itaste vv V3 and Vision Spinner Batteries and Cell phone charger

[StrahmNoMore]

Okay, so if this is a stupid and dangerous thing I have going, I hope someone stops me before I break something and/or hurt myself. My itaste VV v3 wasn't taking a charge, so I took it into the vape shop tonight and after checking it out, the dude told me I had fried my charging cable. He offered to sell me a new one for 6 bucks but told me it would be okay to use an old cell phone charger if I had one. Seems I had read somewhere you could destroy vape batteries doing this. Just the same, I figured if the thing was dead anyway, might as well give it a shot rather than blow 6 bucks. So took an old Kyocera cell phone charger and sure enough, it seems to be charging the itaste right up, no problem. I am actually vaping off the pass-through as I write. Is this okay? If so, it opens up some new possiblities as the only charger I had for my spinners is a USB, I could then connect it to the wall plug in from the Kyocera charger and charge that way as well correct? is this safe?? My laptop is getting slow from having to leave it on all the time to charge the spinners lol.

 

[AndriaD]

What I've heard in the vv3 thread is that the vv3 should be charged using a 500mA current -- half an amp. That might be a standard for a lot of charging cables, but it would be a good idea to find out, if you can. Otherwise, you can buy 500mA USB-to-microUSB cables much cheaper than $6, I would think. All retail stores have a considerable markup, but vape shops seem worse than most in that regard.

If the cable you used is more than 500mA, it would work, but I think it might be risky for the health of the vv3 and/or anything around it, should it go into thermal runaway -- a really ugly, fiery occurrence, from the video I saw of a battery doing that.

Andria

 

[KenD]

Any usb cable should be fine. The actual charger might not. You need to check the specifications of the original charger and compare it to the phone charger. Also, it's usually recommended not to charge through the computer's usb port. The current can fluctuate and a computer can be expensive to repair if something goes wrong.

 

[EBates]

Yes your USB phone charger is ok to use for charging your ecig batteries. But do not leave them charging while unattended. Most battery failures occur while charging.
And do not use your computer as a battery charger.

 

[StrahmNoMore]

Ok, so then a question. When I bought the spinners, all I got was a usb charger so would it be ok to connect said sub charger to the wall plug in that came with the phone? Thank you all for the info. Sounds like I shouldn't leave the vv in the phone charger while I sleep or alone with the dog then?

Yes your USB phone charger is ok to use for charging your ecig batteries. But do not leave them charging while unattended. Most battery failures occur while charging.
And do not use your computer as a battery charger.

Any usb cable should be fine. The actual charger might not. You need to check the specifications of the original charger and compare it to the phone charger. Also, it's usually recommended not to charge through the computer's usb port. The current can fluctuate and a computer can be expensive to repair if something goes wrong.

What I've heard in the vv3 thread is that the vv3 should be charged using a 500mA current -- half an amp. That might be a standard for a lot of charging cables, but it would be a good idea to find out, if you can. Otherwise, you can buy 500mA USB-to-microUSB cables much cheaper than $6, I would think. All retail stores have a considerable markup, but vape shops seem worse than most in that regard.

If the cable you used is more than 500mA, it would work, but I think it might be risky for the health of the vv3 and/or anything around it, should it go into thermal runaway -- a really ugly, fiery occurrence, from the video I saw of a battery doing that.

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

I can't really visualize what you mean, from what you wrote... but I do know that it's extremely unwise to leave it charging unattended. It's one of those kinds of things that might never happen... but even once is too much, and you never want it to happen. If you're present and some highly unlikely -- but possible -- calamity occurs, you can perhaps take steps to minimize the danger/damage, or at the very least be there to get your dog outside.

They don't usually take too long to charge, but this is exactly why more than 1 setup is necessary; you need one to vape while one charges. Or use a mod that takes removable batteries, so batteries can charge while you use others. The vv3 of course can be used in pass-thru mode, but it does take a long time to charge if you're using it constantly.

Andria

 

[StrahmNoMore]

Hi Andria, thank you for your replies. What I mean is, when I got the Itaste they gave me a USB cord to charge it off the computer and also a wall power source to connect the sub cable to if I didn't want to use my computer to charge it. Now, I also have 2 vision spinner batteries that only have a usb cable to charge. My question is, could I then charge the vision spinners by connecting their usb cable to the wall power source that came with the itaste and be safe? Sounds like nothing is fool proof here!

 

[AndriaD]

Hi Andria, thank you for your replies. What I mean is, when I got the Itaste they gave me a USB cord to charge it off the computer and also a wall power source to connect the sub cable to if I didn't want to use my computer to charge it. Now, I also have 2 vision spinner batteries that only have a usb cable to charge. My question is, could I then charge the vision spinners by connecting their usb cable to the wall power source that came with the itaste and be safe? Sounds like nothing is fool proof here!

Yes, I think so. I use the wall wart that came with my original eRoll, for one of my vv3s, and they're apparently entirely compatible, so I would think that the wall wart that came with the vv3 could also be used with other ecigs -- unless they're the "ego-type" which need to have a cable screwed into their 510 connector to charge; I think those charge at a lower amperage. I don't know which type the Spinners are; my Smok ARO Winder is that kind, the charge connector screws into the 510 and then gets plugged into a USB wall wart.

I think it's really the device that determines at what rate it charges, but apparently the problem could arise if that particular circuitry should be somehow defective, allowing the battery to overcharge. As I said, it's by no means a common occurrence, it's just one of those things that even once is far too much.

Andria

 

[StrahmNoMore]

Ok, well I did some research and I think both things are okay. Those spinners are ego, but I've found information that says their USB screw in charger is compatible with the itaste' wall charger (500 mah). After charging the itaste with the Kyocera phone charger, it works better than it has since I first got it. Which leads me to believe, my problem came from computer charging it. I bet that's what fried the cord.

 

[Cgrant]

Used a few different power bricks with my spinner and have had no issues in the past month.

 

[StrahmNoMore]

Well, I was charging my spinners strictly off my laptop and I bet that messed up their charger as well (they seemed to be losing life-not keeping a good charge) like my itaste was, before it got resurrected with the new charger. So I will probably exchange their old charger tomorrow and from now on charge from the wall only.

 

[Cgrant]

Well, I was charging my spinners strictly off my laptop and I bet that messed up their charger as well (they seemed to be losing life-not keeping a good charge) like my itaste was, before it got resurrected with the new charger. So I will probably exchange their old charger tomorrow and from now on charge from the wall only.

Charging anything off a laptop is mediocre in my experience. Slow, and doesn't hold a good charge

 

[LondonGirl]

The wall plug you get with a phone often puts out more power than the ecig charger can deal with. The output will normally be written on the plug. For example, my iphone plug's output is 2amps, but my ecig charger (lead) can only cope with an input of 1amp.

You can get a wall plug specifically for an ecig, which will have a USB port so you don't have to use your computer for charging.

It is disappointing that the itaste charger lead and manual do not state the requirements for charging. Unless anyone knows otherwise for certain, I would suggest it's best to charge it using a typical ecig charger rather than risk overpowering it with a phone charger.

 

[KenD]

The wall plug you get with a phone often puts out more power than the ecig charger can deal with. The output will normally be written on the plug. For example, my iphone plug's output is 2amps, but my ecig charger (lead) can only cope with an input of 1amp.

You can get a wall plug specifically for an ecig, which will have a USB port so you don't have to use your computer for charging.

It is disappointing that the itaste charger lead and manual do not state the requirements for charging. Unless anyone knows otherwise for certain, I would suggest it's best to charge it using a typical ecig charger rather than risk overpowering it with a phone charger.

I agree. It's not safe to use just any old charger, you need to make sure that it doesn't put out too much current.

 

[Stephenst4470]

Current to eGo batteries are limited to 420 ma by the regulator in the eGo charging dongle, it doesn't matter which 5v USB source you use, as long as it's at least 500ma.
The iTaste should have a similar regulator built in to it as well, it shouldn't have any issues with any 5v usb wall wart. Computer usb ports are parasitic, the more devices plugged in to the usb bus, the less available current. Typically only 200ma or so is available after the mouse/keyboard etc. leading to the extremely long charge times.
The actual charging current applied to the battery is controlled by the regulation circuit in the eGo dongle, or the one built in to the iTaste in it's particular instance, NOT by the available current rating of the wall wart. The usb wall warts that come with some of the eGo kits out there are some of the worst, cheapest Chinese wall warts made, and are likely a bigger fire hazard then the battery itself. In short, your cell phone wall wart is fine.

There are fireproof charging bags that you can get that make charging while unattended much safer if a battery were to vent, like this one.