Pretty sure Lithium cells are breaking down the moment they are activated, so they all have a shelf life. Don't think I've ready any study that suggests charing the battery a certain way makes any difference, all I've seen is forum sciences.
Do you take care of your Lithium powered items?
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Given how much attention is given to charging by companies involved in high capacity lithium battery packs, I think it matters at least in that context. Also, things such as the rate of charging definitely matter at any scale. For example, I bought an MP3 player for £10 from Amazon. The battery lasted about a dozen charges before its maximum charge was reduced to useless levels. I initially thought it was just bad luck and the cheapest, lowest quality components manufactured in the cheapest, crappiest way. So I bought another two as a test. £10 each, may as well do so just to satisfy my curiosity. Same result with the first. Then I realised I was using the wrong charger, which was charging it at far too high a rate. I charged the 3rd one the right way, with a USB cable from my PC. The battery was still charging to the same extent (as far as I could tell from playtime on a charge, which seemed to be unchanged) about 18 months later when the headphone socket failed.
Soldato
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Whilst i don't know enough about batteries, i have had similar results. Limiting current is a factor for some batteries dying prematurely.
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Depends on the item.
Built in battery devices (phones, laptops etc) i just charge when i remember/can be bothered.
E cig batteries are ad-hoc, normally i'll run them dry but if i'm heading out i'll slap in a fresh set.
Other lipo's and stuff i use a checker, anything under 4v per cell i'll top them up before use.
Built in battery devices (phones, laptops etc) i just charge when i remember/can be bothered.
E cig batteries are ad-hoc, normally i'll run them dry but if i'm heading out i'll slap in a fresh set.
Other lipo's and stuff i use a checker, anything under 4v per cell i'll top them up before use.
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I don't care. I found some rechargable batteries in a drawer two days ago as my Xbox controller ran out of battery. Put them in and they're working perfectly. I don't think I've even owned a charge for 5+ years so no idea how they're even charged. That being said, I probably will buy a charger shortly as I want to use my Eneloops that I think I threw away the charger for.
Rechargeable batteries are so expensive though...I tend just to go and buy megapacks on Amazon and replace them as and when. Not terribly environmentally friendly I must admit.
Rechargeable batteries are so expensive though...I tend just to go and buy megapacks on Amazon and replace them as and when. Not terribly environmentally friendly I must admit.
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The Pedelecs forum for eBikes suggest you only charge to 90% to keep your battery in tip top condition and every 3 months charge to full.
I was amazed to see that my new Sony phone also has an option to charge to 90% for the same reasons.
I was amazed to see that my new Sony phone also has an option to charge to 90% for the same reasons.
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you're suppose to keep them at the middling point, either end of the spectrum is bad
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Surely if modern phones were designed to turn off at 80%, then surely they'd stop before 100% or am I missing something 
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anyone else just getting sick of having to charge things up, charging the hoover is pushing it
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Surely if modern phones were designed to turn off at 80%, then surely they'd stop before 100% or am I missing something
tbf, how do you know that "100%" charge as-displayed, isn't 80% of the batteries actual charge?
certainly it would make sense for it to be like that, if your phone cutoff charging at 80% then the majority of folk would stick it back on the charger/complain
i'm pretty sure sony did this with my phone, have memories of an update mentioning a shorter battery time in exchange for a longer overall battery life.
Just charge when needed, however when sorting through some old tech I discovered that an old laptop and an old tablet would no longer charge so looks like they died while sat in a box. The laptop works plugged in but the battery just doesn't charge, its a sealed unit so can't just buy a new battery which is a shame.
How are electric cars doing with their batteries? Do you lose capacity / mileage over the years?
How are electric cars doing with their batteries? Do you lose capacity / mileage over the years?
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I probably should have taken better care of my laptop battery, it's been dead for well over a year but I've not bothered replacing it because I've always used it with the plug attached, Phone batteries I take better care of though
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I did wonder that as I'd posted tbh, the 100% could be entirely arbitrary, as it could for any battery. I'm thinking stuff like like drills that have a bespoke battery, might well be the same. But of that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about as I'm sure lithium chargers have to be "smart" which I guess is what does all these clever things. I don't have any lithium batteries that don't have their own charger.
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Post #26 with Sony
Like I said, my 48v 2A charger for my eBike batteries have had the potentiometer inside changed so they only charge to 90%.
Apple do something about this. They learn the charging pattern so if you normally get up at 08:00 each day and charge the phone overnight, it’ll charge to 80% and then stop but before 08:00, it’ll kick in again to top you up to 100% when you’re ready to use the phone. It keeps it sitting at that ‘magic’ 80% level for the majority of the time.Surely if modern phones were designed to turn off at 80%, then surely they'd stop before 100% or am I missing something
Yes. Managing charging is a big deal for EV manufacturers and they try to use it to slow the degradation of the batteries down as much as they can, but it's inherent in current battery tech. Perhaps inherent in all batteries. Even the "it sometimes works in a lab under controlled conditions" research batteries have the same problem, though usually to a lesser extent. Faster charging means faster degradation, too.
It's not an insurmountable problem, but it is a thing that needs to be taken into account. It has some parallels with ICEVs. There are things that can be issues when buying a car, especially second hand. Battery degradation is just another to add to the list, although admittedly far more expensive than almost all other such issues.
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Isn't cooling the biggest issue, but in cars less of an issue as they have coolant.
I've no idea. It's one of the issues, but I don't know if it's the biggest issue. But now I'm curious enough to spend a little while trying to find out.
Not really possible tho is it. Thinking of phones and things.
There's no way you can realistically keep your phone near 50% charge continually. Not even likely you can keep it between, say, 20% and 80% consistently.
I would imagine most people put their phone on charge then by the time they come back to take it off it's at 100%.