Battery care and when to charge

[GermZx]

I have a sigelei Zmax V3, as well as 2 Efest 18350 800mah, and 2 Efest 18650 2000mah, with a nitecore i4.


So my question is how do I keep my batteries healthy and long lasting.

My Zmax shows my current 18350 at 3.7v. Do I need to charge them as soon as they hit 3.7? I'd like a number to aim for to begin charging. Also, does the fact that the Zmax is regulated mean I can use batteries to lower volts without a decrease in performance?

 

[JeremyR]

3.7 is the nominal rating of the battery. There is no reason to charge before 3.6 and that's on the extreme side. 3.5 is just fine for extended battery life. However 3.4 isn't going to hurt it.. I regularly run it to the cut off.

Running at the higher amp loads for the configuration (2.5 amp one battery, 4 amps safely stacked 350s) it will start to drop off in performance at higher wattage levels when it starts going below 3.6. (However There is hardly any noticeable drop off in stacked mode until it gets to 6.6v or 3.3 each battery)

3.5 is a good target.

 

[anumber1]

The Zmax will shut down before you reach a voltage that is battery damaging low. Lithium chemistry batteries have no problems with shallow charges either so you are fine charging at any time you feel like it.
Deep charge cycles will shorten battery life. At 3.7 volts, you are 50% discharged.

I charge between 3.7 and 3.4v when I can.