How many times can a battery be recharged before it should be replaced - for best results

[cicely54]

Hi everyone - another newbie! I have been vaping for about a year now and have settled on a brand I import from China to Australia. I buy pre prepared cartomisers with screw in batteries and my question relates to trying to find out other peoples experience about the number of times they recharge these types of batteries before they replace them with new ones. When the batteries are new the draw is very easy and the vapor plentiful. Like this: The draw gets less easy as time goes on until I'm having to suck pretty hard to get a result. I can buy short (standard analogue ciggie size) or long batteries, and I suspect the result overall is always better with the longer ones.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[DaveP]

Generally, you can count on 300 charges on a lithium ion battery, maybe more if you don't drain them to the cutoff point. Rotating 2 or three batteries or more is recommended to give them a rest between charges and uses. If you buy two batteries at once, you might find that one lasts much longer than the other based on charges). QC enters into this.

The draw has nothing to do with the battery itself, but the cartomizer will affect the draw. If you look at the battery connection on the bottom of the carto, you will see a hole and a cross slot. The cross slot is there to allow air to get to the hole. The center should protrude slightly from the outside ring. Compare one with good draw and one with tight draw. Also, with cartos, the filler expands with use and settles, creating a harder draw. When you screw on the carto, don't force it down tight or you will drive the center post up into the carto and tighten the draw. You just want a snug connection, not tight.

You should be able to prove this by changing to a new carto on the same battery when the draw gets tight.

 

[dormouse]

Atomizers have to be kept clean or the amount and taste of the vapor keeps degrading. Even if kept clean, atomizers can die or get weak - there is no fixed time period. If you use atomizers you should always have spares

Cartomizers (combined cart and atomizer) - if used with the best possible juice (which I find to me PG w/ 20% or less VG juices which are light and clear and drop no flavoring sediment) - I can get 7-10 days good use out of a cartomizer (for me that is 2-3 weeks because I alternate a pair). After that the flavor and drag are definitely degraded. Some clean and dry cartos to get extra use out of them but the result can be inconsistent. I am very careful to keep my cartomizers damp and not singe them. If they are singed a lot or badly, the taste will be ruined much sooner.

Batteries - manufacturers often say 300 recharges and one vendor says it is more like 150-200 recharges before a battery stops holding charge as well. And if you buy automatic batteries or any battery that has an open hole in the end, you have an much increased risk of killing them sooner with a juice leak (especially the auto batteries which have additional ways to be damaged).

 

[rwnielsen]

Welcome to the forum

You could try these. I had good luck with 2 of them, keeping 1 in the charger.
Your hard draw issue is pretty well covered above
Good luck

 

[markfm]

Sometimes you will build up a bit of gunk on the battery connector, and some connectors have a couple of small holes in the sides, just below the threading, to let air in. A little soak (2 - 3 minutes) of just the connector (not the main battery part, just the exposed connector) in alcohol (I just put the alcohol in the cap for the bottle it came in), then gently poke the holes with a thumbtack to clear anything out, followed by running the thumbtack between the outer connector wall and inner post, and, finally, wipe with a bit of tissue, can bring things back to life. I had to do this with my 808 PVs, every couple of weeks, to keep them in good shape; only takes a couple minutes total.

 

[shawnb2]

Some batteries (especially "auto" batteries) draw air up through the battery, so I've found it helpful to use compressed air to blow out any dust that might be accumulated around the battery threads. On most batteries you can also carefully pry off the end cap (that glows) and blow it out from that end too.

There are so many different batteries of differing sizes and qualities that it's hard to say how many charges the battery will last. Usually you will notice the battery gradually losing operating time, and sooner or later you'll get tired of having to switch them out to recharge!

I haven't had much luck with the smaller (cigarette-size) batteries, I had one stop working completely after less than 50 charges and the rest seem to last about half as long as new with around 150 charges. I must have cheap, low-quality batteries... but I opted to switch to a system with a much larger battery instead of shopping around and trying different brands of the smaller batteries.

 

[DaveP]

I have one Joye Ego battery that has lasted since May of 2010. I used it daily until I ordered two more to put into the rotation. The only Ego style battery I have had fail so far fried the MOSFET chip that regulates the voltage. The battery was still good, but the control circuitry fizzled out.

 

[cicely54]

Thank you all for your quick and helpful replies. I'm impressed!

 

[wv2win]

About 200 recharges is the typical limit for the expensive, small, proprietary batteries.

You can switch to non-proprietary batteries used in better models such as the E-Power or the GLV2 and they have rechargeablity rates of 1000+ recharges. Plus they only cost around $4 each.

 

[Mindfield]

It should also be noted that LiIon batteries like staying charged. The overall life span of a battery can be extended by frequent charging, so whenever you have a chance, charge it.