how do i charge my batteries? HELP

grass disaster · Dec 2, 2016

going in convoy l6
p2652c protected 26650 3.7v 5200 19.24

i have a vp2 it has a few different options for charging. dont know anything about it, don't want to blow up the house.

it states 3.2v 3.6v and 3.8v on the box! my batteries show 3.7v. do i have the right charger?

whats best way to charge them.

Thanks

vicv · Dec 2, 2016

3.6v is the setting you want. Will be full charged at 4.2v

grass disaster · Dec 2, 2016

ok.! how many amps to charge at .25 .5 and 1.

kinda like a car charger. the slower the better?

how long will they take to fully charge? your saying, once my charger shows 4.2 they are charged. right?

Joe Talmadge · Dec 2, 2016

We've kind of settled on .75C (or thereabouts) as a good compromise between gentleness to the battery, and speed of charge. C is the capacity of the battery. Your 26650 is probably 3500+ mAh, so even 1A charging is well below the guideline. There's little sense in charging too too low, I personally would go with 1A, which is under .3C and gentle already.

once my charger shows 4.2 they are charged. right?

No... your charger probably has some type of "Fully charged" indication -- a green light, an icon of a battery that shows full, the word "full" on the screen, or whatever. Read your manual, your battery is full when the charger indicates it's full. These batteries can't be manufactured perfectly so that every single battery in the world is full at exactly 4.2V, not uncommon for one battery to terminate at 4.18, another at 4.22, etc. Moreover, the algorithm for charging these batteries involves two phases, and the second phase involves holding the voltage constant while continuing to pump in an ever-reducing current... so the charger will be holding the voltage for a while before charge is complete. The charging diagrams you can find around here or on the web show pretty clearly the charging algorithm. In any case, that's why you're waiting for the charger to tell you the battery is full, it knows.

IPTelman · Dec 2, 2016

3.6v / 1 amp

grass disaster · Dec 2, 2016

IPTelman said:
3.6v / 1 amp

That works for me.

grass disaster · Dec 2, 2016

Joe Talmadge said:
We've kind of settled on .75C (or thereabouts) as a good compromise between gentleness to the battery, and speed of charge. C is the capacity of the battery. Your 26650 is probably 3500+ mAh, so even 1A charging is well below the guideline. There's little sense in charging too too low, I personally would go with 1A, which is under .3C and gentle already.

No... your charger probably has some type of "Fully charged" indication -- a green light, an icon of a battery that shows full, the word "full" on the screen, or whatever. Read your manual, your battery is full when the charger indicates it's full. These batteries can't be manufactured perfectly so that every single battery in the world is full at exactly 4.2V, not uncommon for one battery to terminate at 4.18, another at 4.22, etc. Moreover, the algorithm for charging these batteries involves two phases, and the second phase involves holding the voltage constant while continuing to pump in an ever-reducing current... so the charger will be holding the voltage for a while before charge is complete. The charging diagrams you can find around here or on the web show pretty clearly the charging algorithm. In any case, that's why you're waiting for the charger to tell you the battery is full, it knows.

Charging algorithm....hmm ya hey. looks like i gots me some learnin to do.

yes, its got a done green light when done. so that makes sense.

I have some learning to do on the electric side of things. have to figure out the protected part too, I'm guessing that's so you can't over drain a battery.

IPTelman · Dec 2, 2016

grass disaster said:
I have some learning to do on the electric side of things. have to figure out the protected part too, I'm guessing that's so you can't over drain a battery.

Over drain or over charge.

CelticCross74 · Dec 2, 2016

I just charged my 2 5200mah 26650 Keeppowers out of my L6 tonight on one of my VP2's. You are going to be fine OP. Set the VP2 to 1 amp for these huge cells.

grass disaster · Apr 26, 2017

so 4.2v is fully charged. when do i know when to charge them? at how many volts?

Capolini · Apr 26, 2017

grass disaster said:
so 4.2v is fully charged. when do i know when to charge them? at how many volts?

Do you have a DMM[Digital Multi Meter]? An important piece of equipment that can be had for ~$20. I always measure voltage after use and when they come off the charger.

You really do not want to let them get lower than 3.60v. If they constantly discharge to 3,5v or 3.4 volts the batteries will not last as long. The output at those voltages is very weak!

grass disaster · Apr 26, 2017

yes i have a multi meeter plus the charger does spit out the votls just before it starts the charge....looks like i have the vp2 charger

grass disaster · Apr 26, 2017

Set charger to 3.6v 1 amp setting.

Fully charged at 4.2v. *Note: don't take off charger till fully charged.

Charge at or around 3.6V

Correct?

ChrisGarrett · Apr 27, 2017

grass disaster said:
Set charger to 3.6v 1 amp setting.

Fully charged at 4.2v. *Note: don't take off charger till fully charged.

Charge at or around 3.6V

Correct?

You can go lower, but that 3.5v-3.7v range is about 40-50% full and the electrons will tend to trickle out much below that.

Chris

vadimax · Apr 27, 2017

Xtar VP2 charger is a good one, so you are absolutely safe with it at 3.6V/1A settings. CH1 or CH2 LED must become green to display fully charged state. I guess

And the battery icon on the LCD screen should stop animation. If it is moving -- the charging process is still under way.

Here you may read a detail review on your charger.

grass disaster · Apr 27, 2017

thanks. I mostly want to know when its best to charge the batteries and when they are dead basically.

i'm guessing its better to use them and run them down to 40% and charge them back up less often than use them 80% and charge them more often.

ChrisGarrett · Apr 27, 2017

grass disaster said:
thanks. I mostly want to know when its best to charge the batteries and when they are dead basically.

i'm guessing its better to use them and run them down to 40% and charge them back up less often than use them 80% and charge them more often.

Yes and no.

Lithium ion cells that we commonly use, don't pay a penalty when being charged at 95% SOC (state of charge,) or 20%, but if you're running them down to 2.75v, or 2.50v as a rule, you'll be paying a penalty in cycles. A cycle seems to be a charge/discharge, or a discharge/charge and leaving these things at a 100% 'full' SOC, for weeks and months, does a lot of harm...same with high/low temperatures.

That's why we store them at 40-50% SOC--3.6v-3.7v, if we're not going to be using them for a couple/few months and store them in a fridge, in ZipLock baggies (I do anyways...).

Also charging them at high current rates can do some harm, as will discharging them down at a rate that is above their pay grade--say a Panasonic NCR-B 3400mAh rated at 5A-6A, in an M43 Meteor on high.

In the end, there's a finite life to these things and at $4-$8 ea., shortening their cycles isn't like blowing the engine on your Bentley, so try not to fret too much about it. Same with NiMH batteries, like Eneloops.

They're consumables--like a rifle barrel...they'll wear out, but we don't want to abuse them.

Chris

how do i charge my batteries? HELP

grass disaster

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vicv

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