Read: Batteries EXPLAINED

[tidegirl]

Not OK would be one freshly charged battery and one that has been used. Preferably a balanced set is the way to go. But by keeping them in pairs, and fully charging both, you should not have problems. When they start to age (3-6 months or so), it would not be a bad idea to check them with a volt meter after using them in your PV for a little while to see if they are each discharging uniformly.

This is my question. What is an acceptable difference in the volts of two properly paired, properly and fully charged batteries?

 

[Rader2146]

USB wall chargers- Voltage is the same- but the amps can differ.

The majority that I see range from 1/2 amp to 2.1 amps. That 2.1 amp would be a problem on smaller batteries.

The current rating for the wall adapter is not important as long as it is greater than the output current of the charger that you are pluging into it. Just because it is rated for 2.1 amps doesn't mean the charger is going to use 2.1 amps.

This is my question. What is an acceptable difference in the volts of two properly paired, properly and fully charged batteries?

In series batteries, the beginning voltage is not as important as the ending voltage. A couple tenths won't make difference. What you really want to watch is the ending voltage. One battery will usually discharge faster than the other. I have a pair of Trustfire 14500's that usually have a difference of nearly a whole volt when my mod hits the cutoff; 2.8v / 3.7v. I had to reconfigure my pairings to match the batteries a little better. That helped, but there was still a wide difference. Since switching to Sanyo's the difference is less, but still there.

 

[Dauyd]

The current rating for the wall adapter is not important as long as it is greater than the output current of the charger that you are pluging into it. Just because it is rated for 2.1 amps doesn't mean the charger is going to use 2.1 amps.

True- but my understanding was that the question was about a pv that plugs directly into the wall wart by usb without a charger in between. Unless the PV has a regulator built into the charging circuit, there could be a problem. (not knowing what pv is in question, this is all hypothetical)

 

[Rader2146]

Something like an eGo Pasthrough that uses a standard USB to USB cable has the charging circuitry built into the device. All devices of that type must have the internal charging regulation, or else batteries would be exploding at the cyclic rate from a 5v charge.

 

[mrdee3]

This is all great info. One more thing to add here I am into High power LED flashlights, E-cigs and High powered electric R/C cars-trucks-helicopters. I have see the effects of several battery explosions it is no joke. Most of these explosions happen when someone uses a cheep or wrong charger and when you put a battery in something that has to high of a discharge rate for that cell. With all that said I only use a computerized peak detect pulse charger with a thermal probe attached because I can't tell you how many battery's I have seen get ruined or explode from a cheep charger. In my opinion if you are going to use a mod and tinker on your own then you better know what the heck you are doing with these cells. The same goes for if you are using un-protected cells of any type please please buy a good charger that monitors the cell temperature as a fail safe or one of those battery bags. Call me overly safe but I'v seen what can happen if you let a cheep charger with a un-protected cell alone for 5 min it is not worth my house-family.

 

[dsy5]

This is my question. What is an acceptable difference in the volts of two properly paired, properly and fully charged batteries?

Fully charged, both should be 4.2 V. A couple tenths of a volt shouldn't matter. The problem lies in when they discharge under use. Since I don't stack batteries, I cannot tell you what is acceptible as they discharge, but it would be a bit unsettling, to me, to see a 1V difference in the batteries.

 

[BuzzKill]

Correct:

In a mechanical mod the only thing you really have to worry about damaging is the battery. However, certain mechanical mods might have say a cap spring which melts if the battery starts over discharging. With a fuse, you can prevent that spring from melting which can save you some money not having to replace.

In a "digital" mod you can damage both the battery and the mod itself. This is why pretty much every one of these mods has 4 or 5 built in protection modes. It's an attempt to protect both.

As you can see, a mechanical mod could generally be considered more "sturdy"/"long lasting" because there are less potential faults in the mod.

Are myou kidding me ?????? a mechanical MOD is where 99% of these BATTERY failures are happening !! FYI . most VV or VW mods now have built in protection ( acts like a protected battery ) we also use protected batts on top of that,

You need to make sure your info is correct before disclosing it as FACT man .

You have a lot of good info here BUT this is NOT part of it.

 

[BuzzKill]

This is a great, properly dumbed down thread. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.

I have a question about the volts on stacked batteries. How much of a difference is too much? I am using 14430 batts that charge to 4.2 volts. So if one reads 4.20 and the other 4.22 is that ok? When is it not ok? I do keep them paired. I have 3 sets that I rotate. One set in the mod, one in the (unplugged) charger, and one in a AA plastic batt case. When they move, they move together so they always stay with their buddy.

Those are completely Normal voltages , above 4.30 volts may start to be an issue, those batts are rated for 300 charge cycles FYI

 

[Dauyd]

Are myou kidding me ?????? a mechanical MOD is where 99% of these BATTERY failures are happening !! FYI . most VV or VW mods now have built in protection ( acts like a protected battery ) we also use protected batts on top of that,

You need to make sure your info is correct before disclosing it as FACT man .

You have a lot of good info here BUT this is NOT part of it.

I think you need to re-read his post.

 

[tc1]

Are myou kidding me ?????? a mechanical MOD is where 99% of these BATTERY failures are happening !! FYI . most VV or VW mods now have built in protection ( acts like a protected battery ) we also use protected batts on top of that,

You need to make sure your info is correct before disclosing it as FACT man .

You have a lot of good info here BUT this is NOT part of it.

Where did I state that batteries are more safe in mechanical mods than digital ones? I was responding to someone who was asking about shorting out a mechanical mod in that post.

Nothing I said was incorrect.

 

[dsy5]

Are myou kidding me ?????? a mechanical MOD is where 99% of these BATTERY failures are happening !! FYI . most VV or VW mods now have built in protection ( acts like a protected battery ) we also use protected batts on top of that,

You need to make sure your info is correct before disclosing it as FACT man .

You have a lot of good info here BUT this is NOT part of it.

You took that answer a bit out of context; the question was 'would I damage a mechanical mod if I shorted it out'; I suppose if the battery exploded, you could. But the question was pertaining to damaging a mechanical mod when a RBA wick shorts and the difference between an electronically controlled device with short protection and a mechanical mod which has no protection circuitry.

 

[denali_41]

When it comes to battery failing,,regulated,FV or protected ..nothing is gonna save you !!!

all of those "protection" circuits do is to regulate the amount of voltage going into or exiting the battery cell itself !!!

the heavier build of the mod itself is your best protection against it becoming a grenade in your hand.although a heavy duty mod wil still have vent holes ,and depending on the event they can become vents holes or propulsion ports !!

 

[tc1]

Propulsion port ... lol

From vaper to rocket scientist ... one failing battery at a time.

 

[denali_41]

While you make think that is funny ?? it is very true and if i had the number to post i would

although anybody that has ever been 15 feet from a 400mah battery explosion and a little common sense realizes numbers are not required to prove this

 

[tc1]

While you make think that is funny ?? it is very true and if i had the number to post i would

although anybody that has ever been 15 feet from a 400mah battery explosion and a little common sense realizes numbers are not required to prove this

Ehhh, just to be clear ... I was just being friendly and "laughing" in fun.
If I thought it was actually a laughing matter I wouldn't have posted this thread to begin with.

 

[niterider]

So I heard in passing somewhere that you're supposed to turn the dial all the way down on a VV Mod while it's charging. Is this true? Why? I own a spinner and was wondering about this.

 

[denali_41]

So I heard in passing somewhere that you're supposed to turn the dial all the way down on a VV Mod while it's charging. Is this true? Why? I own a spinner and was wondering about this.

first time i ever heard that,,,check the manual that came with your spinner or the manufacturers site for more info

 

[niterider]

first time i ever heard that,,,check the manual that came with your spinner or the manufacturers site for more info

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any king of information on their site. However, I did see this on this website: "When Charging Set Voltage on Battery to 4.2Volts" .

Vision Spinner Variable Voltage eGo 1300mAh Battery,Joytec Twist,Twist Battery,Spinner Black-Steel-Blue-Pink

 

[tc1]

Honestly ... you wouldn't *think* output voltage settings would affect an input charge the slightest. Can't imagine what the chip inside an EGO would be doing for the need for this.

 

[rcbell.N51]

So... if we could touch on battery chargers for a minute I have a couple questions and am in need of some advice. When I first started down the APV road I purchased a cheap Tenergy TN270 charger (from/with my ProVari). Everything was fine but at the time I was using 18650s exclusively. As my collection grew I started getting into other battery sizes and decided to upgrade my charger. Because of all the various sizes I wanted something that would handle pretty much anything I threw at it, including 18350 and 10440 batteries. Safety being of the utmost importance I decided on an Xtar WP6II.

I was pretty happy with my choice, and in light of recent events still am. Last night I put a couple 18650s in the charger and went about my business, checking on them on occasion. I've put the charger on a 3 hour timer so it shuts off automatically. When I went to check after the timer had shut down the charger the two springs where the 18650s had been charging were darkened (in color) and collapsed. I'm very happy that, whatever the problem was, the hot springs worked to protect me. Now my questions:

1. The batteries seem fine now, and when I tested them on my Fluke afterwords they were both right around 3.7v. Obviously the charge cycle wasn't completed and I'm not sure what caused this to happen. Could it have been a surge from the timer I use?

2. Is the charger itself safe to use now?

3. Can the hot springs be replaced in the Xtar WP6II?

4. I just finished ordering a Pila 4-stage charger which will be fine for my 18350/500/650. What about my 10440s?

5. Assuming the Pila can't be used for the 10440s, does anyone have suggestions for a charger that will work with that size?

Sorry for the semi-long post, but thanks for your help everyone.