I made "The Puck" using the 2 4-AAA battery boxes from Radio Shack but used a 510 battery connector. The thing vapes great compared to my single 18650 battery holder. I bought the batteries and charger (Enercell Brand) from RS also but my concern is how hot the batteries get during the charging process. They get almost to hot to touch. Is this normal for this type of battery?
NiMh Battery question
- Thread starter MrPonytail
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Your concern should be as to whether or not your batteries are protected. It sounds as if they aren't. You need to get yourself some good AW brand batteries and you'll definitely tell a difference. The batteries you are currently using are going to go into failure because they can't handle how much the atty or carto draws for power. Please be careful and invest in the proper batteries.
This problem seems to have resolved itself. I've now charged the 4-AAA NiMh batteries a half a dozen times and they do not get hot during charging. Just a little warm. Maybe it was a new battery thing?
Not a battery expert here... so full disclaimers in effect... however:
1) NiMH batteries do get hot while charging... the more they need to charge, the hotter they get (I think) so new battery = hotter (guessing here)
2) NiMH batteries charge a lot faster. Different chargers charge them at different rates too. Faster charge = hotter.
3) the 4 NiMH batteries = 4.8 volts. the single 18650 is 3.7 volts (average...actually 4.1/4.2 fully charged for the top end but won't stay there long). So the puck will pack more oomph.
4) NiMH doesn't have as much capacity as Li-Ion. However, they charge a hell of a lot faster and are cheaper and are readily available. They don't hold a charge long tho (like days). There are some hybrids that do hold a charge... but IDK how safe they are for e-cigs. For all I know, they could be safer, or more dangerous. I just don't know.
Welcome to ECF and the modder's club.
1) NiMH batteries do get hot while charging... the more they need to charge, the hotter they get (I think) so new battery = hotter (guessing here)
2) NiMH batteries charge a lot faster. Different chargers charge them at different rates too. Faster charge = hotter.
3) the 4 NiMH batteries = 4.8 volts. the single 18650 is 3.7 volts (average...actually 4.1/4.2 fully charged for the top end but won't stay there long). So the puck will pack more oomph.
4) NiMH doesn't have as much capacity as Li-Ion. However, they charge a hell of a lot faster and are cheaper and are readily available. They don't hold a charge long tho (like days). There are some hybrids that do hold a charge... but IDK how safe they are for e-cigs. For all I know, they could be safer, or more dangerous. I just don't know.
Welcome to ECF and the modder's club.
Standard NiMh will get warm when charging at too high a rate than is good for them. The so-called rapid chargers get them very hot, whether they're new or old. The hotter they get, the quicker they'll be killed for good. I had an EverReady rapid charger once that got the batteries so hot you could barely touch them. It charged them in an hour, but they probably didn't get more than 50 cycles before they started going rapidly downhill in terms of how long they'd hold a charge. With NiMh, the slower the charge, the better. I keep my 2500mah NiMh on a trickle charger 24/7 now and charge them at 4-500 ma.
Standard NiMh aren't designed for the type of current an e-cig pulls. Don't expect yours to last very long.
There is no such thing as a protected NiMh. The chemistry is such that it is not needed. There's little or no explosion or venting hazard. They're safer than even IMR's. They might leak or even rupture, but they won't vent or explode unless you throw them in a fire, and I'm not even sure about then.
There ARE some high drain NiMh now that are suitable for e-cigs. Unfortunately, not in AAA size. Callis Kustoms has a 4.8V battery in an 18650 size that is actually a stack of four 1.2V NiMh's in series. That's the only NiMh battery I've ever seen that is decent for an e-cig. IIRC, it's only about 900 mah.
Standard NiMh aren't designed for the type of current an e-cig pulls. Don't expect yours to last very long.
There is no such thing as a protected NiMh. The chemistry is such that it is not needed. There's little or no explosion or venting hazard. They're safer than even IMR's. They might leak or even rupture, but they won't vent or explode unless you throw them in a fire, and I'm not even sure about then.
There ARE some high drain NiMh now that are suitable for e-cigs. Unfortunately, not in AAA size. Callis Kustoms has a 4.8V battery in an 18650 size that is actually a stack of four 1.2V NiMh's in series. That's the only NiMh battery I've ever seen that is decent for an e-cig. IIRC, it's only about 900 mah.
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Thanks for the response. I used the NiMh because that is what "The Puck" build page said to use. I'm very new to this and have a very limited knowledge of batteries. I started with a stick e-cig kit on Dec 1st and found it was working very well but I could not put the analogs down because of battery life so I bought a second starter kit. That was still not enough life and I found myself spending my day swapping batteries on the charger. On Dec 21st I aquired a single 18650 battery holder with a 510 connector and smoked my last analog and have not looked back. This was after 40 yrs of smoking and at 2+ packs a day for the last 10 yrs. Building the puck just got me more involved in vaping and at a new level with new tastes . I now have all the parts for a couple of VV mods as well as 4 AA NiMh batteries to build a "Super Puck" with 2 4-AA boxes. I'm also DIY my own juices. I have not saved a ton of money yet but man I feel great!
Do yourself a favor. Go to Candlepowerforums dot com. Look for "Battery University". These people are even more fanatical about flashlights as we are about e-cigs. They know everything there is to know about batteries and have organized a section to educate people about batteries, since they're so important to flashlight fanatics. Andy Wang, the guy who AW batteries are named after, got his start in the battery business there. Just don't get so absorbed in flashlights that you forget to come back to ECF.
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