Am I charging things properly?

[Bob Chill]

I've seen bits and pieces about the do's and don'ts of charging but I'm still not sure I'm ok.

I have a standard ego USB charger that I plug into a belkin 4usb hub and charge some 650's and an 1100. I use the hub for charging only. It's not connected to the PC and I don't charge more than one battery at a time using it. From what I can tell, each port gets approx 500mah of juice. Is it right to assume that you can't push too hard on any battery with this?

My itaste is is 800mah. I charge that one with various warts and a cig lighter usb port in my truck. What are the do's and don'ts there? I've used a 1kmah wart with it and it seems totally fine. It seems totally fine with everything I plug it into.

Are there basic rules of thumbs in regards to wall warts, car usb ports, and pc usb hubs?

 

[Zipp]

The USB hub will work just fine. You don't have to worry about "pushing too hard". Current is pulled, not pushed, and the charger controls that. Check the max current that the hub can supply. You may be able to charge more than one battery at a time. Each charger needs 450mAh. As long as you're not close to the maximum that the hub can handle, it's all good. The only thing you have to watch out for is getting near the limit. Electronics rarely last long when pushed close to their current limit. I usually try not to get within 25% of a circuit's limit for more than a few seconds.

As for car usb ports, I'd avoid them unless you REALLY need it. A car's electrical system is extremely noisy, and there's no telling how well the port is isolated. It works in a pinch, but stick with indoor charging whenever possible.

Wall warts are nearly indestructible. Most just have a transformer inside, which is two copper wire coils around a sturdy frame. If a wall wart stops working, a wire broke. That's about the only thing that can go wrong with most of them. Switching power supplies are a different story, as they all have capacitors that'll stop working eventually. But you really can't abuse the things unless you're using one that wasn't made for charging your e-cig.

 

[Bob Chill]

Thanks Zipp. That what I was thinking. My itaste just came with a micro-usb so I seems like it can be plugged into pretty much anything?

 

[Zipp]

You sure can, though using a powered hub is your best bet when not using the wall wart. USB ports aren't very well protected against excessive current, and hubs are a lot cheaper to replace than your PC.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Zipp beat me to it. Avoid that car adapter at all costs unless there's absolutely no other option, and don't take your eyes off of it, especially if the engine is running. A cool vehicle, with the engine off and no alternator driving the electrical system, is probably Ok for a quick boost.

With an old alternator, or in a vehicle left unattended in the summer heat... BOOM.

When an alternator's brushes start to wear, the thing gets really noisy. It can fry your car's battery and it can wreck anything else plugged in. My 2004 Chevy Silverado has an instrument cluster that needs replacing because my alternator died and fried the speedometer, gas gauge and oil pressure gauge. Hence, I don't trust the power gauge.

I use a Duracell wart with two USP ports on it. I use that to charge my e-cig batteries, my GPS equipment batteries, my beloved cellphone, my wife's iPod nano and my daughters' Nooks and iPod Touches. That poor thing never gets a rest. The Duracell wart is awesome. I got two a year ago at Office Depot.

 

[BlueMoods]

Better for car charging is a cheap inverter, the little ones that plug into the lighter socket are fine. They produce a modified sine wave and, your wall warts will be fine with them. They also have a fuse that will blow if anything goes wrong with the vehicle's electrical system, thus avoiding damage to your vaping gear.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Better for car charging is a cheap inverter, the little ones that plug into the lighter socket are fine. They produce a modified sine wave and, your wall warts will be fine with them. They also have a fuse that will blow if anything goes wrong with the vehicle's electrical system, thus avoiding damage to your vaping gear.

Now he tells me.

 

[Bob Chill]

I have a really good inverter for laptops and things like that but I like the idea of a simple plug inverter/wall wart. I'm going to order one or pick one up locally. I've been charging phones and such off the usb port adapter for years and have never had a problem but I totally understand the glitches with car power supplies.

What are some of the mistakes people make around the house with ego and usb batts? I've never worried much in the past. I've probably been careless through the years just plugging things in to charge because it "looks" ok when charging.

 

[Zipslack]

The inverter is a good idea, but not necessary. Even the cheapest cig lighter to USB adapter includes voltage regulation to convert the car's 14+ volts down to the USB spec 5V DC. Even a basic 7805 regulator chip will regulate and block high voltage/spikes and alternator noise would not really be an issue. Think about how many cell phones and GPS units run off of this system every day - when was the last time you heard of one being destroyed by electrical noise? I DO agree with not using in high temp and using when unoccupied, but that's because of battery issues and not the electrical system.

 

[BlueMoods]

Well, I did blow one ego battery and, I knew better too. The co op I get electricity from is, well primitive, to be kind to them but the only choice I have. Even on a sunny day, the power can go off for no good reason (weekly thing here) I am usually careful to put any charges, computers, etc on one of my backup batter/surge guards for that reason. I got lazy and plugged my pretty blue ego into the kitchen outlet, of course the power went off. When it returned, it surged (as recorded by my computer backup/surge guard) and my pretty blue battery had an ominous bulge in the side - oops. Nice thing though, I took a picture, sent it to the co-op, told them the battery cost me 15.00, they gave me a 20.00 bill credit to cover the cost of the battery and hassle of replacing it.

Beyond that, make sure the wall wart has at least a 500mAh output and, you are using the connector intended for that battery. Of course if using generator or inverter power, be sure the power source does at least have a fuse that will blow and protect your gear.

No, alternator noise won't hurt them, but, trust me when the vehicle batteries decide to ignite and really mess up the system, it will cause damage to anything plugged in. Had it happen in an 18 wheeler, with a 12 volt cooler and an iPod plugged in - iPod fried and cooler needed a new fan motor. I don't want to know what would have happened to my provari if it had be plugged into that truck's lighter outlet that day. (yes that is a multi battery system and 2 of the four batteries ignited/blew up.)

Long story why and how it happened, but it was due some electrical repairs a shop had done a few hours earlier.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Beyond that, make sure the wall wart has at least a 500mAh output and, you are using the connector intended for that battery. Of course if using generator or inverter power, be sure the power source does at least have a fuse that will blow and protect your gear.

I think you mean 500ma and 5v output. That output can vary, as long as you're getting ~ 4.6 to 5.3, you should be Ok. What you don't want to do is get something that a cheap USB charger can use to draw much higher. It's actually better for the battery to charge slowly.

Those 2.0 amp "rapid" chargers scare me.

 

[XtianApi]

Interesting thread. Everyone has covered the topic well, though I disagree when it comes to watching how much load you put on your hub. If the hub can supply, lets say 3 amps total, spread out over the different ports, you can fill up each port with a device asking for the maximum 4.2 amps and everything will be fine, the hub just won't give the devices all that they are asking for. Asking for more juice than available from a hub is not dangerous. In fact, old crappy power supplies that use linear regulation work harder on low loads than high loads, but that doesn't really apply to this anymore. On a side note, do not use cheap knock off USB wall warts. A USB charger that plugs into the wall can actually have over 200 volts in it, even though the power going in is only 110, in the US. A cheap chinese knock off of an iPhone charger was dissected on the EEVBlog and was shown to be incredibly dangerous. They showed how if one thing failed, you could have major current going to that port. I don't know as much as that guy about electrical engineering so he can explain it better. Be safe, don't cheap out on your power.

 

[XtianApi]

I think you mean 500ma and 5v output. That output can vary, as long as you're getting ~ 4.6 to 5.3, you should be Ok. What you don't want to do is get something that a cheap USB charger can use to draw much higher. It's actually better for the battery to charge slowly.

Those 2.0 amp "rapid" chargers scare me.

Indeed. And, the term rapid, usually means that the thing stops charging when the battery hits 4.2 volts and completely skips the saturation charge, meaning your battery is only about 80-85 percent charged. It is cheaper to make the charger if it doesn't have to vary the current output. If, CC/CV, or "Constant Current / Constant Voltage" is printed on the charger, it will do a full charge, with the final saturation charge and bring your battery up to 100 percent. If it says "rapid" or "fast" charger and no cc/cv, then you are not getting a full charge. You can use this info to your advantage. If your battery takes four hours to charge, then you can put it on for only an hour or so and get a 70 to 80 percent charge. Not only is this fast, but it is better for lithium batteries. Any voltage about 3.92 volts is considered stressful for a lithium. Also, any temperature above 85 degrees is considered stressful. That is why I try to keep my mods out of my pockets if possible.

 

[XtianApi]

I guess I have a talent for making threads go cold.