How long should a battery last before it needs replaced?

[mill4023]

I've only used batteries from Smokeless Image.
I started with the standard skinny 78mm batteries and liked them, but with how long the charge lasted, I had to rotate 3 of them. 2 charging while I used the other. And most of them seemed to die permanently after about 3 or 4 months.

Then I switched to the X2 passthroughs and I've been really happy with those, but I have one that is about 6 months old and suddenly stopped charging. The light comes on and it says it's charging, but even after hours of charging, I try to use it and it's dead. This wasn't a gradual thing. It went from lasting for hours on a charge to not charging at all.

Is this just a normal lifetime for a battery?

Do you have a battery that has lasted a longer than 6 months?

 

[Kopfstimmen]

Hopefully you follow the rule "always have backups for your backups". If you do, if a battery suddenly dies, you still have something to use while you wait for a delivery of a new one.

Regarding the not charging, you can make sure all of the involved threads are clean. Gunk buildup can keep a battery from charging.

Regarding a normal lifetime, that can vary. All of my batteries have been in use for over 6 months. I may be just lucky, though.

 

[Baditude]

I was cleaning out some stuff a couple of weeks ago and happened to come across one of my original Smokeless Image X2 650 mAh batteries with one of their clearos attached. It still had some juice in the clearo, so out of curiosity I clicked the battery on. It still worked! Took a drag. Still produces vapor!! This battery was purchased in April of 2012 and likely hasn't been used in 1.5 years.

I didn't use it any more, and I don't even know if I still have a charger for it. But I was still amused that it had held a charge that long. I switched about a month into vaping from the Smokeless Image batteries to the AltSmoke Silver Bullet and BB mechanical mods.

_________________________________________________________​

The X2 and Volt batteries are literally an eGo class battery with 808 threading on them. I've read that they can be expected to have 250 - 300 charges on them, and then you can expect capacity and ability to hold a charge to drop drastically. So 6 - 8 months of daily use seems about right.

When I began vaping, I had four 78mm Volts, a 1300 mAh X2 passthru, and a couple of 600 mAh X2 batteries. So the point being, as Kopfstimmen was saying above, the number one rule in vapor's lore is to have "backups for your backups".

__________________________________________________________​

The reason I switched from the the Smokeless Image batteries to using mods like the Silver Bullet and BB is they use replaceable rechargeable batteries. These batteries are cheaper to buy ($6 - 10) than the ego-class batteries and last much longer. I still have a couple of my original AW 18650 IMR batteries that I purchased for my Silver Bullet still in rotation for my Provari. That's 1.5 years in use.

The 18650 size battery used in the Silver Bullet lasts an entire day in use before requiring recharging. The smaller 14500 battery used in the BB lasts about 6 hours, but since its the size of a AA battery its easy to carry a couple of extras in a plastic battery case and keep them in my pocket, which could keep me covered all day.

I also had many more options in juice attachments with larger capacity. The cartotanks in the first pic below both hold 6 ml of juice.



My first mods, initially a black BB and white Silver Bullet and then adding a blue Provari.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Battery life is measured in the number of charge cycles, not time. A battery that is charged and used only once a week might last years. One that is charged and used daily might only last a few months, especially if it has a capacity of 650mAh or less. One of those might actually be charged more than once a day.

Another factor that can decrease battery life is over charging. Most of our batteries are considered "fully charged" at 4.2v. However, some chargers might take that to 4.25 or 4.3v. That difference is significant in that it can cut the battery life in half (again, as measured in charge cycles). If we had programmable chargers that allowed us to tell the charger to stop charging at 4.1, the battery life essentially doubles.

My Nitecore charger faithfully stops right at 4.2v. About 30 minutes after coming off the charger, the voltage drops to 4.1v.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Good info above. 250- 300 recharges but batt life/ performance usually degrade before that point. Realize also fully discharging the batts can have a negative affect on longevity. In my experience it's and miss with these mass produced batteries.

 

[wv2win]

Good info above. 250- 300 recharges but batt life/ performance usually degrade before that point. Realize also fully discharging the batts can have a negative affect on longevity. In my experience it's and miss with these mass produced batteries.

Agreed, the eGo and stick batteries typically only have a 250 recharge life which is the lowest/weakest of any on the market. If you move up to a better model with replaceable batteries like a Vamo or Zmax, these batteries have a recharge life of 800 - 1000 recharges or 3 times longer than the stick batteries and they cost half as much.

 

[Fred Garvin]

In my personal experience, I agree with the 6 month estimate. I use 900mah Apollo batteries, change daily. Fresh one and charge the other...so each is used every other day. About the 6 month mark, they start to not last all day or produce as much power, so I replace them.

 

[awsum140]

I use a mix of 78mm, X2, Spinner and "mods" all day, every day, but rely on the 78mm a lot of the time when my hands are busy. I keep six in rotation as well as keeping a couple of spare pairs on my shelf. They perform well, but don't last for more than a ml or so of liquid before needing a recharge. That said, I usually replace the 78mm batteries on a two to three month basis. They, literally, all get charged almost daily, so that is roughly 100 charge cycles.

My X2 batteries don't get used nearly as much, nor do my Spinners. My X2s are all well over a year old and have been recharged, roughly, 40 times each at this point. They aren't quite as good as when brand new, but still provide great service. The Spinners are too new to comment on, yet.

The "mods" all use 18650 or 18350 batteries and I have plenty of those. Some of them are up to 50 charge cycles at this point. I do track charge cycles on the X2s, Spinners and "mod" batteries. They are still performing very well.

As a rule of thumb you can expect 300 charge cycles from a lithium battery. That assumes a high quality battery that gets charged properly and never taken below a nominal 3.0 volt level. Technically, that lowest safe voltage is 2.7 volts. There is some anecdotal evidence that recharging a lithium battery before it reaches it's rated discharge voltage improves its life. I do question that since the overall power produced is, probably, quite close to being the same, either way. (less time, higher voltage, means less power from a specific charge) I think the biggest factor, beyond charge/discharge parameters, is the quality of the battery.

 

[MadHacker]

myself I have 3 EgoTwist 1000mah batteries that I use with my wife...
so they get rotated somewhat.
I figure when 1 only last me 1/2 a day ... I'll order a Provari that everyone is raving about
by then I figured I'd have saved enough money to justify it...
so I estimate about 3 months or so...

 

[dice57]

Using 18490's, one will usually last me a day at work, but have 3 that I rotate through. Thinking of getting a few 18650's and the extended end cap for the Provari. Now that I'm burning some serious vape in my rba, turning into a juice and battery hog. Found that after I put in a fresh build, I can suck a battery and a 4ml tank of juice dry in no time at all. lol, got to reduce me nic level again, seeing stars, purple hearts and green clovers, and I don't even like lucky charms. lmao

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

FWIW, I have two cheapo VV battery units I got from [that site which shall not be mentioned outside of the FastTech thread]. I've had them for about two months. They're 1100mAh nominal capacity and have been charged semi-daily since arriving. Each has gotten roughly 30 charges.

One of them is already starting to show signs of charge cycle fatigue. It won't hold a charge all day like it used to.

Buy quality batteries. Charge them using quality chargers, and always have backups.

The best performing Ego style batteries I have are a Kanger Evod battery and a rebranded Vision, both fixed voltage. Both are rated at 900mAh and I have found that to be conservative. They'll both maintain their charges all day and rarely go on the charger more often that three times a week. They were ~$20.00 each.

 

[White Rabbit]

mill4023,

You specifically ask about the X2 passthrough I believe. That happened to me and it was the cable, not the battery. If you have any other standard USB cables around, try another cable. SI products are among the best 808 devices around. Although I don't use my X2s often anymore, I keep them charged and they are over a year old and work perfectly for short trips out and testing flavors with a drip atomizer.

You can PM Imagine and she might just send you another cable, or a new X2 if you ask nicely.

The Wabbit

 

[nomeX]

I've numbered my batteries and am keeping track of my cycles. So far #1 is going to be on it's 3rd.

 

[DivideMyDestiny]

Have used my Vea since June of 2012 and it's still going strong. The batteries still get me through a day and I'm a fairly heavy vaper. These are the only 650mah batteries I've ever owned that actually lasted, but I haven't tried other companies on this forum yet. My fasttech egos had to be sent back because they'd only last a few hours.

 

[dusty123]

The same thing happened to me before , batteries didn't last more than a couple of months , i decided to try a new brand and i found about The Vaporin Brand they told me not to charge the batteries more than 4 hours this is one of the main reasons why the Batteries burn and stop working.
Right now my batteries work just fine and i have no problem at all.

 

[mill4023]

mill4023,

You specifically ask about the X2 passthrough I believe. That happened to me and it was the cable, not the battery. If you have any other standard USB cables around, try another cable. SI products are among the best 808 devices around. Although I don't use my X2s often anymore, I keep them charged and they are over a year old and work perfectly for short trips out and testing flavors with a drip atomizer.

You can PM Imagine and she might just send you another cable, or a new X2 if you ask nicely.

The Wabbit

Thanks everyone.
It's not the cable because I actually have 3 X2's. One 900mah and two 1300's. The 900 and one of the 1300's are still charging just fine on this cable. It's only one of the 1300's having a problem.
I double checked and the one with the problem is actually 5 months old.
The other 1300 is the same age and no issues.
The 900 is 7 months old and no issues.
All of these are charged at least daily.

It has been awhile since I cleaned these, so I will do that and give it another shot before giving up on it.

 

[wv2win]

Have used my Vea since June of 2012 and it's still going strong. The batteries still get me through a day and I'm a fairly heavy vaper. These are the only 650mah batteries I've ever owned that actually lasted, but I haven't tried other companies on this forum yet. My fasttech egos had to be sent back because they'd only last a few hours.

For 95% of vapers, a 650 mAh battery will not last 8 - 12 hours, or a typical day unless they are a very light vaper. A heavy vaper, someone who uses it every 10 minutes on average might get 6 hours out of a 650 mAh battery. I'm guessing you are a light vaper.
Rule thumb is 100 mAh = 1 hour of light to medium vaping.