the battery.

Battery Basics for Mods: IMR or protected ICR?

Rechargeable Batteries

Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries

 

[zoiDman]

I have a variable voltage/wattage battery and I have heard that some say charge it as often as you can this reduces stress, others say that's bad, some say a combination of long and short cycles but I don't know which is best. My battery's manual said get down to 10% but it doesn't measure it accurately (but I love these batteries so I don't want to change but they are expensive so I want to prolong their life span as long as possible even if that does mean charging them very often.) I do have two so charging often isn't an inconvenience for me if that's what I am supposed to do.

Here is some Good Info on Lithium Batteries...

How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University

 

[Thrasher]

In the end it can be measured but even under abuse we are really talking 250 charges vs 285. ( or whatever) At a certain point the chemistry degrades to a state where they just don't hold a charge anymore.

You can baby them to death, but nothing is going to add months and months of life to the cell. Now with that said some of the newer chemistries are rated well beyond the old 300 cycles

Even if you do extent the life a bit every charge after the rated life is borrowed time, and like all things in vaping, they will decide to die when it's most inconvenient.

 

[Ryedan]

Here is some Good Info on Lithium Batteries...

How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University

I've never read anything that makes me think the information on that web page is wrong so I keep that info in mind with my vape and RC batteries.

My hobby charger is set to terminate at 4.15V because I could set it that way. I have two Xtar chargers for 18xxx batteries and neither one charges past 4.20. I try to swap batteries in regulated mods by 3.5V if I notice it and a bit higher than that in mechanical mods. If I run a battery to 3.2V, or less in a mech mod, I do a partial charge soon to bring it back to 3.7'ish volts. I rotate through my 18xxx batteries so they deteriorate at roughly the same rate. I try not to charge a battery and have it sit at full charge for days before I use it.

But I don't obsess about it. Batteries are pretty cheap and they last fairly long considering the price. OTOH, if you have a charger that terminates at 4.25V, run your 20A batteries at 25A and always down to 3V, they're going to be toast in a lot fewer charge cycles than if you don't do that

 

[rammstein]

Thanks for the help. I will charge more frequently. My Apollo Valiant VV & VW 1300mah Battery doesn't tell me the volts that it gets down to but it has a led icon (I don't consider it idealy accurate but whenever it drops 1 bar I will recharge it and use my second until it dips a bar and keep that cycle up.