At What Voltage Would a Mod Read Low Battery?

[aznnp77]

So I just got the eleaf iStick Pico. It's my first ever device where I had to buy a separate battery. My previous device was an iStick 40w that I replaced because I couldn't stand the weak battery anymore. As a low voltage tootle puffer (7 watts), it angered me that I could only last a little over a day on a supposed 2600mah battery. Pbusardo opened one up and found it was actually only 1800mah, so that made a lot of sense.

Anyways, with all these fake LG HG2 3000mah batteries going around I'm trying to make sure that i didn't get a fake one or anything and that the battery is performing like it should.

I am not trying to turn this into a discussion on fake batteries though. That topic has been discussed to death.

So after a full charge, my Pico says that battery is at 4.17 volts while in bypass mode. I charged it full sometime yesterday. This morning i got to work with a pretty strong battery bar. It looked like it had 80% left based on the visual bar. I just read the voltage again in bypass mode, and it was at 3.8 volts.

So I've done some googling, and got mostly old posts. Some people say you need to charge the battery at 3.6-3.7 volts. I find that kind of weird that with like 70-80% of the battery left, I'm recommended to recharge it.

I mean I usually keep it pretty well charged anyways, but I've got friends that don't charge their vapes until it gets closer to the low warning. So if I'm 70-80% at 3.8 volts, where is the battery when it gets to the warning? 3.2 volts? 2.8 volts?

For optimal vape, I need to keep it above 3.6 volts? I imagine at 3.6 volts, my Pico would still have at least 50% of the battery left and probably more.

So the majority of you guys charge your devices with around 50% left in order to avoid any dropoff in vape quality?

Sorry for the long post.

 

[sparkky1]

Have you considered purchasing an external charger ?

 

[fourthrok]

I think 3.3 volts is about as low as you want to go. The mod ought to have a "low battery" warning, though. As for keeping it above 3.6 volts...I never worried about that because I am a Tootle Puffer and almost never stray above 7W. I really don't know the Pico, but one of the things I really like about the iStick 30W and 40W is the "passthrough" feature. I simply plug into a USB port (not on my laptop...some other USB port) and top off for a bit when I can.

I figure I'm doing really well if the iStick 40W lasts me 8 hours. With the passthrough, I don't worry about it much. The only devices I have that actually last more than one day are the MVP3 Pros.

 

[aznnp77]

Have you considered purchasing an external charger ?

Never. Too much trouble and added expense. Also, these lithium ion batteries scare me and I don't want to mix it with something and it explodes. I don't ever plan on taking out that battery from my iStick again.

Part of the reason why I stuck with an MVP and ego batteries so long was because I refused to buy a separate charger. When the industry went to micro USB charging in the device is where things really took off.

I understand how why some of you guys need a separate charger though, because you use multiple batteries throughout the day. I can go 2+ days on a single charge usually, so I'm never desperate to switch out a spare. I don't even have a spare 18650 battery.

One annoying thing I've noticed though is that the internal charger doesn't cut the charging off for a while after it's fully charged. It'll be at 4.17v and it won't cut off for prob another 20-30 mins+.

I really don't know the Pico, but one of the things I really like about the iStick 30W and 40W is the "passthrough" feature. I simply plug into a USB port (not on my laptop...some other USB port) and top off for a bit when I can.

I figure I'm doing really well if the iStick 40W lasts me 8 hours. With the passthrough, I don't worry about it much. The only devices I have that actually last more than one day are the MVP3 Pros.

I was asking people about internal charger vs. an external in the Pico thread. They said an external charger sounds safer, but none of them had had problems charging in their devices before. Someone mentioned their devices got warm while using in passthrough. My devices always have, but I was never afraid of something bad happening. i think it's normal.

 

[Jorge22]

3.2 v. Generally speaking. Some mods won't let you go below 3.5 - for no really good reason.

 

[Scy123]

I assume you are using the LG hg2 from your post.

Here is a discharge chart for the HG2 configured for the dna200. Not the device your using, but you get the idea.

 

[aznnp77]

I assume you are using the LG hg2 from your post.

Here is a discharge chart for the HG2 configured for the dna200. Not the device your using, but you get the idea.

So I guess what you're saying is the device will shut off at be dead around 3.0 volts? The battery doesn't seem to drain proportionally.

I just pulled my istick off the charger at 4.15 volts to go outside for some quick puffs at 7 watts and it dropped down to 4.04 when I got back to my desk.

I'm probably making too big a deal out of the battery draining, and should just vape it and charge it whenever I feel like it and not worry about anything else.

I'm just trying to make sure it's acting like a 3000mah battery should, and that I'm charging at the times I should.

With the istick 40w I was starting to keep it on the charger at work whenever I wasn't using it. I just thought it was overkill. If I need to charge my Pico every day I can and will, but it seems excessive to put it on the charger at 80% all the time. Know what I mean?

 

[Scy123]

It actually shows low voltage warning around 3.2v. I vape at 100w and the voltage sag trips the low voltage cutoff before the set cutoff of 3v (you can set this manually on the dna200)

I run all my devices to the voltage cutoff BTW which usually end up being 3.2v.

 

[Scy123]

Also, yes 18650 does not drain proportionally.

 

[sparkky1]

So with your pico mod, you have no spare battery and only intend to use on board charging for your 18650 cell ?
You really won't know any true numbers ( if your overcharging / cut-offv ) till you have a charger that displays, let alone get a true 0.5 - 1.0a cc charge as well as 4.2 cut-off everytime
LG HG2 Discharge End Voltage: 2.5V

 

[sparkky1]

It actually shows low voltage warning around 3.2v. I vape at 100w and the voltage sag trips the low voltage cutoff before the set cutoff of 3v (you can set this manually on the dna200)

I run all my devices to the voltage cutoff BTW which usually end up being 3.2v.

Your DNA USB charging module is worlds different than the eleaf / istick .............

 

[Scy123]

I know not really saying they are similar just sharing my experience with the battery cutoffs.

And yea the post is kinda misleading.

 

[sparkky1]

To get the full mAh out of your 18650 you would need a true 1.0A 4.2V charge

 

[aznnp77]

My Pico just went from 4.14v to 4.18v in the last 30 minutes. Never gotten to 4.18 before though. Maybe it's just the battery "breaking in?"

I think I've gotten my answer though based on the replies.

4.2v = 100%
3.8v = 50%
3.2v = Low Voltage Warning
3.0v = Dead (if it doesn't cut off at before then)

My battery had an unusual drop this morning to 3.8 then, and the battery meter must be wayyyy off. Or it could be like the gas tank gauge on my car. It barely moves off full after 60-80 miles, then moves quickly to the middle around 120-130.

My battery finally cut off the charger. I put it on the charger at 4.04v. It was at 4.14v at 11:00 and it still hadn't cut off yet. It just cut off now at 4.18v around 11:50.

It's just annoying that it's done charging and doesn't cut itself off right away. Wondering if this is a defect, a bad battery, or normal.

 

[Scy123]

I think I've gotten my answer though based on the replies.

4.2v = 100%
3.8v = 50%
3.2v = Low Voltage Warning
3.0v = Dead (if it doesn't cut off at before then)

Sorry I should of made it clear, that was for the dna200. Your mod may act differently/have different cutoffs.

 

[edyle]

So I just got the Eleaf iStick Pico. It's my first ever device where I had to buy a separate battery. My previous device was an iStick 40w that I replaced because I couldn't stand the weak battery anymore. As a low voltage tootle puffer (7 watts), it angered me that I could only last a little over a day on a supposed 2600mah battery. Pbusardo opened one up and found it was actually only 1800mah, so that made a lot of sense.

Anyways, with all these fake LG HG2 3000mah batteries going around I'm trying to make sure that i didn't get a fake one or anything and that the battery is performing like it should.

I am not trying to turn this into a discussion on fake batteries though. That topic has been discussed to death.

So after a full charge, my Pico says that battery is at 4.17 volts while in bypass mode. I charged it full sometime yesterday. This morning i got to work with a pretty strong battery bar. It looked like it had 80% left based on the visual bar. I just read the voltage again in bypass mode, and it was at 3.8 volts.

So I've done some googling, and got mostly old posts. Some people say you need to charge the battery at 3.6-3.7 volts. I find that kind of weird that with like 70-80% of the battery left, I'm recommended to recharge it.

I mean I usually keep it pretty well charged anyways, but I've got friends that don't charge their vapes until it gets closer to the low warning. So if I'm 70-80% at 3.8 volts, where is the battery when it gets to the warning? 3.2 volts? 2.8 volts?

For optimal vape, I need to keep it above 3.6 volts? I imagine at 3.6 volts, my Pico would still have at least 50% of the battery left and probably more.

So the majority of you guys charge your devices with around 50% left in order to avoid any dropoff in vape quality?

Sorry for the long post.

I let my battery run down to low voltage, which would be about 3.2 to 3.3 when the mod cuts off.

People who use unregulated tend to need to recharge when the battery drops down to 3.6, 3.8 or thereabouts. That is because it translates to about a 20% drop in wattage.

 

[daviedog]

I use mechs & can easily tell the 3.6 volt level.
Using lion cells to the nominal voltage (3.7) volts will increase overall life.
Read more at the Battery University..

 

[sparkky1]

A "fully charged" battery has to have 4.2 volts applied to it, but should deliver a "nominal voltage"( mean under load ) of 3.6 plus or minus 0.5 volts. That just means that over the discharge cycle the voltage should be about 3.6 volts on average, but in reality it will usually be more or less depending on where in the discharge cycle the battery is at. If you only charged the battery using 3.6 volts the battery would have less capacity and output at a lower average voltage during the discharge cycle.
The discharge voltage itself varies with the current. A higher current decreases the output voltage because the batteries internal resistance has more of an effect when the resistance of the circuit is lower (hence why the current through it is higher).
As the charging voltage increases it stresses the battery and lowers the lifetime. The higher the voltage the more damage. For very long life you could charge the battery to less than full, but would obviously have to suffer from reduced battery capacity, You have to decide on where you want the trade-off at, if you vape @ 5 - 12 watts it's more obvious.