2 AMP Efest Bio V2 Charger - Questions/Feedback

[ph0kused]

I bought a Bio V2 (Efest Brand)

It has 3 levels of charging - .5amp - 1amp - and 2amp.

2amp being the fastest.

Is there any risk of damaging batteries by charging them at 2amp?

I mostly use the 30 amp Sony VTC4 2100mAh - I use mech mods, RDAs, Genesis Atomizers, Kayfun, Ithaka, Aqua Footoon etc.

For the most part this charger has absolutley DOMINATED my old intellicharger i4... I thought that was a good charger, but I can charge 4 batteries faster on this 2 battery charger than i can on my old i4 running 4 batteries at a time.

My main concern is longevity/damage to the batteries... am I deteriorating their lifespan by charging them at 2amp? Is it better to use the "middle" 1amp setting and wait longer?

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Battery manufacturers give a max charge rate on their batteries in the product specs.
Slower is easier on a battery / adds life over fast charging.

Your sony 18650 vtc4 2000mah 30a has a max charge rate of 2a.

 

[Ryedan]

My main concern is longevity/damage to the batteries... am I deteriorating their lifespan by charging them at 2amp? Is it better to use the "middle" 1amp setting and wait longer?

As Topwater Elvis said, charging fast will reduce battery life. I charge my VTC3s and VTC4s at 0.5A. I go up to 1A only if I need to charge one faster than normal. I think I did that once. I also don't run them down too low, 3.7V minimum so they rarely take longer than 2 hours to charge. I have a couple of MNKE batteries that I just retired after 1 1/2 years of service, with one year of that running sub ohm setups. Works for me

 

[Keynith]

I always charge my batteries @500 mah/hr to increase battery life. Its easier to do that when you have 2+ batteries so you can just swap them out

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[zanedog]

charge them at 2 amps, you'll be fine. I charge all the 18650's at two amps, lithium ion doesn't mind lots of current in.

 

[Rickajho]

charge them at 2 amps, you'll be fine. I charge all the 18650's at two amps, lithium ion doesn't mind lots of current in.

But it is harder on the batteries and they will last longer when charged at lower current.

I want to make sure the OP isn't confusing the maximum safe discharge with the rated capacity. A battery that you can discharge at up to 30 amps doesn't mean it's safe to charge the battery at 30 amps! You want to pay attention to the mAh rating when considering charge current. The general rule is you don't want to put more charge current into the battery than it's rated mAh output capacity. Charging a 700 mAh 18350 battery at two amps current is a really, really (overheating and exploding) bad idea.

 

[Ryedan]

All these batteries have a safe charge amp limit above which they heat up. This is also at room temperature. Cold or heat decreases this. I've heard it's safe to charge at mAh rate before, but that's not always true. Might only be for ICR batteries, but some people still use these for vaping so it's valid. Some of these are only rated for 1/2 the mAh in mA. I like to stay at or under 1/2 the rated charge maximum.

Now, does anyone know if the maximum charge number decreases with use? My bet is it does, but I have no data on it.

 

[ph0kused]

But it is harder on the batteries and they will last longer when charged at lower current.

I want to make sure the OP isn't confusing the maximum safe discharge with the rated capacity. A battery that you can discharge at up to 30 amps doesn't mean it's safe to charge the battery at 30 amps! You want to pay attention to the mAh rating when considering charge current. The general rule is you don't want to put more charge current into the battery than it's rated mAh output capacity. Charging a 700 mAh 18350 battery at two amps current is a really, really (overheating and exploding) bad idea.

Don't worry - I'm not confusing maximum safe discharge and rated capacity, not that green...

I was just curious if anyone with the VTC4's specifically knew that without a doubt charging at 2amp will deteriorate your battery faster...

If we're talking the battery will only last 6 months compared to a year, I could care less ... I buy new batteries usually every 6 months and give my old ones to my friends/co-workers.

Thanks for the info guys! I'll charge at 500 or 1 ... I'll try to avoid the 2amp setting when i can! Sometimes though, you need that uber fast charge... I love this charger... my i4 is a dusty paper weight now.

 

[ph0kused]

plus, I don't run anything but 18650's VTC4's... I have some old ... MNKE Orangies, but for the most part I've given all of them away.

 

[Kemosabe]

i usually charge my batts at 0.25A. takes a while, but ive got time. id like to prolong my battery lifetime as much as possible. if ive got time to charge, i typically dont have just 2 hours. if im home, im home and i can take my time charging. rarely i will bump up the charger (Xtar) to 0.5A or even 1A if i feel myself dozing off or if something unexpected comes up. but even so, im likely to just pull the batts and finish charging them later. ive got plenty of spares pre-charged and ready to go in such a case.

 

[zanedog]

Don't worry - I'm not confusing maximum safe discharge and rated capacity, not that green...

I was just curious if anyone with the VTC4's specifically knew that without a doubt charging at 2amp will deteriorate your battery faster...

If we're talking the battery will only last 6 months compared to a year, I could care less ... I buy new batteries usually every 6 months and give my old ones to my friends/co-workers.

Thanks for the info guys! I'll charge at 500 or 1 ... I'll try to avoid the 2amp setting when i can! Sometimes though, you need that uber fast charge... I love this charger... my i4 is a dusty paper weight now.

Yeah, charge a dead 18650 at 2 amps, it barely heats up. I don't pamper my batteries, and if I get 10 percent less life out of them so be it, they're a disposable item. I mean look at the RC industry, I can hammer my batteries hard, and they last a long time. There's likely infomation out there verifying that they deteriorate a bit faster if they get HOT when charged, but to me it doesn't matter. Chuck em out when they seem to not work well anymore.

Nothing against charging them slow, it's probaly better, but i don't have the patience and only have a two bay charger.