Help with Triton2 Li-Ion Settings

[eidolen]

Hi,
I have a Triton2 hobby charger that is supposed to handle both Li-Ion
and LiPo batteries. I want to be able to use it for the size batteries
that either my Nano charger or my DSD charger won't cover. In
particular, some 14500 Ultrafire 900ma and 10440 Ultrafire 500ma.

The problem I'm running into is getting the settings to match up and
what kind of tolerance is acceptable if any. The Triton2 charges Li-Ion
"based on 3.6V per cell and a maximum charge of 4.10V per cell" while
it charges LiPo "based on 3.7V per cell and a maximum charge of 4.20V
per cell"

The Ultrafire batteries claim 3.6V per cell with maximum charge being
4.2V and 2.75V empty. Either setting on my charger is not going to be
perfect for the batteries I have. I'm leaning to the fact that either
"could" work but the Li-Ion setting would be safer in the long run and
last longer even though I'm losing that .1V.

The crook to the situation is that I would like to use 4 of the 14500
in a single project. 3 of the batteries are brand new and haven't been
used. (reads 4.05V) The 4th was used maybe a total of 15 mins in a
single cell flashlight. (reads 3.89V)

So my questions are..

Should I not try and put them in the same project now or no big deal as
long as I use the same charge setting on all four batteries before
doing so?

Buy one of the chargers designed for that size battery and charge them
all before using? (Would take recommendations here)

Just buy 4 new batteries to be safe and charge them with....


Sorry if I seem paranoid but I never seem to have much luck with the
longevity of rechargeable batteries and don't want to risk killing the
lifespan on such expensive batteries. I would much rather make the
investment to do it right and get the full usable lifespan from these
as they will be married to this light.

Thanks for any help,
Eidolen


Some relevant info from the manual:

Notes about charging LiPo and Li-Ion batteries:
• Triton2 automatically sets the charge current based on the
battery's 1C rating. Therefore, it is very
important to enter the battery's exact rated capacity (in mAh) in
the programming. For example, if a
capacity of 600mAh is entered Triton2 will set the charge current at
0.6A (600mA). For a capacity setting
of 2500mAh, the charge current will be set to 2.5A (2500mA). If you do
not change the factory default
battery capacity value, Triton2 will charge the battery as if
it's rated at 350mA (0.35A).
• LiPo and Li-Ion batteries are charged using the "constant
current / constant voltage" process
(cc/cv). Constant current is delivered during the first part of fast
charge. As the battery reaches a
pre-set voltage (4.0V for Li-Ion, 4.1V for LiPo), Triton2 shuts off
constant current and starts to apply
a constant voltage. As the battery's voltage equalizes to the
output voltage of the charger, the
charge current will drop to approx. 1/10 of the charge current setting,
at which time all charging
will stop automatically as the battery is fully charged.
• During charge, it's possible that current to the battery
might NOT reach the full value as set in the
programming. This is because Triton2 constantly monitors the condition
of the battery and makes
sure not to deliver more current than the battery can handle at any
given time. This is normal.
• LiPo/Ion batteries do not need trickle charge, and therefore no
such function exists.
• For safety reasons, fast charge of LiPo/Ion batteries will
automatically stop if the actual amount of
capacity delivered to the battery reaches 110% of the capacity setting
entered in point 2.

 

[65535]

The Triton is an excellent charger, I used to own the original Triton but got rid of it for a higher rated charger (more amps), but to help you out, modern day lithium ions are the same chemistry and nominal voltage as lithium polymer, for the most part. Some still are 3.6v nominal and 4.1v charged. charging a 4.2v lithium cell to 4.1v will increase total cell live substantially, but runtime will be about .26 watt hours shorter (take the wattage your driver uses and divide it by .26 to see how many hours of runtime you lose).

I would personally recommend either charging them in parallel or using a Lithium polymer cell balancer, and rigging up some type of multi cell capacity cell cradle.

Don't be afraid of the cells and don't do anything stupid and you will get wonderful usage and value out of them.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Eidolen,

You should be good to go using all 4 of your cells.

The life of a Li-Ion cell is measured in charge/discharge cycles. The industry has settled on charging to 4.2 volts as a compromise between capacity and cycle life. Charging to 4.2 volts you are shooting for around 500 charge/discharge cycles.

On the other hand, if you charge to 4.1 volts (the Li-Ion setting on the Triton) you may be able to shoot for around 1500 charge/discharge cycles, but you give up capacity.

You have to decide what is important to you and charge accordingly. Keep in mind that Li-Ion cells oxidize from the inside and have a shelf life even when they are not used. If you anticipated usage is less than 500 cycles in 5 - 7 years, you should use the Li-Po setting and charge to 4.2 volts.

Tom

 

[eidolen]

Thanks for the great info guys. The project these are slated for is utilizing an Nflex converter running at 1000ma. I don't believe I will see a difference in output since it is regulated so I think I'll go with the 4.1V setting. If my thinking is wrong I hope someone points it out, otherwise I think I like the idea of having more cycles.

Thanks again for putting me at ease.:thumbsup:
Eidolen

 

[65535]

You'll lose about 5 minutes of runtime, but will probably double your number of cycles, so I think you are in a winning situation.