Deep cycling batteries is bad?

[Vaep]

I just read in a thread that its bad to 'deep cycle' your battery..which means using your battery till its dead, then charge..

What about the different types of batteries ie Lithium-ion or Nickle-Mag??

I always thought using up all the battery juice was the healthiest for your battery.... now this guy is telling me its "not smart" to do with lithium bats....true?

 

[Rickajho]

Lithium batteries have two important voltages: Never charge them above 4.2 volts. Never discharge them below 3.2 volts. (For the sake of not confusing this I'll leave the 2.5 volt ok batteries out of this for now.) Charging the batteries over voltage or running them under voltage is when bad things start happening to Li-On battery chemistry, which results in internal breakdown of the battery, which can lead to accidents like battery vents.

If you have any APV - even the most basic eGo battery - they have protection circuits built in that shut the battery down when it hits 3.2 volts. You can't vape an eGo battery dead, you can only vape it until it shuts itself off at the safe low limit.

If you are using a mech mod there is no electronic circuit monitoring this. You have to pay attention to what is going on with your device and exercise care to not vape the batteries under voltage.

It sounds like you are confusing Li-On batteries with "rules" that used to apply to NiCad technology, and to a much lesser degree NiMh batteries. That's not what we are using here. There is no penalty if you put a partially discharged Li-On battery on a charger. They don't have a memory effect like NiCad does, and it neither shortens their overall life span or run times. And you never want to fully drain any Li-On battery - that's one of the worst things you could do to it.

 

[Jazzman]

It depends on what the definition of "Deep Cycle" is. If you have a regulated mod and vape until it won't vape any more (low battery cutoff on the mod), then that is just fine and won't do any damage and the battery is being used within it's specification (the battery is only drained to 20% of it's total charge). If you are using a mech, without a regulating device like a Kick, there is no low battery cutoff and it is up to you to not discharge below 20% charge capacity. This is 3.2v for Lithium Ion batteries. If you go below that voltage level you risk doing permanent damage to the battery. Draining below 20% charge capacity also risks venting of the battery and could be quite dangerous, so care is warranted if using on an unregulated mech.

 

[WattWick]

How dead is dead? Most regulated mods will stop at 3.2 or more. I doubt any mech mod will give a satisfying vape at that low a voltage. When I pull batteries from my mechs, they're at the very lowest at 3.5v. I can't be bothered worrying about it.

I believe we are mistreating our batteries worse by keeping them always ready to vape at full charge. At least with LiPos, that's one of the cardinal sins. Not sure why one lithium chemistry would differ greatly from another in that respect. Still, I don't worry about it. If mistreating a battery is what it takes... that's what it takes. My current ones have been in action for about 10 months now. That's more than I would expect any battery to last given the number of cycles they've been put through in that time. Still they hold a charge fairly well. Hopefully until the new purple 18350 Efests are released.

Edit: I see this tab has been left open for a while... already answered in the meantime.

 

[Vaep]

thanks for clearing that up guys!

 

[volume control]

Lithium batteries have the longest life span when recharged between 60 and 80%. The lower a lithium batt is the harder it has to work to charge and discharge. Nimh batteries arent used for ecigs that i know of, but they prefer full cycle as they have a memory effect when not used that way