Lithium-ion Battery Charging Myths-Judgment And Truth

The lithium-ion batteries have become a great source of portable power delivery in the recent years. Now, almost every household has a device that uses lithium-ion batteries as its power source. As different kinds of people are using these batteries, some get questions about the working of these lithium-ion batteries.

The most popular topic of discussion about these batteries is about their charging. There are many aspects of discussing the charging methodology of the lithium-ion batteries. Here we will discuss the myths and judgments related to the charging of these batteries.

Is it OK to let the lithium-ion battery drain before charging

The lithium-ion technology of batteries has some pros and cons for itself. One of the biggest cons is that these batteries don’t have a charge memory. Charge memory was present in the older version of batteries where you could drain the battery completely before charging it again.

In lithium-ion batteries, it is not a good practice to completely drain the batteries before charging them. Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t do this.

Battery Charge Cycles

When you are completely draining the battery, this means that you are utilizing one complete battery charge cycle. The lithium-ion batteries are designed in such a way that they have an estimated charging cycle number. When the charging cycle number is approaching its limit, the battery starts to lose its quality.

Using the battery up to the requirements and then charging it again is a better thing to do. In this case, you will not fully utilize one charging cycle of the battery. This will not only preserve the quality of your lithium-ion battery, but it will also increase the life of your battery.

Battery Protection Circuit

Most of the lithium-ion batteries are made for smart products, these products have battery protection circuits built-in. When you are using the battery, these circuits don’t let you fully drain the battery. They cut off the power from the battery after the limit. In this way, the battery is prevented from fully draining.

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But in some devices, there is no charging protection circuit. In these devices, the battery is at risk of completely discharging. Completely discharging the battery can also cause the battery to lose its quality and life. In the worst case, an over-discharged battery can explode.

Decreasing The Quality Of The Battery

Completely draining the battery means that you are using a full charge cycle of the battery. This can create the battery to reach a higher temperature. Both of these things are bad for the battery because they cause the battery to lose its quality of power delivery.

How do you know if your lithium-ion battery is bad

Another query that many people raise is how can they know if their battery is good or not. These are some basic checks that will tell you if your battery is good or not:

Checking the voltage of battery

Checking the power delivery time of your battery.

Checking the temperature of the battery.

Checking the structure of the battery.

Checking the charging time of the battery.

All of these checks are described in detail below.

Checking the voltage of the battery.

All lithium-ion batteries have different voltage ranges. You can find the voltage range of your battery by checking for the model number over the internet. When you find the voltage, you can check the voltage of your battery by an electric meter.

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If there is a huge difference in the values, then your battery is bad, and you must replace it as soon as possible.

Calculating the time for which the battery can deliver power.

If you feel that the power delivery time of the battery has significantly decreased. This means that your battery is not able to hold a charge for a long time. In this case, you must replace your battery because it is not good now.

Checking the structure of the battery.

In the thin flat lithium batteries, this is a good feature that the battery changes its structure as it goes bad. The battery swells from the sides. You can check your battery by rotating it on a flat surface like a spinner. If the battery rotates easily, then it is bad.

Checking the charging time required by the battery.

When you note a change in the time required by the battery to charge is getting lesser with time, this means that the battery is not good anymore.

Checking the temperature of the battery during charging and discharging.

If the temperature of your battery while charging and discharging is higher than usual, this means that the battery is bad.

What is the truth behind the biggest battery myths

Here, we will reveal the truth behind some biggest myths about the batteries.

You can still charge the battery even if it indicates full charging.

Yes, it is a true thing that most of the batteries can be charged even after the device shows full charging. The devices these days are designed in such a way that they tell us that the battery is full to stop us from further charging them. This increases the life of the batteries.

Keeping the batteries unused will keep the charge stored.

No, this is a wrong concept that most people have made in their minds. When batteries are used regularly, the charge storing property of the batteries are kept alive. When they are left unused, there is no way for the charges to flow. This causes the charges to lose their power. It can also reduce the life of the batteries.

You must only charge the battery after completely draining it.

No, in the past different technologies were used for the production of the batteries. But now different technology is being used. This technology prefers to charge the battery as soon as it fulfills your needs of using it. In this way, the charge cycles are stored, and the battery life is also enhanced.

Charging the battery even after it indicates full will not be bad.

No, if the device that has the battery has a charge protection circuit, then it will cause no damage. But if the charger or device has no protection circuit installed, then it will damage your battery. Even the devices with protection circuits will keep on changing between battery power and charger power. This in bad for the batteries.

Conclusion

These were some basic things about the lithium-ion batteries and their charging