Need better batteries? Or is it me?

[PUREBRAD1]

I am currently using an Indulgence V3, running a pair of stacked 16340 "Indulgence" batteries (3V; 1000mAh) x2 and can't seem to get more than about 15 charges into them before the crap out. I use two pairs and rotate them daily, each pair gets charged once a day.

Is this typical for 16340's, or am I doing something wrong? If its me, then where can I get cheaper 16340's. The site I currently use gets $13 per pair. Thanks!

 

[salemgold]

I am not familiar with your mod but I use Protected Trustfire 16340s 3.7V in my Buzz and get them here
Search Results : Electronic Gadgets, Home Gifts & Unusual Novelty Gifts - BestOfferBuy

It takes 2-3 weeks to receive them (from China) but shipping is free and if you use code bob10 you get 10% off. That brings them down to about $4.70 a pair

I have always gotten best results from the black and red Trustfires but please make sure that you use protected

Good luck!

 

[bigboom]

I recommend you try the AWs, either ICR or IMR. I've found all others to be pretty crappy, but that's just my opinion. You can get them here: Super T Manufacturing, Innovative manufacturer of electronic cigarette products.

Not sure about stacking them......never tried.

 

[Bozzlite]

I am currently using an Indulgence V3, running a pair of stacked 16340 "Indulgence" batteries (3V; 1000mAh) x2 and can't seem to get more than about 15 charges into them before the crap out. I use two pairs and rotate them daily, each pair gets charged once a day.

Is this typical for 16340's, or am I doing something wrong? If its me, then where can I get cheaper 16340's. The site I currently use gets $13 per pair. Thanks!

What type of charger are you using? If you are charging 3.0 volt batteries on a 3.7 volt charger, that could cause your batteries to crap out early.

 

[PUREBRAD1]

What type of charger are you using? If you are charging 3.0 volt batteries on a 3.7 volt charger, that could cause your batteries to crap out early.

It is indeed a 3.7 volt charger. I never thought to look at the charger spec until you mentioned it. I didn't realize that would be a problem...So its possible that the charger is killing the batteries prematurely?

The charger was part of a starter kit. When I ordered the kit, It came with both 18650 and 16340 batteries. The vendor made no mention that the charger would have issues with batteries that are only 3.0 volts.

In defense, I am also using 18650's which I'm only getting the same amount of charges out of as the 16340's. I like vaping at 6 volts so I have stopped using the 18650. But when I was alternating back and forth between the 16340's and the 18650, they would also die within one day of each other.

 

[Bozzlite]

Well, there is no doubt that your 3.7 volt charger is killing the 3.0 volt batteries.

So, you are saying that it is also killing the 18650's?

You need a new charger. If the one you have is killing the 18650's, there is a problem. Could be a safety factor involved. Over charging lithium batteries can cause them to go volatile in your PV, or in the charger, with pain and suffering to your face/body, or fire and flames in your home.

There is a charger that is switchable between 3.0 and 3.7 volts. It's the Ultrafire WF-188 available at Electronic Cigarettes and AW batteries by Super T for about $16 plus shipping. You could use that for both battery types. Otherwise you should get two separate chargers. Not saying that is the best choice, but better than what you have. There are other chargers out there specifically designed for 16340 3 volt lithiums, such as the Ultrafire WF 138A at the same site.

While you are there, throw in a DMM, digital multimeter, so you can check the voltage of your batts, both before and after charging. A DMM is a necessity. Really, it is.

Maybe you can find the batteries you need at Super T also. Will the LiFePo4 16340's work in the Indulgence?

 

[PUREBRAD1]

Will the LiFePo4 16340's work in the Indulgence? I'm not sure. This is my first foray into mods...

However, something interesting is going on here:

When I purchased the Indulgence about two months ago, I purchased it with 1 18650 battery and 2 16340's. I wasn't sure if I bould prefer 3.7v vs. 6.0v. I alternated back and forth every day between the single 18650 and the stacked 16340's. (and used the appropriate atty each time I switched batteries). I did this religously and didnt miss a beat. In the end, the 18650 died the exact same day the pair of 16340's did. All batteries were "indulgence" branded.

So I decided I preferred 6.0v vaping and after a couple of days ordered two pairs of 16340 indulgence branded batteries. I had them in the same type of rotation this time too. I switched a new pair in each day, and was sure to keep each set paired together. In the end, I got about 15 charges out of each pair, and as before, both pairs went dead the exact same day...

So this got me wondering, is it possible that the protection circuit built into the battery is preprogammed to fault after a certain amount of charges? Curious about my idea, I decided to remove the shrink wrap from the battery and investigate. After removing the wrapper, I pulled the circuit board off the bottom (-neg) side of the battery. There is a thin metal strip that runs from the +pos side to the circuit board, and when I yanked the board off, that metal strip grounded the case, and began to burn red hot. I threw the battery into a glass ashtray nearby and and watched it for about 45 seconds. The strip got so red hot that it began turning the case itself red too, at which point I used a pair of tweezers to pull the circuit strip away from the case to undround the +pos from the -neg case.

So now I'm baffled. The batteries would not charge the atty (even slightly), but when I removed a battery, pulled the protection board, and intentionally shorted the battery...it still appeared that the battery had plenty of juice in it.

This leaves me to believe that the circuit was programmed to basically "lock" the battery after a certain amount of charges. Is this normal? Or are these just shady batteries that are produced to artifically "die" to keep me coming back for more?

 

[AttyPops]

1) Don't play with batteries like that. They can explode.
2) The protection circuit will cut the battery off if it thinks it's malfunctioning. Don't defeat it due to #1

3) Listen to Bozz and get Brad the proper charger to go with the batteries.

 

[Bozzlite]

This leaves me to believe that the circuit was programmed to basically "lock" the battery after a certain amount of charges. Is this normal? Or are these just shady batteries that are produced to artifically "die" to keep me coming back for more?

The batteries are not programmed to "lock" after a certain number of charges. They are, however programmed to cut off in the event they are extremely over charged, or under charged. That is what a "protected" battery does. In your case, it sounds like the batteries are being over charged.

 

[WillyB]

So I decided I preferred 6.0v vaping and after a couple of days ordered two pairs of 16340 indulgence branded batteries. I had them in the same type of rotation this time too. I switched a new pair in each day, and was sure to keep each set paired together. In the end, I got about 15 charges out of each pair, and as before, both pairs went dead the exact same day...

So this got me wondering, is it possible that the protection circuit built into the battery is preprogammed to fault after a certain amount of charges? Curious about my idea, I decided to remove the shrink wrap from the battery and investigate. After removing the wrapper, I pulled the circuit board off the bottom (-neg) side of the battery. There is a thin metal strip that runs from the +pos side to the circuit board,

What you have is a 3.7V Li-Ion there (which we know are usually charged to 4.2V) with a protection circuit that also includes an internal voltage regulator that needs a bit of a load to actually kick in. The other type of 3/3.2V cell is a LiPO4 which is a native 3V cell and has no protection circuit.

Yours is similar to this.

Tenergy 30201 RCR123A 3.0V 900mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

You would probably have better results with the LiPO4 type (no protection circuit to trip).

Tenergy 30200 LiFePO4 RCR123A 3.0V (3.2V) 750mAh Rechargeable Battery

As far as charging note this from Tenergy.

Warning:

You must use the 3.0V LiFePO4 750mAH RCR123A battery charger provided in the combo kit linked below to charge these batteries.
Please do not use other charger, including any 3.6V Li-Ion bttery charger or the Tenergy 3.0V Li-Ion 900mAh battery charger.

Kinda confusing,

 

[wv2win]

Here is a "two-pack" of protected 16340's for $5.20 or about $2.60 for each one plus free shipping:

UniqueFire Protected 16340 3.7V "880mAh" Lithium Batteries (2-Battery Pack) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme