Avoid Overcharging Your Vaping Batteries

As vaping becomes more widespread, it is very important for every vaper to practice good vape battery safety. Learn about vape battery safety and explore our guide to tentative battery care. Vape batteries are used in box mods, vape starter kits, and a bunch of other vape mods. If you are new to vaping or have any specific vape battery questions, feel free to contact us any time or contact your local vape shops for in person help.

3 reasons to avoid overcharging your batteries

1. Overcharging can lead to battery capacity loss. Overcharging shortens the battery life of a batter, causing it to lose it's charge a lot faster. 
2. Overcharging is one of the main causes of battery explosions. When a battery is overcharged, the batter is more at risk to overheat, causing a malfunction or over-discharge. A device can short circuit and ultimately result in battery explosions. 
3. Overcharging can lead to health risks. Extreme temperatures can cause the battery casing to break down and crack. This can result in the battery breaking down, leaking out hazardous chemicals. Remember to always dispose of batteries properly. 

Breaks and leaks

Every lithium battery has a max capacity. Batteries can be compared to a balloon. When your battery is not charged, it's just like an unfilled balloon. It has the potential to be filled with air (electrical charge). The second you plug an air hose in (charging cable), this balloon starts filling. When a balloon is completely filled, any additional air puts stress on the balloon. Forcing additional charge into a fully charged battery puts stress on the battery.

Most vaping battery chargers and batteries themselves have mechanisms to stop the flow of charge. But every now and then, a bit of charge will leak of higher voltage charging filling it just a tiny bit more. This stretches out the battery and will slowly deteriorate the battery's charge capacity. Lower grade batteries and chargers often leak additional charge into a full battery.

Overcharging leads to overheating

We recommend cutting your li-ion batteries from charge once reaching peak to avoid stress/strain of your vape batteries. The stress of charging more than necessary can cause the battery to overheat more frequently. Since there is excess charge in the battery, each pull on the vape will try discharge that extra energy straining the battery significantly.

Furthermore, the stress manifests in various ways, such as battery cracks. The outer casing can form tiny cracks due to overheating and rapidly cooling, which is not a good sign. Keep it up long enough and those cracks can penetrate to the actual lithium-ion core, which can be toxic.

This is where those horror stories about vape batteries exploding come from. With an overcharged battery and too much strain on the said battery, it's an unfortunate circumstance that in some casing batteries can explode.

Overcharging shortens battery life

Batteries can only be recharged for so many cycles before their lifespan begins to shorten. Leaving batteries overcharging will result in trickling of constant energy charge circulating into the battery. This results in the gradual loss of the ability to hold a charge. Additionally, a higher voltage charge also stretches the temporary capacity of the battery degrading the capacity sooner.

Prolong the lifespan of your batteries by avoiding continuous charging and maximizing your charge cycles.

How to store your batteries

Storing your batteries properly can help prevent any damages to both your vaping devices and your batteries. Storing your batteries in battery cases can protect your mod from going off when it should not and keep it from misfiring. Batteries stored in battery cases can ensure that the battery does not damage from unnecessary vape juice or e-liquid leaks.

Having a battery case gives you a different option instead of leaving your batteries in a battery charger. Storing your batteries in a cool place out of the direct sunlight can also help increase the battery life.

Always ensure that loose batteries are placed properly in your mod and stored properly. Electronic cigarettes usually have a built in battery. These should be properly placed out of extreme heat places.

One of the worst places to leave batteries is in your car. This can be detrimental to its battery life.

Battery safety vape tips

1. Do not overcharge. 

2. Properly store your batteries

3. Adhere to the ohms laws to avoid disrupting your vape mods

4. Use correct mah to avoid overheating

5. Read the directions that the company advises and use batteries as directed

How to avoid overcharging

Similar to cellphone batteries in Samsung or Sony mobile devices, vape pen batteries should not be kept on their charger for excessive amounts of time. Any electronic device that uses at least a single battery needs to be carefully monitored to ensure safety standards and so the battery life does not deplete.  Some e-cigarettes or mechanical mods have safety features built in to stop overcharging. Whether it be built in batteries for regulated mods or external batteries, They set limits to the power input so excessive charging does not occur. However, most devices do not have these functions and we still recommend to always be aware of your device. Whether it be built in batteries or external batteries, you should always check on your device or charger when connected to an energy source. Batteries do not have built-in safety features but battery chargers might. We suggest checking your specifications on your battery chargers to make sure they optimally charge your battery. High-quality battery chargers will stop charging at a given point and notify you when a battery is charged. 

Guidelines for charging Lithium ion batteries

• charge batteries at a moderate temperature (50 to 86 degrees F) - Charge acceptance is lower in cold and hot environments. This means the battery has a harder time charging up when it is too cold or hot.
• Discontinue using the charger and/or battery if the battery gets excessively warm - A hot battery means some of its charges is physically leaking out of the battery. This starts to happen when your battery has been used many times. This can also mean your charger isn't doing a good job of transferring energy efficiently
• Apply some charge to an empty battery before storing (40/50 percent is ideal) - Do not leave a dead battery idle. It is strongly recommended to put some charge back into the battery as soon as possible. This minimizes total capacity loss over time

How often should vapers replace batteries?

Most 18650 lithium ion batteries are rated for 300-500 cycles. This cycle count usually runs its course in 1-2 years depending on personal usage. We recommend that every vaper replaces their batteries once a year. Take the safer route and replace batteries annually instead of pushing them close to their max cycle count. They aren't expensive and it's better to be safe than sorry.

We hope this article helps you pay closer attention to your lithium batteries. We should all practice good habits when vaping and battery safety is very important. Vapebox is running a special promotion in 2019 where users can receive their first vapebox for free.