All Over Facebook - Andrew Hall

[oldhippydude]

Also wanted to ask, what is the average life span of a 18650 battery? ie, how long do you use it for? When is the right time to toss it?

It is all to do with charge cycles.
I think most are over 300 or more.
You will notice that you are having to charge them more often by the time they need replacing.

 

[viper]

It is all to do with charge cycles.
I think most are over 300 or more.
You will notice that you are having to charge them more often by the time they need replacing.

I can still never tell as I charge them up when they get to half way or just below half way as I've been told to never use them all the way till the end for safety.
So even if I got a new battery today then I wouldn't be able to tell if they are draining quicker or not.

Some batteries I have ran for a good year before tossing them, during that time they mustve went through a ton load of charge cycles. Guess I need to keep a tally now lol or just toss them after a few months.

 

[oldhippydude]

I can still never tell as I charge them up when they get to half way or just below half way as I've been told to never use them all the way till the end for safety.
So even if I got a new battery today then I wouldn't be able to tell if they are draining quicker or not.

Some batteries I have ran for a good year before tossing them, during that time they mustve went through a ton load of charge cycles. Guess I need to keep a tally now lol or just toss them after a few months.

Even charged every day, I would expect to get at least a year out of a battery. Counting charges sounds unnecessary, If you are not noticing that you are having to charge more often, or if it is taking a lot longer to charge, then you are fine.
Or you could get a meter to test them, to answer the questions, Are they still charging to full capacity?4.2v or near as dam it.
Are the still holding the charge? Leave the battery for a couple of days then test it. Unnecessary but is a way to find out how they are doing.

 

[vapemac]

I can still never tell as I charge them up when they get to half way or just below half way as I've been told to never use them all the way till the end for safety.
So even if I got a new battery today then I wouldn't be able to tell if they are draining quicker or not.

Some batteries I have ran for a good year before tossing them, during that time they mustve went through a ton load of charge cycles. Guess I need to keep a tally now lol or just toss them after a few months.

You use regulated mods though? They will usually cut off before your battery is flat.

 

[viper]

Even charged every day, I would expect to get at least a year out of a battery. Counting charges sounds unnecessary, If you are not noticing that you are having to charge more often, or if it is taking a lot longer to charge, then you are fine.
Or you could get a meter to test them, to answer the questions, Are they still charging to full capacity?4.2v or near as dam it.
Are the still holding the charge? Leave the battery for a couple of days then test it. Unnecessary but is a way to find out how they are doing.

Not noticed any problems charging, looks like they are charging fully. To be honest I never check the voltage reading when I put them into the mod. I use a nitecore charger to charge all my batteries, I charge one at a time even though I could do a max of 4 but I know that if I stick more than battery in there at a time then it just takes longer to charge plus I'm only using the one mod just now so I always make sure I have a 2nd battery charged up ready to go, as soon as my current one is done (half way point or below) then I fling it into the charger (after I let the battery cool down of course) and then stick the new charged battery in.

I will keep an eye on that now and check the voltage now that you mentioned it. Will also see if they hold a charge if I leave it for a couple days.

Im using Samsung 25R 18650 batteries, bought from gearbest.


Thanks to everyone that has replied.


*Update*

I just stuck a fully charged battery in and its showing as 3.30v. Is that bad? Time to toss it?

 

[mannikon]

Please don't literally "toss" any batteries, volatile things, wrap the ends with insulating tape and take to battery recycle.

If that battery was "fully charged" it would not read at 3.3v. Something is wrong there and not just the battery unless you mistyped ...

 

[viper]

Please don't literally "toss" any batteries, volatile things, wrap the ends with insulating tape and take to battery recycle.

If that battery was "fully charged" it would not read at 3.3v. Something is wrong there and not just the battery unless you mistyped ...

Unless Im reading or checking it wrong? Ive got a joyetech evic vtc mini mod. If I have a tank on it then it shows the voltage relating to the Wattage power, because if I go change power setting to up or down then the voltage number changes too. So what I did was, I removed the tank then just pressed the fire button to refresh the screen and it was showing the battery at 3.30v.

 

[mannikon]

No. That just shows what voltage the mod is using. Or thinks it should be using, nothing to do with what voltage is in the battery by itself.
Does your charger not show voltage when charging and when charged?

 

[viper]

No. That just shows what voltage the mod is using. Or thinks it should be using, nothing to do with what voltage is in the battery by itself.
Does your charger not show voltage when charging and when charged?

My charger is an older model so it doesnt have the fancy lcd screen to give you stats etc. The one I have just has 3 led lights that go up a notch as its charging to give you an idea of where its at. Once its fully charged the 3 lights just stay on.

 

[mannikon]

My charger is an older model so it doesnt have the fancy lcd screen to give you stats etc. The one I have just has 3 led lights that go up a notch as its charging to give you an idea of where its at. Once its fully charged the 3 lights just stay on.

No problem. Maybe your mod can display the voltage actually in the battery, some mods can but the standard voltage it shows is what the output is from the board so it varies according to how much power you're using. Presume the fully charged battery showed in an icon of percentage on the mod as fully charged.
A charger that shows voltage is useful to check that the batteries are charging to a full approx 4.2V.
A decent multimeter will also show voltage on a battery but a decent mm will likely cost you more than a new charger!
Just gauge the battery life as best you can and if the battery is getting old and had a lot of charge cycles after a year or two (varies) then get some fresh ones for peace of mind.