The right way to charge your batteries
We’ve all heard a million times that a new battery must be charged fully, from an empty state, a number of times to ensure an optimal life cycle. Do you do this with your e-cigarettes? If so, you probably wasted your time…
This memory effect, which explains the necessity of this charging method, is simply not an issue for modern battery cells. This was the case with previous generations, in particular Nickel-based technologies (NiCd, NiMH).
Currently, vape kit batteries are chemical batteries known as IMR or Lithium-ion Manganese Rechargeable.
These batteries do not have the same memory effect. It is in fact not recommended to empty them fully before charging them. The issue with IMR cells is that they will lose capacity if the remaining charge is too low. However, output voltage determines the remaining charge. With this in mind, you should avoid vaping with a battery that outputs the exact voltage written on the label, generally 3.7V. Fully discharging the battery would, in fact, destroy it. In any case, once you hit 3.2V, you should charge your kit.
As a best practise, only vape when the battery charge is between 30-40% and 80%.
This advice also applies to all modern devices such as smartphones, tablets, or Bluetooth speakers. It is better to charge it up regularly, in small batches, rather than a zero-to-full charge every once in a while, to ensure an optimal battery life-cycle. And keep in mind that a battery will suffer more wear and tear when charging fast, rather than charging slowly.
What about multi-cell vape boxes?
If your kit is a box with multiple cells (a battery can also be made up of multiple cells), the same rules apply. However, there is an additional point to think about. It is highly important to charge both cells simultaneously and for the same duration. By doing this, you can ensure your cells are identical in terms of voltage output, as long as you bought and used them together from the start!
Find out more about batteries in our 18650 breakdown!
