Best battery practices question

[frazz]

Hello all,

i have a question about battery practices. I am used to my provari and just purchased a REO grand. With the provari, it shuts me down before the battery discharges too low. So my questions are:

1. Do you all take the battery out and meter it every now and again... If so a what point do you stop using it?

2. Is there a noticeable change in vapor production as the battery discharges?

thanks.

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

Hi frazz
1: You can do that, in order to learn the "feel" as a battery discharges...once you've done it a few times, you'll be able to "tell" when it's time to change the battery before you've run them down to nothing without pulling out the multimeter.
2: Yes, but not normally that bothersome until it gets down to about 3.7v.

Best practices? It's different for everyone. However, some vape halfway through their bottle of juice, then replace the battery whether it needs it or not. That way, their running at 4.2v-3.9v most of the time.

 

[Commie]

2. Very noticeable change. However, it takes me a while to discharge an 18650. There's definitely a difference between 4.2v and 3.6.

1. I only meter it occasionally for my own curiosity. Usually I carry 2 PVs (to switch flavors and just in case one blows up). Both get fresh batteries in the morning. Reo is usually down to 3.9 volt by the evening, and VMod is down to 4.1, since I end up using VMod less, and it has a higher resistance coil in it.

 

[frazz]

Thanks for the replies...one more question...what is the minimum voltage an 18650 should be discharged to before being considered unsafe?

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

I think it is 3.25, but I could be wrong. Just to be safe, I would try to keep it at 3.5. Seriously, by the time you get to 3.7 you'll notice a considerable difference and will probably want to change it before it gets to 3.5.

Edit: to be honest...I've discharged my 18350s much lower than that by accident on a couple of occasions and only one wouldn't recharge and ended up being discarded. See Loren's post below. He knows.

 

[ltrainer]

The people at the candle power forum state that the batteries can be run down to 2.5v without doing damage to the battery. They are battery gurus. You'll be getting a very weak, bad vape way before you drain your battery that far. When you start not liking the gape take a reading off your battery to see where it's at. For most people that will be about 3.7-3.8v, not under load.