Today, one of the most popular battery formats for various electronic devices is the 18650. It requires proper handling during operation. The durability and functionality of this power source depends on this.
How to charge the 18650 battery should be considered in detail. This will help sort out the advice of specialists.
general characteristics
Today, many sizes and types of batteries are used. One of the most sought after is a 18650 battery. It has a cylindrical shape. Externally, such a battery resembles finger batteries. Only the presented view is slightly larger in size than conventional devices.
During operation, the question necessarily arises of how to charge the 18650 battery. This is a simple procedure. However, you need to treat her with all responsibility. The durability of the battery depends on the correctness of the charge.
The batteries of this type are used today to power laptops, as well as electronic cigarettes. This has made the presented size popular. Also, these batteries are installed in flashlights and laser pointers. Most often, the presented devices produce a lithium-ion type. This type of battery has proved its effectiveness and ease of use.
Features
Considering how to charge a 18650 battery for a flashlight, electronic cigarette and other devices, it is necessary to describe the principle of its operation. The presented size is available in the category of lithium-ion batteries. It has small dimensions. The height is only 65 mm and the diameter is 18 mm.
Inside the device there are metal electrodes between which lithium ions circulate. This allows you to generate electric current to power the equipment. At low or high charge, more ions are formed on one of the electrodes. They grow on the material, changing its volume and characteristics.
In order for the battery to work for a long time and fully, it is necessary to prevent the appearance of a deep or too high charge. Otherwise, the device will quickly fail. Depending on the battery rating, special types of chargers are used.
Battery protection
Today, the presented types of batteries are supplied complete with a special controller or incorporate manganese. Previously, batteries without protection were produced. How to charge the 18650 battery correctly in this case, you had to know for your own safety.
The fact is that a device in which there was no special protection could overheat greatly if the charge was incorrect or too long. In this case, a short circuit could occur and even a fire or explosion of the battery. Today, the use of such structures has sunk into oblivion.
All lithium-ion batteries are designed to protect against such negative phenomena. Most often, a special controller is used. It monitors the battery capacity level. If necessary, he simply turns off the battery. In some types of structures, manganese is included. It significantly affects the chemical reactions inside. Therefore, such batteries do not need a controller.
Charging Features
Many buyers are interested in how to charge a 18650 Li-Ion (3.7V) battery. You need to familiarize yourself with the features of such a process. It is quite simple. Modern manufacturers make special devices that control battery charging.
Lithium-ion batteries have virtually no memory effect. This provides a number of rules when charging and operating batteries. A memory effect is a gradual decrease in battery capacity when the battery is partially discharged. This property was characteristic of nickel-cadmium batteries. They had to be discharged completely.
Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, do not tolerate deep discharge. They need to be charged up to 80% and discharged up to 14-20%. In such conditions, the device will serve as long and productively as possible. The presence of special boards in the design allows to simplify this process. When the capacity level drops to a critical value (most often to 2.4 V), the device disconnects the battery from the consumer.
Charging
Many buyers of various electrical equipment are interested in how to charge a 18650 Li-Ion battery (3.7V, 6800mah). This process is carried out using a special device. It starts charging at a voltage of 0.05 V, and ends at a maximum level of 4.2 V. Above this value, it is impossible to charge a battery of the type presented.
You can charge 18650 batteries with a current of 0.5-1A. The larger it is, the faster the process goes. However, a smoother current is preferable. It is better not to speed up the charging process if the battery does not need to be used urgently.
The procedure takes no more than 3 hours. After that, the device will turn off the battery. This prevents its overheating and failure. On sale are charging devices that cannot control the progress of this process. In this case, the user must monitor its implementation. Experts recommend purchasing devices that themselves control the process. This is a safe method.
Parameters
On sale are batteries with different capacity indicators. This affects the duration and charging process. Low capacity batteries have 1100-2600 mAh. The most popular in this category are UltraFire products. This manufacturer makes high-quality flashlights. Therefore, consumers reasonably have the question of how to charge the 18650 UltraFire battery.
In this case, it should be noted that devices with a capacity of up to 2600 mAh need to be charged with a current of 1.3-2.6 A. This process is carried out in several stages. At the beginning of charging, the current flows to the battery, which is 0.2-1 of the value of the battery capacity. At this point, the voltage is maintained at about 4.1 V. This stage lasts about an hour.
During the second stage, the voltage is kept constant. At some manufacturers of chargers this procedure can be carried out by means of alternating current. It should also be noted that in the presence of a graphite electrode in the design of the battery, it cannot be charged with a current greater than 4.1 V.
Varieties of Chargers
There is a simple technique for charging a 18650 battery with a charger. To do this, you need to buy a certain type of device. A large selection of charging equipment for batteries of this type is on sale. The simplest and cheapest device for a single battery. The current level in it can reach 1 A.
Devices in which several batteries can be placed at once are very popular. Most often, such designs are equipped with an indicator. Some models can be used for other types of lithium-ion batteries. Their landing slots are designed accordingly. Such devices differ in reasonable cost and high functionality.
Also on sale are universal chargers. They can charge batteries not only of the lithium-ion type, but also other types. Such units must be correctly configured before the procedure.
Homemade appliance
Some users have a question about how to charge the 18650 battery in an emergency when there is no special device at hand. In this case, you can do it yourself. An old phone charger (for example, Nokia) will do.
It is necessary to remove the wire sheath and disconnect the wires minus (black) and plus (red). Using plasticine, you can attach bare contacts to the battery. The proper polarity must be observed. Next, the device is included in the network.
This charge can last about an hour. This will be quite enough for the battery to ensure the correct operation of the equipment.
Recommendations of specialists
Experts recommend a responsible attitude to the process of charging and discharging the battery. Its longevity depends on it. It is not worth it to discharge the battery completely and charge it up to 100%. It is better to limit the charging process to 90%. However, from time to time (once every three months), it is possible to carry out a full discharge and fully charge the battery. This is necessary to calibrate the controller.
You can store the battery long enough. To do this, you need to charge it by 50%. In this state, it can be for about a month. In this case, the room should not be too hot or too cold. The ideal conditions are to keep the temperature at 15 º.
Having considered how to charge the 18650 battery, you can properly maintain and operate the battery. In this case, the period of its use will be much longer.