Dead AW

[snork]

I have some relatively new AW 2200 mAh 18650s. The other day I put one on the charger; it didn't register. Tried a couple other chargers with the same result, it's as if I'm not even putting a battery in. I assume it's dead and ready for recycling.

As far as I know this battery has never been abused, stressed, overdischarged etc. There are no visual clues as to its death. Its three mates are going strong.

I'm not surprised this happened, I've been through a lot of batteries but never had one go so suddenly and inexplicably inert. What sorts of physical explanations would account for it?

 

[Mooch]

Do you have a meter you can use to check the battery's voltage? Some chargers won't charge a battery that has dropped below a certain voltage. Which chargers are you using?

 

[snork]

Do you have a meter you can use to check the battery's voltage? Some chargers won't charge a battery that has dropped below a certain voltage. Which chargers are you using?

Yes, it reads .37 volts on the meter. !
I have no idea how it got that way.

I use a VP1, a VP2, and a WP6

 

[Mooch]

Whoa....yea, that battery is dead.

It's possible that the mod malfunctioned and drained the battery between uses. Or, the battery might have had an internal manufacturing fault. This is quite rare, but it can happen.

 

[snork]

Whoa....yea, that battery is dead.

It's possible that the mod malfunctioned and drained the battery between uses. Or, the battery might have had an internal manufacturing fault. This is quite rare, but it can happen.

I think the former is unlikely, I use mechs and certainly would have smelled the discharge. So leaving a manufacturing fault...I know I have the right guy on the phone here...is there a cutaway view of an IMR battery out there somewhere which might show components which could fail or could it be an improper mixture of chemicals?

I'm just really curious.

 

[edyle]

I think the former is unlikely, I use mechs and certainly would have smelled the discharge. So leaving a manufacturing fault...I know I have the right guy on the phone here...is there a cutaway view of an IMR battery out there somewhere which might show components which could fail or could it be an improper mixture of chemicals?

I'm just really curious.

if the wrapper has a tear in it and it's in a mech, it could cause autofiring, and if the connection is poor because of the wrapper (as if it's a firing continuously through a 10 ohm coil) it might just drain down quietly overnight without you noticing anything.

 

[Mooch]

I think the former is unlikely, I use mechs and certainly would have smelled the discharge. So leaving a manufacturing fault...I know I have the right guy on the phone here...is there a cutaway view of an IMR battery out there somewhere which might show components which could fail or could it be an improper mixture of chemicals?

I'm just really curious.

Battery University has a decent cutaway...
Types of Battery Cells; Cylindrical Cell, Button Cell, Pouch Cell

Pretty well anything inside a Li-Ion battery can cause a failure depending on the conditions. Here's a bit of info on failure mechanisms for Li-Ion batteries...

http://www.sae.org/events/gim/presentations/2012/stephensbattelle.pdf

Lithium Battery Failures

 

[snork]

if the wrapper has a tear in it and it's in a mech, it could cause autofiring, and if the connection is poor because of the wrapper (as if it's a firing continuously through a 10 ohm coil) it might just drain down quietly overnight without you noticing anything.

I considered this to be the best possibility for a user-caused explanation, so I went over the battery with a fine toothed comb and found no defects of any kind.
I guess I'll just live with this with the knowledge that out of >100 vaping batteries in my lifetime, one mystery battery is pretty good.