battery decay

[username1970]

I've heard tell the batteries I have are supposed to last for about 300 charges and I have 2 of them so I can charge one while I use the other, but I haven't even had these things for 1/4 of that time and already they are starting to lose their charge very fast - so much so that the charging cycle is having trouble keeping up.

Is this normal for all batteries? Did I just get a couple of bad ones? Should I try something else?

When I first got them the battery would seem to last for almost 2 days before needing a charge. Now it's down to about 12 hours (and that's being generous).

Are there any batteries I can rely on?

This is beginning to bum me out and piss me off and I think I'd rather just smoke real cigarettes. Cost and availability are the only 2 factors for me. First, my smokes were $70 a carton while other premium brands were around $50 and generics were about $20-25. Then they just stopped selling my brand altogether.

I may be off a little for the premium and generic prices since I never bought them, but they made my brand look cheap. I don't even want to explain it any more but what I used to smoke was something of a hybrid between burning tobacco and e-cigs.

Argh!

 

[sailorman]

Cheap batteries never last their rated number of cycles. Also, the slower you charge a lithium, the longer they'll last. Quick chargers are hard on batteries. Some other factors are amp draw (low resistance shortens battery life), how often they're charged (more is better), and the date of manufacture. Lithium batteries start to deteriorate the day they're made. The shelf life is about 2 years, whether you use them or not. Not waiting for them to go dead before charging also extends their life and only counts proportionately against their rated cycles. Charging a 10% depleted battery 10 times is better than charging a fully depleted battery once.

What size battery are you using? If you use a sealed type, like an eGo or kGo, you get what you get and they almost never live up to their ratings. If you use a cylindrical battery, avoid the "*****Fire" brands and stick to the better brands like AW, Panasonic, Sanyo, etc. There are lesser known brands that also perform well, but you'll have to do some research to ferret them out.

Larger capacity batteries also last longer, as they need fewer charge cycles for any given period of time.

The two biggest culprits for any battery are heat and excessive current draw. Use a good charger. Charge them as slowly as is practical. Get batteries rated for high drain. If you use small or sealed batteries, don't use too low a resistance.

 

[cyberwolf]

The big question is what size battery you are using and how much you are vaping. If you are a moderate vaper replacing a pack-a-day of cigarettes, then even an eGo battery is going to only last about a day. If you're using a mini cigarette sized battery, then 12 hours is great. If you are using a battery with more than 1000mAh capacity like a larger eGo or 18650 mod, then I would suspect cheap batteries.

In any case, buying a couple of new batteries is still way less expensive than cigarettes, but you'll still have to wait for the mailman.

 

[NGIB]

Buy spare batteries?

I have backups for my backups and I see having only 2 batteries a sure way to hit a wall. If "weak" batteries is all it takes to get you smoking again, you weren't ready to stop anyway...

 

[dragonladee]

I notice that over time the same thing happens to my sealed bats but that is months into their use.

It might be helpful to post the hardware setup you are using so that you can get some recommendations on a fix or an alternative that performs better before you buy again.

For example, the hardware I use benefits from using a tissue, a toothpick, and some rubbing alcohol on the contacts....sometimes the get a slight buildup of juice on them and can't make the proper connection.

Don't give up! It takes most people some trial and error to find their vaping sweet spot. Even having to buy totally new hardware setup won't be more than one carton of premium stinkies. Once you do find what works for you and you only have to stock up on supplies is when you will see the real savings, and your health is worth the trouble until then