Battery Safety - When To Replace?

[scrappydoo]

I have just acquired my first mech mod and RBA. Safety is important to me, so I have opted for an 18500 mod with a PTC fuse, along with batteries from an authorised reseller. I will also be using a kick.

I have read the section on batteries here on ECF. It is an excellent resource and a must-read. I would recommend it to anyone new to mods. It has really opened my eyes to the finer details of battery safety. For example, I discovered that one of my normal habits (re. battery storage) is highly dangerous.

I do, however, have a question about battery replacement. How often should I replace my batteries? I am using AW IMR 18500s. I also have a multimeter. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[silvertorch]

I refer many to Baditudes collection of blog posts on this forum when questions arise =)
These 3 in particular when it comes to batteries.

(9) Battery Basics for Mods: IMR or Protected ICR?
(12) Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries - Part I
(11) Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries - Part II

The Kick 2 will pulse your vape when the battery gets low and stop altogether when at 3.2V or lower. (Evolv #6)

The general rule:
4.2v is 100%
3.2v is 0% (though batteries should not be used to 3.2v as it will decrease their lifespan and anything below that is dangerous)

I baby my batteries and usually swap them out at 3.7v-3.6v range. Which is about 8 hours at work on my Provari running on an 18650.

 

[p7willm]

Using a kick in a mechanical mod kind of turns it in to a VV/VW mod. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Since a mechanical mod is nothing more than a battery with a switch you can do stupid things, like stick a .05 ohm coil on it. Or keep using the battery below 3.2 volts, not generally dangerous but bad for the life of the battery.

The kick looks out for you a little. It will not work with a low ohm coil, I think it requires 1 ohm, and it also stops when the voltage of the battery drops.

The kick and the fuse is kind of a belt and suspenders approach. The electronics in the kick will not allow a large amperage to be used and the fuse will burn out if a large amperage is called for.

As the batteries age they will hold less of a charge and you will have to recharge them more often. Replace them when constantly recharging them pisses you off more than spending on a new one.

If you decide to take the kick out because you want to go low ohms be careful and ask more questions.

 

[scrappydoo]

I appreciate the great replies. How long is a battery last before it no longer holds a proper charge? The reason I ask is because I am approaching this like I would maybe a hard drive for data storage. For critical data storage, I don't use a drive over three years old as the likelihood of failure is much greater, even though there are no evident problems. At what point does a battery need to be replaced, or can it be used indefinitely within certain parameters? How bad would voltage drop need to be?

I have no intention of sub-ohming right now, but should that change I will definitely follow your advice and ask around first. I may remove the kick at some point but only when I know exactly what I'm doing. To be honest, with 1.6ohm+ resistances, there seems little point.

Thanks again for the guidance. The vaping community never ceases to amaze me. It has given me the confidence to take my first steps armed with the knowledge to both enjoy my new hobby and stay safe