Charging question

[Harvestry of Ghosts]

I've been using the passthrough since my kit arrived and am just now charging my batteries.

I have one in the usb charger and the other in the wall charger. The light on the wall charger is green & the usb is red.

I read in the little booklet that came with the set that the initial charge time is 8hrs, but do/should I charge them both for that long? Or just until they turn green?

Also... once they turn green is it okay to leave them plugged in? Are they float chargers or trickle chargers?

 

[Adrenalynn]

When they turn green, they're good to go.

There's really no "float" or "trickle" concept for the Lithium chemistries. The microcontroller signals their level, and they get a charge, or they don't. Their self-discharge is high but still substantially less than lead-acid type batteries where you need to constantly trickle them.

So the answer is: It's fine to leave them on the charger. The two mcu's will communicate and "do the right thing"

 

[Blue Skies]

When they turn green, they're good to go.

There's really no "float" or "trickle" concept for the Lithium chemistries. The microcontroller signals their level, and they get a charge, or they don't. Their self-discharge is high but still substantially less than lead-acid type batteries where you need to constantly trickle them.

So the answer is: It's fine to leave them on the charger. The two mcu's will communicate and "do the right thing"

Thanks for this. I was curious about the same thing as I didn't know if leaving them on the charger would have ill effects.

 

[Adrenalynn]

No problem, glad it's helpful. Battery chemistries have really come a long way - and this isn't even the best-of-the-best of them, but handling, storage, charging, cycling have all changed dramatically over the last ten years.

 

[Harvestry of Ghosts]

I know that when I have fully charged batteries in my Wii remotes, that they go dead FAST if I don't alternate between controllers.

Is it the same with these? Best to alternate between two batteries until they are both done, and then charge them both back to full again?

Thank you for your previous reply as well.

 

[Adrenalynn]

It really depends on several factors with your Wiimote - what battery chemistry are you using in it? And do you ever even look at it hard when not in use?

The Wiimote is an "always on" device to some extent. The accelerometer is always on.

If you're using lead-acid AA's ("Alkalines") then they have a pretty high self-discharge rate. If you use NiMH, the self-discharge is a bit lower.

These are Lithium-Ion chemistry, the self discharge isn't nearly as high. I've had an XL battery sitting on the bench untouched for two weeks, and it still vapes fine just now. Unless you're a _really_ casual vapor, there's no way it would self-discharge before you switched to it. I kill 2-3 regulars/day or 1++ XL/day (both autos). There's no way you'd see more than a few percent self-discharge in a day.

Sorry - my replies my be TMI: Too Much Information.

 

[Harvestry of Ghosts]

The Wii remote batteries I use are NiMHs and they go from full charge to completely dead within 2-3 days if left in an unused remote. But if I rotate the use of the three remotes I have, all three of them last quite a long time before dying.

I was just wondering if the V4L automatic batteries are the same way. Should I rotate in order to keep each one lasting longer before a recharge is needed? Or is that pretty much unnecessary?

 

[antithesis]

i wondered that about batt rotation too, and i just do it.. even if not needed. like today i have a shorty and a reg in my carry case, in case one goes dead, the other is there. when shorty 1 dies, i charge it, and put shorty 2 in my case. same with the regs, 1 and 2. whether or not it's a NEEDED thing, i just do it in hopes of extending my batt life if i'm not using and charging the same one over and over.

 

[V4Lis4me]

personally i have 4 reg batts in 1 day rotations


use 1 a day, recharging with the pcc....
at the end of the night, i fully charge it (on the wall charger) and put it at the end of the rotation...

next day use batt #2...
same deal as above...

etc....etc....