Can You Overcharge A Lithium-Ion Battery – Introduction And Myths

Introduction

Can you overcharge a Lithium-Ion Battery? Yes, it is possible to overcharge a lithium battery, and doing so can be quite risky. Truthfully, the response to this query is more complicated than you may imagine.

But it’s also important to note that the majority of contemporary lithium-ion batteries include a built-in mechanism that guards the battery from overcharging. The mechanism operates as soon as the battery is fully charged.

What is Battery Overcharging?

Continuously charging a cell once it has reached its maximum capacity is known as overcharging a battery.

We will need to rapidly refresh your recollection of how a lithium battery functions in order to comprehend how this may possibly happen.

When lithium is exchanged between two electrodes of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, electrons pass through an outside circuit, powering the load.

In essence, when you charge a battery, you are “pushing back” the electrons with external energy (through redox reactions). They are compelled to flow in the opposite direction to where they did when the battery was draining as a result.

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It is simple to suppose that the amount of electrons you “push back” depends on how much a battery is being charged.

The quantity of material that can produce and consume electrons determines how much energy a battery can store, thus we know this doesn't actually happen.

As a result, when a battery achieves its maximum storage capacity, or when there are no longer any electrons to “push back”, the additional energy delivered may result in unintended reactions in the battery cell.

In addition to reducing the battery’s life and creating a major safety concern, this can irreparably harm its components.

Manufacturers provide batteries with an external protection system that halts the charging process once the battery has achieved its storage capacity in order to avoid this issue.

Lithium-Ion Battery Charging Myths

There are various myths about Lithium-Ion Battery Charging, some of which are:

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Do Not Recharge the Battery Unless It Is Completely Dead

False: Waiting until the battery is completely depleted of energy before recharging has no positive effect on performance, does nothing to assist it restore any capacity that has been lost, prolongs battery life, and has no effect on cutting down on the cost or duration of the subsequent recharge. There are no drawbacks to charging lithium-ion batteries whenever you want. You don’t have to wait until the battery is completely discharged to fully recharge it.

lithium-ion batteries Suffer from “Memory Effect”

False: The performance cycle of lithium-ion chemistry does not take memory into account. The battery can be discharged as far as it can go without hitting a false capacity step. No matter if the battery discharge schedule was constant, irregular, or at different depths. No internal chemical process places a cap on the product’s output capacity.

A Lithium-Ion Battery’s Life Cycle will be Shortened with Faster Charging

False: Slow, quick, or fast charging of lithium cells won’t harm the device or reduce its overall cycle life as long as you follow the manufacturer’s specifications and do it within reasonable bounds. The battery’s lifespan is only decreased by cumulative usage.

To Increase the Battery Pack’s Lifespan, It Should be Taken Off of the Charger

False: Lithium-ion chemistry chargers cut off the charge voltage at the right time, ensuring that no extra or harmful energy is entering the battery pack. Prior to powering the battery pack once more, the charger must restart. Cycle life is unaffected because the battery pack has not been charged as a result of termination. Finally, keep in mind to keep the battery in the charger and to keep it hooked into the wall. The pack does not suffer any negative effects.

Before Using the Lithium-Ion Battery for the First Time, One Must Fully Charge It for 24 Hours

False: When first used, lithium-ion battery packs don’t need to be charged for a long time. The product is prepared for use after a standard charge. It’s important to keep in mind that the majority of lithium-based items are shipped with a residual charge level of about 35%. As a result, your initial charge will get the product from the residual “shipping” charge level to full charge without requiring a “long” first-time charge regime.

What Happens If You Overcharge A 18650 Battery?

Even though neither the charger nor the safeguard circuit ceases the charging procedure, the cell receives an increasing amount of energy. Overcharging is what happens when this happens and causes the voltage in the cell to increase. On the one hand, the battery will suffer and have a shorter lifespan as a result of this. On the other side, it can put the user’s safety at danger. Heat is produced as a result of the extra energy. This could, in the worst situation, result in a “thermal runaway”.

This implies that as chemical processes begin inside the cell and progress exponentially, the temperature inside the cell keeps rising. As explained by professionals, these effects can no longer be stopped. This may result in the cell bursting open and possibly burning out in the case of lithium batteries. “Gas development in the cell, which results in the significant enlargement of the cell, can occur with lithium-polymer batteries”, the statement continues. Thermal runaway and consequent burnout would be the following phase.

 What Happens If You Completely Discharge A Lithium-Ion Battery?

When the cell voltage considerably falls below the cut-off voltage, this is what is meant. This occurrence by itself poses no dangers to public safety. The performance of the cell is gradually destroyed, though, and under some conditions this can result in the battery swelling.

In order to prevent damage to the gadgets and batteries, users must make sure that the proper chargers are utilized. By doing this, the problems that may develop, especially when lithium batteries are overcharged, are avoided and the safety mechanisms are guaranteed to function in an emergency.