Kill my battery before charging?
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Hi mcgatson - ego batteries are lithium batteries, and don't have a "memory" like other batteries so don't need to be fully discharged. You'll actually get more life out of them by charging them before they fully discharge.
Kiwivap is right. It is definitely better not to kill the battery before recharging. You can recharge it at any time without harming the battery or affecting it's longevity.
you dont need to worry about fully discharging them because lithium ion batteries dont have a "memory" but what you should do is have an overextended charge during your first charge. Lithium batteries tend to not know how full they can be charged. Its why when you first plug them in the say they're fully charged within two minutes when in reality they are closer to 65% -75%. Just correct this problem by overcharging it for about 8 hours. (Which is severe overkill) I usually charge them about 4 maybe 5 hours depending how many mah it is.
I only use 650 ego passthrus. First 11 months- drained them. second 11 months- I only use first 3 hours. They're all FINE.
Now THAT is interesting. How does the charger deal with that since they are auto-shutoff?
OP: I've always heard it's better to charge them early. Ask the vape shop guy why he said that. If you don't get a good answer, consider the source suspect (Could be just some schmuck employee that gave you a wrong answer. Or he's right and has a reason I don't know about.)
I actually researched lithium batteries for this reason and a few others. The reality is that it is better to charge them less and often than more and farther between. Reason? The charging heats up the battery. Longer charging more heat and less life of the battery. I don't think the chargers *automatically* shut down. If they did there would be no worries about them exploding from over charging. Yes the green light will come on to show that they are fully charged but it is not shutting them off.
I was recommended this by the manufacturers myself but again my ego v is said to be Li- polymer type.
Good description on the charge-frequently thing.
Shut off? Most do. The concern is the heat buildup during charging and a fault/problem with the battery or a charger failure. They trickle charge to keep em topped off when they reach full charge. That's not to say you should leave em in the charger after fully charged. However, if they didn't shut off...all batteries would explode. The reality is they don't ALL explode when left on a charger. Again, not to say it's a good idea to leave them on.
I suppose "Off" is an imprecise term. Sorry.
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Yeah...I've seen that in the instructions too. I've read on here that there's no need to leave it on...but I followed the instructions too.
This is the 1st time I've seen an explanation for it...
There's probably something in "battery university" somewhere......
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The eGo 650mah battery is Lithium ion. Lithium ion batteries last longer if you charge them early rather than letting them deep discharge. Longest life will be obtained by charging them when they reach 6.2v. I like to charge mine sometime after they reach 6.5 or so. Having a built in voltage display is a good feature for and ecig.
For the skinny on Li-ion batteries, use and care, look here. There's a wealth of information that all vapers should know.
How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University
Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries
For the skinny on Li-ion batteries, use and care, look here. There's a wealth of information that all vapers should know.
How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University
Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries
The Lithium Ion charge cycle does not allow for "overcharging" or extended charge times. The chargers do effectively shutoff, even though there is a minute amount of current still flowing.
When you start charging a battery, the charger starts in constant current mode. It will delivery a fixed amount of current until the battery voltage reaches the threshold at which the charger will switch modes. This threshold should ideally be 4.2v, but many chargers switch modes a little early. At that time the charger switches into constant voltage mode; only providing enough current to hold the battery at full voltage. This is also called the saturation charge. If you were to remove all current the instant that the battery reached 4.2v then after a short time the voltage will drop under full charge. Saturation is needed to ensure that the final charge voltage will not fall off. The charger will adjust the current in order to maintain ~4.2v. Eventually the current will be low enough that it is not worth continuing until "zero" current; diminishing returns. This is usually at around 10% of the initial constant current amount. This is the point at which the light turns green and the charge current stops. No additional time is needed, the saturation charge is complete. It is ready to vape.
All chargers that I have ever seen measured have a small amount of current that will flow after the light turns green. By small I mean usually less than 250uA (0.00025A). This current is irrelevant and would take months, or years, to have any effect on the charge, and that only if there was ZERO self-discharge.
At what point to charge the batteries?....I have a couple if lengthy posts on the subject that I think add a little logic to the subject vise just measuring life in terms if # of charge cycles. Search "partial discharge" to find them.
When you start charging a battery, the charger starts in constant current mode. It will delivery a fixed amount of current until the battery voltage reaches the threshold at which the charger will switch modes. This threshold should ideally be 4.2v, but many chargers switch modes a little early. At that time the charger switches into constant voltage mode; only providing enough current to hold the battery at full voltage. This is also called the saturation charge. If you were to remove all current the instant that the battery reached 4.2v then after a short time the voltage will drop under full charge. Saturation is needed to ensure that the final charge voltage will not fall off. The charger will adjust the current in order to maintain ~4.2v. Eventually the current will be low enough that it is not worth continuing until "zero" current; diminishing returns. This is usually at around 10% of the initial constant current amount. This is the point at which the light turns green and the charge current stops. No additional time is needed, the saturation charge is complete. It is ready to vape.
All chargers that I have ever seen measured have a small amount of current that will flow after the light turns green. By small I mean usually less than 250uA (0.00025A). This current is irrelevant and would take months, or years, to have any effect on the charge, and that only if there was ZERO self-discharge.
At what point to charge the batteries?....I have a couple if lengthy posts on the subject that I think add a little logic to the subject vise just measuring life in terms if # of charge cycles. Search "partial discharge" to find them.
Ok first off, thanks ya'll for all of the replies. I'll stop killing my battery before I charge it. As for the vape shop guy, he's the owner and I do plan on asking him about his reasoning the next time I see him.
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