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Battery expiry date.. or defective charger?

Discussion in 'General Thailand Vaping Discussion' started by santaclaus, Sep 19, 2019.

  1. santaclaus

    santaclaus Thread Starter Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys,

    I was wondering what is the average life you normally get out of batteries you use daily for your mods? I mean as in the expiry date, as to when it's time to replace them completely.

    I've got a bunch of batteries, Sony 18650 3000mAh 3.7v I believe and some are acting weirdly. I'm charging them with a Nitecore New i4 and some of them are not charging at all. Like it shows as if it keeps charging but they never get full. For some, the lights don't go on at all until I remove the power cable and attach again.

    Today I pulled one off the charger and smoke came out briefly. Do you think the batteries have reached their end after +1 year or so, or could the charger be somehow defective? The charger also gets super hot sometimes (but not all the time).
     
  2. debatedude
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    debatedude Mech Moderator Staff Member

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    I'm a high-watts and heavy use person. I get 2-3 years out of my batteries, BUT:
    -I never run them lower than 3.4-3.6 volts
    -I have lots of batteries in rotation
    -I charge at 0.5 volts (less heat on the battery)


    If a battery is not accepting a charge, that could be due to the battery being seriously drained (used below 3 volts. Some batteries can go as low as 2 volts before they can't be normally recharged) and unable to charge on a standard charger. If that's the case, then the battery needs to be reconditioned (fully drained and slow charged). I've brought back batteries that way. IF you have some where the light doesn't go on, try to get a volt reading off the battery. A good electronics shop should be able to measure the battery and tell you the nominal volts.

    Worst case scenario: you have fake batteries.
     
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  3. Siam Diesel
    Lurking

    Siam Diesel Nauti Moderator Staff Member

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    How old are the batteries? How many do you have in rotation? How many discharge/recharge cycles have they undergone? Sony VTC6 batts should be able to take ~300 cycles before they're kaput.

    Can you test the batteries on another charger to see if it's the charger? If your charger is new, then it's probably not the charger (but it could be).

    Heat & smoke are never good with batteries...I'd bin the one that was smoking. If the charger was smoking, I'd get a new charger.
     
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  4. jpr
    Cloud_9

    jpr Well-Known Member

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    +1: avoid smoking batteries (destroy your lungs)
    (or test them for flashlights our low discharge system...but on my opinion just bin them).
     
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  5. debatedude
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    debatedude Mech Moderator Staff Member

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    :lost it::pleasure:
     
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  6. debatedude
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    debatedude Mech Moderator Staff Member

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    :lost it::pleasure:
     
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  7. santaclaus

    santaclaus Thread Starter Well-Known Member

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    Thanks guys. It was the charger.. I found my other portable charger and had no issues. Threw the Nitecore in the bin and ordered a Liitokala PD4. Funny that this product seems 100% chinese but has a Finnish name meaning "flying fish" lol.
     
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