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You could do that, but its not the ideal way to charge your external batteries. Most experienced vapers prefer to charge their batteries in an external charger. Its safer and faster that way. You can easily monitor the batteries (temperature) while charging in an external charger; you can't easily do that by charging them inside the mod.
And if you are like me, I'm going to trust the larger electronic components in a dedicated box charger to be safer and more robust than the tiny charger electronics in a mod.
Arguably, the primary purpose for the micro USB port is for firmware updates for the processor, not charging. The micro USB format is not ideal for the wear and tear of daily use.
Guide to Choosing a Li-ion Battery Charger
And if you are like me, I'm going to trust the larger electronic components in a dedicated box charger to be safer and more robust than the tiny charger electronics in a mod.
Arguably, the primary purpose for the micro USB port is for firmware updates for the processor, not charging. The micro USB format is not ideal for the wear and tear of daily use.
Guide to Choosing a Li-ion Battery Charger
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It’s better and safer to use a dedicated external battery charger which you can get for about $20 or so.
Safety is worth $20 imo plus better life for your batteries.
Safety is worth $20 imo plus better life for your batteries.
It grows progressively unsafe the more you do it, and the less reliable the mod. I would not charge batteries inside a smoke product.
Which brings me to my next question, where did you get the batteries, what kind are they, and based on the rest of your post, PLEASE do answer that, but I am going to guess that they are likely not the type of battery you need for sub0hm vaping, and you may well just have to get some batteries along with your charger and well, battery University is here:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blogs/mooch.256958/
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/baditudes-blogs.7609/
Good luck, vape safely.
Anna
Which brings me to my next question, where did you get the batteries, what kind are they, and based on the rest of your post, PLEASE do answer that, but I am going to guess that they are likely not the type of battery you need for sub0hm vaping, and you may well just have to get some batteries along with your charger and well, battery University is here:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blogs/mooch.256958/
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/baditudes-blogs.7609/
Good luck, vape safely.
Anna
Safety certainly dictates using an external charger, which I do in most cases. The only time I use USB (on any mod) is when I'm sitting right in front of it, watching it, and checking it regularly for temperature while I'm using the computer or something, and this is a rare occasion that I don't have batteries.
If you're worried about being portable with your batteries, some of the companies like Nitecore, EFEST, Golisi and such make portable two battery chargers. Nitecore actually has one that uses USB to power it but understand that Nitecore builds the protections to make sure your batteries charge properly, this should be a safe method of charging: UM2. That one is less than $20.
This is maybe boring informational stuff? Read on if you'd like. I get wordy sometimes... I'm also human and make mistakes, I always encourage people to do a little research on their own if it's something they're interested in.
If you're worried about being portable with your batteries, some of the companies like Nitecore, EFEST, Golisi and such make portable two battery chargers. Nitecore actually has one that uses USB to power it but understand that Nitecore builds the protections to make sure your batteries charge properly, this should be a safe method of charging: UM2. That one is less than $20.
This is maybe boring informational stuff? Read on if you'd like. I get wordy sometimes... I'm also human and make mistakes, I always encourage people to do a little research on their own if it's something they're interested in.
USB is a varying method because each USB port on your computer can only support so many amps and only so much voltage. It's likely that your computer's power save options could reduce voltage and cause a current drop which may not be good for your battery. Understand to, that on a computer sets of USB ports share the same "Bus" or transport mechanism for data and power, and share current, so if you have an external hard drive plugged into one group of USB ports it will pull more current than say a wireless mouse transmitter. That external drive with it's increased current requirement will also restrict the current and voltage available to the other ports because they all share the same bus. These days this it is less likely due to design changes in the computer world. Some may recall a time a few years back that if you plugged in too many USB devices, one was inevitably going to stop working. Or even one device may not work on the front ports of the computer but it does on the back side ports.
Typically there are two USB buses on most OEM PCs (Dell,HP,Lenovo,etc). One bus usually services the front USB ports of the computer and another bus services the rear USB ports. More so on custom PC builds and computers designed for gaming or workstations, which have tons of USB buses for ports all over the place. Because of the current limitations of USB, that is why external drive manufacturers usually give you a wall adapter so it doesn't use the USB bus power. This supplemental power also helps the drives spin faster and write/read data faster. Win-Win I guess...
External USB chargers (wall plugs) are all rated at different current ratings as well, some may try to recharge the battery faster than it's design, and cause battery failure. This was rampant in the cell phone world where Samsung started releasing "quick chargers" which basically use 2+ amps to charger the phones faster, BUT people were using their quick chargers with phones that didn't support quick charging. The batteries in those phones wanted 1amp, so you charge a battery at double the current, failure is going to occur. In today's world most phones support quick charging, but you should always check what the manufacturer of the phone recommends for input current while charging. Especially with the cost of phones these days...
Typically there are two USB buses on most OEM PCs (Dell,HP,Lenovo,etc). One bus usually services the front USB ports of the computer and another bus services the rear USB ports. More so on custom PC builds and computers designed for gaming or workstations, which have tons of USB buses for ports all over the place. Because of the current limitations of USB, that is why external drive manufacturers usually give you a wall adapter so it doesn't use the USB bus power. This supplemental power also helps the drives spin faster and write/read data faster. Win-Win I guess...
External USB chargers (wall plugs) are all rated at different current ratings as well, some may try to recharge the battery faster than it's design, and cause battery failure. This was rampant in the cell phone world where Samsung started releasing "quick chargers" which basically use 2+ amps to charger the phones faster, BUT people were using their quick chargers with phones that didn't support quick charging. The batteries in those phones wanted 1amp, so you charge a battery at double the current, failure is going to occur. In today's world most phones support quick charging, but you should always check what the manufacturer of the phone recommends for input current while charging. Especially with the cost of phones these days...
I used the usb charger on my Alien and other mods for quite some time until I got a good external charger. Not only is it safer, but your batteries get a better more full charge.
That's a confusing question. What do you mean a quality usb wall plug adapter? Quality usb "wall warts" only transform 110V AC (US bias) to 5V DC and are rated for varying amps as output. A wall wart still needs to connect to something that does the actual charging. A quality wall wart won't improve the actual charging chip and circuit in the mod.
I just mean one that is safety rated to do what it's supposed to do and yes I'm pretty sure I know it needs to connect to the charger! My question was pretty self explanatory.
Dropping the current will not harm the battery at all. The current draw when charging goes from high, when batteries are at a low voltage, to low when batteries reach their optimum state of 4.2volts. There are a few advanced chargers that also allow adjustment on the current output. Lower is always going to be the better option for longevity but at the expense of charge time.
I feel charging off a USB port on a computer is a safe option. Its max output will never exceed 5volts, 0.5amps or 2.5 watts which should be adequate for the majority of batteries we use for vaping. There are also safety measures implemented into both the USB controller and the OS – you over load the USB bus, it gets shut off.
One should always take precautions when charging via USB. If the device gets hot, terminate charging immediately. There is also the concern of balanced charging for devices that utilize more than 1 cell…not every mod can pull this off effectively. And there are devices that continue to charge, or apply a float charge once the cells reach their optimum state of 4.2volts - but this is easily rectified by unplugging the charger once fully charged.
Despite you seem to discredit my comments on a previous thread in regards to USB charging, my opinion is this charger relies entirely on the quality of the USB wall wart that is being used. Personally I would opt for a charger that came with it’s own power source.
I feel charging off a USB port on a computer is a safe option. Its max output will never exceed 5volts, 0.5amps or 2.5 watts which should be adequate for the majority of batteries we use for vaping. There are also safety measures implemented into both the USB controller and the OS – you over load the USB bus, it gets shut off.
One should always take precautions when charging via USB. If the device gets hot, terminate charging immediately. There is also the concern of balanced charging for devices that utilize more than 1 cell…not every mod can pull this off effectively. And there are devices that continue to charge, or apply a float charge once the cells reach their optimum state of 4.2volts - but this is easily rectified by unplugging the charger once fully charged.
Despite you seem to discredit my comments on a previous thread in regards to USB charging, my opinion is this charger relies entirely on the quality of the USB wall wart that is being used. Personally I would opt for a charger that came with it’s own power source.
my opinion is this charger relies entirely on the quality of the USB wall wart that is being used. Personally I would opt for a charger that came with it’s own power source.[/QUOTE]
From what I've read this charger has intelligent charging, meaning it charges according to the batt type and capacity so to me it seem's like there are lots of protections built in the charger. I don't understand how you can say it relies entirely on the usb adapter other than for power which it adjusts to the batt type.
From what I've read this charger has intelligent charging, meaning it charges according to the batt type and capacity so to me it seem's like there are lots of protections built in the charger. I don't understand how you can say it relies entirely on the usb adapter other than for power which it adjusts to the batt type.
if the charger requires a USB port to plug into for charging, a quality wart rated for the Amp spec of the charger is of course appropriate. I'm used to chargers that come with a 110V cord that plug into the socket, surge suppressor whatever, not requiring a USB wall wart to function. Guess that's a way of shaving a few dollars off the chargers price.
I'd have to assume you haven't looked at any new chargers lately then, as most of them now come as usb chargers, specially the portable ones and some can be used as battery banks as well. From what I've heard Nitecore has been a quality charger for along time which was why I had interest in it.
This charger advertises it can recover an over-discharged battery. Battery Mooch advises not to attempt this because an over-discharged battery can have unseen internal damage.
I have a Nitecore D4 that has served me well for several years. With newer chargers supporting up to 4x1 Amp charging, I can't imagine many, if any, rely on a USB adapter to connect to the wall, as I'm unaware of any wall wart that can support that high a current output. But if the one you're looking at is a 2 bay designed for travel use, an adapter makes sense. I can say my Nitecore is still going strong and I'm a fan of the company.
Regardless of what is inside of the Nitecore, it relies on the quality of the power delivery from the USB wall wart. It also relies on the integrity of said wall wart.
A PSU not only converts what comes from the wall to usable voltages, but also filters noise and provides a level of protection the delicate circuitry.
A PSU not only converts what comes from the wall to usable voltages, but also filters noise and provides a level of protection the delicate circuitry.
Okay, so my question was, do you think it's a decent quality charger or not?
Most are 1 and 2 bay chargers that are usb, but a few I've seen that are 3 or 4 bay support 4x.5 per bay.
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