Old battery safe to use?

[Shinn]

Hi all, I quit vaping about 12 months ago due to anxiety (nicotine), but wish to return as I want to try vaping CBD now. When I quit, the battery I was using was practically brand new, but it's been sitting for about a year unused now so I am worried about it's stability. Is it still safe to use? Every google search on this topic that I've found has said that batteries should be replaced 6 months to a year, but I haven't been using mine, so should it have a longer lifespan?

Thanks for any insight.

Edit: The battery is an 18650

 

[Rossum]

Every google search on this topic that I've found has said that batteries should be replaced 6 months to a year,

That strikes me as absurd'. The batteries we use were originally designed for use in packs, primarily for cordless tools. There are companies who warrant their packs for two years, and I've never heard of a tool company saying their packs become unsafe after some period of time. Oh, and the mod next to me on my nightstand has a VTC5 in it that I bought in 2014.

 

[Baditude]

I'd be more concerned what brand and model the 18650 battery is than how old it is. You didn't mention that part.

Batteries do age over time, whether they are in use or in storage, but a good battery made by Lg, Samsung, or Sony is a safer bet than a re-wrap brand like Imren, MXJO to perform and last as expected.

Specifically what brand and model is your 18650?

 

[Shinn]

That strikes me as absurd'. The batteries we use were originally designed for use in packs, primarily for cordless tools. There are companies who warrant their packs for two years, and I've never heard of a tool company saying their packs become unsafe after some period of time. Oh, and the mod next to me on my nightstand has a VTC5 in it that I bought in 2014.

I'd be more concerned what brand and model the 18650 battery is than how old it is. You didn't mention that part.

Batteries do age over time, whether they are in use or in storage, but a good battery made by Lg, Samsung, or Sony is a safer bet than a re-wrap brand like Imren, MXJO to perform and last as expected.

Specifically what brand and model is your 18650?

The battery is made by Samsung, and I'm not sure what model it is, but the sticker on it reads '18650 2500mAh 3.7V'. Hope that answers it.
The battery still has about a 30-40% charge. Should I charge it fully before using, or will it likely be okay to use now?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Baditude]

Probably a Samsung 25R. Is it green?

You could us it at 30 - 40 % charge without harm, but why would you want too? If it were me I'd charge it up to 100% first.

 

[Ryedan]

The battery is made by Samsung, and I'm not sure what model it is, but the sticker on it reads '18650 2500mAh 3.7V'. Hope that answers it.
The battery still has about a 30-40% charge. Should I charge it fully before using, or will it likely be okay to use now?

Thanks again for the help.

I also don't know what model it is, but as long as I bought it from a reputable battery supplier I would assume it is good to vape on after a year as long as it has not been sitting much under 3 volts for a while. If it is reading 3V or more now I would charge it and vape it with no concern. Under 3V, I would be more cautious with it.

 

[Coyote628]

Id charge it up fully first if it was my battery. Then use it to see if it lasts as long as it did before. If performance is noticably different, replace it. Ive been using a pair of samsungs for about a year and a half now and they are just now starting to show decreased performance ( wont last all day an half of tomorrow anymore).

 

[Shadav]

it should be fine, as long as there's no like dents or anything in it and the wrap is intact..... charge it up and have a vape...the only thing that might happen is it's not holding it's charge anymore so if you notice that it starts not lasting as long as it should then it probably needs replaced.

 

[bombastinator]

The biggest question I think is did it discharge down so far while remaining unused that it damaged it. The “6 months to a year” thing is more about projected number of discharge cycles than actual time. Lithium batteries can have problems if they are discharged down too far though and they slowly spontaneously discharge slightly over time. Depending on how much charge the battery had when you packed it away there might or might not be an issue.

 

[Eskie]

I just retired a pair of 25Rs from 2016 that wouldn't hold a charge. Others from the same time period are fine. I probably rotated that set too often and exceeded the number of discharge cycles. Not bad out of a ton of batteries.

Charge it and use it. If it gives out after a few hours instead of a day (assuming that's what you normally got of runtime with the same settings) replace it.

 

[DaveP]

Hi all, I quit vaping about 12 months ago due to anxiety (nicotine), but wish to return as I want to try vaping ... now. When I quit, the battery I was using was practically brand new, but it's been sitting for about a year unused now so I am worried about it's stability. Is it still safe to use? Every google search on this topic that I've found has said that batteries should be replaced 6 months to a year, but I haven't been using mine, so should it have a longer lifespan?

Thanks for any insight.

Edit: The battery is an 18650

Cell condition is more important than time for judging a cell's ability to perform. Dendrites grow over time and can eventually cause an internal short. That usually happens over long periods of use. Lithium cells are best stored at a charge voltage level around 3.7v.

I have a number of 18650s sitting around in storage boxes that maintain charge fine. Some are as old as 4 years, but have been used lightly. They get used in rotation and monitored for internal resistance by my charger. Internal resistance is one good indicator of a cell's condition. Higher internal resistance reduces a cell's ability to maintain and deliver designed power.

I have some cells that have been used lightly over a year or two that maintain full charge and work fine. If you are concerned about your cells you might want to invest in a charger that checks internal resistance. I use the Zanflare C4 charger for that.

Good article from Battery Bro.
How to store 18650 batteries safely

 

[bombastinator]

I have a number of 18650s sitting around in storage boxes that maintain charge fine. They get used in rotation and monitored for internal resistance by my charger. Internal resistance is one good indicator of a cell's condition. Higher internal resistance reduces a cell's ability to maintain and deliver designed power.

I have some cells that haven't been used in over a year that have maintained full charge and work fine. You might want to invest in a charger that checks internal resistance. I use the Zanflare C4 charger for that.

What kind of internal resistance does it check? I was told somewhere once that there are two kinds that show different things and chargers generally check only one of them (the one that doesn’t show age). This whole bit is vague to me though. I really want to get it nailed down.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Peel off the rectangle shipping label / sticker and post up the exact model numbers & letters.

Assuming the cell is suitable for vaping use without knowing the model isn't safe battery practice.

 

[DaveP]

What kind of internal resistance does it check? I was told somewhere once that there are two kinds that show different things and chargers generally check only one of them (the one that doesn’t show age). This whole bit is vague to me though. I really want to get it nailed down.

The easy way is to check the voltage unloaded and then check it again with a known resistance across the terminals. Ohm's law provides the internal resistance value. A charger that can switch to a known calibration resistance and back to no load can do the math internally and display IR easily.

I guess age (or condition) could be calculated by the amount of resistance measured by the test compared to new cells of the same type. I'm not aware of an age test other than measuring new cells and comparing the results to used cells.

How to Measure the Internal Resistance of a Battery?

- voltage reading across the battery terminal, Va=3.99V

- voltage reading across the load resistor, Vb=3.796V

- load resistance, R=4.7ohm

Since Vb = Va * [ R / (R+r) ], r = internal resistance

Then, internal resistance of the battery can be determined to be around 240 mOhm.

 

[P3ch3]

Old battery uhm?
Well, 1st of all, tell us how is the battery, condition, visually inspect it, check for dents, bumps or humps, if physically well, charge it, with a decent charger like efest, nitecore or anther well know brand, those like the best commercial brands to name a few and maybe the most available, put it on charge, and when reach 100% charged give it a try, if your mod have screen (we dont know the hardware you are using yet...) take a watch to voltages according the coil's ohm, for example:

take a watch to data, a coil around 0.25 will take close by 54-55W and consume around 14.80amp in the atomizer, so, values could be around those, battery drain should be 5% or 10% higher than that, also is shown on the blue charts, light blue one is the atomizer data,

Old batteries arent bad, but are a special thing to care and handle, always using a external charger as the mentioned some lines up are important, since mods have the option to charge but there is no mod in the market with the precise values and results as a external or wall charger, they were meant for that! so save some pennies and get one to care your batteries, they are useful after all, i have found another uses or have been benefited by them on other applications, most of them can also charge conventional batteries, lol

last but not less, if the wraps are damaged or insulators you still could save it, take it to a vape shop and ask for wraps... always prefer or chose from samsung, sanyo, sony and LG as primary battery or 1st option those are well known and own manufacturers, they make their own products, another brand beyond'em is or could be a re-wrap, MXJO, AWt and Boundless tech batteries are well know and really treatable batteries according mooch reviews!

Have a quite terrific clouds!

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Old battery uhm?
Well, 1st of all, tell us how is the battery, condition, visually inspect it, check for dents, bumps or humps, if physically well, charge it, with a decent charger like efest, nitecore or anther well know brand, those like the best commercial brands to name a few and maybe the most available, put it on charge, and when reach 100% charged give it a try, if your mod have screen (we dont know the hardware you are using yet...) take a watch to voltages according the coil's ohm, for example:
View attachment 818591
take a watch to data, a coil around 0.25 will take close by 54-55W and consume around 14.80amp in the atomizer, so, values could be around those, battery drain should be 5% or 10% higher than that, also is shown on the blue charts, light blue one is the atomizer data,

Old batteries arent bad, but are a special thing to care and handle, always using a external charger as the mentioned some lines up are important, since mods have the option to charge but there is no mod in the market with the precise values and results as a external or wall charger, they were meant for that! so save some pennies and get one to care your batteries, they are useful after all, i have found another uses or have been benefited by them on other applications, most of them can also charge conventional batteries, lol

last but not less, if the wraps are damaged or insulators you still could save it, take it to a vape shop and ask for wraps... always prefer or chose from samsung, sanyo, sony and LG as primary battery or 1st option those are well known and own manufacturers, they make their own products, another brand beyond'em is or could be a re-wrap, MXJO, AWt and Boundless tech batteries are well know and really treatable batteries according mooch reviews!

Have a quite terrific clouds!

For a Variable Wattage or Variable Voltage device, battery drain will be dependent on the users prescribed output, not the coil’s resistance. One can set 150 watts using a 0.25 ohm coil or they can set only 20 watts. Obviously the former will drain the cell a lot quicker. Same rule applies to Variable Voltage.

The 3.7 volts that you entered under the “Voltage Setting” to the left, is set by the user, not the battery.

 

[P3ch3]

For a Variable Wattage or Variable Voltage device, battery drain will be dependent on the users prescribed output, not the coil’s resistance. One can set 150 watts using a 0.25 ohm coil or they can set only 20 watts. Obviously the former will drain the cell a lot quicker. Same rule applies to Variable Voltage.

The 3.7 volts that you entered under the “Voltage Setting” to the left, is set by the user, not the battery.

the idea is to ilustrate him, how to check and values that might be important, then realized that i was thinking on mechs mods all the way out,

 

[stols001]

I'm not even gonna try to determine if it's genuine, but I say charge it first a) if there is a problem, it will not happen in the mod, in your hand, near your face.
b) it has been my experience that batteries that have sat a bit and been partially discharged just perform better if you don't FURTHER stress the battery by asking it to do stuff before charging.

If it's authentic, it's probably fine but that is a big IF.

Anna

 

[charlie1465]

Welcome to the friendly bunch

I keep using my batteries until they either stop holding charge or they won't reach peak voltage while charging. I also sometimes retire a battery just because I think it's old enough (years not months).

If your battery holds charge and works well then you'll be fine...definitely use it

 

[P3ch3]

some days ago found a old AWT they should have less than 3 months, my efest dont charge it, will try a nitecore charger

Regards,